Smart Gets A Charge Out Of Olde Berlin

In the largest fieldtest to date, the German electric utility RWE is teaming up with Daimler to test EV charging aparatus with 100 Smart electric test vehicles driving around Berlin today. RWE will be installing 500 such charging station around Berlin, at workplaces and in public parking areas, but also, in an unusual development, at customers homes.

To pay the utility for electrons there will be an automated exchange of data between a special in-car communication system and the intelligent electricity charging points providing effective, customer friendly and convenient everyday operation.

Automatic fastcharge stations like these being developed by RWE or those developed by Coulomb Technologies here in the US will be an important part of EV deployment. Many EVs are coming by 2010, as we end the age of oil. Increasingly, charging station infrastructure is under development worldwide. Utilities are finding that EVs can contribute to grid stability.

Like PG&E in California last year with its testing of a Prius plug-in hybrid, the German utility RWE is interested in vehicle-to-grid integration: having the on-board lithium-ion packs able to store surplus electricity when demand is low and able to feed it back in the network when demand is high.

V2G is an excellent way to ensure base load storage for solar and wind power, and both Germany and California are adding more renewables into their energy mix.

Daimler's electric vehicles will be powered by lithium-ion batteries developed by Tesla Motors, the California startup that bought the EV back from the dead with this years Roadster, widely credited with galvanizing GMs development of the Volt.

It was only this morning that Daimler announced a 16% drop in their Mercedes-Benz luxury cars and SUV sales, while their tiny Smart grew 29% percent - of course, partly that's because the US market was supplied the fuel-efficient Smarts for the first time this Spring. A month or so ago Mercedes said they were getting out of the gasoline car business entirely within 7 years causing quite a stir in the green blogosphere. With this move, they are taking yet another step towards that fine goal.

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Fleet Owners Want Their Fords Electrified

The Canadian company Envia converts Fords into plug-ins or completely electric models that have more torque than the gas version Ford provides.

While a Ford converted to an electric truck can get the same speeds as the gasoline original; the range is shorter. Depending on which battery is chosen; you'd get a 50 to 125 mile range between recharging.

These electric Fords are FastCharge capable in under 3 hours using 220 volt, and of course can be recharged each night like a cell phone in household 120 volt plugs.

But range is not much of an issue in commercial use where a truck typically can recharge at the work site, as well as at night.

Fuel cost is a big issue, though. For the average commercial truck driver the difference between the high cost of gas and the low cost of electricity can make for enormous savings that more than justify the cost of the conversions.

The conversion expense has a pay back time of about 4 years for a truck in typical commercial use. Not a bad investment.

I spoke with Jay Giraud, the owner of Envia yesterday. He told me that most of his work has come from fleet owners who contact him to have their current fleet converted to EVs or PHEVs, but he also converts even brand new Fords.

Giraud's company shares a large building with fellow EV enthusiast David Gilroy's business bmcmotorworks where finishing touches are being made to a new Rapid Electric Vehicles showroom targeted for opening in October.

Envia also partners with local Ford dealer Metro Ford to provide charging stations and for parts and service on the Fords he has converted to electric. They will continue to honor the Ford warranty on Envia's conversions. Giraud is currently working on creating a solar partnership to provide the power for the charging stations.

Fleet owners are finding a solution to the high cost of running gasoline vehicles.

Its bad news for Ford when their best customers need to get their great commercial trucks redesigned to meet their needs, but the customer is always right.

As Wired puts it, it's been a really Ford Tough year for Ford.

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EV Charging Infrastructure Revs Up

200 EV charging stations will be installed in Tokyo in 2009 at a cost of $36,500 each, including construction expenses. Tokyo Electric Power Co. has developed a quick-charging system that allows an electric car to run 25 miles on a five-minute charge and 37 miles on a 10-minute charge. They will begin with 200 and ramp up to 1,000 by 2012. With both Mitsubishi's iMiEV and Subaru's R1e due out in 2009 in Japan, not a moment too soon.

San Jose is testing EV charging, partnering up with Coulomb Technologies to install 110-volt outlets on poles like streetlights in various public places.

An important element of charging stations is utility grid management – Coulomb also has that in the bag with their management technology, making the start-up company a sort of one-stop shop for EV charging infrastructure. San Jose, a city that loves its technology, will be able to take advantage of Coulomb’s wireless communication capabilities for charging stations, management of mesh networks to authenticate users, and management of energy flow and metering. The folks involved in using and working with the stations could access GPS-lined data online for super easy info linkage.

By the end of this summer, Portland General Electric plans to install 12 charging stations in Portland and Salem. Portland has the highest per capita ownership of hybrid cars in the country.

London is adding to their current EV charging stations.This map shows where Londoners can now catch a fast recharge on the go around town.

Of course they can always charge at home, but there's nothing like the security of being able to top-up if needed.

From greencarcongress, ecogeek
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