Invited Paper IPF-SuA5
The (Re) Electrification of the Automobile

Sunday, October 14, 2007, 4:20 pm, Room 602/603

It is easily forgotten that a century ago electric vehicles had a dominant market share over steam and internal combustion automobiles. While quiet, clean and reliable, the EV was challenged by range and performance limitations, and eventually done in by the electric self-starter …. one of the first electrified features! Driven in large part by the quest for improved fuel efficiency and emissions – and accelerated by design opportunities and attractive customer features – the re-electrification of motor vehicle is now progressing rapidly. Electrified functions range from the mundane, such as power steering and engine coolant pumps, through a spectrum of hybrid powertrain concepts and on to a resurgent interest in all-electric vehicles. Each incremental function and additional load increases the demand for efficient and cost-effective energy storage and is driving new, sometimes divergent, battery requirements. The hybrid electric vehicles available today are all what might be called "power hybrids" that have been optimized to achieve impressive fuel efficiency with minimum battery energy capacity – and so minimum battery weight and cost. Driven by commercialization of HEVs, rapid progress on batteries and power electronic systems paves the way to two revolutions in the motor vehicles: First, is the proposal to shift a significant fraction of propulsion energy from petroleum fuel to electricity by "plugging in." The "plug-in" HEV is an "energy hybrid" that by definition requires a much larger battery, and creates a new connection that allows motor vehicles to exploit the efficiency and diversity of the electric grid. While not overwhelmingly attractive in the present economy of still-cheap oil and fossil fuel-generated electricity, the plug-in hybrid could prove critical to closing the gap between a limited supply of renewable fuel and ever-growing transportation needs. Second, with no rigid connections between the various powertrain elements, the series HEV – "power" or "energy" - enables re-engineering of the motor vehicle including its shape, structure, materials and manufacturing. In short, the re-electrification of the automobile is enabled by progress in battery technology, but itself may enable revolutions in the nature and the economics of personal transportation.