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Quebec City and Partners Launch Major PHEV Study
23 April 2008
The Université Laval, Desjardins Group, Enersys and Quebec City are launching a joint study project on plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). If the pilot study is a success, a second phase of the project could integrate up to 50 PHEVs into Quebec City streets.
Supported by Desjardins Group, Canada’s largest integrated cooperative financial group, and Enersys, the world’s largest producer of industrial batteries, a multidisciplinary team of Université Laval researchers will begin a series of studies looking at technological improvements under real-world conditions as well as the social, economic, and environmental aspects of PHEVs.
The test vehicle in this pilot project will be a Prius-type hybrid with its standard battery replaced by a high-performance lithium-ion battery providing an electric range of more than 70 km (43.5 miles). This battery can be plugged in and recharged using household current from a regular outlet.
EnerSys, the world’s largest industrial battery company, through its Modular Energy Devices (ModEnergy) subsidiary, will supply lithium ion (Li-Ion) battery packs and controls to Université Laval and work with them to optimize performance and durability for evaluation by members of the team and the Quebec City community.
This program will provide a real world field test for the ModEnergy’s Redundant Cell Array Technology (RedCAT) while integrating PHEVs in the community. RedCAT offers unique cost, reliability and safety advantages to help bring the promise of Li-Ion batteries and PHEVs to our transportation needs and thus take a step towards meeting clean air goals.
—Steve Eaves, VP of Technology and founder of ModEnergy
EnerSys purchased a controlling interest in ModEnergy in 2006. ModEnergy produces large format lithium-ion rechargeable batteries utilized in aerospace and defense applications as well as specialized standby power and commercial applications.
The company developed a proprietary method for assembling small lithium-ion cells using series-parallel stacking into battery systems.
Researchers at the Université Laval’s Faculty of Business Administration will study, under the leadership of professor Michel Gendron, various economic, environmental, and social impacts of the use of this type vehicle. In particular, they will investigate the financial viability of such vehicles for consumers, evaluate the costs of installing power ports together with methods of imposing fees for recharging, and together with Desjardins develop innovative financial contracts for this type of vehicle.
Researchers at the Faculty of Science and Engineering will assess the vehicle’s performance in urban environments as well as look at ways to optimize output and performance, improve recharging techniques through the development of power ports, and test technologies for connecting the battery with the power grid.
Université Laval Security and Prevention, which has already integrated one PHEV into its fleet of conventional vehicles, is considering progressively replacing all its vehicles with this type of hybrid.
April 23, 2008 in Canada, Plug-ins | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBack (0)
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Quebec City, with its very cold climate + 400 to 500 cm of snow per winter but almost 100% Hydro-Electricity is a good place to test the endurance, practibility and operation cost of PHEV-70 KM.
A larger rugged battery pack will be required for very cold (-30C) snowy days.
If a PHEV can be equipped to operate successfully in Quebec City, it could operate most everywhere in Canada.
Quebec province current power grid (about 40,000 megawatts) is about 96% -97% Hydro electric, 2% Nuclear and 1% - 2% wind.
Total Hydro potential is at least twice current capacity but, as in many other countries, new project approval is very lenghtly. Every potential ecologist, fisherman, hunter, native, unborn nature lovers, politicians, pressure groups etc must have their say. A few dozen rivers totalling 40,000++ megawatts (enough for 2 to 3 PHEV-70 KM per home) were never developped because raw nature loving people, native people etc objected.
Oil at $200++/barrel and the availability of affordable PHEVs and BEVS may help to change the view of certain Hydro objectors. A higher carbon/fuel tax + an incentive program may also help.
Posted by: | Apr 23, 2008 6:35:29 AM
I question the direction of this program. Shouldn't research progress from the University to the industrial sector ? Then utilising the Prius as a commodity item ? Does no Quebec college yet have their own inhouse hybrid design after all this time ? Other than that, just who has decided that PHEVs will be mainstream enough to affect the operation of a hydroelectric behemoth like Hydro Quebec ? Projected prices at GM are realistically set at $48k. Unless big subsidies kick in, I don't see that many takers. Whatever next.
Per chance are they going to follow up with the socio-economic impact of the flat screen television on North American culture ? I am a fully franchised couch potato available for a volunteer position. Not to say that I couldn't really use a nice 52" LCD flatscreen about now.
It may be a much more dry subject but as I see it there is a need for academic research in high tech to find out why our manufacturing base is being allowed to be hollowed out by outsourcing and raise concern. This fact is not being lost on Britain's youth where large percentages of students in 11th and 12th grade(equivalent) are electing not to take Physics as a core subject. Sooner or later math will follow, since very little advanced math is used outside manufacturing, for that matter very little math is used IN manufacturing. Bureaucrats and industry leaders regard math like arc welding - it's always nicer when someone else has to do it. The unfortunate part is that large numbers of young people were sold this bill of goods about mathematics and have been wasting their lives away in its study. Had some of our best brains been involved in business studies and tax avoidance programs it would have been far more useful in producing successful companies.
We need University research that is of value to governments that might be used to the benefit of the people and the country. Maufacturing capability has to be observed in the same light as natural resources they will increasingly involve a security issue. With corn ethanol production requiring large amounts of fresh water the media was saying recently that water is soon to become the new 'oil'. I don't think Canadians will become the blue eyed arabs anytime soon on their plentiful resource however, it's perhaps more likely we will see troops being sent instead to Taiwan and other S.E. Asia spots to protect our pipeline of computer motherboards from being interrupted by Chinese intentions.
In the meantime this elitist picture of tenured faculty driving around on machines designed and manufactured in those far away countries while thousands of people here in the auto industry are seeing their jobs disappearing by the day is just plain wrong.
By the way I wonder how much more land Quebec Hydro wants to flood, displacing more rural workers with the benefits accruing mainly to the overlords of these megaprojects. Wasn't the James Bay project enough ?
T2
Posted by: T2 | Apr 23, 2008 1:25:10 PM
Most of those interested in plug-in-hybrids can not imagine that there are good batteries to test besides Lithium Ion batteries. CalCars succesfuly tested Lead batteries, and a simple new method of operation would have allowed them to get even more miles and leave the original battery connected.
That mode of operation would have allowed the use of the standard THINK package ZEBRA battery and get 140 miles of full electric operation.
The THINK is rated at over 100 miles with the ZEBRA battery. If a city is interested in a plug in hybrid modification of a PRIUS they should get MES-DEA to do it instead of someone promoting L-Ion batteries.
The Prius with a frozen cold ZEBRA battery could still operate in normal hybrid mode, and divert enough power to the battery to thaw it in a few hours.
Use a ZEBRA if you want a clear working demonstration of a plug in hybrid, or you can throw two Honda 3000is portable generators into the back of a THINK CITY.
There are also a few CANDU reactors in Canada and any province could order one tomorrow and get it built in three years..HG..
Posted by: Henry Gibson | Apr 25, 2008 1:49:41 AM
You might be able to get a lot more out of AGM batteries by using super capacitors. AGM are limited in their charging current, so regenerative braking is limited, but by putting the energy into super capacitors and then slowly into the batteries, they might do better. I have thought that it is the acceleration energy from stop that really takes the power anyway, so super capacitors could provide that too.
Posted by: SJC | Apr 26, 2008 8:46:39 AM
T2:
As you said, our manufactures are having more and more difficulties to compete in the open market. Our labour and social cost are just too high. We have priced ourselves out of the market for most products requiring intensive labour input.
It is very doubtful that we could mass produce high performance battery packs, PHEVs or BEVs at an affordable price. We can't even print our own books with our own paper at a competitive price. Is it almost three times cheaper to ship the paper to China, have the books printed there and re-ship here. That is why many of our printing places are closing down.
However, we have a lot of unused hydro and wind potential. Why not develop what we have plenty of and export it to our neighbours? Ontario, NB, NS and North Eastern USA could phase out their high pollution coal fired power generation plants.
Large, medium and small scale Hydro and Wind power generation is highly sustainable, relatively clean and could be the backbone of a very prosperous local industry.
Quebec Hydro with almost $4 billion/year in net profit is already the most profitable local organisation and could 3X or 6X that when all the hydro and wind potential is developed.
The arrival of many million PHEVs and BEVs in Eastern Canada and USA will require more electrical energy. Why not produce it with Hydro and Wind and avoid a massive increase in GHG. Many of the northern undeveloped hydro sites are where the best winds are found. Colocated Hydro-Wind power sites could use the same very high voltage power lines to reduce cost and be even more competitive.
Posted by: Harvey D | Apr 27, 2008 6:30:56 PM
Harvey
"unused hydro potential" has a human cost when villages are submerged under large lakes. I am sure the inhabitants are relocated to public housing, but life as they know it is changed. No persons should be considered that more important that they can cause the land of another to be arbitrarily flooded because it's financially beneficial to them.
Anyway the impact of Phevs could be minimal once time-of-day metering is installed. They've already started this. It so happens my own house meter was upgraded recently to this type of metering although the system hasn't been activated yet. They are waiting until their whole customer base is set up first. It's a great idea and I can see lots of initial work fitting timers upstream of electric water heaters. I think the next step should be a homeowners device to listen in on the telemetry and provide a wattage display so that we could make economies in realtime. Not just after we've seen the bill !! Should have done this years ago.
I feel funding research on PHEVs is jumping the gun at this time. Where was the study on the impact of a million Plasma tvs ? They draw about 200W more than a conventional tv and collectively provide a much higher load than PHEVs will for at least some time to come. I would doubt, at present, that there are even a dozen PHEVs in the whole of Quebec.
"Our labour and social costs are too high" you wrote, well the money on this type of frivolous research could have been used to reduce the very high taxes in Quebec which in turn would reduce pressure from labor demands.
T2
Posted by: T2 | Jun 22, 2008 2:51:06 PM
