ABB and GM: Reusing EV batteries for energy storage works !

There's been a lot of talk and a lot of work on reusing spent EV batteries for energy storage applications, largely because they still have about 70% of their lives left for other uses. General Motors and ABB demonstrated that the technology can work during GM's recent Electrification Experience. They say it's a first.

GM Volt Battery opened Pack

Described as an "uninterruptible power supply and grid power balancing system," the prototype provided 25 and 50 kilowatts of electricity to power the lighting and audio-visual equipment used in the "off-grid" structure that housed the event.

"GM's battery development extends throughout the entire life of the battery, including secondary use. In many cases, when an EV battery has reached the end of its life in an automotive application, only 30% or less of life has been used," said Pablo Valencia, GM senior manager for battery lifecycle management. "This leaves a tremendous amount of life that can be applied to other applications like powering a structure before the battery is recycled."



The modular unit of five used Chevrolet Volt batteries can provide two hours of electricity needed for three to five average American homes. ABB and GM have been working on the technology for some time. Last year they demonstrated how a Volt battery pack is capable of gathering energy and feeding it back to the grid to deliver supplemental power for homes and businesses.

In addition to storing power and using it during power outages or for periods of peak demand, the system also could be used for frequency regulation on power distribution systems and someday to cut costs to consumers and enhance power delivery quality.

"The ABB-GM Volt battery system is the world's first use of car batteries as possible backup power for homes and other commercial uses," said Allen Burchett, ABB senior VP for Business Development in North America. "We will be installing it on the grid soon to complete the technical evaluation, and this will tell us what smart grid applications are possible, like backup power, reducing energy cost, strengthening utilities' distribution systems and storing surplus renewable energy."


Source: SmartGrid News

Husband and Wife, Volt and Leaf

Husband and Wife, Volt and Leaf

There are now thousands of Chevy Volts and Nissan Leafs on U.S. roads. Two of those belong to Sierra Club member Rick Corcoran and his wife, Kathy. Their cars run on solar thanks to a 3.5 kilowatt system that sits on the roof of their home, located near Santa Cruz, California. Rick and Kathy took a few minutes to answer our questions.

Q: When did you get your cars?

Rick: Kathy got her Leaf in August and I got the Volt last May. The Volt is by far the greatest car I've ever owned.

Q: Why do you say that?

Rick: A few reasons. I'm doing my share for the planet. We have our own fueling station at home. So we aren't paying for wars anymore by using as much gas as we did. Secondly, the Volt is like driving an iPad on wheels. It drives like a spaceship. It's just so quick, smooth, quiet, and fun.

Lastly, I'm guessing I save over $1,000 a year in gas alone. I used to hate to go to the gas station and fill up. It was always this annoying chore. Now I only do it every other month and I only put in half of what everyone else is putting into their gas tanks.

Kathy: We figure the Leaf saves about $2,500 a year. No gas or maintenance expenses. We're saving a lot of money.

Q: The Volt has a battery and a gas tank that extends its range while the Leaf is an all-electric car. Do you ever worry about the Leaf's range?

Kathy: Nobody really drives more than 50 miles everyday -- that includes going back and forth to work and running a few errands. At the most for my car, it's 13 miles to work, 13 back, and I might make a few stops here and there. That's 40 miles at the most. So I don't have any sort of range anxiety. There are no worries if all you're doing is a having a regular day. Granted, it changes if you're taking a longer trip.

But we did the math. If the Leaf was my only car and I wanted to see my daughter in San Diego, it is still far cheaper to own a Leaf and rent a car to go on a long-distance trip than it is to own a conventional gas-powered car.

Q: Name an amenity that most people don't know about.
Kathy: It has a climate control element where it's heated at 7:10 every morning before I go to work. It doesn't drain the battery because it's plugged in. Regular cars sit idle for a long time in the morning just to warm up. Imagine all the gas wasted on just idling before you get going.



Q: What do you think is the biggest challenge facing the EV industry right now?

Rick: Getting the word out that these cars are affordable, that they're not just for millionaires. The Leaf after federal and state rebates was only $20,000. And Kathy saves $2,500 a year with an eight-year warranty. No gas and no maintenance -- no oil checks, no air cleaners, filters -- except to rotate the tires. After 8 years we'll save about $20,000, the cost of the car. These cars are less expensive to drive and they turn out to be about the same cost as any other car, especially as gas prices go up.

Q: You both testified at a recent Environmental Protection Agency hearing in San Francisco about the need to raise fuel standards to 54.5 mpg by 2025. What did you say?

Kathy: I was a little nervous talking to them. But as a teacher of 30 years, I love our children. And to send our children off to a war so that I can drive my car? We need to take the blinders off and see what we're really doing there in the Middle East. So I told them that we need to raise our kids to understand that our country isn't a guzzler, but a giver. We've soaked up so much of the world's energy. We need to be the innovator of energy for the world.

I remember the days of the gas shortages, when there were these huge lines and you could only fill up on certain days. Everybody was freaking out. One of the biggest things that convinced me at this point in my life about getting an EV is that now I can really feel like I'm making a difference.

Young men or women -- who are now my kids' ages -- are stuck over there. It doesn't take a rocket science to figure this out. We are addicted. And if we don't recognize this addiction, we'll always be over there.

Visit the Sierra Club's Go Electric Campaign.

-- Brian Foley

Source: Sierra Club - Compass

Electric Car Charging & EVSE - Keepin' it simple

"For the electric vehicle project, broadly speaking, to be successful, we need to be mindful to keep it simple and keep it cheap. This is not rocket science. We are adding yet another electrical appliance to our ever increasing array of devices, from light bulbs and cell phones to refrigerators and HVAC systems. It needs to be done safely, of course. But it needs to happen. To do it right, the focus needs to be on consumers’ interest. The result will be simple, safe and cheap. "

Plug-in cars are being delivered at long last. Yet there remains confusion about the necessary infrastructure and its expense. Electric Vehicle Service Equipment (EVSE) home wall units are priced at between about $1000 and $2500. Plus installation. Need it cost this much? Is it as complex and time-consuming a process as has been experienced by many new owners of plug-in cars?

All plug-in cars these days come with a 120-volt charge cord. This will actually be sufficient for many if not most Volt drivers, and quite a few LEAF drivers. An empty Volt pack will take 10 hours to fully recharge; an empty LEAF about 20 hours. That may seem like a long time, but the relevant questions are: How long will the car be sitting anyway? Until the next morning or just an hour or two? How full is the battery when it gets parked? And where are you going next?

For most folks most of the time, chances are the battery isn’t near empty when it gets plugged in, perhaps at work, perhaps at home after work. Recharge time will usually be much less than what it takes to go from empty to full.

And the cost to the consumer to enable the 120V cordset? If you’ve already got a grounded 120V outlet in the garage or carport, zero. If you need to put an outlet in a convenient place, it would likely cost about $100.

Surprising to many, including I suspect Tesla Motors itself, they found that about half the charging of Roadsters at home in the U.S. is at 120V. Despite the fact that it takes 38-60 hours to charge a Tesla from empty to full at 120V. One can’t presume the peculiarities of a Roadster tell us too much about plug-in cars with much less range, but I think we shouldn’t write off 120V charging just yet, as many involved in readying infrastructure for EVs would have us do. The cord that comes with the car just might suffice for many, especially plug-in hybrids which have smaller battery packs.

Still it remains true that most will want the ability to charge their car at a faster clip at least some of the time, which is what 240V charging stations provide. With the 16 amp charger both cars have today (the actual charger is located in the car, not the box on the wall,) a 240V EVSE takes about four hours to fill an empty Volt pack. It takes about seven hours to fill a near empty LEAF, ensuring a complete charge overnight. If a complete overnight charge is the goal, 120V will still suffice for a Volt, but a 240V EVSE will be essential for most who buy an all-electric car.

Nissan and GM have each had their preferred provider for home charge stations in an attempt to streamline the process, but many customers have had complaints about the cost and scheduling. Dozens of manufacturers seem to be selling equipment at a range of prices, but few actually are available now. The situation for new owners has also been complicated by the various government infrastructure programs, including the DOE-funded EV Project (Ecotality) and ChargePoint America (Coulomb,) which have differing requirements and benefits depending on one's vehicle and location. If eligible, most people accept a free 240V charge station, of course, as I did. My installation was pretty simple, so it cost me nothing. But government support for infrastructure won’t last forever. Coulomb and Ecotality sometime soon won’t be able to leverage taxpayer money to keep other manufacturers at a disadvantage. Quite likely not beyond the current programs.

I am pleased to participate in the EV Project, which came late to the San Francisco Bay Area, and happy to get my tax-payer funded charger and DC Fast port. I believe in government support for electric vehicles (and many other things also on the congressional chopping block at the moment.)

However, for the last month my Blink has been on the blink. Something about firmware, they said. An email on June 8th said they’d get back in touch to schedule a visit. As I write on July 13th I’ve recently been contacted by the contractor who installed the unit, but I’m still waiting for the service call. However, I remain unconcerned. Not because I always charge at 120V mind you. Rather, because I’ve had the 120V cordset provided with the car upgraded to 240V.EVSEupgrade.com offers the upgrade, which allows the Volt or LEAF to charge at their maximum 240V capability of 16 amps. Cost of upgrade: under $300. (For this to work in place of a wall-mounted unit, you still need a dedicated 240V 30 amp circuit and outlet, which would cost a few hundred dollars of an electrician’s time and perhaps $50 in parts.)

The point isn’t simply to plug the good folks atEVSEupgrade.com, although I’m happy to do it. They’ve kept my LEAF juiced, after all. Something Ecotality couldn’t do even with $100 million in federal grant money.

I am not alone in my concern that there is some level of unnecessary complication, excessive cost, and unhelpful mystification going on around electric vehicle infrastructure. It isn’t helpful to the “cause,” those picking up their new plug-in cars or those who are considering it.

For the electric vehicle project, broadly speaking, to be successful, we need to be mindful to keep it simple and keep it cheap. This is not rocket science. We are adding yet another electrical appliance to our ever increasing array of devices, from light bulbs and cell phones to refrigerators and HVAC systems. It needs to be done safely, of course. But it needs to happen. To do it right, the focus needs to be on consumers’ interest. The result will be simple, safe and cheap. Thank you evseupgrade.com for pointing the way.

Source: Marc Geller, Plugs & Cars - Keepin' it simple

2012 Opel Ampera Test Drive in Germany

Most everyone has that adventurous friend of family member who decides to just pick up and move to Europe. For the Chevy Volt, it was its identical twin, the Opel Ampera. To the untrained eye, these extended-range EVs look pretty much the same. But a closer examination of exterior styling and differing drive modes reveals some key differences for the European market.

Chevy Volt Reverse Engineering - Like iFixit does it for the iDevices

Take a look at this amazing video in which a team engineers strips off a Chevy Volt (3 days summarized in 5 minutes):

If can't plug in ... a clip featuring a Chevy Volt by Plug in America