February 8, 2000. Copyright 2000. Graphic News. All rights reserved.

QUEST FOR THE SUPERCAR

LONDON, February 8, Graphic News: THE DRIVE to deliver low-emission cars to the showroom is gearing up as U.S. and Japanese car makers announce hi-tech collaborations and energy technology companies become hot sector investments on the stock market.

Unveiled to a fanfare in a Rose Garden ceremony at the White House in September 1993, the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV) was a linchpin of the newly elected President Bill ClintonÕs technology strategy.

Reminiscent of JFKÕs mission to land a man on the Moon, Clinton announced a massive collaboration between the governmentÕs national laboratories, the ÒBig ThreeÓ U.S. automakers Ð Ford, General Motors and Chrysler Ð and some 350 subcontractors to work together to build, within a decade, a ÒsupercarÓ that had a fuel efficiency of 80 miles per gallon (34km per litre), low pollutant emissions and essentially the same performance, safety, comfort and cost as a midsize five-passenger sedan.

Now, after seven years development, dozens of concept cars and more than $2 billion of investment, the Big Three are close to unveiling their supercars.

The project, which used U.S. Army computers to speed up designs from cyberspace to production, looked at three different types of low pollution propulsion systems: electric-drives, hybrids and fuel cells.

Electric vehicles are equipped with batteries and charged with household current. Electric motors not only drive the wheels but are linked to devices such as Òregenerative brakesÓ which extract energy from the carÕs motion when it slows down. The motor then acts as a generator to recharge the batteries. As much as half an electric vehicleÕs kinetic energy can be recovered, giving it a major advantage in stop-and-go urban traffic.

Honda have been testing their EV-Plus electric cars in Japan, Switzerland and the U.S. over the past two years. General Motors, which developed an EV1 electric car, has now moved its technology into a hybrid gas-electric vehicle to be co-developed with Toyota. 

Hybrid vehicles use two power sources, usually an internal combustion or gas turbine engine or fuel cell, and a second power source such as a battery or flywheel Ð which stores energy in a spinning rotor.

Although the concept of a flywheel is quite simple, implementation has been difficult. The flywheel consists of a spinning rotor made of a high-strength, carbon-fibre composite that can both store and generate energy. The faster the rotor spins Ð composite rotors spin at up to 100,000 revolutions per second Ð the more energy it retains. Energy can be drawn off as needed by slowing the rotor. 

 A hybrid developed at Rosen Motors in California draws power from a flywheel and a miniature gas-turbine jet engine. 

Both the flywheel and the turbine have electric generators attached. The turbogenerator propels the car while cruising, and also recharges the flywheel, which is used to supply bursts of power for acceleration. Additionally, the flywheel recovers energy that would otherwise be lost to friction during braking.

Both Ford and General Motors have built prototype hybrid cars.

The third system uses fuel cell technology and is even more efficient. Fuel cells, which employ a chemical reaction to ÒburnÓ hydrogen and directly generate electricity are used on the Space Shuttle, with the only waste product Ð water Ð being stored for the crew to drink.

The secret of a fuel cell lies in its simple construction and the propensity for hydrogen and oxygen to combine to form water.

Each cell in a fuel cell stack comprises two flat electrodes sandwiched together. The ÒmeatÓ in the sandwich is a grooved membrane coated with a catalyst which increases the rate of the chemical reaction and encourages it to occur at a low temperature.

Each cell contains an electrolyte, an oxygen electrode (cathode) and a hydrogen electrode (anode). Hydrogen, which is comprised of a proton orbited by a single electron, is routed to the fuel cellÕs anode. Compressed air, containing the oxygen, is routed to the fuel cellÕs cathode.

Encouraged by the catalyst, the membrane selectively permits positive hydrogen protons, but not negatively charged electrons, to travel through the membrane where they react with the oxygen atoms to produce water. The electrons are forced to go the long way around, through an external circuit to complete the electro-chemical reaction. The flow of electrons creates an electric current and if a sufficient number of these cells are stacked together, this can power a car.

Honda plans to introduce a fuel cell vehicle to the market by 2003. Ford has opened a hydrogen fuelling station as part of an effort to launch a fuel cell vehicle by 2004. The $1.5 million station in Dearborn, Michigan, only the second of its kind in the world, is able to refuel FordÕs P2000 prototype car. Powered by the Ballard Mark 7 fuel cell, the P2000 has a top speed of 74mph (120km/h).

General Motors and DaimlerChrysler have each pledged to launch a fuel cell vehicle by 2004.

/ENDS
Sources: Ballard Power Systems, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Reuters