Why We Need Electric Cars
(Page 4 of 7)
October/November 2006
By Steve Heckeroth
New Hope for Electric Vehicles
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In 1978, the federal gas guzzler tax levied a fee on cars with poor fuel economy and rising gas prices made more efficient foreign cars increasingly popular. For the first time, oil use and oil imports started decreasing in 1979 and through the early ’80s.
Just as it seemed a smooth transition away from oil might be possible, President Reagan took the solar panels off the White House. Instead of staying on course toward a sustainable future, the nation that once prided itself on its independence had slid deeper and deeper into debt to pay for its dependence on foreign oil.
But there were a few bright spots for clean transportation in the ’80s: Stanford Ovshinsky, Paul MacCready and Andrew Frank. Ovshinsky invented the nickel metal hydride battery, which is used in almost all of today’s hybrids and EVs. MacCready initiated a wave of change with a variety of transportation innovations, including the pedal-powered Gossamer Albatross and the solar-powered Solar Challenger. Both flew across the English Channel and captured the imaginations of a new generation of engineers. Professor Frank started working with his students at the University of California at Davis to build what we now call plug-in hybrids. Ovshinsky was named a Hero for the Planet by Time and MacCready was named Engineer of the Century by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Frank’s inventions have not yet received the accolades they deserve, but I think he’ll be one of this century’s heroes because his work will lead to widespread plug-in hybrids.
In 1988, Alec Brooks, an engineer with AeroVironment, Paul MacCready’s research and development firm, sold the idea of developing a prototype EV to middle management at GM. Bob Stempel — who would later take over as GM’s CEO and is now the CEO of ECD Ovonics, the company co-founded by Stan Ovshinsky — was the project’s primary advocate. Brooks headed the prototype team, and Alan Cocconi, another talented engineer at AeroVironment, worked alone on the electronics. The inverters he built would take the car (which would eventually be named the EV1) from zero to 60 mph in eight seconds, provide regenerative braking and act as a battery charger. The Delco Remy division of GM worked on an 850 pound lead-acid battery pack that would give the car a range of 124 miles at 55 mph. The prototype was completed in January of 1990 and got rave reviews at auto shows. It was easily the most efficient car ever built with funding from an American automaker.
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