Vehicles powering the future

Since the 'Benz Patent Motorwagen' was launched in 1879, cars have evolved into technological marvels, with new features like electric powertrains and autonomous driving capabilities pushing our expectations into the realms of science fiction.  Additionally, new ownership models like car-sharing mean the once-important aspiration of owning a car has evolved into Generation Y just wanting to access one.

 

However, to-date, the car fundamentally does exactly what the horse and cart did before it - to transport people (and luggage) from A to B.  But is that about to change, with in-car battery storage introducing new propositions and business models?

This week, in partnership with ENEL, Nissan introduced smart grid trials, with the car being an 'energy hub' for the home. 

The concept is straightforward:

• 'Vehicle to Home' (V2H) allows energy stored in the car battery to be used to power the home - useful when buying electricity directly from the grid may be more expensive, e.g. at peak times
• 'Vehicle to Grid' (V2G) allows the car owner to sell excess stored energy from the car battery back to the grid, helping to flatten peaks and/or meet short-term energy demand

 

A video from Nissan describes a little more about the concept:

Other energy storage options can be found in static battery solutions much like the recent Tesla Powerwall and a similar approach from Daimler, but of course these can't also transport you to difference places!

Other manufacturers are investing in similar propositions (some using hydrogen fuel cells), with several concepts unveiled at the 44th Tokyo Motor Show in October 2015

 

Models shown above from Toyota, Honda and Mitsubishi respectively.

There are two propositions which seem to make sense to exploit this technology - it will be interesting to see how soon they may appear...

Household energy

In the most basic model, a single household uses their charged car when at home to provide additional energy for their home (V2H), reducing the reliance on peak grid electricity (and avoiding potential high-carbon emitting loads like backup diesel generators).  This can be more intelligent still if the household can also generate their own electricity, e.g. via solar panels... potentially getting close to being 'off grid'.  Excess energy can be sold to the grid (V2G).

Community/collective energy

The proposition above may be attractive enough to households to reverse the trend of declining car ownership, but perhaps that's an irreversible trend.  If so, there may be some innovative business models which emerge, using a fleet of vehicles, where households do not own a vehicle:

• A community own a fleet of vehicles, leasing vehicles to households/businesses, or providing a car-sharing pool.  This consolidated fleet of batteries together provide a 'virtual distributed energy storage solution'
• The concept could be extended to public transport too, as electrification emerges as a viable powertrain in buses
• Combined with solar arrays on a mixture of residential, commercial and industrial premises, a 'portfolio' effect within the geographical community can start to automatically match energy demand with supply, perhaps setting dynamic price signals to nudge behaviours to optimise the system.  Excess energy would be sold to the 'national grid', or neighbouring communities
• As autonomous vehicles become a reality, could a fleet of driverless taxis spend part of their day ferrying passengers around a city, and during 'downtime', find a local dock to either recharge or sell some of the stored energy to the grid, using predictive 'big data' analysis to be positioned for likely customer pick-ups?

Of course there are a significant number of barriers to overcome:

• Cost - both Capex and Opex
• Behaviour change - for households to be willing to share data, to trust the system will work, and to nudge their energy usage to fit the most efficient model
• Battery density and cycling performance
• The need for a 'smart grid' (including metering and billing platforms) to be able to manage a hugely complex and dynamic distributed energy lifeform
• Regulation, with some incumbent parties potentially lobbying against progress
• Insurance liabilities
• Operations - servicing, cleaning, asset protection, infrastructure reliability, health & safety, etc. 

...but there are also a large number of parties who may be interested to making it successful, as they want to diversify, or see their traditional revenues/funding decline:

• Car manufacturers
• Energy retailers or network operators
• Data/information firms (Google)
• Trusted retailers (IKEA?)
• Cities, or local councils
• Existing vehicle fleet owner (courier service)

Do you think any of these concepts could become a commercial reality, at scale?

*UPDATE* In fact, BMW are currently running a trial in the US, with 100 BMW i3 drivers, and their utility, PG&E.   As part of the BMW i Charge Forward programme, BMWi will be able to remotely delay the charging of EVs by up to an hour, to better match the grid requirements, whilst allowing the driver to override/opt-out if required.

All images © respective manufacturers

Charging in... from Finland

Whilst Tesla is due to imminently diversify into domestic energy storage, its dominant position in aspirational all-electric cars may be under threat from an unlikely place - Finland.

Only a concept car for now, this is the Toroidion 1MW Concept.

The rear light cluster reminds me of the mighty Jaguar XJ220, with the front having elements of a TVR Cerbera/Tamora, Aston Martin DB7, and Jaguar D-Type.  But of course it's what's under the skin that's the really interesting part.

Launched at Top Marques, Monaco 2015 (note: happy to cover the show in person next year), the Toroidion 1MW has:

• 1341 horsepower
• A high-performance and swappable battery (useful for the racetrack at at home)
• 4WD (one electric motor per wheel)

*June 2015 UPDATE* Here's a video of it's first day on the road:

Shanghai Motor Show - Highlights

The Shanghai Motor Show has become increasingly important for western car manufacturers, as they seek to export into China's fast-growing market. Below is a summary of the hybrid cars which are hitting the headlines.  And as a reminder, for UK readers, have a look at my list of hybrid and pure-electric cars available now, with CO2 ≤ 75g/km.

Audi prologue Allroad

A concept car, the third car in the Prologue series from Audi is the four wheel drive, five-door Allroad.

A four litre, V8, twin turbo-charged petrol engine is mated to an electric motor, giving performance of 0-62mph in 3.5 seconds, 724 bhp, yet 117mpg.  A 14.1 kWh lithium-ion battery in the rear provides 33 miles of pure-electric range, with 'Audi Wireless Charging' (AWC), meaning induction charging would be possible.

Audi Prologue Allroad Concept

Audi Q7 e-Tron quattro - Petrol-electric hybrid

At the Geneva Motor Show, earlier this year, Audi introduced the Audi Q7 e-Tron, with a diesel engine.  In Shanghai, and for Asian markets only, they've now mated the electric motor with a (just less than) 2 litre turbocharged engine.  Combined, they give performance of 362bhp, and 0-62mph in 5.9 seconds.  The all-electric range is 32.9 miles, courtesy of 168 fluid-cooled lithium-ion cells, at 17.3kWh capacity.

Audi Q7 e-Tron (petrol-electric)

Audi A6 L e-Tron

Audi A6 L e-Tron

Audi continue to introduce hybrid powertrains into a variety of their models, this time it's the stretched A6, the 'L' version, which will be produced in China.  We see the 2.0 litre TFSI petrol engine mated to a 14.1 kWh capacity lithium-ion battery (104 cells).  The all-electric range is 31.1 miles.

BMW X5 xDrive40e

Seen in the metal for the first time at Shanghai, BMW's first mainstream plug-in hybrid, the X5 xDrive40e was showcased.  More details in my recent New York Auto Show post.

BMW X5 xDrive40e

Citroën Aircross concept

Citroën Aircross concept

Citroen have released the Aircross concept, a petrol-electric hybrid.  A  218bhp 1.6 litre engine is mated to a rear-mounted 95bhp electric motor.  0-62mph is made in 4.5 seconds, and there's an all-electric range of 31 miles.


Peugeot 308 R Hybrid Concept

Aiming to appeal to a slightly different segment that most hybrids, Peugeot's 308 R HYbrid concept mates a 16 litre turbocharged petrol engine with a pair of electric motors to give 4WD driving, a 0-62mph time of 4.0 seconds, and 500hp.

Peugeot 308 R Hybrid

Hydrogen - an answer to pollution in cities?

For automotive transport, hydrogen power is one possible answer to the huge challenge of cities looking to control their pollution levels - producing tailpipe emissions of water.  But, other than a couple of small scale pilots, the odd bus and taxi funded by a couple of technology grants, the technology isn't going anywhere is it?  Well, car manufacturers seem to think differently, with a recent push for production-ready models being introduced.  In parallel to this, researchers have found potential for the 'wonder material' graphene to potentially support hydrogen fuel cell development.

Below, I'll introduce a selection of hydrogen cars, a reference to public transport solutions, the refuelling infrastructure, and where the hydrogen comes from.

The Car's the Star...

Here's a selection of cars which are powered by Hydrogen now (in alphabetical order).  Some were launched in the last five years, but interestingly,  recent motor shows (especially LA) have seen a bit of a proliferation, which is encouraging that R&D spend is being spent on commercialising the technology.

Most cars have carbon-fibre reinforced hydrogen storage tanks onboard (refilled in as little as 3 minutes).  The hydrogen is then mixed with air (oxygen specifically) in a fuel cell (the clever bit with a catalyst), which generates energy to power an electric motor to the drivetrain.  Additional batteries may provide the ability to capture the energy from braking.

Audi A7 h-Tron

Audi A7 h-tron

• 228bhp
• carbon-fibre hydrogen tanks
• four wheel drive
• low-temperature proton exchange membrane (LT PEM) fuel cell stack
• Range up to 311 miles
• Platinum catalyst
• Incorporates a plug-in 8.8kW/h lithium-ion battery to improve range further 
• 0-62mph in 7.8 seconds

More information on Autocar's website here.

BMW Hydrogen 7

BMW Hydrogen 7

BMW have made 100 Hydrogen 7 cars available to 'leading figures in the world' (seems mine has got a little waylaid).

*UPDATE* Dec 18th 2014 - BMW have confirmed they are continuing to invest in Hydrogen (in partnership with Toyota) - see Autocar for more information.

Honda FCV

Honda FCV

• Successor to the FCX Clarity
• Expected 2016 release
• 300+ mile range (Honda hope!)
• 3-5 minute refueling time

More information here.

Hyundai ix35 FCEV

• Plans to manufacture 1000 vehicles by 2015
• 369 mile range, on 3 minutes fuelling

More information here.

 
Mercedes B-Class F-CELL

Mercedes-Benz B-Class F-CELL

• 200 vehicles were delivered to customers in December 2010

More information here.

Toyota Mirai

Toyota Mirai

In 1997, Toyota changed the rules of the game, by introducing the Prius.  Well, it's at it again, so we should probably take this pretty seriously - the Mirai.

To attract motorists on the West Coast of the US, they have developed a pretty impressive microsite - check it out here.

*UPDATE - Jan 2015* Toyota have opened their fuel-cell patents to others

Volkswagen Golf SportWagen HyMotion

VW Hymotion

• Uses a low-temperature proton exchange membrane (LT-PEM) - presumably very similar to their sister group Audi use in the A7 h-tron, above

Some more details from Autocar here.

Volvo

Back in 2010, Volvo announced work to develop the C30 DRIVe Electric to incorporate a hydrogen fuel cell, to help extend the range.

Volvo C30 DRIVe Electric

More information here.


Public Transport is joining in...


Taxi


For London 2012 Olympics, five iconic black cabs were launched, powered by hydrogen.  Here's a (not that exciting!) video showing them:

They were refuelled at Heathrow, and used to take dignitaries into London.  Apparently, they have a range of 250mph, and one has been as fast as 95mph on a test track.


Bus

Transport for London (TfL) runs a fleet of 8 hydrogen buses on its tourist-friendly RV1 bus route:

RV1 Hydrogen Bus, London

More information can be found here from the 2010 press release.  This of course misses the subsequent news that the buses were temporarily withdrawn from the route during the London 2012 Olympics, as part of a hazardous materials ban.


Refuelling Infrastructure

Of course, having hydrogen vehicles is only part of the puzzle, you also need viable options to refuel them (much like the current 'range anxiety' issues with EVs).  For the UK though, there is some good progress:

• The Government recently announced an additional £11m of funding to support hydrogen filling stations (example below) and a concentrated public sector fleet of 40 vehicles.

• Sainsbury's are collaborating with Air Products to install the first supermarket forecourt dispenser

*UPDATE - January 2015* In Japan, Tokyo's making investments in hydrogen infrastructure ahead of the 2020 Olympics, in helping reduce its reliance on Nuclear.  As reported by Bloomberg, they are hoping to build 35 refueling stations, and have 6000 hydrogen cars on the road by then.

But where does the Hydrogen come from?

Having tailpipe emissions of just water is pretty attractive, especially in cities like London, which are under incredible pressure to reduce their emissions.  However, it's important that any environmental impact isn't just externalised somewhere else, namely at the point of hydrogen manufacture.

Hydrogen is of course everywhere, in fact it's earth's most abundant element.  The snag is that it tends to hang-around pretty closely with its other element friends, and it takes a fair bit of energy to separate them.  So, the trick is to be able to isolate it, and store it safely.  There are a few options (taken from Toyota's helpful site):

• Gasification - high temperature organic waste
• Steam reforming - high temperature reaction between methane (natural gas). and steam
• Electrolysis - passing current through water, to separate hydrogen and oxygen

Some of these sources aren't free of emissions, so there needs to be an ongoing push to source the energy needed from low-carbon sources, else we won't have delivered a net environmental benefit.  And on that note, it's worth celebrating a UK first, courtesy of Honda, who have recently launched a solar-powered hydrogen production and refuelling facility on their Swindon site - what an incredible achievement!

Honda's hydrogen production and refuelling facility

Sustainable Mobility

I always have mixed views when I see the latest statistics from the UK's Society of Motor Manufactures and Traders (SMMT), as I enjoy cars, but also care passionately about sustainability.  Is selling lots of new cars a good thing for the planet? And it's got me thinking about where the industry might be heading for the 'green motorist'.  What might motoring be like in the coming 10-20 years?

March 2014

By the end of Q1 2014, year-to-date registrations were up 13.7% to 688,122 units.  Superficially, this might look bad for sustainability, as more new cars are on the road, with purchases perhaps fueled by extra cash in the pockets from PPI payouts.  Of course, a large proportion of these cars are either bought as fleets, or using one of the range of car finance options available by dealers (nudging towards a different ownership model?).

The great news within these statistics is the ongoing path towards more efficient cars.  In fact, March 2014 was the biggest-ever month for alternatively-fueled vehicles as volumes reach 8,713 units, a growth of 63.8% on 2013.

CO2 emissions for new cars are 26% lower than a decade ago...

...and 67.2% of the market was below 130g/km, so paid no VED in the first year, compared with only 6.5% of registrations in March 2004.

So some really positive news about the improvement made over the last decade and being seen on the forecourts of Britain.  

So that's today.  What about tomorrow? Below I've outlined my thoughts about what might happen in the medium-term...

2015-2020

Tailpipe emission reductions will continue at-pace, driven by the EU regulation, and with the really encouraging sign that buyers are more and more conscious of the running costs of their vehicles (and therefore these criteria will be marketed more, creating a virtuous circle).  Manufacturers will continue to roll-out technologies across their fleet to drive down emissions, for example:

• Alternative and hybrid powertrains
• Turbocharging with smaller engines
• Variable valve technology and 'cylinder on demand'
• Auto start/stop
• Regenerative braking
• Improved aerodynamics
• Lightweighting of materials

Here's Audi's rundown of the technologies they are including within their range now (click to see larger):

Audi's sustainability innovations

Private car ownership will continue to dwindle, with the growth of car clubs and car sharing continuing, in both cities, and on high-density commuting routes.

The near ubiquity of sat-nav should reduce congestion.

And of course manufacturers will continue to introduce new innovations, which will find their way into high-end models.  A great example of this is Audi's integration with city-wide traffic lights management systems, helping the driver time their approach to traffic lights for when they are green:

Audi: traffic light integration

In the world of regulation, we'll be seeing more city-level initiatives to suppress emissions.  Paris has recently had to introduce alternate day travelling, and with London having recently faced very high pollution levels, it's only a matter of time when more is required there, albeit taxis being zero-emission capable from 2018 will help.

With the volatility and security of supply of many materials coming under the spotlight, there will be an even greater focus on the use of renewable materials, and ensuring that vehicles can be easily dismantled, with parts clearly identified at the end of their life for recycling (in fact, by 2015, in the EU, 85% of a car must be recyclable, and a further 10% suitable for energy recovery).

Finally, behind the scenes to the average driver, manufacturers will face greater pressure to be more environmentally aware in their facilities.  Carbon, waste and water usage will all be reduced.

2020s


From 2020, there may be a decade of opportunity where people will be able to enjoy independent motoring, without being as worried about the environmental impact.  Powertrain developments will have meant that it's much cheaper and cleaner to run a car (time will tell which combination of ultra-efficient diesel/petrol, fuel cell, electric, etc. will be optimal).

Private ownership of cars will have dwindled even further, with 'mobility solutions' meaning individuals can 'subscribe' to a service allowing them to choose suitable vehicles for different purposes, like Peugeot already run with their Mu Service and BMW is developing.

BMW i

2030+

From 2030 onwards, the age of the independent motorist will have almost disappeared.  Cars will be part of a mesh of inter-connected modules, driven automatically, without driver input required.  Sounds like science fiction, e.g. Minority Report, which showcased the Lexus 2054 concept?  Well, look at what Volvo have already been trialing, and inevitably, Google have been working on this too. [UPDATE MAY 2014: In fact, Google have announced they will develop their own driverless cars - perhaps 2030+ is too pessimistic!]

Volvo: Autonomous driving in traffic queues

A prototype of a Google driverless car

Maybe, each 'train' of vehicles will optimise the use of the available powertrains within each module, to drastically reduce overall consumption, perhaps with wireless charging from under the road?  And of course, road accidents will be reduced, making journeys quicker and safer.

Wireless charging a Rolls Royce

So, a fascinating and optimistic transition as we move from independent motoring to sustainable mobility in the coming years...