USCAR to House: Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles Important
26 June 1998
Statement from USCAR filed with U.S. House Appropriations Interior Subcommittee on January 28, 1998Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors together comprise the United States Council for Automotive Research (USCAR). USCAR appreciates the opportunity to comment on the importance and relevance of research currently being conducted under the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV) program in cooperation with the US Government (USG). The Department of Energy (DOE) plays a key role in this program. Through this initiative, many researchers are coordinating pre-competitive scientific research to provide enabling technologies that will bring us closer to the long term objectives of PNGV. In doing so, PNGV can eventually provide a substantive step toward the overall goals of reducing the United States' reliance on imported oil, enhancing national energy security, improving environmental quality, and catalyzing economic competitiveness.
The goal of PNGV is the development of commercially-viable vehicle technology that, over the long-term, can preserve personal mobility. This objective is to be achieved while further reducing the impact of cars and light trucks on the environment, as well as reducing dependance on imported petroleum. The program intent is to develop technologies which will enable vehicles to achieve up to three times today's fuel efficiency. We hope to achieve the aggressive target with vehicles which have at least the same, if not better, performance, affordability, utility, and safety of today's automobiles.
The Critical Role of Government
A key factor contributing to the project's technical progress to-date is the successful implementation of this ambitious and unique public/private sector partnership. PNGV represents an important precedent for a new way of doing business between the three American automobile companies and the USG. We believe that the PNGV program structure of collaboration provides for a quicker, more efficient, and more effective way of reaching societal goals than traditional, and sometimes adversarial, means of costly regulatory mechanisms. In that light, PNGV is a research program that represents a new paradigm for government and industry to tackle jointly problems of common interest through cooperation and mutual trust.
Government involvement in PNGV is crucial to support: 1) the development of breakthrough enabling technologies needed to improve significantly the next generation of transportation vehicles, and; 2) the coinciding manufacturing research required to ensure world class levels of quality, cost, and durability. USG historically has demonstrated responsibility and commitment to undertake long-term, high-risk basic research in support of national priorities. In this case, USCAR has a complementary role in implementing the ensuing inventions into its vehicles. USG addresses those technological efforts which are not acceptable to private industries' shareholders. The two sectors working together, as PNGV has shown, provides for complementary advancements in enabling technology developments. The strategic alignment of the goals of USCAR and their suppliers with those of the federal agencies and labs has resulted in, and will continue to provide for, more effective research through the coordination of many previously unlinked research activities.
For example, a number of valuable initiatives between industry and government scientists have developed including: 1) collaboration in advanced batteries for electric and hybrid electric vehicles; 2) weight reduction efforts through the introduction of substitute structural composite and aluminum materials; 3) progress toward development of low-cost, package-efficient vehicular fuel cells, as well as; 4) the establishment of programs aimed at providing a highly efficient, low emissions, compression-ignition, direct-injected (DI) engine. These relationships, along with the long-term, high-risk commitment from the USG, has allowed the PNGV to align resources and missions to produce strong, effective working relationships among industry, the national labs, suppliers, universities and the federal agencies.
Industry / Government / National Involvement
This program has become far more than a Washington - Detroit partnership. Because of the unprecedented power of this partnership and the potential broad application of the enabling technologies throughout the economy, PNGV has also benefited from strong national participation by many small businesses and individual inventors. This program includes the involvement of more than 400 organizations around the country, representing 38 states. This broad-based participation also provides an alternative pathway for some of the technologies developed under PNGV to be implemented in other important industries. The result is a true national effort, using strategic alignment of both private industry and federal government resources to produce considerable technology research leveraging opportunities for all parties.
Market Dynamics for the Automobile Industry
At present, the American consumer is not demanding high fuel efficiency vehicles. In spite of this market situation, USCAR believes that the PNGV research goals are clearly in the nation's broad interest and should be developed as a part of a mutual industry-government commitment to environmental stewardship.
As always, USCAR must listen to the voice of the customer to establish its near and long term objectives, as well as to make critical business investment decisions. Therefore, in this collaborative effort, government has a critical role in ensuring that research is continued in those high-risk technology areas that currently have little potential for providing a competitive return on investment to the stockholders of the automobile industry. In response to national energy goals, the DOE has committed itself to providing PNGV access to long-term, high-risk energy research where industry and government objectives align. As these technologies mature and show promise for marketability and production feasibility, USCAR and its suppliers will increasingly assume the costly burden of technology development and vehicle integration. USCAR believes this approach provides the most effective means to ensure continuation, leveraging, and coordination of the best research while providing the most cost effective products to the consumer. If the market demand for more fuel efficient vehicles increases, the industry will utilize the jointly-developed technologies to provide a clear national strength and advantage.
Technology focus
The PNGV program has completed its goal of selecting those technologies considered to be most promising for achieving the stated program objectives. These choices can be segmented into four key technology areas - hybrid-electric propulsion systems, direct-injection engines, fuel cells and lightweight materials. The following sections highlight these focus areas:
Today, almost every vehicle in the world is powered by an internal combustion engine which burns gasoline or diesel fuel. Hybrid propulsion systems have a second energy source on board the vehicle. The second source is an advanced energy storage device, such as a high power battery that lowers the demand placed on the primary fuel supply. An electric motor may be used to draw power from this battery. When the primary engine and the secondary electric motor are arranged in parallel, one or both can be used depending on the situation. The electric motor often can power the HEV alone in city driving or over flat terrain. When the hybrid is accelerating or climbing hills, the two power sources can work together for optimal performance. Another advantage is that the electric motor may also be designed to operate as a generator to slow or stop the vehicle. This generator captures energy normally lost during braking and "regenerates" it into electricity for later use. High-power batteries containing either nickel metal hydride or lithium are the most promising devices to store this energy for later use in powering the electric motor. A hybrid's advanced, high-power batteries must be designed to discharge and recharge over 10,000 times a year as the vehicle accelerates, climbs hills, and slows or stops using the brakes. While the three OEMs were able to display hybrid propulsion system concepts at this year's North American International Auto Show in Detroit, one should note that the industry has just started to explore the technical feasibility of these systems. Durability and system costs remain major challenges for HEV propulsion configurations.
A major barrier to the marketability of HEV's is the availability of low cost, high power batteries. Research in this area has been categorized as high risk and the industry has not been able to justify full investment into battery technology. It is the involvement of the USG and the national labs that will be needed to provide the necessary technological foundation for continued advancement in this area, as well as provide a path for future U.S. capability. Because batteries have historically been a purchased item by USCAR, the U.S. supply base requires help from the national labs and universities to facilitate innovative research that would be normally not supported by the individual suppliers.
PNGV researchers believe that highly-fuel efficient, DI engines -- where the fuel is injected directly into each engine cylinder -- show the greatest promise for near-term hybrids. Because the DI engine works in concert with an HEV's electric motor, the engine can be smaller and turned off automatically when not needed, thus increasing mileage and reducing emissions.
Vehicles with today's internal combustion engines are very clean -- emitting an average of 95 percent fewer hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and oxides of nitrogen than vehicles of the mid-1960s. Nonetheless, PNGV researchers are aiming for even lower emissions from next generation vehicles. Important progress has been demonstrated and the challenges that remain are being addressed from a full systems perspective -- advanced fuel injection, electronic controls and sensors that optimize engine efficiency, advanced catalysts (for example, precious metals or ionized gas), advanced emission traps, and fuels. The most fuel-efficient DI engines trigger combustion by highly-compressing the air-fuel mixture so it self-ignites (i.e. compression-ignition), instead of using spark plugs (i.e. spark-ignition) at lower compression ratios. These compression-ignition, direct-injection (CIDI) engines become an especially attractive primary power source for HEVs when operated with either reformulated fuels (e.g. low sulfur fuel now available in California) that help catalytic converters work better at cleaning up pollutants or new fuels (e.g. dimethyl ether or "Fischer Tropsch synthetic fuels made from natural gas) that enhance combustion and produce almost no particulate emissions.
Because the integration of DI engines and new fuels is an important element of the PNGV research portfolio, USCAR believes that the USG, energy companies, and auto companies should join in a productive dialogue to achieve the most effective and affordable solutions for the next generation transportation systems.
Also, the USG has highly developed expertise in technologies that will enable DI engines to achieve performance and emissions goals. This knowledge resides primarily in the national labs. Specifically, this proficiency is in exhaust catalyst and aftertreatment device research where new and innovative approaches are being developed. The ability to have collaborative programs utilizing this valuable ongoing federal research will no doubt enhance and accelerate developments for future automobile adaptation.
Over the longer term, fuel cells could offer the auto industry near-zero emission vehicles with long range, good performance, and rapid refueling. Fuel cells generate electricity directly from a chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen, triggered by a catalyst. The required hydrogen can be either carried on the vehicle as a compressed gas, or extracted ("reformed") from a fuel, such as gasoline, methanol, ethanol or propane carried on-board the vehicle. The electricity produced is used to power an electric traction motor that drives the wheels. Current research is focused on improving fuel cell size, lowering costs, and developing efficient, compact on-board fuel reformers that would provide the needed hydrogen.
At this time, fuel cell technology represents the most immature and limited domestic technical infrastructure of all PNGV pursuits. Because neither market drivers nor financial returns attributable to transportation fuel cells exist, collaboration between USCAR and the USG will be needed to provide the primary path for commercialization of this technology. Also, a primary focus on fuel processing and catalyst R&D will eventually enable the current fuel infrastructure to support any future shift to viable fuel cell vehicles. The expertise that resides within the USG is of the utmost importance in further progressing this promising technology. Therefore, industry believes that fuel cells offer a longer term, high potential, but high risk solution to the fuel emissions and efficiency problem. USCAR believes that the USG should continue support of fuel cell research.
Tomorrow's vehicles will contain a strategic mix of aluminum, steel, plastic, magnesium and composites (strong, lightweight materials consisting of fibers in a binding matrix, such as fiberglass). To make these materials affordable and durable, research is intensifying on vehicle manufacturing methods, structural concepts, sheet manufacturing processes, improved material strength, and recyclability. Since 1975, the weight of a typical family sedan has dropped from 4,000 to 3,300 pounds. To achieve the PNGV's up-to-80 miles per gallon goal, researchers are working to reduce overall vehicle weight by yet another 40 percent to 2,000 pounds. To achieve this reduction, researchers must reduce the mass of both the outer body and chassis by half, trim powertrain weight by 10 percent, and reduce the weight of interior components.
While the industry has many ongoing activities on material development, these projects are usually, but not always, limited to component application and material substitution. In order to address the low weight challenge for PNGV, finding radical and innovative ways to obtain affordable feedstock costs of aluminum, magnesium, carbon fiber and titanium is necessary. USG involvement in various materials research and development programs is essential to provide the required momentum to change these large and long ensconced materials markets. Specifically, these industries have established production infrastructures that represent a major capital investment in the extraction and processing of base material for current markets. Because the materials industry views automotive material needs as an incremental volume to existing business, changing the course of current material supply innovation and economics is often difficult. A substantial amount of technical aptitude resides in USG programs addressing the innovative technologies that may get to the core of the affordability issue. PNGV will rely on this USG technical base to make the quantum leap necessary to provide light weight, cost efficient automobile structures and components.
The Partnership's long-term goal is the development of technologies for affordable new generation, mid-size family sedans that achieve up to 80 miles per gallon, carry up to six passengers and 200 pounds of luggage, meet safety and emissions requirements, provide ample acceleration, are at least 80 percent recyclable, while offering the driving range, comfort, and utility of today's models. The current market conditions dictate that American consumers will begin to consider buying these vehicles only if they cost no more to own and operate than today's automobiles. Because U.S. gasoline prices are among the lowest in the world, few consumers today are willing to pay more for advanced technologies that provide greatly increased fuel economy or sacrifice other desirable vehicle attributes.
Areas for Government / Industry Partnership Improvement
USCAR looks internally every year to stimulate areas of continuous improvement -- such as design, engineering, quality, manufacturing or customer satisfaction. In the same spirit, we think that the PNGV can be further refined to enhance efficiency and progress toward our goals. We have begun to suggest potential areas of improvement to our government partners and have seen some movement to adopt our suggestions. The greatest opportunities involve the alignment of USG research programs to the PNGV objectives. USCAR understands that the DOE has other programs that must be funded; however, USCAR would like to assure that if those programs are not consistent with PNGV goals and technology focus, that they are not labeled PNGV. To date, PNGV's close alignment with the DOE in pursuit of breakthrough technical enablers has been very successful. To further improve this relationship, USCAR will work closely with the USG to uncover new research that is applicable to the stated goals and objectives of PNGV. USCAR would like to see more of the allocated funds go directly into research and less into management and administration overhead at headquarters and the federal labs. While we understand that these views may not all be realizable in the short term, we will continue to push for improvements in program efficiency with our collaborative partners.
Continuing Technical Advancements
Chrysler, Ford and GM are all working on high-mileage concept vehicles to debut in 2000, to be followed by production prototypes in 2004. The research and commercial applications resulting from the ambitious PNGV time frame are stepping stones to the next technological breakthroughs that could yield even greater benefits to the nation's energy security, environmental quality, and economic well-being.
Four years into the 10-year partnership, USCAR is able to report solid progress toward the ambitious goal of developing enabling technologies for affordable, mid-size, family sedans capable of achieving up to 80 miles per gallon with very low emissions. As evidenced by the advanced concepts recently unveiled by Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors at the 1998 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, we are clearly on the proper path to incorporating eventually the most promising technologies into production vehicles early in the next decade. This show of advanced vehicles provides a mid-term report card on the achievements of the collaborative efforts.
Much work is still left to be done and a significant portion of it is long-term and high-risk in nature due to the lack of consumer demand. Affordability of the PNGV focus technologies remains the largest challenge to overcome in providing market viability. PNGV only has a chance to migrate toward production ready products through advancements in research and the corresponding influence on manufacturing feasibility. Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors believe that the continued USG support of the PNGV program is essential in bringing about the breakthrough technology enablers necessary. USCAR also believes that increased support of these initiatives will be in the best interest of consumers. This important program represents what USCAR believes is the best approach to reconciling both national and indusry priorities.
USCAR supports the merits of research being conducted under the PNGV collaborative program and will continue to pursue these initiatives with a meaningful level of effort and resource expenditure. USCAR will be pleased to work with Congress and the Administration in an effort to integrate better both fiscal and research priorities, as well as ensure that the PNGV program continues to stay on its successful path toward reaching its initiatives.
