EREN Network News

January 12, 2000

News and Events

• General Motors Unveils Fuel Cell, Hybrid Prototypes
• Ford to Sell Hybrid Electric "Prodigy" by 2003
• Ford Debuts "TH!NK," New Environmental Brand;
  Shows Prototype Fuel-Cell-Powered Car
• Ballard Introduces More Powerful, Compact Fuel Cell
• EPIC Electric Minivans to Service Los Angeles World Airport
• DOE Issues $4.3-Million Solicitation for Bioenergy

Site News

• Schools Going Solar

• U.S. Gas and Electric Industry Revenues Total $412 Billion

About this Newsletter

News and Events

The North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) — now underway in Detroit, Michigan — sets the theme for this week's EREN Network News. See the NAIAS Web site.

General Motors Unveils Fuel Cell, Hybrid Prototypes
General Motors (GM) yesterday showed its new "Precept" advanced vehicle at the NAIAS. Both hybrid electric and fuel-cell-powered versions of the five-passenger car were put on display. The four-wheel-drive hybrid electric car uses an electric motor to drive the front wheels and an advanced diesel engine to drive the rear wheels. GM says the hybrid electric Precept should achieve 90 miles to the gallon — the efficiency equivalent of achieving 80 miles per gallon with gasoline. The extremely aerodynamic vehicle replaces rear- view mirrors with cameras and uses electric latches instead of door handles. It saves weight with plastic, composite, aluminum, and titanium components, while saving energy with light-emitting diodes (LEDs) for lighting. See the GM press release.

The fuel-cell version of the Precept is a front-wheel-drive vehicle with a hydrogen fuel cell. The hydrogen will be stored in chemical form as a metal hydride, rather than as a gas. The car is under development and is expected to be running by the end of the year.

GM is launching a Web site with live video feeds from the auto show and streaming video archives of its press conferences. Most of the information above was derived from the January 11th Press Preview on this Web site. See the "GM Experience Live" Web site.

Ford to Sell Hybrid Electric "Prodigy" by 2003
Ford Motor Company announced on Monday plans to begin selling its own hybrid electric vehicle, dubbed the "Prodigy," in the United States by 2003. The five-passenger sedan, on display at the NAIAS, uses an advanced four-cylinder diesel engine with an electric motor to provide extra power when needed. The Prodigy is capable of achieving 80 miles per gallon, according to Ford, and the hybrid drive will add about $3,000 to the sticker price. See the Ford press release.

Both the GM Precept and the Ford Prodigy were developed under the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV), a private-public partnership. See the PNGV Web site.

Ford Debuts "TH!NK," New Environmental Brand; Shows Prototype Fuel-Cell-Powered Car
Ford also announced Monday that it is starting a new automotive brand, "TH!NK," which will be "the first full-line automotive brand dedicated exclusively to producing environmentally responsible technologies and transportation." In creating the new brand, Ford is building on the "TH!NK city" electric vehicle, a small two-seat car now being sold in Norway by a Ford subsidiary.

TH!NK will start small in June, with the offering of two electric bikes that can be purchased on the Web, but that will be followed in November with "TH!NK neighbor," a low- speed neighborhood electric vehicle. The "neighbor" will be suitable for trips within closed communities, such as a college campus. Within the next three years, Ford plans to also start selling the "TH!NK city" vehicle in the United States.

Ford also introduced the TH!NK FC5 fuel-cell-powered prototype at the NAIAS. The four-door sedan, based on the 2000 Ford Focus, uses methanol as fuel and converts it into hydrogen using an on-board reformer. The hydrogen supplies a fuel cell that generates electricity to power an electric drive. The car uses the new "Mark 900" fuel cell, unveiled last week by Ballard Power Systems (see story below). The TH!NK FC5 is expected to be road-tested this summer as part of a demonstration program run by the California Fuel Cell Partnership.

See the Latest News section of the TH!NK Web site.

To see the streaming video of the Ford announcements, choose the "Auto Show 2000" link from the Ford home page.

Ballard Introduces More Powerful, Compact Fuel Cell
Ballard Power Systems last week introduced its next- generation fuel cell for vehicles. The "Mark 900" fuel cell module generates 75 kilowatts of power, yet takes up only half the space and weighs 30 percent less than Ballard's previous automotive fuel cell module. Ballard claims the hydrogen-powered fuel cell will start at temperatures as low as -25 degrees Celsius (-15 degrees Fahrenheit). See the Ballard press release.

EPIC Electric Minivans to Service Los Angeles World Airport
DaimlerChrysler announced last week that ten of its electric- powered EPIC minivans will be used to shuttle commuters in and out of Los Angeles World Airport. The minivans are each expected to log up to 100,000 miles per year. Combined, the ten vans may carry as many as 500,000 passengers per year. The EPICs, based on the Dodge Caravan, can be charged in about 30 minutes, allowing them to stay on the road as many as 16 hours per day. They have a top speed of 80 miles per hour. DaimlerChrysler says that up to 50 EPIC vans could eventually be added to the shuttle service fleet. See the DaimlerChrysler press release.

DOE Issues $4.3-Million Solicitation for Bioenergy
DOE last week issued a solicitation totaling $4.3 million for research and development projects that will help bring bioenergy products to the marketplace. Bioenergy comes from natural sources such as corn, trees, crops, agricultural, forest and aquatic resources and is used to make an array of commercial products, including fuels, electricity, and chemicals. DOE will award two to four projects in two phases that conclude with a detailed design for a pilot-scale facility. The projects will support President Clinton's Executive Order 13134 on bio-based products and bioenergy, issued last August, which was designed to stimulate development of a new bio-based industry. See the DOE press release.

The projects will also support DOE's goals to develop clean energy sources for the 21st century. For more information, see the new brochure, "Clean Energy for the 21st Century," now posted on the EREN Web site.

Site News

Schools Going Solar
The goal of this site is to bring solar energy to the coming generation of consumers — educating them about what this technology can do and how it helps the environment. An online database provides information about solar projects that students, teachers, parents and school administrators across the country have developed. Searchable by program type, technology, or by state, the database also allows users to input information on their own programs.

For this and other recent additions see the EREN Web site.

Energy Facts and Tips

U.S. Gas and Electric Industry Revenues Total $412 Billion
U.S. utilities reported revenues of $412 billion and employed nearly 703,000 workers at more than 15,000 locations in 1997, according to reports released today by the U.S. Commerce Department's Census Bureau. The U.S. electric power industry generated $269 billion in revenues, while the natural gas industry accounted for $137 billion. See the press release on the Census Bureau Web site.

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