SAE International Announces 2011 Vehicle Battery Summit - 14-15 November, in Shanghai

An explosion of recent research on Li-ion battery development, along with the growing international commitment to the market penetration of battery powered vehicles, has prompted development of the SAE International 2011 Vehicle Battery Summit, November 14-15, 2011 in Shanghai. Designed to integrate the most recent battery innovations with lessons learned in recent EV/PHEV commercialization efforts, this year's Summit will build significantly on the knowledge presented at last year's highly successful (2010) Summit.

Last September, nearly 300 engineering and corporate decision makers from leading battery, automotive, energy storage/distribution companies and their suppliers gathered in Shanghai to discuss Li-ion battery innovations and research as well as their implications for the market penetration of electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. Featuring nearly thirty speakers from nine different countries and delegates from 17 countries, last year's Summit offered a uniquely global view of Li-ion battery technology and EV/PHEV industries worldwide.

This year's Summit will again bring together the world's most highly regarded engineers, scientists and corporate representatives to update the industry on the latest progress and plans for lithium based battery technologies and research as well as their implications for worldwide markets.

The Summit will be chaired by Dr. Menahem Anderman, President of Advanced Automotive Batteries and founder of Total Battery Consulting, Inc. An expert battery consultant, Dr. Anderman is known throughout the industry for his Advanced Automotive Battery Conferences (AABC) and for publishing multi-client studies of advanced vehicle and battery markets and technologies, with an emphasis on energy storage.

The Summit will feature more than 20 in-depth presentations organized across four sessions: Electrified Vehicle Market Development chaired by Dr. Anderman; Innovations in Cell Chemistry for Energy Storage chaired by Steven J. Visco, Polyplus Battery Company; Battery Design for Safety and Extended Life chaired by Dr. Robert Spotnitz of Battery Design LLC; and Battery Pack Integration and Charging Challenges and Solutions chaired by Dr. Zhenxing Fu of Shanghai E-Propulsion Auto Technology Company (SAIC).

A China Keynote will also address China's key role in the global development of Li-ion batteries and EV/PHEV markets as outlined in China's 12th Five Year Plan and the Energy Saving and New Energy Vehicle Development Plans.

For registration, program updates and sponsorship and exhibit opportunities visit www.sae.org/events/battery or e-mail pr@sae.org .

SAE International is a global association of more than 128,000 engineers and related technical experts in the aerospace, automotive and commercial-vehicle industries. SAE International's core competencies are life-long learning and voluntary consensus standards development. SAE International's charitable arm is the SAE Foundation, which supports many programs, including A World In Motion® and the Collegiate Design Series.

DOE announces EcoCAR 2; focus on electric drive technology

EcoCar 2 Malibu. Click to enlarge.

At the SAE 2011 World Congress in Detroit, Michigan, US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Assistant Secretary for Policy and International Affairs, David Sandalow, announced the official launch of the EcoCar 2: Plugging into the Future competition and the sixteen university teams selected to participate.

Established by the DOE and General Motors, EcoCAR 2 is a three-year competition that builds upon a 23-year history of DOE Advanced Vehicle Technology Competitions (AVTC). EcoCAR 2 follows the competition series EcoCAR: The NeXt Challenge. EcoCAR 2 requires students to explore a variety of powertrain architectures focusing on electric drive vehicle technology. EcoCAR teams will utilize a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu donated by General Motors as the integration platform for their advanced vehicle design.

EcoCAR 2’s technical goals are to construct and demonstrate vehicles and powertrains that, when compared to the production gasoline vehicle:

• Reduce petroleum energy consumption on the basis of a total fuel cycle analysis;
• Reduce fuel consumption;
• Reduce WTW and GHG emissions;
• Reduce criteria tailpipe emissions;
• Maintain consumer acceptability in the areas of performance, utility, and safety.

Participating universities will use electric powertrains, next generation control systems, and advanced battery technologies to reduce fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). Student designs will consider the well-to-wheel (WTW) impact of fuel use and select renewable fuels such as hydrogen, E85 (85% ethanol), or B20 (20% biodiesel).

During the three-year program EcoCAR 2 teams will follow a real-world Vehicle Development Process (VDP) modeled after GM’s VDP, as in EcoCAR. Using the VDP enables students to design, build and refine their advanced technology vehicles. Throughout the program, students will focus on improving their vehicle’s efficiency while retaining ride and handling, control and safety system performance.

Year One begins with modeling and simulation to develop their vehicle architecture. In Year Two teams incorporate their new powertrains, and in the final year, teams refine their vehicles to near-showroom quality. At the end of each academic year, teams compete in more than two dozen static and dynamic events for top honors and $100,000 in cash prizes.

EcoCAR 2 includes both new teams and veterans to the Advanced Vehicle Technology Competitions. The schools that have been chosen to participate are:

• California State University, Los Angeles (Los Angeles, California)
• Colorado State University (Fort Collins, Colorado)
• Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (Daytona Beach, Florida)
• Mississippi State University (Starkville, Mississippi)
• North Carolina State University (Raleigh, North Carolina)
• The Ohio State University (Columbus, Ohio)
• Pennsylvania State University (University Park, Pennsylvania)
• Purdue University (West Lafayette, Indiana)
• Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (Terre Haute, Indiana)
• University of Ontario Institute of Technology (Oshawa, Ontario, Canada)
• University of Tennessee, Knoxville (Knoxville, Tennessee)
• University of Victoria (Victoria, British Columbia, Canada)
• University of Washington (Seattle, Washington)
• University of Waterloo (Waterloo, Ontario, Canada)
• Virginia Tech (Blacksburg, Virginia)
• Wayne State University (Detroit, Michigan)

In addition to GM, other sponsors include Natural Resources Canada, MathWorks, California Air Resources Board, Clean Cities, dSPACE, A123 Systems, Freescale Semiconductor, AVL Powertrain Engineering, Snap-On Tools, Robert Bosch, Siemens PLM, CD-Adapco, and Vector CANtech. These sponsors provide students with access to hardware, software, training, and other resources that may be otherwise unavailable. By using real-world automotive engineering practices such as Model-Based Design, teams can choose from a number of different technologies to integrate into their vehicle.

Source: Green Car Congress