Articles
EVS-20 Report
by Neil GoverEVS-20 featuring Battery, Hybrid and Fuel Cell vehicles was
held from Nov 15 to 19,2003, in Long Beach, California.
I traveled to the symposium as a delegate while also working on the Electrovaya
booth with Howard Hutt, Sankar das Gupta, and Bernard Fleet. Other than the public
day at EVS17 in Montreal this was my first exposure to this size of an electric
vehicle gathering.
We stayed at the Queen Mary Hotel which is about 10 minutes by free city bus from
the Convention Centre. The convention started with a Plug-in Hybrid Workshop
(PHEV) on Sat. Nov. 15. This concept combines a battery pack capable of powering
the car for 20 or more miles along with the gas engine in a Prius type hybrid.
One of the speakers at the PHEV workshop was from the US Army. The army is
interested in this technology because the use of fuel cells and PHEV's would,
among other things, reduce the army's footprint in action. The silence and low
heat signature are military advantages. The modern army relies on electricity as
much as explosives to achieve its aims..
The exposition and Ride and Drive were open to the public on the Saturday and Sunday.
Over 60 cars, vans, scooters and electric bicycles were available for a drive around
the convention centre. Some were ordinary looking while others were quite
eye-catching. I rode in General Motor's fuel cell powered van which was quieter
than the usual gasoline version but could clearly hear the compressor and drive
system. John Deere has a one ton capacity Gator powered by a 20 kilowatt
Hydrogenics fuel cell which doubled as a generator to power tools while parked.
This demonstration unit also had 4-wheel steering.
The symposium was composed of two main parts: the exposition with about 100
companies showing their products and ideas and 35 auditorium sessions with up to
5 speakers each discussing topics as varied as fuel cell design, DC/DC converters,
hydrogen fuelling safety, fuel cell busses, lead-acid batteries, and using electric
vehicles for power grid support as well as a number of public policy initiatives.
One of the speakers was Errol Wallingford who spoke about his theory that a
full-wave bridge inverter should be used for industrial and EV 4-pole AC motors
because this would mean lower voltages and less heat loss in the inverter leading
to greater efficiency (as I understand it).
There were a significant number of Canadian companies participating. Fuel cell
manufacturers Hydrogenics and Ballard and hydrogen provider Stuart Energy were
joined by Avestor, TM4, IndusTech, ISAAC Instruments and Opal-RT Technology from
Quebec. British Columbia was represented by DeltaQ's charger design team and
Dynasty Electric Car Corp. which sold three vehicles during the show. Electrovaya
was showing its converted Chevrolet Tracker powered by it's Lithium Ion SuperPolymer
batteries as well as its new Scribbler tablet computer. Representatives from
Quebec's Advanced Transportation technology group and our National Research Council
were also present as well as a number of individual Canadians.
The opening session speaker was noted Hollywood environmentalist, actor and director
Rob Reiner who, unlike the other speakers, did not need a teleprompter. GM, Ford,
DaimlerChrysler, Toyota, Honda and Nissan were represented in the Automotive Press
Roundtable chaired by Robert Stemple. At this time and others we kept hearing that
fuel cells are our only hope for environmentally sustainable transportation
technologies. Fortunately there were a large number of believers in grid-recharged
battery vehicles.
Hybrid fuelling options included diesel, compressed natural gas and, of course,
gasoline. Southern California Edison, a large electrical utility, showed its
hybrid trouble truck. This is a large boom truck with 20 miles of pure electric
drive capability as well as a 60-kilowatt Capstone turbine for added range.
Most functions of the truck can be carried out silently using the onboard battery
pack.
Honda, Daimler/Chrysler, GM, Hyundai, Ford, Toyota and Nissan featured their fuel
cell vehicles either with static displays or in the Ride and Drive. I did not
notice any boasts about range for these vehicles.
This was a truly international affair as we spoke to delegates and exhibitors
from countries in Asia, Europe, South America. Nepal sent a large delegation.
I also noted a number of people from Norway, home of the Think car.
GM was showing its "Autonomy" concept car as well as its new hybrid Silverado ¾
ton pickup truck. Gorilla's BEV is an ATV designed for farm and ranch use but up
to now very popular with the US Army.
Wavecrest Labs was showing their hub motor in a sports car.
Advanced DC Motors was showing their series DC motors.
Raser was showing their new AC motor which they claim is 3 times more efficient
than normal motors as well as a hybrid Polaris snowmobile. It also has a tiny
gasoline generator on board. It is intended for use in Yellowstone National Park
which is banning ICE vehicles. Also the quiet operation will not disturb the
wildlife.
There was even a surplus equipment broker offering what he claimed were motors
for the Ford ranger pick up truck.
Kewet, Zap Scooter and Intimidator LUV, GEM, Zytek Smart EV, Toyota Prius and
FCHV and a large number of bikes and scooters were shown indoors and out..
In addition to the workshops there were a series of 2-minute presentations when a
large number of speakers would present their ideas to attendees as they wandered
between the boards where the presentations were posted.
More details can be found at
EVS-20 -
"What's New In Electric Vehicle Drive Technology"
I found EVS20 to be quite educational as well as a lot of fun.
