U of M Solar Car Team Conducts Wind Tunnel Test of Ford-Sponsored Vehicle
Any race car driver will tell you that a car’s aerodynamics are an important factor in winning a race even when they have 700-horsepower engines hurtling them down the track. Fine-tuned aerodynamics is even more important when the only thing you have to power your car – across an entire continent – is the sun.
The quest for aerodynamic refinement is driving the University of Michigan’s Solar Car Team to spend two days in the Jacobs Technology wind tunnel in Allen Park, Mich., August 14 and 28. There, they are testing their $2.5 million solar-powered “Infinium” car for the 2009 Global Green Challenge, a 1,800 mile race across the Australian Outback from Darwin to Adelaide, October 25-31.
Solar-powered success story
Ford Motor Company is a long-time partner of the UM Solar Car Team, and is providing funding and technical assistance on its current project. The UM team designed the vehicle and Ford’s Design and Milling Studio fabricated the body mold.
The team unveiled “Infinium” at The Henry Ford Museum in June and has since been testing the vehicle across southeast Michigan. The students who will pilot the vehicle in Australia also received professional driver’s training at Ford Dearborn Proving Ground in Michigan.
Ford’s 17-year sponsorship of the team has yielded impressive results. The Solar Car Team has won five of nine national championship races it has entered, including the inaugural international solar vehicle race in 2005. The team finished third in the 2007 World Car Solar Challenge, the highest of any American team. The team seeks to be the first American winner of the race since the inaugural race in 1987.
The wind tunnel tests at Jacobs Technology mark the last major hurdle before the UM team travels to Australia to prepare for the race. Ford of Australia will provide vehicle and storage support during the team’s two-month stay Down Under.
QUOTE
“Even in the currently difficult economic climate, Ford has remained one of the team’s top sponsors, and is a big reason why our team has won five out of nine National Championship races in the past 20 years.”
– Steve Hechtman, the UM Solar Car Team’s 2009 Project Manager
Live Chat with Ford Global Hybrid Chief Engineer, Sherif Marakby
SHERIF MARAKBY: HELPING DRIVE THE DEVELOPMENT OF FORD’S ‘GREEN’ POWERTRAIN TECHNOLOGY
- Sherif Marakby, chief engineer for Ford’s Global Hybrid Core Engineering, led the development of the Fusion Hybrid’s powertrain system
- Marakby leads the core engineering for electrified systems and components at Ford
Sherif Marakby leads Ford Motor Company’s core engineering for electrified systems and components. He is responsible for delivering the Fusion Hybrid’s powertrain system.
Marakby, who has a master’s degree in electrical and electronics engineering from the University of Maryland and a master’s in business administration from the University of Michigan, has worked at Ford for nearly 20 years. Before becoming chief engineer of Global Hybrid Core Engineering, Marakby worked in powertrain systems and components, electronic systems and modules, program management, electromechanical systems, manufacturing and assembly.
He’ll be discussing the plans that Ford has for vehicle-to-grid communications for plug-in hybrids.
Join Sherif here for a live chat at 11:30am (EST) on August 28, 2009.
Check out Ford’s Chat with EcoBoost Inventor, Brett Hinds
Join the conversation and ask your questions live with Ford’s Advanced Engine Design and Development Manager, Brett Hinds. This exclusive live chat focuses on one of Ford’s latest technologies –EcoBoost, the newest and most advanced engine technology in Ford’s lineup.
The EcoBoost family of four and six-cylinder engines use turbocharging and direct injection technology to help Ford vehicles deliver up to 20% better fuel economy, while simultaneously cutting CO2 emissions by 15 percent.
To check out the chat live, tomorrow, on August 21st at 10:30 a.m.
Quotes
“Engines are interesting machines,” said Hinds. “They produce a lot of performance and give the car personality and character. They’re complex. I’m inspired to continually make them better and more efficient.”
–Brett Hinds, Advance Engine Design and Development Manager
“We’re actually helping the Earth,” added Hinds. “Our customers will not have to make compromises to enjoy the EcoBoost engine. Customers do not have to sacrifice performance for fuel economy, and that helps the environment, the nation and the consumer.”
–Brett Hinds, Advance Engine Design and Development Manager
Can You Hear Me Now? Ford Develops Vehicle-to-Grid Communications for Plug-In Hybrids
Talk about your “conversation starters.” Ford has developed an intelligent vehicle-to-grid communications and control system for its demonstration electric vehicles including plug-in hybrids that “talks” directly with the grid.
This new technology – which builds on Ford’s connectivity technology such as SYNC®, SmartGauge™ with EcoGuide and Ford Work Solutions™ – allows the vehicle operator to program when to recharge the vehicle, for how long and at what utility rate.
All 21 of Ford’s fleet of plug-in hybrid Escapes will be equipped with the vehicle-to-grid communications technology for testing and to gather real world usage data. The first of the specially equipped plug-in hybrids has been delivered to American Electric Power of Columbus, Ohio. Ford’s other utility partners’ vehicles will also be equipped with the communications technology.
The intelligent interface
When plugged in, the battery systems of these specially equipped plug-in hybrids can communicate directly through wireless networking with the electrical grid via smart meters provided by utility companies. The owner uses the vehicle’s touch screen navigation interface and Ford Work Solutions in-dash computer to choose when the vehicle should recharge, for how long and at what utility rate.
For example, a vehicle owner could choose to accept a charge only during off-peak hours between midnight and 6 a.m. when electricity rates are cheaper, or when the grid is using only renewable energy such as wind or solar power.
Real-world research
Over the past two years, Ford and its energy industry partners have logged more than 75,000 miles on the plug-in hybrid test fleet – that’s the equivalent of driving around the world at the equator three times. The plug-in hybrid research focuses on four primary areas: battery technology, vehicle systems, customer usage and grid infrastructure.
Real-world usage and laboratory research is helping to accelerate the advancement of electrified vehicles. Ford and its research partners are now focusing on ways to make the recharging process easy and efficient for consumers. In addition to low-cost recharging at home through the use of a smart meter, Ford researchers say recharging away from home – whether at work, in a shopping mall parking lot or at a curbside station – needs to be as simple as plugging in and swiping a credit card.
Ford has previously announced it will launch 4 new electric vehicles within the next 3 years including;
- Battery electric Transit Connect small commercial van in 2010
- Battery electric Ford Focus in 2011
- Next generation hybrid in 2012
- Plug-in hybrid vehicle in 2012
QUOTES
“Electric vehicles are an important element of our strategy for improving fuel economy and reducing CO2 emissions. This vehicle-to-grid communication technology is an important step in the journey toward the widespread commercialization of electric vehicles.”
– Bill Ford, Ford’s executive chairman
“We are designing what plug-in hybrids and battery electric vehicles will be capable of in the future. Direct communication between vehicles and the grid can only be accomplished through collaboration between automakers and utility companies, which Ford and its partners are demonstrating with this technology.”
– Greg Frenette, manager of Ford’s Battery Electric Vehicle Applications
“Broad commercialization of electric transportation is not something a car company can achieve on its own. Developing and producing the vehicles is just one part of the electric transportation equation. We are well on our way to delivering the vehicles, but for widespread adoption the infrastructure to support the technology needs to be in place and we need to ensure that the national electric grid can support increased electric demand.”
– Nancy Gioia, Ford director, Sustainable Mobility Technologies
“Ford’s involvement in the collaboration with EPRI and some of the nation’s leading utilities will help accelerate the pace leading to the commercialization of PHEVs. This type of joint effort between an auto manufacturer and utilities will permit a more seamless integration of electric-drive vehicles into the power grid and the transportation sector.”
– Arshad Mansoor, vice president of EPRI’s Power Delivery and Utilization Sector
Ford on Board for Fleet Electrification
Ford on Board for Fleet Electrification
Ford has been selected for two grants from the Department of Energy (DOE) under stimulus funding for the Fleet Electrification program. The program is designed to accelerate viable commercial volumes of electrified vehicles and vehicle to grid infrastructure development.
One grant, for $30 million dollars, will help fund Ford’s collaboration with utility partners across the nation – with an expansion of a vehicle demonstration and grid integration program.
In addition, Ford will receive a $62.7 million DOE grant for production of an electric-drive transaxle for its hybrid vehicles at the Ford Van Dyke transmission manufacturing facility in Sterling Heights, Mich. This grant will be matched by Ford.
Getting charged up
The DOE grants announced this week support Ford’s aggressive vehicle electrification strategy, which includes the introduction of battery electric vehicles (BEV), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) and next-generation hybrids (HEV).
The vehicles include:
- Ford Transit Connect BEV small commercial van in 2010
- Ford Focus BEV passenger car in 2011
- Next-generation hybrid in 2012
- Plug-in hybrid in 2012
DOE grant funds also will support production of electric drive system components at Ford partner Magna, for the Ford Focus BEV as well as Johnson Controls, Inc. which will supply batteries for Ford’s plug-in hybrid vehicle in 2012.
Power through partnerships
Commercialization of battery electric vehicles is a critical element for improving U.S. energy security and reducing greenhouse gas emissions with sustainable transportation. It requires collaboration between automakers as the vehicle providers, utilities as the fuel providers and the government in support of advanced technologies for the mass market.
Ford was the first automotive manufacturer to partner with the utility industry in a shared effort to understand all of the issues related to PHEV technology and its interconnectivity with the electric grid.
Ford’s key utility partners include:
- Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI)
- Southern California Edison
- New York Power Authority
- Consolidated Edison of New York
- American Electric Power of Columbus, Ohio
- Alabama Power of Birmingham, Ala.; and its parent, Atlanta-based Southern Company
- Progress Energy of Raleigh, N.C.
- DTE Energy of Detroit
- National Grid of Waltham, Mass.
- Pepco Holdings
- New York State Energy and Research Development Authority, a state agency
Ford also has announced key collaborations with:
- Smith Electric Vehicles, Europe’s leading battery electric commercial vehicle upfitter engaged by Ford to help bring the Transit Connect BEV, a small commercial van, to market in 2010
- Magna International, the supplier jointly developing the Ford Focus BEV passenger car for 2011
- Johnson Controls-Saft, the battery supplier for Ford’s first production PHEV coming to market in 2012
QUOTES
“Broad commercialization of electric transportation is not something a car company can achieve on its own. Producing the vehicles is not enough to create a viable market. For widespread adoption, the infrastructure to support the technology needs to be in place, we need to ensure that the national electric grid can support increased electric demand by the vehicles, and we need to ensure that electrified vehicles provide a real value for consumers.”
– Sue Cischke, Ford group vice president, Sustainability, Environment and Safety Engineering