COVER STORY: Powering the Future Fuel Cells: Powering an Energy Revolution Ice That Burns: Methane Gas Hydrates A Sunny Future: Photovoltaics Tomorrow Today: NEETRAC Holding the Line on Energy

Tomorrow Today Researchers evaluating electric and gasoline-electric hybrids to provide energy efficiency and reduced emissions now. By John Toon

Tomorrow Today , PDF format

VEHICLES POWERED BY FUEL CELLS promise dramatic efficiency improvements and emission reductions – in the future. But electric and hybrid gasoline-electric vehicles are delivering on those promises today.

photo by Stanley Leary Georgia Tech students who are part of the national FutureTruck competition discuss issues involved in replacing a stock engine from a Ford Explorer SUV. Caryn Riley (right) of the National Electric Energy Testing, Research and Applications center (NEETRAC), provides advice to team members Chris Biggers and Matt Eason. (300-dpi JPEG version - 729k)

At Georgia Tech's National Electric Energy Testing, Research and Applications Center (NEETRAC), researchers field-test a wide range of vehicle systems, from a hybrid "trouble truck" for utility companies to battery rapid-charging techniques for airline tow tractors to a hybrid version of the popular Ford Explorer. The work helps ensure that when these systems are introduced, they'll meet real-world needs.

Beyond vehicles, NEETRAC studies other electric power issues, including how fuel cells, photovoltaics and other distributed generation systems will integrate into the electric power grid.

"We do field testing and some integration work on prototype vehicles," says Caryn Riley, who works in NEETRAC's Electric & Hybrid Vehicle Research Center. "We have done everything from data acquisition on a golf course to determine the suitability of all-electric carts up to field trials of electric buses."

Three recent projects are typical:

• As part of a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) initiative, NEETRAC evaluated a new battery rapid-charging system for electric baggage tractors used by Delta Air Lines. NEETRAC worked with the manufacturer on a battery-pack redesign and a ventilation system to prevent overheating. A year-long trial found no evidence of adverse effects on the batteries from the rapid charging, which allows the tractors to be used 14 hours a day instead of just eight.

• Utility companies now use diesel-powered "trouble trucks" to repair fallen lines and make other neighborhood repairs. The truck engines must now run continuously to provide power for the operator's bucket and power tools, creating noise and emission concerns. NEETRAC is evaluating a hybrid diesel-electric trouble truck that would operate on its batteries while working in neighborhoods. In the project – which is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation – the batteries would be recharged from the truck's engine while en-route to the next job, or from the electric power grid at the end of the day's work.

• Though automobile manufacturers Honda and Toyota already have hybrid gasoline-electric automobiles on the market, larger vehicles aren't yet available.

  photo by Stanley Leary Andrew Chriss reviews a drawing of a proposed fuel tank mounting system.

  As part of the national FutureTruck competition, NEETRAC researchers are advising a team of Georgia Tech students that is converting a Ford Explorer to hybrid power. The team chose to build a parallel system in which a reduced-size gasoline engine powers the rear wheels while an electric motor powers the front. The goal is to improve fuel efficiency by 25 percent and cut emissions enough to meet strict California limits – while maintaining all of the Explorer's standard capabilities. The competition helps the students learn more about hybrid vehicle issues, building a future generation of engineers with these key skills.

NEETRAC also works on issues involving distributed electrical generation made possible by the growing use of fuel cell, wind and photovoltaic systems. Power "back-feeding" from such systems can complicate management of the electric distribution grid by introducing power that may not have the same characteristics as the rest of the grid.

"Utility providers want to ensure the reliability of their service network," Riley says. "When distributed generation systems are added to this network, a main concern is that any local disturbances in the distributed generation not affect the wider network. How the utility providers and distributed generation producers are dealing with this is an interesting part of the energy market."

Supported by electric, telecommunications and other utility firms, NEETRAC helps ensure the resolution of such technical issues through real-world testing.

For more information, contact Caryn Riley, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Tech, Atlanta, GA 30332-0250. (Telephone: 404-385-0179) (E-mail: caryn.riley@ece.gatech.edu)

ADDITIONAL HIGH-RESOLUTION PHOTO FOR THIS STORY:
NEETRAC - 300-dpi JPEG - 922k

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Last updated: July 25, 2002