Note: The October and November issues of this newsletter are a bit shorter than normal due to a few of the contributers being out of town. We should see everyone back come the December issue.
Contents: Monthly Meeting Minutes | Board Meeting Minutes | EV News Bits
Monthly Meeting Minutes by Bill Dean (billdean@calweb.com)
Mark Bahlke presided over the meeting. He introduced Dennis Kremer of SMUD, who has been an EV mechanic with the SMUD EV program for almost 5 years.
Dennis showed a video of the EV that he and a partner are building. He gets a lot of help from experts in various facets of the project. The fiberglass body, windshield, and steel suspension will be made from scratch. For the rest of the vehicle he uses parts scavenged from other cars. Thus most of the technology is outdated but it works. Dennis originally intended to build a race car, so the EV has room for only two, with the seats in tandem. The driver and passenger have to pop up the front end (and windshield), then climb over the side to get inside. Dennis said that the EV uses two 120V 9-inch DC series motors, one driving the left rear wheel, the other driving the right rear wheel, connected by belts with a ratio of 2.5 or 3.0 to 1. The motors run at 4500 RPM. If one motor freezes, the belt will break, so the car can limp home on the other motor. The two controllers are next to each other in one pop bin. He is using Trojan batteries, because he has them on hand. All four wheels have disk brakes. The weight will be 2200-2400 lb., or 810 lb. without battery. Dennis chose steel for the frame, because it is easy to weld. The car has wide tires now, with hopes for narrow ones later. The EV is built more for speed than for range: 100 MPH for 30 miles. The battery packs are in the side of the side of the car. They are accessible on the outside, sealed on the inside.
Dennis estimates the cost at $16,000, plus countless hours. Dennis hopes to complete the car by December. Mark remarked that Dennis can trailer the car to CHP for inspection, that he does not need a DMV permit if the wheels do not touch the ground.
Mark announced that for the rest of the year, SEVA will meet in 6201 S Street as usual. Jim McCorduck volunteered to help with the newsletter for the month of October. Eckart Schroeder will be the speaker in October. Bill Dean will handle AV. Tim Loree will MC and handle hospitality and library. The club car, a Henny Kilowatt (1960 Renault Dauphin), is at Tony Cygan's house. Interested members set up a time to meet to evaluate the car and devise an action plan for it.
Board Meeting Minutes by Bill Dean (billdean@calweb.com)
The SEVA board met Monday, September 16 at 7:30 pm to discuss club business. The meeting began with a discussion about literature to hand out at events. The Board discussed the merits of a virtual meeting via email to share rough drafts. Tim Loree suggested a fact sheet about EVs. Steve Smith suggested a profile of SEVA members, showing that one does not have to own an EV to be a member of SEVA. Bill Dean agreed to write up an account of the ZEV mandate.
Mark Bahlke brought up the subject of the club car. A group of interested members needs to evaluate the car and move it from Tony Cygan's driveway to Ed Brannon's place or Tony Barros' place.
Mark reminded the Board that the City of Roseville invited SEVA to bring up to six vehicles to an open house on October 5, noon-4. The City will provide charging.
The Board discussed the newsletter. Editor Tony will be out of the country when the October and November newsletters come out. Jim McCorduck volunteered to help with the newsletter. Bill and Steve and Mark offered to provide help.
The Board noted that it needs to organize elections next month.
The meeting was adjourned at 9 pm.
EV News Bits
From Calstarts Website (www.calstart.com) and other sources.
Maxwell, Automaker in $4.5M Ultracapacitor Deal
San Diego, Calif. - A California developer of an ultracapacitor that could give electric vehicles (EVs) power and range comparable to conventionally powered vehicles has signed a $4.5 million contract with a major international automaker. San Diego-based Maxwell Technologies, Inc. (formerly Maxwell Laboratories) says it is contractually forbidden to name the automaker - or even if it is a domestic or foreign-based company - that has purchased five-month exclusive rights to the technology along with "a number of" capacitors and Maxwell's testing support. Because ultracapacitors can quickly take in - and release - large amounts of power, they may replace or supplement today's battery technology and eliminate the need for exotic, advanced batteries.
AeroVironment Solar Plane Heading to Hawaii
Lihue, Kauai, Hawaii - A solar-powered aircraft built by Monrovia, Calif.-based AeroVironment - the Pathfinder - is heading to Kauai in April to study the world's air pollution, reports the Honolulu Advertiser. Powered by zero-emission electric motors, the craft will assist in studies of the effects of vehicle - and industrial - emissions on the earth's atmosphere. Scientists studying ozone depletion and global warming are interested in the remote-controlled plane because it can fly slow enough to collect high-altitude air samples without disturbing them. The Pathfinder was built as part of NASA's Environmental Research Aircraft and Technology (ERAST) program. NASA hopes to get the craft up to 100,000 feet, nearly double the Pathfinder's current altitude record for solar craft.
USABC Awards Four Battery Research Grants
Detroit - The United States Advanced Battery Consortium (USABC) has selected four companies to receive $3.7 million in grants to further their work on advanced electric vehicle battery technologies, reports Automotive News. The battery technologies are intended for the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV) program, which seeks to develop four-passenger cars with fuel economy of 80 mpg without sacrificing comfort or range. Cockeysville, Md.-based Saft America, will receive $1.4 million for lithium-ion battery research; Kelkheim, Germany-based Varta Batterie AG, $1 million for nickel-metal hydride (NiMH); Menlo Park, Calif.-based SRI International, $800,000 for lithium-ion; and Pawcatuck, Conn.-based Yardney Technical Products, $500,000 for NiMH. The U.S. Department of Energy will pay for half of the cost-shared, six-month effort; the four companies and the USABC will pay the balance.
Bolder Breaks Ground on Advanced-Battery Plant
Denver, Colo. - Advanced lead-acid battery-developer Bolder Technologies Corp. has broken ground on a 120,000-square-foot facility to produce its Thin Metal Film (TMF) batteries. The Denver, Colo.-based company also says it is on schedule to launch high-volume production in 1997. Bolder says its batteries - which also have application in electric vehicles (EVs) - have "a higher power density than any known commercially available rechargeable battery." To demonstrate, Bolder officials at the groundbreaking ceremony removed the 35-pound battery from a full-size Ford pickup and repeatedly started its engine using a 1.3-pound Bolder TMF battery one-tenth the physical size of the truck's original lead-acid battery. Lighter-weight batteries mean an EV could carry more of them, thus increasing its range.
Nissan Experiments With On-the-Go EV Charging
Japan - Technology that could someday allow electric vehicles (EVs) to be charged even while being driven is set for testing Oct. 1 by Nissan Motor Co. and a Japanese university, reports Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun. Energy researchers from Kyoto University, in cooperation with Nissan, will begin a public experiment on the school's Uji campus to demonstrate the transmission of energy through the use of a "retrodirecting" microwave transmitter. Such transmitters would send electric power generated in space - perhaps from power sources such as solar arrays or fuel cells - to stationary or mobile receivers such as EVs. After a surface transmitter sends a signal, the retrodirecting transmitter reverses the signal and sends a microwave beam of energy back to the signal's source. Researchers have already confirmed that signals from moving objects may be locked onto for return transmissions.
Electric Fuel Van Heads For Swedish Postal Runs
New York City - Battery-maker Electric Fuel Corp. has delivered the first zinc-air battery-powered postal van headed for the Swedish Postal Service's demonstration program it is conducting with Vattenfall, Sweden's largest utility. The converted Mercedes 410E van has a range of 220 city miles and will be used in regular postal routes in the Stockholm area. Initially, its battery cassettes will be rotated out and recharged in Bremen, Germany, where the Swedish groups are participating in a wider field test with Germany's Deutsche Post. Electric Fuel also delivered an "electrowinning cell" - the regeneration device used to "refuel" the cassettes - to Vattenfall for testing.
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