Introduction 3 Chrysler (now Chrysler Group LLC), Ford Motor Company, and General Motors (GM) established in early 1991 the U.S. Advanced Battery Consortium (USABC) to accelerate the development of batteries for electric drive vehicles (EDVs). The term ‘EDV’ refers to all types of electric drive vehicles including:4 • • •
hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), which use gasoline to charge the battery and part of the time to power the vehicle (e.g., the first-generation Prius); electric vehicles (EVs), which are powered exclusively by a battery and must be plugged into an electrical outlet to recharge (e.g., the Tesla Model S, Nissan Leaf); and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV), which can either use gasoline to recharge the battery and power the vehicle or be plugged in to recharge the battery (e.g., the Chevrolet Volt).
The creation of the USABC was also motivated, in part, by the recent California Air Resources Board’s (CARB’s) 1990 regulations for low-emission vehicles and its clean fuel standards for emissions that were to be applied to new classes of vehicles not later than 1994. USABC’s purpose was to: work with advanced battery developers and companies that will conduct research and development (R&D) on advanced batteries to provide increased range and improved performance for electric vehicles in the latter part of the 1990s. (National Research Council (NRC) 1998, p. 12) More specifically, the USABC had the following overarching objectives: • • • •
to establish a capability for an advanced battery manufacturing industry in the United States; to accelerate the market potential of EVs through joint research on the most promising advanced battery alternatives; to develop electrical energy systems capable of providing EVs with ranges and performance levels competitive with petroleum-based vehicles; to leverage external funding for high-risk, high-cost R&D on advanced batteries for EVs. (NRC 1998, p. 21)
DOE joined the consortium in late 1991 in response to its mandate through the Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Research, Development, and Demonstration Act of 1976. And, this mandate was reconfirmed through the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (EPAct).5 In addition, the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) joined the consortium in 1991.6 Related to the ongoing charge for DOE’s involvement in electric and hybrid vehicles and related battery research, President Clinton initiated the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV) program in 1993.
