U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

28–696 WASHINGTON : 2019

S. HRG. 115–499 

THE ROAD TO TOMORROW: ENERGY 

INNOVATION IN AUTOMOTIVE TECHNOLOGIES 

FIELD HEARING 

BEFORE THE 

COMMITTEE ON 

ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES 

UNITED STATES SENATE 

ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS 

SECOND SESSION 

TO

EXAMINE THE OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES FACING VEHICLE 

TECHNOLOGIES, ESPECIALLY ENERGY-RELEVANT TECHNOLOGIES 

JANUARY 25, 2018 

( 

Printed for the use of the 

Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.govinfo.gov 
(II) 

COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES 

LISA MURKOWSKI, Alaska, Chairman 

JOHN BARRASSO, Wyoming 

JAMES E. RISCH, Idaho 

MIKE LEE, Utah 

JEFF FLAKE, Arizona 

STEVE DAINES, Montana 

CORY GARDNER, Colorado 

LAMAR ALEXANDER, Tennessee 

JOHN HOEVEN, North Dakota 

BILL CASSIDY, Louisiana 

ROB PORTMAN, Ohio 

SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West Virginia 

MARIA CANTWELL, Washington 

RON WYDEN, Oregon 

BERNARD SANDERS, Vermont 

DEBBIE STABENOW, Michigan 

JOE MANCHIN III, West Virginia 

MARTIN HEINRICH, New Mexico 

MAZIE K. HIRONO, Hawaii 

ANGUS S. KING, JR., Maine 

TAMMY DUCKWORTH, Illinois 

CATHERINE CORTEZ MASTO, Nevada 

TINA SMITH, Minnesota 

BRIAN HUGHES, Staff Director 

PATRICK J. MCCORMICK III, Chief Counsel 

DR. BENJAMIN REINKE, Professional Staff Member 

MELISSA ENRIQUEZ, Executive Assistant 

MARY LOUISE WAGNER, Democratic Staff Director 

SAM E. FOWLER, Democratic Chief Counsel 

NICK SUTTER, Democratic Professional Staff Member 
(III) 

C O N T E N T S 

OPENING STATEMENTS 

Page 

Murkowski, Hon. Lisa, Chairman and a U.S. Senator from Alaska ................... 1 

Stabenow, Hon. Debbie, a U.S. Senator from Michigan ....................................... 3 

Manchin III, Hon. Joe, a U.S. Senator from West Virginia ................................. 4 

WITNESSES 

Khaleel, Dr. Mohammad A., Associate Laboratory Director for Energy and 

Environmental Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory ............................... 6 

Bailo, Carla, President and CEO, Center for Automotive Research ................... 29 

Dorobantu, Dr. Mihai, Director, Technology Planning and Government Affairs, Eaton – Vehicle Group ............................................................................... 62 

Gross, Britta, Director, Advanced Vehicle Commercialization Policy, General 

Motors Company .................................................................................................. 68 

Wimmer, Robert, Director, Energy & Environmental Research, Toyota Motor 

North America, Inc. ............................................................................................. 75 

ALPHABETICAL LISTING AND APPENDIX MATERIAL SUBMITTED 

Bailo, Carla: 

Opening Statement ........................................................................................... 29 

Written Testimony ............................................................................................ 31 

Responses to Questions for the Record ........................................................... 112 

Dorobantu, Dr. Mihai: 

Opening Statement ........................................................................................... 62 

Written Testimony ............................................................................................ 64 

Gross, Britta: 

Opening Statement ........................................................................................... 68 

Written Testimony ............................................................................................ 70 

Responses to Questions for the Record ........................................................... 115 

Khaleel, Dr. Mohammad A.: 

Opening Statement ........................................................................................... 6 

Written Testimony ............................................................................................ 9 

Responses to Questions for the Record ........................................................... 106 

Manchin III, Hon. Joe: 

Opening Statement ........................................................................................... 4 

Murkowski, Hon. Lisa: 

Opening Statement ........................................................................................... 1 

Stabenow, Hon. Debbie: 

Opening Statement ........................................................................................... 3 

Wimmer, Robert: 

Opening Statement ........................................................................................... 75 

Written Testimony ............................................................................................ 77 

Responses to Questions for the Record ........................................................... 117 

(1) 

THE ROAD TO TOMORROW: 

ENERGY INNOVATION IN 

AUTOMOTIVE TECHNOLOGIES 

THURSDAY, JANUARY 25, 2018 

U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES, Washington, DC. 

The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:10 a.m. at the 

Washington Convention Center, West Salon Room, 801 Mount 

Vernon Place NW, Washington, DC, Hon. Lisa Murkowski, Chairman of the Committee, presiding. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. LISA MURKOWSKI, 

U.S. SENATOR FROM ALASKA 

The CHAIRMAN. Good morning. The Committee will come to 

order. 

It is a little bit unusual to be here at the convention center for 

an energy hearing, but I think it is certainly appropriate given the 

subject matter that we are discussing today. 

I certainly did not mind the short commute over here, and it is 

a great setting to be at the Auto Show surrounded by the latest 

and the greatest the auto industry has to offer. 

I am joined this morning by Senator Stabenow, from the great 

State of Michigan, and she has encouraged me that while the 

Washington Auto Show is good, the Detroit Auto Show is great. 

[Laughter.] 

So that might be the locale for our next field hearing—— 

Senator STABENOW. That’s right. 

The CHAIRMAN. ——next year on this same subject. 

I appreciate you standing in or sitting in here this morning for 

Senator Cantwell, our Ranking Member on the Committee. 

I understand that Senator Manchin will also be with us, but he 

is enjoying the Auto Show right now and he will be here as soon 

as he can peel himself away from some of the latest and the greatest. 

I do want to thank the City of Washington for hosting us. I also 

want to thank the Washington Area New Auto Dealers Association, 

which puts on this Auto Show every year, for helping us coordinate 

the hearing. 

I really do think that this is an exciting time for the automotive 

sector, a host of new technologies that have emerged in the recent 

years. Lightweight materials like carbon fiber, titanium, aluminum 

and composites are increasing vehicle efficiency while boosting performance. 
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At the same time, advanced manufacturing technologies, like 3D 

printing, are decreasing the time and the cost of bringing new concepts to market. This has increased the productivity of our automotive suppliers, allowing U.S. manufacturers to thrive in a 

hypercompetitive global market. Lithium-ion battery prices are falling precipitously and a new generation of batteries is powering today’s electric vehicles, like the Chevy Bolt and Tesla’s Model 3. 

Meanwhile, sales and consumer adoption have increased for other 

alternative fuel vehicles, including the hydrogen-powered Toyota 

Mirai. 

While technologies are changing, so, too, are policies, in many 

countries across the map. In the past year a number of nations 

have issued new targets, mandates and regulations. India, for instance, has committed to banning petroleum-powered vehicles by 

the year 2030. France has made that same commitment by 2040. 

China, which has the world’s largest automotive market, has mandated that 10 percent of the vehicles sold by an automaker be electric by the year 2019, with annual target increases after that. Here 

in the United States, I think we are going to do what we do best, 

probably better than anyone in the world, and that is innovate. 

I am particularly interested in hearing from our witnesses this 

morning about the status of their efforts, whether at private companies or national laboratories, and how research across the technology readiness spectrum can be brought to market. 

As we think about new automotive technologies, I think it is important that we ensure that our federal policies are modern, that 

they are neutral and that they are working as intended. We also 

need to make this a holistic determination by considering how electric and hydrogen vehicles will affect, and be affected by, our energy system. 

I was mentioning as we were gathering in the back just before 

this, that in Alaska, in our capital city of Juneau, which is on an 

island, we have a burgeoning electric vehicle market. The local utility provides nearly 100 percent renewable power to its customers 

by way of five hydroelectric plants, and it is engaged in a pretty 

successful demand response program to incentivize charging at specific times during the day. These efforts are cutting costs and emissions and the result that we are seeing in Juneau is one new EV 

registration per week which in a smaller community, it is about 

35,000 people there in our capital, that is meaningful. That is 

meaningful, and it is really kind of exciting. 

Many of our remote communities up in the state are completely 

disconnected from a traditional grid, and yet we are innovating in 

some ways that are pretty unique, bringing local resources together 

to decrease costs in very high cost rural areas. 

Last year, we held a field hearing, Senator Cantwell was able to 

join us. We were in Cordova, a little fishing village in southcentral 

Alaska, not connected by road to anywhere else—not a transportation grid and not an electric grid. We focused on hybrid 

microgrids. Now Cordova’s innovators are working with the national labs, with the University of Alaska and industry to further 

test the bounds of their microgrids. One of their next steps will be 

installing four EV chargers at their city center and studying how 
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EV charging can benefit their microgrid. So we are testing applications even in the furthest north of this country. 

This morning, I am happy to welcome a distinguished panel of 

witnesses to tell us about the next generation of advanced vehicle 

technologies. We have representation from across the automotive 

sector and across multiple technology development stages, from research to suppliers to automakers. 

We have considerable opportunities in front of us, but we also 

have a lot of work to do to realize them, whether it is moving our 

most promising concepts from the lab benchtop to the dealership 

lot and out onto the road; or whether it is addressing lesser recognized challenges, such as our mineral security, which could make 

or break entire technologies. We cannot allow that to worsen as advanced vehicle technologies are increasingly adopted. 

So again, I thank our witnesses in advance of your testimonies 

for being here this morning and all who helped make the hearing 

possible. 

I will now turn to Senator Stabenow for any comments that you 

wish to make, and I am pleased that you are with us this morning. 

STATEMENT OF HON. DEBBIE STABENOW, 

U.S. SENATOR FROM MICHIGAN 

Senator STABENOW. Well, thank you so much, Madam Chair, for 

holding the field hearing today. I really appreciate your focus on 

this very exciting area of automation and transportation and energy. We look forward to having you at some point in Detroit. We 

would welcome you there as well. I also want to thank all of the 

witnesses. I have to tell you that I am very proud that of our five 

witnesses, three are from Michigan. Michigan is in the house here 

today. 

[Laughter.] 

There is a good reason for that. It is because that is where the 

action is on these issues. 

So I want to welcome all of you, particularly Britta Gross of Detroit, who is the Director of Advanced Vehicle Commercialization 

Policy for General Motors; Carla Bailo of Ann Arbor, who is the 

CEO of the Center for Automotive Research; and Dr. Mihai 

Dorobantu from Eaton and Galesburg, Michigan. 

We thank all of you for being here and for our witnesses not from 

Michigan, you are welcome to move to Michigan. 

[Laughter.] 

We would love to have you. 

You know, I have often said that Michigan’s workers can outbuild, out-innovate and out-imagine anyone, and we are proud of 

that. A lot of that building, innovating and imagining is centering 

around automobiles and transportation. That has been true for 100 

years or more, and it is very true today. 

One out of every five vehicles manufactured is manufactured in 

Michigan, and our state’s 944,000 auto-related jobs account for 

about 20 percent out of our total workforce. 

We used to say this isn’t your father’s Oldsmobile. I actually 

grew up on an Oldsmobile car lot in Northern Michigan, but we 

don’t do Oldsmobiles anymore. But I will say it is also not your 

grandfather’s Chevy or Ford. 
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We know that mobility and transportation is rapidly evolving. I 

think more than we even realize that things are moving very 

quickly, both here in the United States and around the globe. 

That is why we are proud that Michigan is the home of the 

American Center for Mobility, focusing on all of these issues. I had 

a chance to see some of that great evolution just last week at the 

North American Auto Show—from the emergence of new engines 

powered by electricity or hydrogen rather than oil. 

Did you buy a car, Joe? 

[Laughter.] 

Did you buy one? I want to know. 

Senator MANCHIN. I am still negotiating. 

Senator STABENOW. Alright, alright. 

To the new lightweight materials and designs to rapidly evolving 

autonomous technologies, these breakthroughs will change the way 

we take our kids to school, go to work and get the products that 

we make to market. Best of all, they have the potential to dramatically improve safety and cut the amount of carbon we are emitting. 

However, we know that leadership is not a given. If the United 

States does not continue to invest in new automotive technologies, 

we will be left idling in a cloud of dust while the rest of the world 

speeds ahead of us. 

We can’t let that happen. To stay in the lead, we need strong 

partnerships between industry and our scientists at the Department of Energy and research institutions and all of us together. 

That is why I appreciate the Chair’s support for the bipartisan Vehicle Innovation Act that Senators Peters, Alexander and I introduced in the past, and have reintroduced. It is part of the Energy 

bill on the Floor of the Senate, which I strongly support moving 

forward on. So I want to thank you for that. 

I look forward to hearing from our partners today about the new 

research, the new technologies and the new approaches that are 

driving us forward. 

Thank you, Madam Chair. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you, Senator Stabenow. 

I have an opportunity to engage in just fascinating discussion as 

we have hearings before the Energy Committee. I think some of 

the subjects that we deal with are the most captivating of our time. 

My husband and I have raised two sons. They are in their midto early-20s right now, and they look at their mother’s job sometimes with, oh, gosh, how do you sit through all that? This is one 

hearing that caused them to actually say, she’s got a pretty good 

job. 

[Laughter.] 

Senator Manchin, would you care to make any opening comments before we turn to our witnesses? 

STATEMENT OF HON. JOE MANCHIN III, 

U.S. SENATOR FROM WEST VIRGINIA 

Senator MANCHIN. Thank you, Madam Chairman. It is a pleasure to be here with both of you. 

I want to thank Lisa for setting this up here—the most appropriate place for us to be and also for Debbie, our Ranking Member, 

to be here also from Detroit City. 
5 

Senator STABENOW. That is right. That is right. 

[Laughter.] 

Senator MANCHIN. I am an old gearhead, so I am a little bit late 

because I was admiring all the new products. 

[Laughter.] 

I have owned everything from General Motors, to Ford, to Chrysler, to Toyota. If you make it, I will buy it. 

[Laughter.] 

I really do. I just appreciate it, and I think you all are so lucky 

to be in this industry. They say, if you find a job that you love, you 

never work a day of your life. If you are in the auto industry, I 

think that is true. 

So I want to thank the Committee for hosting this hearing. 

I want us to talk a little bit about West Virginia University 

(WVU). As you know, my alma mater has been competing in advanced vehicle technology competitions since 1988, beginning with 

the Methanol Marathon. WVU is actually one of the 16 universities 

chosen to compete in the latest advanced vehicle technology challenge, EcoCAR 3. We have over 60 undergraduate, graduate and 

Ph.D. students working on this project. The multiyear project aims 

to create a hybrid electric Chevy Camaro that reduces the environmental impact but still delivers performance. A very exciting 

project to be discussing, especially at this year’s Auto Show. I am 

happy to see Toyota represented on the panel. 

I just did a little interview live that was going to go back to our 

Buffalo plant in Buffalo, West Virginia, where they make the 

drivetrain. Now they make the engines they start up, the four-cylinder engine, 25 years ago. 

The whole thing about the evolution of the Toyota plant in West 

Virginia, Dr. Toyota. I met him when I was Governor—I had gone 

to Nagoya, Japan, with then-Senator Rockefeller. Dr. Toyota was 

so excited to tell me that against all of the advice of all of his highpowered engineers and his business consultants, who recommended 

do not put an engine plant there. He was determined to do it, and 

he put that engine plant in Buffalo, West Virginia. Not only has 

the engine plant become a success, it has become a model for Toyota manufacturing. It has now grown, and some of the most sophisticated engines in the world are made there. Then they went into 

the drivetrains. 

I was standing by a Highlander, and I said I want you to see this 

beautiful vehicle. Without West Virginia labor, it would not move. 

I said, this thing would not move without the engine you put in it 

and without the drivetrain that you made for it. I was very proud 

of that. We are proud of the Buffalo plant and manufacturers of the 

engines and transmissions. 

Toyota employs 1,900 workers in West Virginia, approximately 

1,300 in this plant and over 600 at 13 Toyota dealerships across 

the state. Investment by Toyota Motor Manufacturing through 

West Virginia totals more than $1.2 billion, producing over 697,000 

engines and 537,000 transmissions. Toyota also supports 900 jobs 

of our automotive suppliers. Their contribution to West Virginia’s 

economy is vital, and I am glad they are part of our great state. 

I want to thank all of you from Toyota for what you have enabled 

us to do, and all your help for the people of West Virginia. 
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I look forward to working with all of you and all of the industry. 

It is very important and so goes the auto industry, so goes us. We 

do not move without you. We are very proud to be here, and I look 

forward to participating until they call us and make us go back to 

the Hill. All three of us would rather be right here—— 

Senator STABENOW. That is right. 

Senator MANCHIN. ——than on the Hill. 

[Laughter.] 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you, Senator Manchin. 

With that, we will now turn to our witnesses. I will introduce 

each of you. We will go down the line, beginning with Dr. Khaleel. 

I would ask that you try to keep your comments to about five 

minutes. Your full statements will be included as part of the 

record. That will allow us plenty of opportunity to make inquiry, 

provide for questions and answers, going back and forth and, hopefully, good dialogue this morning. 

Joining us on this morning’s important panel is Dr. Mohammad 

Khaleel. He is the Associate Laboratory Director for the Energy 

and Environmental Sciences Directorate at Oak Ridge National 

Laboratory (ORNL). We appreciate the good work that comes from 

our many national labs around the country. It is good to have you 

this morning. 

Ms. Carla Bailo, who is the President and CEO at the Center for 

Automotive Research, has already been acknowledged by Senator 

Stabenow. Nice to meet you and to have you here. 

Dr. Mihai Dorobantu, who is the Director for the Technology 

Planning and Government Affairs at Eaton Vehicle Group. Again, 

a Michiganer, and is that right? 

Senator STABENOW. Michigander. 

The CHAIRMAN. Michigander, okay. 

Senator STABENOW. Yes. 

The CHAIRMAN. Okay, I have to get that right. 

Ms. Britta Gross, also a Michigander, Director, Advanced Vehicles Commercialization at General Motors. Nice to have you with 

us. 

And Mr. Robert Wimmer is the Director for the Energy and Environmental Research with Toyota. It is good to have the full panel 

with us. 

Dr. Khaleel, if you would like to start off this morning, and we 

welcome you. 

STATEMENT OF DR. MOHAMMAD A. KHALEEL, ASSOCIATE 

LABORATORY DIRECTOR FOR ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES, OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORY 

Dr. KHALEEL. Thank you, Senator. 

Chairman Murkowski and members of the Committee, thank you 

for the opportunity to appear before you today with this distinguished panel. 

Today, I want to discuss the challenges and opportunities we see 

in the nation’s transportation sector. The rapid increase in vehicle 

electrification and the introduction of autonomous vehicles is revolutionizing the transportation. These technologies will forever 

change personal mobility, the movement of goods and the society 
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in fundamental ways. A smooth transition to this future requires 

scientific innovations. 

At Oak Ridge National Lab our scientists and engineers work 

with the industry and other partners to produce breakthroughs for 

most efficient and cleanest forms of transportation. For example, 

our staff enable to innovate in the area of safer, high energy, density vehicle batteries. We have increased the battery energy content fivefold while lowering the cost by a factor of five. We co-optimized engines and fuels with ultra-low emissions and ultra-high 

efficiencies. An electric motor made with low cost domestic materials—that generates significantly more power than the electric 

motor that uses rare earth elements that we use today. 

It was at the ORNL’s National Transportation Research Center, 

DOE’s only transportation facility, that we developed the world’s 

first wireless vehicle charging system capable of transferring 34 

kilowatts of energy. We are now on the way to delivering 100 kilowatt system. Bidirectional, wireless charging can make recharging 

much easier while ensuring that an electrified transportation system is a benefit and not a burden to the nation’s power grid. 

ORNL’s AMIEs project demonstrate how a hybrid electric vehicle 

can wirelessly transfer power to and from a home that is generating energy using solar panels. The benefits are multiple folds: energy reliability for the homeowner, more flexibility for the electric 

grid operator and the ability to use the vehicle battery for energy 

storage. 

ORNL’s supercomputers, especially Titan and the upcoming system, Summit, resources are being leveraged to model and simulate 

the behavior of advanced vehicles and engine systems. These resources, including the next generation Summit supercomputer, 

funded by the DOE Office of Science, is expected to be the world’s 

most powerful, when it comes online this year, enabling the artificial intelligence systems needed to control and integrate autonomous and connected vehicles. 

Even as we look to the future of electrified vehicles, the internal 

combustion engine is still the workhorse of the transportation sector. ORNL and other national labs are leading DOE’s co-optima initiative focused on combining fuels and combustion research to 

maximize vehicle fuel economy and performance. 

The labs are researching breakthroughs for vehicles powered by 

hydrogen fuel cells, focus on lowering cost, improving onboard storage and supporting hydrogen infrastructure through H2@Scale program. 

At ORNL we are also using capabilities of the manufacturing 

demonstration facility and the carbon fiber technology facility to 

come up with breakthroughs in low cost carbon fibers, composite 

materials and 3D printing of tools and dies for faster and cheaper 

production methods to improve the global competitiveness of the 

American automakers. 

Partnerships with the industry and academia are crucial for 

sharpening the research activities and efforts of the national labs, 

guiding the way to the most impactful scientific results for real 

world success. 

We are a co-founder of the Institute for Advanced Composite 

Manufacturing Innovation, IACMI, bringing together over 160 
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members from the private and public sector to move carbon and 

other fiber composites into the automotive market. 

Just last month, ORNL joined 19 other private companies and 

universities and state agencies in a new initiative called 

TennSMART to accelerate the development and the deployment of 

mobility innovation in Tennessee. 

In conclusion, ORNL and other national labs stand ready to work 

with the public and private partners to develop and demonstrate 

breakthroughs in science and fundamentals, bringing them to the 

road. 

I thank you again for the opportunity to provide this briefing, 

and I would welcome your questions. 

[The prepared statement of Dr. Khaleel follows:] 
9 

The Road to Tomorrow: Energy Innovation in Automotive Technologies 

Statement of Mohammad A. Khaleel, Ph.D. 

Associate Laboratory Director 

Oak Ridge National Laboratory 

Before the 

Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

United States Senate 

January 25, 2018 

Thank you, Chairman Murkowski, Ranking Member Cantwell, and Members of the Committee. 

I am Dr. Mohammad Khaleel, Associate Laboratory Director for Energy and Environmental 

Sciences at the U.S. Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, 

Tennessee. It is an honor to participate in this hearing with this distinguished panel today. 

INTRODUCTION 

Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is the largest Department of Energy (DOE) science and 

energy laboratory, conducting basic and applied research to deliver transformative solutions to 

compelling problems in energy and security. ORNL's diverse capabilities span a broad range of 

scientific and engineering disciplines, enabling the Laboratory to explore fundamental science 

challenges and to carry out the research needed to accelerate the delivery of solutions to the 

marketplace. 

DOE's scientific and technical capabilities are rooted in its system of nationallaboratories-17 

world-class institutions that constitute the most comprehensive research and development 

network of its kind. The laboratories work as a network with academia, industry, and other 

federal agencies to ensure America's security and prosperity by addressing its energy, 

environmental, and nuclear challenges through transformative science and technology solutions. 

ORNL is actively engaged in helping address these compelling national energy challenges, and 

we are partnering with other laboratories, indust1y, and academia to enable the rapid innovation 

that will be required. ORNL supports DOE's national missions of: 

• Scientific discovery-We assemble teams of experts from multiple disciplines, equip 

them with powerful instruments and research facilities, and address compelling national 

problems; 

• Clean energy-We deliver technology solutions for energy sources such as nuclear 

fission/fusion, fossil energy, solar photovoltaics, geothennal, hydropower, and biofuels, 

as well as energy-efficient transportation, buildings, and manufacturing; 

1 
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• Security-We develop and deploy "first-of-a-kind" science-based security technologies 

to make the United States, its critical infrastructure, and the world a safer place. 

ORNL supports these missions through leadership in four major areas of science and technology: 

• Computing-We accelerate scientific discovery and the technology development cycle 

through modeling and simulation on powerful supercomputers, including Titan, the 

nation's most powerful system for open scientific computing, advance data-intensive 

science, and sustain U.S. leadership in high-performance computing; 

• Materials-We integrate basic and applied research to develop advanced materials for 

energy applications. The latest frontier in materials research is at the nanoscaledesigning materials atom by atom -and we leverage ORNL assets such as Titan and the 

Center for Nanophase Materials Science for breakthrough materials research; 

• Neutrons-We operate two of the world's leading neutron sources that enable scientists 

and engineers to gain new insights into materials and biological systems; 

• Nuclear-We advance the scientific basis for 21st century nuclear fission and fusion 

technologies and systems, and we produce isotopes for research, industry, and medicine. 

As Associate Laboratory Director at ORNL, I am privileged to lead a talented group of scientists 

and engineers as we address scientific challenges to advance America's clean energy future. Our 

researchers work with many of America's best innovators and businesses to pursue scientific 

breakthroughs in areas such as sustainable, efficient transportation technologies, including 

intelligent mobility solutions, extreme fast charging and wireless charging, automated vehicle 

technologies and vehicle cybersecurity, advanced materials, fuels, engines, and emissions 

research, and big data for decision-making. We also deliver solutions for energy efficiency for 

manufacturing, homes, and buildings; electric grid resiliency and security; and the advancement 

of domestic energy sources such as fossil energy and bio-derived fuels and feedstocks. 

Our discoveries fuel the growth of science as well as local, regional, and national economies. 

In partnership with industry, academic institutions, and other DOE national laboratories, ORNL 

is well positioned to achieve scientific breakthroughs and develop innovative technologies that 

will meet our nation's clean energy needs for the next generation. 

The DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy (EERE) is the primary sponsor of 

vehicle technology research at the national laboratories. EERE's Vehicle Technologies Office 

leads research on batteries, charging and EV s; energy-efficient mobility systems; advanced 

combustion systems and fuels; lightweight and propulsion materials, and technology integration. 

EERE's Fuel Cell Technologies Office supports new fuel cell propulsion system research; its 

Advanced Manufacturing Office supports research into more efficient production processes, 

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including additive manufacturing of tooling; and its Bioenergy Technologies Office supports 

work on new fuels for advanced combustion. 

The unique combination of scientific tools and expertise at our national laboratories provide a 

powerful resource to foster U.S. technical and economic competitiveness, particularly when 

working alongside American companies to identify and more rapidly develop superior, 

affordable materials solutions. 

The national laboratory system addresses energy efficiency challenges through technology 

breakthroughs in partnership with the academic and private sectors. DOE ensures that scientific 

and technical advances can move beyond the national laboratories to increase the economic 

impact of the intellectual property developed as a result of federally funded research and 

development The laboratories are encouraged to work with the private sector to find and 

implement new approaches for translating early-stage innovations to viable market options. 

These efforts leverage traditional funding streams and programs focused on early-stage research 

with private-sector investment and market knowledge that provide a pathway to create new 

businesses, product lines, and jobs. 

THE FUTURE OF TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS 

Efficient, affordable, and secure transportation is essential to the nation's economy and to our 

standard of living. Some 269 million vehicles traversed America's roadways in 2016, according 

to the Department ofTransportation. 1 The transportation sector consumed 27.9 quadrillion Btus 

of energy that year. 2 Petroleum has accounted for more than 90% of transportation energy 

consumption since the mid-1950s. 

However, the transportation system of the future is likely to look very different than today. The 

rapid increase in vehicle electrification and the introduction of autonomous vehicles is 

revolutionizing the mobility industry not only on-road but also in the areas of air, marine, and 

off-road. These technologies will forever change personal mobility, the movement of goods, and 

society in fundamental ways. 

Vehicle electrification includes both all-electric and hybrid-electric vehicle architectures. 

Hybrid-electric systems provide an opportunity to combine the best characteristics of combustion 

and electric-drive technologies as well as to enable the use of clean, high-efficiency technologies 

that may not be able to meet vehicle transient power demands on their own. Examples include 

alternative architecture combustion engines and gas turbines. 

1 U.S. Department ofTransportation Bureau of Transportation Statistics, "Number of U.S. Aircraft, Vehicles, 

Vessels, and Other Conveyances." 2 U.S. Department ofTransportation Bureau ofTransportation Statistics, "U.S. Energy Consumption by the 

Transportation Sector." 

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Very important to the success of electrification and autonomous vehicles is driving range. We 

envision a future where vehicle refueling is easy, fast, and convenient-more of a maintenance 

interval or happening without driver interaction or knowledge. This will be very imp01iant for 

truly autonomous vehicles. DOE's national laboratories have strong research programs for 

extending vehicle range through better onboard energy storage, wireless charging, extreme fast 

charging, reduced vehicle weight, and improved fuel efficiency of onboard power generation. 

Electric vehicle (EV) adoption is on the rise. Sales of new battery-driven or hybrid plug-in 

vehicles are likely to have reached nearly 200,000 for 2017 in the United States, up nearly 26% 

from the year prior, according to DOE estimates3 

The International Energy Agency (lEA) in its Global Electric Vehicle 2017 report found that 

electric vehicles nearly doubled worldwide in 2016 to more than 2 million vehicles. With 

research and development leading to cheaper batteries with higher energy density, and with 

global policies favoring EVs, the lEA predicts that global EV inventories will rise to between 9 

million and 20 million by 2020, and between 40 million and 70 million by the year 2025. 4 

China is the largest market for EVs, accounting for more than40% of the electric cars sold in the 

world and more than double the number sold in the United States in 2016, IEA notes. Norway 

has the highest market share, with 29% of its vehicles running at least partly on electricity as of 

2016. That is followed by the Netherlands with 6.4%, Sweden with 3.4%, and China, France, and 

the United Kingdom with electric car market shares close to 1.5%. 

Volvo Cars has stated that beginning in 2019, it will no longer sell cars containing just an 

internal combustion engine. Its vehicles will all contain an electric motor, whether fully 

electrified or a hybrid. Supporting the future of EVs globally is the news that officials in Great 

Britain, France, Norway, India, and China have said they will propose a ban on vehicles running 

solely on fossil fuels in some regions as early as 2040 in an effort to improve environmental 

quality. 

Battery manufacturers are key players in the EV space. Lithium ion battery technology was first 

commercialized by Sony in Japan in 1991. Other major companies in Japan are Panasonic, the 

current supplier of Tesla batteries, and Toshiba, typically producing batteries for electric grid 

applications. Japan fully dominated the battery consumer market for a decade until we began 

seeing a shift to Korea in the early 2000s, with the rise of Samsung SDI and LG in battery 

manufacturing. 

China entered the battery market with the establishment of Amperex Technology (ATL), mostly 

as a prismatic cells supplier for phones and tablets, and BYD Company, supplying batteries for 

EVs and the grid. With these two companies, China has become a hub for battery manufacturing. 

3 Argonne National Laboratory/DOE, "Light Duty Electric Drive Vehicl'l_s Monthly Sales Updates," (accessed January 

16, 2018). 4 International Energy Agency, Global EV Electric Outlook 2017. 

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Companies in Japan and Korea are shifting production to China. The world market is mainly 

shared between Japan, Korea and China, with a forecasted advantage to China. Europe has 

limited lithium ion battery manufacturing. 

In the United States, the Tesla-Panasonic Gigafactory venture ramping up production now is 

expected to position our country as a major producer in the battery space. Tesla is targeting 

annual battery production capacity of 35 gigawatt hours at the facility-nearly as much as the 

entire world's current battery production combined. 

In Japan, the focus has been on hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. Japan's automakers now have two 

hydrogen powered vehicles on the market, and they are teaming with energy suppliers to expand 

the hydrogen fueling network. The Japanese government has said it wants 900 hydrogen fueling 

stations and 800,000 fuel cell cars on the road by the year 2030. 

While the outlook for these vehicles is promising, significant research and development 

challenges and opportunities remain. Solutions are needed in the EV space, for instance, to make 

the vehicles cheaper and more eneq,,>y efficient, to increase their range and the number of 

charging options, and to integrate EVs into our daily lives in a way that makes them a benefit to 

the nation's power grid rather than a burden. 

MOBILITY AND CONNECTIVITY 

The goals of next generation transportation systems are to alleviate congestion, reduce energy 

use and emissions, and improve safety. Core disruptive technologies for such transportation 

systems include vehicle connectivity, vehicle automation, and the notion of shared personalized 

infrastructure enabled by mobility on demand systems, which today have their genesis in ridehailing services. The central challenge is to develop more efticient transportation systems to 

connect communities and increase access, without also increasing the negative consequences of 

transportation (e.g., emissions, energy consumption, and congestion). 

Scientists at the national laboratories are tackling the challenges for intelligent, ultra-efficient 

and connected mobility, and the fundamental changes to technology and infrastructure needed to 

arrive at that future. 

National Transportation Research Center 

The National Transportation Research Center (NTRC) at ORNL is DOE's only transportation 

user facility. At the center, we are focused on helping shape a more energy efficient future with 

foundational research for new materials such as high-temperature aluminum alloys for engines 

and low-cost carbon fiber for lighter, stronger car bodies and more efficient, low-cost engine 

components; new battery designs with higher energy density at lower cost; advanced highefficiency, low-cost power electronics that use wide bandgap semiconductors; cheaper, more 

efficient catalysts for emission controls; novel materials for fuel cells; new combustion modes 

for more efficient hybridization solutions; and breakthroughs to enable advanced biofuels. 

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The NTRC provides an interdisciplinary ecosystem that is critical to driving innovation and 

scientific breakthroughs to application in these fast-emerging areas. More specifically, this 

ecosystem has demonstrated success in bridging high perf01mance computing, materials science, 

and neutron science with the transportation and manufacturing programs to develop and 

demonstrate new technologies from the fundamentals to the road. 

Connected and Autonomous Vehicles 

ORNL is leading autonomous vehicle research with an interdisciplinary research strategy that 

bridges artificial intelligence, machine learning, sensors, electrification, and advanced 

manufacturing. This includes the use of the fastest open science computer in the United StatesTitan-to greatly accelerate the interpretation and use of big data from vehicles and complex 

mobility systems. 

In addition to Titan, ORNL is deploying a new system, called Summit, which may well be the 

world's most powerful supercomputer, operating at least five times faster than Titan when it 

comes online later this year. Summit will also be an exceptional resource for artificial 

intelligence applications, with the potential to address challenging data analytics problems 

utilizing deep learning in a number of scientific domains. 

High Performance Computing (HPC) for the Big Data Era 

To help design the transportation system of the future, industry is entering the big data realm. 

Autonomous vehicles are already generating terabytes of data that can be used to better 

understand vehicle miles traveled, driving behavior, traffic congestion, and other factors. 

Expertise and capabilities such as the high-performance computing assets at ORNL allow 

scientists to develop neural networks to parse that data for the creation of new controls and 

software to ensure the most efficient use of energy as we move toward a more autonomous and 

connected transportation system. 

DOE's recently announced HPC4Mobility program will support companies, cities, and 

transportation system operators who seek access to the supercomputing capabilities and data 

science expertise of the national labs to discover opportunities for energy efficiency increases in 

mobility systems. First-year projects under HPC4Mobility include: 1) ORNL working with 

GRIDSMART Technologies on reinforcement of learning-based traffic control approaches to 

optimize energy usage and traffic efficiency; and 2) Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory 

working with the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority on HPC-enabled 

computation of demand models at scale to predict the energy impacts of emerging mobility 

solutions. Applications include modeling the impact of autonomous vehicles on transportation 

energy use and the hour-by-hour impact of ride hailing services on traffic congestion. 

Omnidirectional, Autonomous Vehicle Testbed 

Our researchers have developed a one-of-a-kind omnidirectional autonomous mobile vehicle, 

which is used as a testbed for ORNL-developed technologies and complex control systems. It 

only took two days to rapid prototype the structure of this vehicle at DOE's Manufacturing 

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Demonstration Facility at ORNL, using large-scale additive manufacturing technology 

developed at the laboratory and now licensed to Cincinnati Incorporated and Strangpresse. 

Control Technologies for Connected and Automated Vehicles 

ORNL scientists are helping develop novel control technologies for connected and automated 

vehicles with the goal of achieving a 20% improvement in vehicle energy efficiency. The work is 

targeting improvements in optical routing to bypass traffic congestion; accelerating and 

decelerating based on traffic conditions and the state of surrounding roads; and optimizing 

onboard powertrain efficiency. Leveraging the connectivity of automated vehicles is a key 

concept in the project 

Vehicle Cybersecurity 

As vehicles get smarter, the technologies that will keep them connected to each other and to 

central systems also make them vulnerable to cyberintrusion. Our challenge is to produce 

solutions to better protect vehicle communications and controls while continuing to advance the 

efficiency and other benefits of intelligent mobility. 

At ORNL, our Vehicle Security Center brings together researchers from across the lab with 

unique transportation, sensors and controls, computational science, and cyber expertise to 

address this challenge. The center's Vehicle Security Laboratory places cyber experts and 

advanced software analysis tools in close association with vehicle and manufacturing 

researchers. The focus is predictive assessment-identifying threats and building in security 

features to neutralize them. One such tool is Hyperion, developed by an ORNL cybersecurity 

team to analyze code and identify threats, eliminating them proactively. 

ELECTRIFICATION 

The national laboratories are creating breakthroughs for electric vehicles as well as ultra-efficient 

internal combustion engines to support advanced hybrid and full-electric vehicles. 

Better Batteries 

The national labs are working on new battery technologies that extend battery lifetime, increase 

energy and power density, reduce battery size and cost, and improve safety for America's 

drivers. Scientists are concentrating their expertise in electrochemical engineering, materials 

characterization, material and chemical processing, and materials and systems simulations to 

identify battery performance limitations and develop revolutionary technologies and 

manufacturing processes for next-generation batteries. The highest payoff is in the development 

of advanced cathode materials, since they determine the energy content and lifespan of a battery. 

DOE's Battery500 Consortium led by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), for 

instance, brings together the expertise and capabilities of DOE national laboratories, universities, 

and industry to develop smaller, lighter, and less expensive vehicle batteries. The consortium's 

goal is to develop lithium-metal batteries with nearly triple energy density than batteries in 

today's EVs-specifically with 500 watt-hours per kilogram compared with then 170-200 watt7 
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hours per kilogram found in current batteries. Other members of the consortium include 

Brookhaven National Laboratory, Idaho National Laboratory (INL), SLAC National Accelerator 

Laboratory, Binghamton University, Stanford University, University ofCalifomia-San Diego, 

University of Texas-Austin, University of Washington, and IBM as an advisory board member. 

DOE's Battery Manufacturing R&D Facility, housed at ORNL, is the nation's largest and 

most comprehensive R&D facility for this purpose. Here, our scientists are studying battery 

materials from the atomic level up to industrially relevant scales, including roll-to-roll 

manufacturing techniques in which battery components are printed on flexible substrates, 

resulting in a faster, more efficient process. 

ORNL research has resulted in improvements that reduced the cost of lithium ion batteries cost 

by five-fold, while simultaneously increasing gravimetric energy density by five-fold. 

ORNL battery manufacturing has been critical to the nation's recent advancements in the 

following areas: 

• Battery cost reduction by inventing and implementing an industrial high-speed water 

based process to replace the costly organic and heavy infrastructure electrode fabrication 

process. 

• Energy density improvement by increasing cathode and anode materials loading densities 

beyond current industry limits while achieving excellent cycle life (700-plus cycles). 

• Performance improvement by incubating unique electrode architecture design, formation 

cycle protocols, and down selecting best matching electrochemical couples. 

Quick Coatings for Lithium-Ion Batteries 

In one recent project, scientists at ORNL used the precision of an electron beam to instantly 

adhere cathode coatings for lithium-ion batteries as the components roll down a production line. 

The process saves energy, reduces production and capital costs, and eliminates the use of toxic 

solvents. Typical curing processes can require drying machinery the length of a football field and 

expensive equipment to recover solvents. This new approach presents a faster, energy-efficient 

manufacturing process for high-performance, low-cost lithium-ion batteries. 

ORNL is also advancing scientific breakthroughs for general battery safety under DOE's 

Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) program. We are exploring innovative 

technologies to provide robust batteries where the overall system weight and cost can be reduced 

because the batteries are more durable and require less protection in the event of a collision. 

SA FIRE Safe Impact Electrolyte 

ORNL is also improving the safety ofEV batteries by developing a shear thickening colloid as 

the electrolyte in a project called SAFIR.E, or Safe Impact Electrolyte, improving the safety of 

EV batteries by developing a shear thickening colloid as the electrolyte. This electrolyte 

transforms from liquid to solid upon impact, preventing the formation of short circuits and a 

potential fire. SAFIRE perfonns as well as conventional electrolytes under normal conditions 

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and can significantly reduce electric vehicle weight and increase travel distance by reducing the 

need for extra materials to shield batteries. A second innovation, Safety Foil current collectors, 

provides for breakage of large area electrodes into smaller fragments upon impact. This 

electrically isolates any damaged regions of the electrodes, such that thermal runaway is avoided, 

and the undamaged areas continue to function. 

Convenient, Fast Recharging & lnfrastrnctnre 

Keeping pace with the growth ofEVs, charging infrastructure is on the rise. There are now more 

than 17,000 EV public charging stations in the U.S., and more than 47,000 individual charging 

outlets, according to DOE's Alternative Fuels Data Center5 The national labs are innovating this 

infrastructure as well, with development of wireless charging technology, concepts for extreme 

fast charging solutions, and better planning tools for infrastructure developers. 

Recently, a report issued by INL, Argonne National Laboratory, and the National Renewable 

Energy Laboratory (NREL) identified technical gaps to implementing an extreme fast charging 

network in the United States6 The aim of this DOE/national lab consortium is to develop 

charging stations with 400 kWh capability-which would recharge a battery-powered EV in less 

than 10 minutes. The report addressed challenges in three key areas: better batteries with higher 

energy density, extended lifetimes, and lower cost; vehicle improvements to handle the higher 

voltage through advanced power electronics, including solving the tradeoff between driving 

range and recharge time; and infrastructure challenges such as standardization of vehicle systems 

and recharging stations, careful planning of station siting, and efforts to limit impacts to the 

larger power grid. 

Bi-directional Wireless Charging 

ORNL researchers developed and demonstrated a 34-kilowatt wireless vehicle charging system 

that can charge passenger vehicles five times faster than conventional plug-in systems at the 

same efficiency as a wired connection, and are targeting 100 kilowatts for next year on the way 

to an ultimate 350 to 400-kilowatt system. In partnership with Toyota, Cisco Systems, Evatran 

and Clemson University, our scientists installed the system on several electric production 

vehicles, including a Toyota RA V4. We are currently working with United Parcel Service to 

develop a bidirectional wireless charging system with higher ground clearance for the company's 

delivery trucks. Evatran has since developed a commercial wireless EV charging system based 

on this breakthrough, "Plugless," which it plans to roll out as automakers introduce vehicles with 

wireless charging technology. 

Recharging Station Planning Tool 

ORNL has extensive expertise in developing and applying spatial decision support systems to 

traffic forecasting and associated infrastructure investment studies. Recently, ORNL scientists in 

collaboration with Clemson University developed a novel method to anticipate the demand for 

'U.S. DOE, "Alternative Fuels Data Center Fueling Station locator" (accessed January 16, 2018). 6 U.S. DOE, "Enabling Extreme Fast Charging: A Technology Gas Assessment," October 2017. 

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electric vehicle charging stations and to assist communities with infrastructure planning for intercity travel. The data-driven method, developed with input from the California Department of 

Transportation, considers electric vehicle volume and random timing of vehicles arriving at 

charging stations to determine the optimal number of chargers needed in the near- and long-term. 

Integrating EVs into the Power Grid 

As we look to an electrified transportation system of the future, questions arise about impacts on 

the overall power grid and on electricity demand in general. The fastest, commercially available 

charging stations can deliver about 50kW to electric vehicles. The impact of this growing 

demand and how the grid may benefit from EV s is the subject of ongoing research at the national 

laboratories 

INTEGRATE-·- Integrated Network Testbed for Energy Grid Research and Technology 

Experimentation 

fn the INTEGRATE project led by NREL as part of DOE's Grid Modernization Initiative, 

scientists are looking for ways to enable sustainable transportation technologies, renewable 

power, and energy efficiency to increase the capacity, efficiency, and stability of the grid. A key 

premise of the research in the program is that vehicle-to-grid technology makes it possible to 

store surplus electricity generated from intermittent solar sources, for instance, in EV batteries 

during non-peak periods, and to feed that power back into the grid when needed, thus enhancing 

grid stability and reducing electricity costs at peak times. 

AMIE- Additive Mam!facturing Integrated Energy 

With the AMIE project, ORNL demonstrated a future in which an additively manufactured home 

equipped with its own power generation-in this case a 3.2-kilowatt solar panel system-can 

produce, store, and consume renewable energy. The house's energy system can wirelessly charge 

a hybrid electric vehicle, whose chassis was also 3D-printed, and in turn the energy stored in the 

vehicle's batteries can wirelessly supplement power to the house as needed. A home and vehicle 

that can store electricity and transfer that power back and forth provide key advantages: 

occupants maintain electricity during outages; there's less stress on the utility grid if the home 

can use its own power during peak times; and the EV can function as an energy storage resource. 

To accomplish this, ORNL developed breakthroughs in several key areas, not the least of which 

was the ability to wirelessly transfer a large amount of power in both directions. 

ALTERNATIVE PROPULSION SYSTEMS 

While we look to the future of an electrified transportation system, our researchers are also 

innovating fuels, engines, and emissions technologies to support conventional and hybrid 

gasoline vehicles in pursuit of lower petroleum imports, energy efficiency, and a robust 

economy. ORNL conducts research and development focused on the interrelated areas of 

advanced combustion engines, lubricants, fuels, and emissions controls. 

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Co-Optima 

ORNL is co-leading with NREL, PNNL, and Sandia National Laboratories and participation by 

other national labs, universities, and industry on the Co-Optimization of Fuels & Engines (CoOptima) initiative. This first-of-its-kind efTort is focused on combining fuels and combustion 

R&D, building on decades of advances in both fuels and engines. This effort brings together 

diverse expertise to simultaneously tackle fuel and engine research and development to 

maximize light-, medium-, and heavy-duty vehicle fuel economy and performance while 

mapping lower-cost pathways to reduce emissions, leveraging diverse domestic fuel resources, 

boosting U.S. economic productivity, and enhancing national energy security. 

ACMZ cast aluminum superalloys 

ORNL and partners Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Nemak USA developed a new class of 

affordable, lightweight aluminum, copper, manganese, zirconium (ACMZ) superalloys capable 

of withstanding temperatures nearly l 00 degrees Celsius greater than current commercial alloys 

while providing exceptional thermomechanical performance and hot tear resistance. The new 

alloys are easy to cast and ideal for the next generation of high-efficiency combustion engines. 

HPC, Neutrons/or Ffficiency Improvements 

In another project, ORNL researchers are collaborating with General Motors, Convergent 

Science, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing 

Facility on virtual engine design and calibration. Researchers are using supercomputers to 

increase simulation detail and accuracy while accelerating throughput. The team also 

collaborated with Ford Motor Company and Convergent Science to use supercomputing to 

identify factors that promote combustion instability in spark-ignition engines, with the aim of 

improving fuel efficiency and reducing emissions. In another activity, researchers made use of 

the ORNL High Flux Isotope Reactor and neutron imaging to improve fuel injectors, and 

ultimately increase engine efficiency. 

Super Truck I and II 

DOE's SuperTruck initiatives aim to develop and demonstrate technologies to more than double 

the freight efficiency of Class 8 trucks, commonly known as IS-wheelers. These trucks haul 

some 80% of the nation's goods, and use about 28 billion gallons offuel per year, accounting for 

22% of total transportation energy usage. In our work with Cummins, we are designing a more 

efficient engine and drivetrain and vehicle technologies. We also used novel diagnostics to 

enable fuel-efficient engine modeling and design, resulting in 86% higher freight efficiency and 

a 75% increase in fuel efficiency. With Daimler, we are making use of leadership capabilities for 

engine and vehicle simulation, engine and powertrain-in-the-loop experiments, and advanced 

combustion strategies to improve efficiency and emissions, and emissions characterization and 

control. We demonstrated dual-fuel, low-temperature combustion with natural gas and diesel fuel 

for 115% higher freight efficiency and doubled the truck's miles per gallon. In our work with 

Volvo, ORNL helped develop emissions control strategy for their advanced engine concepts. 

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Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies 

Fuel cells could be a gamechanger for the electric vehicle industry, promising clean and efficient 

production of electricity. These cells use the chemical energy of hydrogen or another fuel to 

produce electricity. If hydrogen is the fuel, electricity, water, and heat are the only products; 

there are no emissions of carbon dioxide or air pollutants. 

H2@Scale 

DOE has begun exploring the potential for wide-scale hydrogen production and utilization in the 

United States to enable resiliency of the power generation and transmission sectors, while also 

aligning diverse, multibillion-dollar domestic industries. The H2@Scale concept aims to develop 

transformational technologies that reduce the cost of hydrogen production and distribution, 

diversify the feedstock available for economic hydrogen production, enhance the flexibility of 

the power grid, reduce emissions through novel uses of low-cost hydrogen, generate jobs, and 

provide global technoiQb'Y leadership for export of next-generation energy solutions. 

Hydrogen is mostly produced in the United States by reforming natural gas. Switching to clean, 

low-cost hydrogen would take advantage of increased domestic natural gas supplies and 

technological advances in carbon capture and sequestration, enabling tmly zero emissions for 

transportation and other applications. 

DOE and its national laboratories have hosted three H2@Scale workshops to identify R&D 

concepts and bring together stakeholders to examine needs of the industry, as well as identifying 

regulatory, policy, and safety issues. The department has selected 26 collaborative research and 

development projects in which the national laboratories will work alongside industry with funds 

from industry going directly to the laboratories for accessing their capabilities. Access to the 

national laboratories is a key enabler for advancing the technology and the availability of 

hydrogen and fuel cells throughout the nation. 

Nanoscale Materials Characterization and Component Development 

ORNL is DOE's leading resource for characterization of hydrogen fuel cell electrode materials 

through electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. ORNL scientists are using 

atomic-level imaging of catalysts to develop better-performing, lower-cost fuel cell technologies. 

Fuel cells typically rely on costly platinum to convert chemical energy into electricity. 

Researchers are using advanced microscopy to aid the design of custom alloys of platinum and 

cheaper metals such as cobalt, and to take the next step to develop catalysts that are precious 

metal-free. 

LIGHTWEIGHT MATERIALS AND ADVANCED MANUFACTURING 

Materials Research 

New, lightweight, domestically sourced materials are essential to lowering the cost and 

increasing the efficiency and driving range of the next generation of vehicles. It takes less energy 

to accelerate a lighter object than a heavier one; a 10% reduction in vehicle weight, for instance, 

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can result in a 6-8% increase in fuel economy. By using lightweight structural materials, cars can 

carry additional advance emissions control systems without increasing the overall weight of the 

vehicle. 

But development of new and improved materials, particularly aluminum alloys and carbon fiber 

composites, is slow, difficult, and very expensive. Modern materials research tools, staffed by a 

team of dedicated materials scientists, are extremely costly to purchase and maintain. 

Consequently, today many firms in the transportation sector possess limited capability to 

effectively develop superior new materials that will lead future technology. Here is where the 

national labs can step in with unique capabilities and expertise in atomic-level imaging using 

advanced microscopy, spectroscopy and neutrons, and with high perfonnance computing to 

develop a new generation of materials. 

Carbon Fiber and Composites 

ORNL is leading the nation in developing low-cost carbon fiber to reduce vehicle weight. 

Estimates show that carbon fiber composites have the potential to reduce vehicle weight by 40% 

or more. 

ORNL is home to DOE's Carbon Fiber Technology Facility (CFTF)-a 42,000 sq. ft. innovative 

technology facility. The CFTF offers a highly flexible, highly instrumented carbon fiber line for 

demonstrating advanced technology scalability and producing market-development volumes of 

prototypical carbon fibers, and serves as the last step before commercial production scale. 

Low-Cost Precursor 

The CFTF has made available for licensing a new method of producing carbon fibers from 

multipurpose commercial fiber precursor-such as fibers used in carpeting or clothing. The 

technology has the potential to reduce carbon fiber production costs by more than 50%. In 

addition, the method reduces energy consumption by as much as 60% and has applications 

across the aerospace, transportation, energy, and infrastructure industries. LeMond Composites 

was the first company to license the acrylic fiber method, with plans to take the technology to 

market. 

Bio-Derived Material\' 

ORNL is leveraging its expertise in advanced and composite materials and additive 

manufacturing in partnership with the University of Maine and its Advanced Structures and 

Composites Center to develop new methods and uses for forest-based biomaterials, including for 

automotive and other industrial applications-a partnership supported by EERE's Advanced 

Manufacturing Office. 

IACMI Institute for Advanced Composites Mam(facturing Innovation 

ORNL is a founding partner of the Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing 

Innovation, one of the Manufacturing USA centers for innovation. IACMI, the Composites 

Institute, has assembled a consortium of almost 160 members committed to moving carbon and 

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other advanced fiber composites into mainstream use in strategic application areas for the United 

States, including vehicles and transportation. IACMI, working with ORNL and other innovation 

partners are working with leading automakers Ford, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and others as 

they team with partners in their supply chains such as Dow, Faurecia, DuPont, BASF, and PPG 

to develop and demonstrate new materials and processes on the path to large scale deployment 

IACMI in conjunction with LIFT (Lightweight Innovations for Tomorrow) have opened a 

manufacturing scale-up facility at Corktown in Detroit, Michigan, where industry and institute 

members can conduct research and development in lightweight metals and advanced composite 

materials. ORNL, for instance, is collaborating on a project at Corktown to develop new, lighter 

materials for EV battery shielding. 

Novel Electric Motor 

Tn work supported by the Critical Materials Institute, ORNL researchers designed and 

demonstrated a novel electric vehicle motor that achieves 75% higher power than commercial 

electric motors of the same size at a lower cost The motor makes use of permanent magnets 

made from common, domestic ferrite material rather than the imported rare earth materials 

typically used now to manufacture magnets for electric motors. In testing, the motor achieved 

peak power of 103 kilowatts and exceeded DOE targets for power, efficiency, and cost That's 

compared to the 60-kilowatt motor typically found in many hybrid EVs. 

Joining Breakthrough 

Incorporating new, lightweight materials into vehicle components is very difficult using 

conventional methods like welding. PNNL has developed a breakthrough method to resolve 

these issues. PNNL's "Friction Stir Scribe Process for Joining Dissimilar Materials" joins 

dissimilar materials with drastically different melting points in a continuous, linear, or curved 

manner without the need for additional adhesives, bolts, and rivets. 

Advanced Manufacturing 

Advanced manufacturing at the national labs involves working hand-in-hand with industry to 

enhance the global competitiveness of the American manufacturing sector and to bring 

manufacturing jobs back to US. shores. At DOE's Manufacturing Demonstration Facility 

(MDF) at ORNL, we are collaborating with automakers to create lightweight, complex 

components for the transportation industry. Some of our most high-impact research in this space 

revolves around advances in the tool and die industry-creating custom molds, for instance, for 

new vehicle designs quickly and at a much lower cost than in conventional manufacturing 

practice. 

Composite Tooling 

ORNL is working with Ford and Volkswagen to produce low volume composite tooling out of 

high temperature thermoplastic materials via additive manufacturing. We are also collaborating 

with American automotive tooling companies to produce high-volume stamping dies via largescale metal additive manufacturing. 

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World's First 3D-Printed Cars 

ORNL collaborated with Local Motors to develop materials processes for 3D-printing the chassis 

of the world's first 3D-printed car-the Strati-using the big-area additive manufacturing 

(BAAM) machine developed by ORNL and Cincinnati Incorporated. Building on that success, 

the laboratory 3D-printed the Shelby Cobra electric sports car, used as a living laboratory for 

integrating advanced vehicle technologies, at the MDF using the BAAM system. Local Motors 

leveraged the same technology to additively manufacture the chassis for its Olli autonomous 

shuttle bus. ORNL is working with Local Motors to install its wireless power transfer technology 

on theOlli. 

These remarkable breakthroughs would be difficult if not impossible for industry to solve alone. 

The national laboratories bring together world-class facilities and experts across a wide spectrum 

of disciplines to tackle scientific challenges from a vehicle's smallest component to solutions for 

efflcient vast transportation networks, in collaboration with partners from industry, academic, 

and public institutions who help guide our research for the greatest impact. 

CLOSING REMARKS 

A robust transportation system utilizing efflcient vehicles is essential to lowering consumer fuel 

costs, supporting our domestic economy, increasing energy security, and minimizing pollution. 

DOE works through its national laboratories and their industry and academic partners to support 

research, development, and deployment of efflcient, sustainable transportation technologies that 

will improve energy efficiency, fuel economy, and enable America to use less petroleum and to 

reduce energy imports. These technologies will increase America's energy security, economic 

vitality, and quality of life. 

The national laboratories are a remarkable asset for the nation. Over the past 75 years, they have 

consistently provided the science and technology needed to address compelling national 

problems, and they offer an extraordinary set of resources for sustaining and advancing the 

national, economic, and energy security of the United States in the 21st century. 

Thank you again for the opportunity to testify. I welcome your questions on this important topic. 

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APPENDIX 

ORNL TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH FACILITIES 

National Transportation Research Center 

The National Transportation Research Center (NTRC) at ORNL is DOE's only transportation 

user facility. The facility contains several highly sophisticated, experimental research 

laboratories and leverages unique science expertise and facilities in high performance computing, 

material sciences, and neutron sciences. NTRC offers industry, academia, and other agencies the 

opportunity to access state-of-the-art technologies, equipment and instrumentation, and 

computational resources to advance transportation technologies. In its more than 55,000 square 

feet of research laboratory space, NTRC contains: 

• DOE's largest open access Battery Manufacturing Facility 

• Fuels, Engines, and Emissions Research Laboratory 

• Power Electronics and Electric Machinery Laboratory 

• Vehicle Integration Laboratory 

• Transportation Analysis and Visualization Laboratory 

• Access to ORNL world-class supercomputing, visualization, and materials science 

capabilities 

• Unintem1pted power backup for entire laboratory 

• Transportation data analysis 

• 80,000-pound pit reference scale 

• Engine and chassis dynamometers 

• Analytical chemistry laboratory 

• Catalysis function laboratory 

• Fuel cell laboratory with evaluation capabilities for cells up to 3 kW 

• Unique diagnostic tools for in situ chemical speciation and catalysis surface analysis 

• Wide bandgap device evaluation facility 

• Co-located with ORNL's Manufacturing Demonstration Facility 

Carbon Fiber Technology Facility 

Carbon fiber is a strong, stiff, lightweight enabling material for improved performance in many 

applications, including vehicles. DOE's Carbon Fiber Technology Facility (CFTF) at ORNL is 

the nation's only open-access, semi-production scale facility for testing new methods of carbon 

fiber manufacturing. The facility offers two carbon fiber processing lines to test conventional 

thermal conversion as well as melt-spinning. A third line under development will explore 

microwave- and plasma-based processing technologies. Backed by ORNL' s world-class 

materials research program, the CFTF aims to reduce carbon fiber production costs and 

accelerate the adoption of lightweight, strong, and efficient composite materials by US 

manufacturers. 

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The 42,000 square-foot facility offers a highly flexible, highly instrumented carbon fiber line for 

demonstrating advanced technology scalability and producing market-development volumes of 

prototypical carbon fibers, and serves as the last step before commercial production scale. The 

facility, with its 390-ft long processing line, is capable of custom unit operation configuration 

and has a capacity of up to 25 tons per year, allowing industry to validate conversion of their 

carbon fiber precursors at semi-production scale. 

Manufacturing Demonstration Facility 

DOE's Manufacturing Demonstration Facility (MDF), established at ORNL, helps industry 

adopt new manufacturing technologies to reduce life-cycle energy and greenhouse gas emissions, 

lower production cost, and create new products and opportunities for high-paying jobs. 

At the MDF, we are collaborating with equipment manufacturers and end users to advance stateof-the-art technologies and revolutionize the way products are designed and built using additive 

manufacturing (AM) technology. Drawing on its close ties with industry and world-leading 

capabilities in materials development, characterization, and processing, ORNL is creating an 

unmatched environment for breakthroughs in additive manufacturing. 

We are creating metal components and new super alloys by melting metal powder or wire to 

form the part directly from a computer-generated design file. Metal additive manufacturing can 

significantly improve energy efficiency by increasing material utilization and minimizing scrap 

material associated with component fabrication. Elimination of geometrical constraints 

associated with conventional manufacturing technologies such as casting and machining can 

result in components that fulfill all of the functional requirements but weigh significantly less 

than those of conventional design. 

We are also engaged in polymer additive manufacturing, which can enable the rapid manufacture 

of lightweight, complex components and impact a broad spectrum of manufacturing industries. 

Examples include fhe tool and die industry (rapid, low-cost tooling), lightweight components for 

the transportation industry (automotive and aerospace), and low-cost components for the energy 

industry. Current objectives are focused on developing composite materials, process monitoring 

and closed loop feedback control systems to increase the mechanical properties and production 

quality offused deposition modeling (FDM) components. 

l7 
26 

R&D 100 A WARDS 

ORNL has earned 210 R&D 100 Awards since their inception in 1963, more than any other 

single organization. ORNL was recognized with nine total awards in 2017, with six of those 

coming from DOE EERE, and two specifically supported by EERE's Vehicle Technologies 

Office: 

• ACMZ Cast Aluminum Alloys a new class of affordable, lightweight superalloys 

capable of withstanding temperatures of almost 1 00-degree Celsius more than current 

commercial alloys while providing exceptional thermomechanical performance and hot 

tear resistance. Supported by DOE's Office of Vehicle Technologies. 

• Filler Materials for Welding and 3D Printing- innovative filler materials that 

counterbalance how much the materials expand and shrink and control the residual stress 

and distortion of high-strength steel structures. The filler materials also do not require 

the costly, labor-intensive heat treatments normally needed to avoid cracking and 

material embrittlement, providing significant economic benefits while improving the 

stability and durability of welded and 3D printed structures. Supported by DOE's Office 

of Vehicle Technologies and Office of Fuel Cell Technologies. 

Total R&D 100 Awards by the National Laboratories 

210 

164 >-

~ 143 0 

5 

~ 129 124 ~ 0 ~ 

... ~ I! >- 2 0 2 5 ..Q 2 IV 0 >-

~ ..0 .... ~ .8 ii I" 

c 0 

_n 

0 5 :;::; 

IV 

z 

Cll 

b.O 

"'C 10 

a: § ro ~ 

.lO: 2 c 

0 0 c 

0 ~ 0 IV 

-~ ~ ~ ~ E 0 z :2 z ro 

19 

Source: ORNL 

18 
27 

PARTNERSHIP SUCCESSES 

ORNL actively engages industrial and public-sector partners to ~;,>uide its research efforts for the 

most impactful results. Some examples: 

Aluminum-Cerium alloy- Eck Industries 

As part of DOE's Critical Materials Institute, researchers at ORNL worked with Ames 

Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and Eck Industries to develop a new 

high-performance aluminum alloy. Aluminum alloys that can operate at high temperatures 

because of their potential for use in lightweight engine components, which would increase 

efficiency and fuel economy. To assess the performance of their new alloy under real-world 

operating conditions, the research team used the resources ofMDF and NTRC to cast a cylinder 

head made of this alloy, using sand molds created by 3D-printing. They retrofitted this 

component to a gasoline-powered engine designed to operate on the VULCAN instrument at 

SNS and used neutron diffraction to assess the performance of the running engine. This 

experiment confirmed that the new alloy outperforms other aluminum alloys under realistic 

operating conditions. It also demonstrated the benefits of coupling fundamental science with 

early-stage R&D on new materials and technologies. 

GRIDSMART Technologies 

ORNL is collaborating with GRIDSMART, a company advancing smart traffic management 

systems for local communities. Their focus is a camera-based system that controls traffic lights 

in response to actual roadway conditions, thereby preventing lane closures, improving worker 

safety, and reducing costs. The system provides data on vehicle volume, turning movements, and 

other points to remotely control traffic systems. The technology has been installed in more than 

3,000 locations worldwide, and plans are to integrate the system into autonomous vehicle 

technologies in the future. 

TennSMART 

ORNL is a member of the newly launched TennSMART Consortium, consisting of20 public 

and private partners working to accelerate the development and deployment of intelligent 

mobility innovations in Tennessee. The group establishes a regional ecosystem focused on 

connected and automated vehicles, heavy-duty trucking and freight efficiency, vehicle 

cybersecurity, electric vehicles, and multimodal commuting. Other members include: 

Bridgestone Americas, Cummins Filtration, Inc., DEN SO Manufacturing Tennessee, FedEx 

Corporation, GRIDSMART Technologies, Inc., Local Motors, Lyft, Miovision, Nissan North 

America, Stantec Consulting Services Inc., the Tennessee Department of Environment and 

Conservation, Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Tennessee 

Department of Transportation, Tennessee Tech University, Tennessee Valley Authority, Top 

Five Inc., University of Memphis, The University of Tennessee, and Vanderbilt University. 

19 
28 

Grid Modernization 

ORNL works with several utilities on grid modernization and security innovations, including the 

Chattanooga Electric Power Board (EPB), Dominion, Duke Energy, Southern Company, Georgia 

Power, and Tennessee Valley Authority. 

For instance, ORNL and DOE have enjoyed a productive working relationship with the 

Chattanooga EPB. These efforts support America's technological leadership, national security, 

and the goal to create a new, more reliable, and affordable electric utility service for the Internet 

Age. The EPB smart grid and advanced communications network also make a living laboratory 

to test new technology developed by ORNL and other labs. 

Another example demonstrates Neighborhood\' of the Future with partners like Southern 

Company and its subsidiaries Alabama Power and Georgia Power. The energy for Smart 

Neighborhood will be provided by the existing electric grid, as well as a community-scale power 

system called a "microgrid," which is composed of solar panels, battery storage, and backup 

generation. The Georgia development will include "EV-ready" townhouses allowing 

homeowners the ability to add the charging technology later. 

20 
29 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you, Dr. Khaleel. 

Ms. Bailo, welcome. 

STATEMENT OF CARLA BAILO, PRESIDENT AND CEO, 

CENTER FOR AUTOMOTIVE RESEARCH 

Ms. BAILO. Thank you very much. 

I’d like to thank Chairman Murkowski and also Senator Stabenow, Senator Manchin, for the opportunity to address you today. 

I’m Carla Bailo. I’m President and CEO of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Michigan. We do, we are a nonprofit, independent, unbiased research facility that brings together 

stakeholders for discussions and really trying to solve and do the 

research for some of the issues that are facing the automotive industry. 

For a little bit of a personal background, I was born and raised 

in Michigan. I have cars in my blood. I had 35 years in the automotive industry, prior to two and a half years in academia where 

I led smart mobility and smart city research and now am fully into 

the non-profit research side of the business. 

When we look at the automotive industry today, it’s really in a 

critical period of disruption. On the one side, sales are booming, 

even though we had a slight drop-off in this past fiscal year, and 

we’re seeing high profit models, SUVs, crossovers, full-size pickup 

trucks that are providing profitability at levels that we have not 

seen in some time. On the other side, there’s a strong need for 

technology and powertrains and electrification combined with autonomous connected vehicle technology that are really stretching 

the limits in terms of talent and dollars. 

Really, in order to provide the vast array of technologies required 

to meet the global standards because our automakers are all global, 

for CO2, et cetera, the portfolios that are required are very diverse 

and challenging. To remain competitive, the automakers must comply with all the regulatory environments including those that are 

most aggressive globally. 

We’ve seen nearly all the automakers announcing electrification 

goals. It runs the gamut from start/stop technologies all the way 

through full electrification. 

The dichotomy that exists today is, and we talked about this a 

little bit before the panel began, is we can’t make the customers 

buy what they don’t want. And our research indicates, today, that 

the internal combustion engine will still comprise about 90 percent 

of global vehicle volume by 2030 and over 95 percent for North 

America in 2025. 

The good news is that battery technology is continuing to get better quickly driving costs down and improving the range. It’s difficult, really, to predict, but if this continues the proliferation 

throughout the marketplace could increase significantly. 

Throughout the U.S. the percentage of electric vehicles varies 

greatly depending on the infrastructure and the initiatives. And on 

a global level, we see a very similar trend. The main drawback that 

we hear from customers about purchasing an electric vehicle is 

range and the lacking of charging infrastructure going along with 

that as well as purchase cost. Although, if we look at the pure economics, the total cost of ownership, including serviceability and re-
30 

fueling that product, it will break even in a certain amount of time. 

So a lot has to do with informing the customers of the true facts 

of EV ownership. 

We can solve a lot of these issues through technology, supply/ 

demand and clarity on the charging infrastructure which also includes the hydrogen infrastructure. 

I’d be remiss if I did not mention that the electric used to supply 

the EV power must be from a renewable source. EVs utilizing coalpowered electricity have a greater carbon footprint, end-to-end, 

than a very efficient internal combustion engine. 

My last point is really about technology leadership and talent. 

This is a strong passion of mine. And really, if the U.S. wants to 

continue leadership in the electrification race, we need to be a hub 

for this kind of development in the automotive industry. 

The countries who create the high standards will drive the innovation and grow the talent, and we would really like for that to be 

here in the U.S. 

Thank you for your time. 

[The prepared statement of Ms. Bailo follows:] 
31 

Statement of Carla Bailo 

President and CEO 

Center for Automotive Research, Ann Arbor Michigan 

Before The 

Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

On The Road to Tomorrow: Energy Innovation in Automotive Technologies 

January 2S, 2018 

I would like to thank Chairman Murkowski, Ranking Member Cantwell, and the Members of the 

Committee for this opportunity to address the committee regarding the opportunities and challenges 

before the U.S. automotive industry related to energy-relevant vehicle technologies. I am Carla Bailo, 

the President, and CEO of the Center for Automotive Research (CAR). CAR is an independent, non-profit 

501(c)3 organization based in Ann Arbor, Michigan that produces research and fosters multi-stakeholder 

forums on critical issues facing the automotive industry and its impact on the U.S. economy and society. 

We are in a critical period for the U.S. automotive industry. U.S. light vehicle sales grew to a record 17.5 

million units in 2016 and closed 2017 slightly below that at 17.2 million units 1 Sales are plateauing at a 

very high level and include a rich mix of pickup trucks, SUVs, and CUVs that are highly profitable. In fact, 

these popular vehicles dominated the main show floor at the North American International Auto Show 

in Detroit last week. Despite all the shiny new metal on the show floor, everyone was talking about 

connected and autonomous technologies, new mobility service models, and advanced powertrain 

solutions. These are the technologies in which automakers and suppliers are investing billions of dollars 

to secure their competitive position in the future of our industry. 

Investing in advanced technologies is not only costly but also brings considerable risk. In all things 

related to automotive technology, consumer acceptance is critical. Regulatory technology mandates can 

mitigate the risks, but the auto industry operates in many different regulatory environments and must 

meet many different sets of targets. Even while the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 

(NHTSA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are completing work on the Mid-Term 

Evaluation, automakers and suppliers are aggressively pursuing electrification to meet requirements and 

CO, emissions reduction targets set across Europe, Asia, and South America. In North America, Canada 

and Mexico have signed agreements to align their regulatory frameworks with that of the California Air 

Resources Board-' All of this means that automakers and suppliers-nearly all of which are large multinational companies-must keep up with the most aggressive regulatory environments if they wish to 

remain globally competitive. 

When you do not know exactly where you are going, it helps to have a map-and many associations, 

academics, consultants, and research organizations have produced advanced technology road maps that 

can help guide the automotive industry and key stakeholders to what the future may hold. New 

outlooks and forecasts come across my desk nearly every week. With support from the Government of 

Canada, CAR recently undertook an effort to make sense of the future of automotive technologies. Our 

researchers reviewed over 100 automotive technology road maps, synthesized the documents into one 

1 1HSI Markit 

2 Memorandum of Understanding to Enhance Cooperation on Climate Change and the Environment Between the State of 

California of the United States of America and the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources and the National Forestry 

Commission of the United Mexican States, 28 July 2014, b..t.!!21;LL't:Lww.gov.c5!:&9v/docs/7.28 Climate MOU Eng. pdf 

Center for Automotive Research, January 25, 2018 Pagel 
32 

document, and validated the resulting road map with key automaker and supplier leaders. The result is 

CAR's 2017 Technology Roadmaps: Intelligent Mobility Technology, Materials and Manufacturing 

Processes, and Light Duty Vehicle Propulsion summary report that I would like to submit as an 

addendum to my statement here today.3 While there are synergies between each of these technology 

areas (e.g., electrification and connected and automated vehicle technologies or lightweighting and 

advanced powertrains), I will provide a brief overview of CAR's light-duty vehicle propulsion technology 

outlook as this area is most relevant to this committee. 

While CAR researchers found general agreement on the direction of changes in the area of light-duty 

vehicle propulsion, there is tremendous uncertainty regarding the timeframe of specific changes, and 

each manufacturer is following its unique technology pathway. Automakers need to balance the needs 

of their customers with the corporation's need to comply with a wide array of government regulations. 

Suppliers that have developed new powertrain technologies are eager to have stricter fuel economy and 

emissions targets that create demand for their products. 

Automakers are investing heavily and making significant commitments to advanced propulsion and 

vehicle electrification4

: 

BMW plans to offer 12 fully-electric vehicles by 2025. 

Daimler plans to sell100,000 electrified vehicles by 2020. 

FCA is planning to offer half of all Maseratis as EVs by 2022. 

Ford is spending $11B and plans to offer 40 electrified vehicles by 2022. 

GM will offer 20 all-electric models by 2023. 

Honda announced two electric vehicles in 2017 and plans to have two-thirds of its lineup 

electrified by 2030. 

Mercedes is planning an electrified version of every model it sells. 

Renault-Nissan has sold nearly 500,000 Leafs-the highest volume of EVs of any automakerand expects to have zero-emission vehicles make up 20 percent of its sales by 2020. 

Tesla is planning to build 500,000 all-electric Model 3s annually by 2020-which would be six 

times the total number of EVs sold in 2016. 

Toyota plans to offer all zero-emission vehicles by 2050. 

VW is investing $11.8B to roll-out 80 new electric models across all of its brands by 2025. 

Volvo announced it would only launch electrified vehicles after 2019. 

From both a cost- and performance-perspective the internal combustion engine (ICE) remains a 

challenging target to beat. There is a proliferation of technologies that can boost ICE efficiencies3 Smith, Brett, Adela Spulber, Shashank Modi, and Terni Fiorelli.(2017). Technology Roadmaps: Intelligent Mobility Technology, 

Materials and Manufacturing Processes, and light-Duty Vehicle Propulsion. Center for Automotive Research, Ann Arbor, MI. 

Reuters Staff. (2017, November 17). "Factbox: Auto makers get serious about electric cars." Reuters. 

Reuters. blt£.1:/J:Jc/Yf'!~~~£2!"fJil:.r:lli~.<£2l!Jm!l<lYclr:£illftlrillcQJ;~if:!C~~I2:!.<2::IT~tm2'l'~~~:i£:'C£C?:.9'1::1J:m2: 

idUSKCN1B11LM; Carey, N., & White, J. (2018, January 14). nFord billion investment, 40 electrified vehicles by 2022." 

Reuters. https:/fwww.reuters.com/article/us-autoshow-detroJt-ford-motor/ford-plans-11-bi!!ion-investment-40-e!ectrifiedN. (2017, June 8). "Honda says its self-driving cars will hit the streets in 2025 but 

Center for Automotive Research, January 25, 2018 Pagel 
33 

including gasoline direct injection that is expected to exceed 75 percent market penetration by 2025, 

mechanical turbocharging that could be on more than three of every five vehicles sold by 2025, and 12-

volt stop-start that could be on half of the vehicles sold by 2025.5 Fewer vehicles will have Atkinson cycle 

engines or engines that use variable compression ratios or homogeneous charge compression 

ignitions-all essential technologies that improve the efficiency of the ICE. Globally, diesel engines will 

remain part of the mix, but these engines will face headwinds from increasingly stringent NOx and 

particulate regulations, as well as consumer acceptance in the wake of several widely-publicized testing 

scandals. 

Countries including China, France, Germany, Great Britain, India, Norway have announced plans to 

phase out gasoline and diesel-powered engines. Also, Austria, Denmark, Ireland, Japan, the Netherlands, 

Portugal, Korea and Spain have set government targets for EV sales. 6 Despite these headlines that 

countries and companies are moving away from conventional engines, ICEs remain the dominant 

propulsion globally and in North America. The CAR road map shows ICE engines will still be in over 90 

percent of all new light vehicles sold globally in 2030 and over 95 percent of new light vehicles sold in 

North American by 2025. In roughly 20 percent of those vehicles with ICE, the engine will be part of a 

hybrid system-be it a plug-in hybrid electric (PHEV), hybrid electric (HEV), or mild hybrid (MHEV or 48-

volt systems). The point is, electrification does not always mean full battery-electric (BEV).7 

HEVs have been in the market since the mid-1990s, but in 2017 electrified vehicles of any type have only 

achieved a 3.3 percent market share. 8 The cost of having two propulsion systems hinders HEV costcompetitiveness. BEVs face an even higher cost-competitiveness hurdle, as well as lagging market 

acceptance due to performance (range, recharge time). Fuel cell vehicles (FCEVs) offer another 

alternative that several manufacturers are pursuing, but these vehicles have cost, hydrogen production, 

distribution infrastructure, and on board storage challenges. 

Battery costs are rapidly declining, and performance is increasing. The current cost of lithium-ion battery 

packs is estimated to be approximately $275 per kilowatt-hour (kWh).9 Lithium-ion battery development 

continues at a rapid pace and is expected to achieve even better performance and lower costs. Beyond 

lithium-ion, there are battery chemistries such as solid-state lithium metal and lithium air that could 

reach theoretical densities much greater than current lithium-ion technology. Battery technology 

developments are difficult to forecast, but could drastically change the BEV equation, and must be 

carefully watched. 

As of today, there are vast differences between regional generation emission of CO, in the United 

States. For example, a PHEV or BEV charged from the grid in Alaska, California, and Washington emits far 

less C02 than one charged using the grid mix that exists in states like Colorado, Michigan, West Virgina. 10 

The United States must continue to develop and implement low CO, and renewable energy electricity 

5 Smith, Spu!ber, Modi, Fiorelli, Qill{L 

6 Petroff, A. (2017, September 11). "These countries want to ban gas and diesel cars." CNN Money. 

8 Center for Automotive Research analysis of data from Ward's Automotive Reports and HybridCars.com 

9 Smith, Brett, Adela Spulber, Shashank Modi, and Terni Fiorelli. (2017). Technology Road maps: Intelligent Mobility Technology, 

Materials and Manufacturing Processes, and light-Duty Vehicle Propulsion. Center for Automotive Research, Ann Arbor, MI. 

http:/lwww.cargroup.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Techno!ogy Roadmap Combined 23JAN18.pdf 

1o Sivak, Michael and Brandon Schoettle. (2017). Fuel Sources for Electricity in the Individual Countries of the World and the 

Consequent Emissions from Driving Electric Vehicles. University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, Ann Arbor, MI. 

http:l/www .umlch.edl!/''lJmtrlswt/PDF/SWT -2017-18 Abstract EngHsh.pdf 

Center for Automotive Research, January 25, 2018 Page3 
34 

generation capacity to assure the PHEVs and BEVs reduce, and not merely shift, the country's carbon 

footprint. 

Widespread implementation of PHEVs and BEVs has implications for electricity generation investment. 

Electric utilities have shown the ability to encourage off-peak vehicle charging to smooth daily and 

seasonal peaks and valleys in demand. These demand shift strategies can lead to higher utilization rates 

for the established generation portfolio, and even lessen future investment in new generation capacity. 

While EV range and cost are critical, the robustness and reliability of the electrical grid is also a factor for 

PHEV and BEV penetration, especially for home charging. One day without electrical power is 

challenging for any household, but even more so if they rely on electricity to power their vehicle. Early 

experiences indicate there has been relatively little initial impact on current l)§jg~J>..oJ:bQQ<:f..ru:[<:i 

Lo.fra'>tr:uJ;!IJLE:).rL~I~il5_WhE:r~PJ:J ~\{.?. ~Ds!Jli\{~_hil'LE: .. t:Il!~!~r~.<:i., 11 tt_o_w~-li~r,_a_s_tbi'5.~Y.E:b.ic:J E:.?.J?i'C:QfJ1-i' 

!llQ!i'.J:1Ill.~li'lltJ~~~l.?..Oi'~1QJ:OQnitQ[I;>Q1bJhEl.local <!!lQJ.§g[QniJl.gdc:Lc..aJ2aciti~'U!D.c!siilli'.bilities, 

Consumers are unlikely to buy a vehicle without a developed refueling infrastructure, and the private 

sector is not likely to build the infrastructure before there is a critical mass of EVs in-use. VW's diesel 

settlement may provide some funding for infrastructure development. Investment in grid balancing 

strategies and the development of microgrids can help reduce the risk of overburdening the U.S. 

electrical grid. The United States should consider a range of solutions to this challenge: direct public 

development, public-private partnerships, bonds, and zoning/building code mandates for new 

construction (e.g., new houses and multi-use developments must have 240V circuits available). 

The automotive world is inching ever closer to an electrification tipping point, and automakers and 

suppliers will develop these technologies for-and in-those countries and markets that provide both 

the carrot (infrastructure and incentives) and the stick (regulatory mandates). The location of 

automotive R&D investment and technology manufacturing could shift outside of North America, which 

would have implications not only for the nation's engineering and skilled talent development 

institutions but also for the overall technological leadership of the United States. 

11 Allison, A vi and Melissa Whited. (2017). Electric Vehicles Are Not Crashing the Grid: 

Lessons from California. Natural Resources Defense Council, Synapse Energy Economics, Cambridge, MA. 

http://www.svnapse-energv.corn/sites/default/files/EVs-Not-Crashing-Grld-17-025 O.pdf 

Center for Automotive Research, January 25, 2018 Page4 
35 

Appendix to Statement of Carla Bailo 

President and CEO 

Center for Automotive Research, Ann Arbor Michigan 

Before The 

Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

On The Road to Tomorrow: Energy Innovation in Automotive Technologies 

January 25, 2018 
36 

Technology Road maps: 

Intelligent Mobility Technology, 

Materials and Manufacturing Processes, 

and Light Duty Vehicle Propulsion 
37 

Acknowledgements 

This whitepaper provides a summary of a more extensive body of work produced by the Center for 

Automotive Research for Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (!SED). The authors of 

the detailed body of work, and whitepaper would like to thank our colleagues Kristin Dziczek, Richard 

Wallace, Mark Stevens, Bernard Swiecki, Eric Paul Dennis, Dave Andrea, and Jay Baron for their input 

and guidance throughout this project. Additional assistance was provided by Diana Douglass, who 

coordinated the production of this document and Shaun Whitehouse who created the infographics. 

Brett Smith, Assistant Director of Manufacturing, Engineering, and Technology 

Adela Spulber, Transportation Systems Analyst 

Shashank Modi, Research Engineer 

Terni Fiorelli, Industry Analyst 

3005 Boardwalk, Suite 200 

Ann Arbor, Ml 48108 

www.cargroup.org 

The Center for Automotive Research, a nonprofit automotive research organization, has performed 

detailed studies of the contribution of the automotive industry and its value chain in the U.S. economy 

for more than 3S years. 

CAR's mission is to conduct independent research and analysis to educate, inform and advise 

stakeholders, policy makers, and the general public on critical issues facing the automotive industry, and 

the industry's impact an the U.S. economy and society. 

For citations and reference to this publication, please use the following: 

Smith, Brett, Adela Spulber, Shashank Modi, and Terni Fiorelli. (2017). Technology Roadmaps: Intelligent 

Mobility Technology, Materials and Manufacturing Processes, and Light Duty Vehicle Propulsion. Center 

for Automotive Research, Ann Arbor, MI. 

1 
38 

Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................................ 1 

Table of Figures ................................................................................................................................. 3 

Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 4 

Intelligent Mobility Technologies ....................................................................................................... 4 

The World We Know ................................................................................................................................. 4 

Drivers of Change, Technological and Otherwise ..................................................................................... 5 

The World on the Horizon ........................................................................................................................ 5 

Enablers and Threats .............................................................................................................................. 10 

Monitoring the Future ............................................................................................................................ 11 

Materials and Manufacturing Technologies ...................................................................................... 11 

The World We Know ............................................................................................................................... 12 

The World on the Horizon ...................................................................................................................... 13 

Enablers and Threats .............................................................................................................................. 16 

Monitoring the Future ............................................................................................................................ 18 

Light Duty Vehicle Propulsion ........................................................................................................... 19 

The World We Know ............................................................................................................................... 19 

The World on the Horizon ...................................................................................................................... 20 

Enablers and Threats .............................................................................................................................. 24 

Monitoring the Future ............................................................................................................................ 24 

Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................... 25 

2 
39 

Figure 1: Roadmap for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems and Vehicle Automation Technologies ......... 6 

Figure 2: Timeline for Launches of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems and Automated Driving Features 

...................................................................................................................................................................... 7 

Figure 3: Timeline for Vehicle Connectivity Technologies ............................................................................ 8 

Figure 4: Roadmap for New Mobility Services and Vehicle Automation Technologies ............................... 9 

Figure 5: Growth Projections for Carsharing and Ridehailing ....................................................................... 9 

Figure 6: Global General Timeline .............................................................................................................. 11 

Figure 7: Materials Used Most Commonly for Major Vehicle Structure Components in the Current Fleet 

.................................................................................................................................................................... 12 

Figure 8: Current Vehicle Material Mix Based Upon 14 Major Components from 42 Mass Produced 

Vehicles ....................................................................................................................................................... 13 

Figure 9: Material Distribution in the U.S. Fleet (Body-in-White Plus Closures), 2010 to 2040 ................. 14 

Figure 10: Emerging Manufacturing Processes and Enablers for Growth, 2015 to 2035 ........................... 15 

Figure 11: Trends in Joining Processes, Current Year to Beyond 2030 ....................................................... 16 

Figure 12: Drivers for Material Technology Change ................................................................................... 17 

Figure 13: Challenges to Address for Faster Introduction of New Materials ............................................. 18 

Figure 14: Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) Technologies ........................................................................ 21 

Figure 15: Electrified Vehicle Technology Pathways .................................................................................. 22 

Figure 16: Advanced Battery Development Trends .................................................................................... 23 

Figure 17: North American and Global Light Duty Vehicle Propulsion Technology Market Penetration 

2015-2030 ................................................................................................................................................... 24 

3 
40 

Major technological advances to both products and manufacturing processes are accelerating 

innovation throughout the automotive industry. To capture the scope of these technologies, the Center 

for Automotive Research (CAR) was called upon by Innovation, Science and Economic Development 

Canada (ISED) to develop and validate a technology roadmap for the automotive sector. This roadmap 

provides a broad understanding of technology trends throughout the industry from current year to 

beyond 2030. 

CAR identified and reviewed over a hundred existing roadmaps published by consulting firms, 

independent think tanks, trade journals, and CAR's own research. CAR also conducted literature 

searches and reviewed announcements at key industry events to identify any emerging technologies 

that were not covered in existing roadmaps. Based on the information gathered, CAR synthesized the 

research and existing road maps into three groups: Intelligent Mobility Technology; Materials and 

Manufacturing Processes; and Light Duty Vehicle Propulsion. Once these synthesized technology 

roadmaps were developed, CAR convened a roundtable of 25 experts from each of the technology 

groups to validate the findings. 

This whitepaper synthesizes the results from the technology roadmap project conducted for I SED and 

adds further interpretation of the challenges and concerns related to the projected technology and 

manufacturing trends. 

Advances in connectivity, automation, and new mobility services are powerful agents of change 

affecting the automotive industry, the larger transportation sector, and beyond. To better assess the 

potential and likely directions and magnitude of change, the Center for Automotive Research (CAR) 

developed a "technology roadmap" that reflects input from a wide array of industry experts. This 

roadmap is the result of CAR's in-house research, completed by a critical analysis of reports from leading 

consulting firms, investment banks, and universities and validated by select industry leaders and 

stakeholders. While there is an overall consensus on the direction and nature of changes through which 

the industry is going, a great deal of uncertainty remains in predicting specific timeframes. 

Worid We Know 

Vehicle automation, connectivity, and mobility encompass trends in technology and business models 

that have been in motion for decades; however, in the last five to 10 years, the transportation sector 

has witnessed an acceleration in technology development and strategy decisions. In this period, 

automated vehicle systems that influence the lateral or longitudinal (or both) motion of a vehicle, 

including applications such as automated park assist, adaptive cruise control, and automated emergency 

braking, have become available on an increasing number of new vehicles. Eventually, this trend is 

expected to culminate in fully automated (i.e., SAE Level 51) vehicles. In a parallel evolutionary track, 

numerous advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) that warn, aid, and assist drivers were introduced 

1 SAE International, a global association of engineers and related technical experts in the aerospace, automotive 

and commercial-vehicle industries, has defined six levels of levels of automation for on-road motor vehicles that 

are detailed in the J3016 standard. Level 5, Full Automation, is defined as "the full-time performance by an 

Automated Driving System of all aspects of the dynamic driving task under all roadway and environmental 

conditions that can be managed by a human driver." 

4 
41 

in 2000-2010 on higher-end vehicles. ADAS serve to automate specific vehicle systems for improved 

safety and better driving, though a human driver remains in command. 

Vehicle connectivity covers a wide variety of functional systems, from telematics and infotainment to 

vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V21) communications focused on cooperative, 

active safety. In recent years, great progress has been made developing and testing V2V and V21 

equipment and applications, and regulatory rule-making has us on the brink of a V2V mandate. 

New mobility services (NMS) provide entirely new business models or reshape existing models with 

technology, such as ridehailing linked to for-hire vehicles or ridesharing linked with carpooling. 

Generally, NMS are enabled by emerging technology platforms and wireless connectivity that allow for 

more convenient, efficient, and flexible travel. Their beginnings can be placed roughly in the 1990s. Real 

growth occurred in the 2010s when the number of different concepts (or business models) and 

companies increased substantially; NMS are especially appealing in dense urban areas. 

Drivers of Change, Technological and Otherwise 

Intelligent mobility technologies are enabled by several recent technology innovations, including digital 

cellular networks, powerful computer processors, various sensors (including GPS), data fusion, and 

machine learning. Automotive manufacturers are always on the look-out for innovative technologies to 

differentiate their products. Intelligent mobility technologies will be increasingly important in the 

marketing of new vehicles, as well as nurturing relationships with consumers. Automotive 

manufacturers and tech companies big and small have engaged in a race towards the development of 

these technologies, and automakers are now competing with new players in the emerging mobility 

industry to remain relevant and innovative. Automakers are particularly interested in connectivity, 

automation, and ADAS, because they offer car buyers new solutions for safety and convenience, and 

such features can increase the profit margin of vehicle sales and offer new revenue streams. 

Consumers' desire for seamless, reliable, and convenient transportation has been crucial for the rapid 

growth of ridehailing, but this same desire also underpins new mobility services such as carsharing, 

ridesharing, and microtransit. Ridehailing and carsharing companies are disrupting the transportation 

sector by providing more ways to have access to vehicles without ownership. Automakers are hedging 

their bets against these disrupters by testing new business models themselves, seeking to go beyond the 

old models of selling cars to individuals and developing new mobility services in-house. 

World on Horizon 

North American, European, Israeli, and Japanese companies are leading the development of automated 

vehicles, but Chinese companies are accelerating their efforts and quickly catching up. Furthermore, 

tech companies and startups are disrupting traditional supply chains by developing software, chipsets, 

and sensors for automated vehicles. In turn, many automakers are developing driving automation 

technologies in-house to assure their companies remain relevant and profitable in a future in which 

software, data, and connectivity are more valuable than the mechanical elements of a vehicle. 

ADAS features will be increasingly common in the coming decades (see Figures 1 and 2). Some of those 

features likely will be mandated or included in safety-rating systems, such as the New Car Assessment 

Program (NCAP). Fully automated vehicles likely will be first launched as low-speed automated shuttles; 

pilot tests for automated shuttles are already in progress. Many experts predict that driverless taxi 

services will be available in select urban areas as soon as 2020, while automated vehicles for personal 

use will be available in 2030 or later. 

5 
42 

Figure 1: Roadmap for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems and Vehicle Automation Technologies 

2000 

t.!M'I4(Hightlrillina:AIIt0rnation)vellkleillunclt 

levei3{C<mdltiOflaiPrilllntiA\ltomation).:apabUltyaval!able 

Source: CAR Research 

2040 

Many automotive manufacturers are developing vehicles with automated driving systems, and several 

have pledged to introduce conditional automation (SAE J3016 Level3), such as automated highway 

operation, within the next year or two. Other automakers indicate that such conditionally-automated 

systems are too complicated from a human-factors perspective and intend to skip to higher levels of 

automation that do not require a human driver at all. There is no consensus in terms of strategy among 

automakers and suppliers on this point. Finally, it is too soon to predict whether it will be possible to 

produce fully automated vehicles (SAE LevelS), capable of operating anywhere and in all situations. 

6 
43 

figure 2: Timeline for Launches of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems and Automated Driving 

Features 

Aid Feature /:i Warn Feature 

Source: CAR Research, BCG 

:!:::~Assist Feature Automated Driving Feature 

(Level2 or more} 

Clearly, connectivity will play an increasing role in the auto and mobility sectors in the coming years (see 

Figure 3), but it is less clear what specific communication technologies will be most pertinent and 

prevalent. The United States likely will have a leading role in the large-scale deployment of V2V and V21 

safety applications if the mandate for V2V-capability on light-duty vehicles proposed in December 2016 

is issued. Automotive and tech companies, as well as governments, have pledged to make substantial 

efforts for the deployment of V2V and V21 applications based on Dedicated Short-Range Communication 

(DSRC) in the 2020s, both on the infrastructure and vehicle side; however, the exact timeline is highly 

dependent on the priorities of the new U.S. administration, which currently has not appointed a new 

administrator to lead the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). European countries 

and Japan also have expressed commitments to create the legal framework needed, invest in V21 

infrastructure, and support the development of V2V applications. Progress will not be limited to DSRCbased connectivity. The launches of first SG mobile networks, the next telecommunications standards 

beyond the current 4G LTE standards, will occur around 2020, and SG is expected to enable a variety of 

commercial- and convenience-oriented applications. Whether or not SG can support cooperative, active 

safety, however remains an open question. 

7 
44 

figure 3: Timeline for Vehicle Connectivity Technologies 

Eltlaun!Choft!>eC-ITSplatfurm 

Note: The exact year when aft new U.S. light vehicfes will have V2V capability is dependent on having a V2V mandate in FMVSS and on the 

speCific phase-in period required. 

Source: CAR Research 

New mobility services are expected to diversify and grow significantly in cities and to spread beyond 

urban areas in the 2020s and 2030s, benefitting from the convergence with vehicle automation (see 

Figure 4). In the 2020s1 sharing models will become a convenient alternative to vehicle ownership for an 

increasing share of the world's population. By 2030, ridehailing/taxi rides will represent almost a quarter 

of miles traveled worldwide (see Figure 5). After 2030, vehicle-sharing models will be largely adopted in 

cities and viable NMS models will be introduced in rural areas. 

8 
45 

Figure 4: Roadmap for New Mobility Services and Vehicle Automation Technologies 

New Mobility Services (NMS) II vehicle Automation 

Source: CAR Research 

Figure 5: Growth Projections for Carsharing and Ridehailing 

Growth of ridehailingftaxi services in the United States and worldwide (percent of annual vehicle miles traveled 

that will be made by ridehailing services, taxis, and robotaxis) 

5 

Source: Morgan Stanley 

9 
46 

Growth of Carsharing Programs 

Source: CAR Research 

Enablers and Threats 

These forecasts and timelines (see Figure 6 for an overall view) could well be affected by related 

developments. For example, faster development of key enabling technologies (such as in the area of 

artificial intelligence) could hasten the market availability of full automaton, and lack of consumer 

acceptance could delay it. 

Enablers 

The range of potential enablers is broad and dependent on the precise technology. The deployment of 

automated vehicles is dependent on the improvement of key enabling technologies, such as humanmachine interface, driver monitoring, object recognition, artificial intelligence, sensors (miniaturization 

and cost reduction), cloud computing, cybersecurity, and 3D high definition maps. Substantial public and 

private investment in V21 and SG infrastructure would facilitate the rollout of connectivity applications. 

The growth of new mobility services will be boosted with increased development of dense and walkable 

urban areas, where these services are most successful. The use of NMS will also increase with 

integration of different transportation modes through mobility-as-a-service systems and the 

convergence with vehicle automation and connectivity. 

Threats 

Threats and potential delays also can come from several different directions, and ultimately sales of 

connected and automated vehicles, as well as the use of new mobility services, will depend on 

consumer acceptance and this could change dramatically in the aftermath of a major connected and 

automated vehicle crash, recall, or cybersecurity attack. Cost is an important concern; if these vehicles 

remain too expensive for the average consumer, then sales will suffer. For new mobility services, the 

main limitation is a lack of appeal beyond dense urban cores. Insufficient public investment could delay 

deployment of V21 infrastructure for decades, and a lack of rigorous communication standards will limit 

interoperability. Given current travel behavior patterns related to length and duration of work commute 

trips, as well as current pricing schemes for NMS, these services remain an expensive option compared 

to public transit. Nonetheless, even at current prices, some NMS such as ride hailing services often 

operate at a loss, an unsustainable strategy in the long term if the service is completely dependent on 

market forces. 

10 
47 

Monitoring the Future 

Industry stakeholders are well advised to closely monitor how these enablers and threats are evolving. 

This includes attention to technical breakthroughs (e.g., progress on solid-state lidar, a sensing method 

that measures distance to a target by illuminating that target with a laser light), regulatory and 

legislative efforts in North America and beyond, mergers and acquisitions, and more. Specifically, 

stakeholders should monitor future legislation on automated vehicles and data protection in countries 

across the world, as well as mandates, like the proposed one for V2V on all light vehicles sold in the 

United States. Legislation and regulation could hinder the development of connected and automated 

vehicle technology and new mobility services, depending on national and local policy positions. The 

latter likely will not be favorable if the observed safety or traffic congestion benefits will be lower than 

expected. 

Figure 6: Global General Timeline 

Automated Driver 

Assistance 

Systems (ADAS) 

Vehicle 

Automation 

Vehicle Connectivity 

New Mobility 

Services 

Source: CAR Research 

Materials and Manufacturing Technologies 

New materials with better performance characteristics are introduced into vehicles for various reasons, 

but primarily for improving crashworthiness, noise and vibration, overall cost, and fuel economy. The 

regulatory pressure to improve fuel economy is expected to accelerate the evolutionary rate of the 

introduction of lightweight materials into the vehicles. 

In order to understand the current material technology in the vehicles and future material trends, this 

whitepaper presents material and manufacturing technology roadmaps identified by extensive crosscompany research and inputs from various industry experts along with primary research from the 

Center for Automotive Research (CAR) of survey data from nine automakers. This survey data includes 

42 model year 2015/2016 vehicles, covering four vehicle segments (cars, CUV, SUV, light trucks). These 

42 models represent approximately 50 percent of the U.S. light-duty vehicle sales. The survey requested 

11 
48 

detailed data on current materials used, forming technology, and joining technology on 20 components 

from every vehicle surveyed. Auto maker opinions on material technology usage in the selected 

components for 5, 10 and 15 percent vehicle mass reduction were also queried. CAR published the 

results of this study in 2016. 2 To validate the results, material experts from different companies and 

organizations with more than 150 years of combined work experience were invited for a half-day 

roundtable discussion. 

The World We Know 

Current Industry 

Product engineers try to work on the philosophy of the right material at the right place. Figure 7, shows 

the current most commonly used materials for major structure components. Theoretically, a material 

can be used to make vehicle parts if it is commercially available, can be manufactured with an available 

technology, and meets the performance requirements. 

Figure 7: Materials Used Most Commonly for Major Vehicle Structure Components in the Current Fleet 

Motor compartment 

HSLA/ AHSS 

Engine Cradle: 

HSLA 350 - 700 MPa 

Bumper Fasc:la: 

Plastic 

Bumper struetur~ 

Steel 980 - 1 ZOO MPa or 

Aluminum 

Source; CAR Research 

Hood: 

~,, ·~<<<- -~,L,, ""'- Door outer: 

Bake Hardened Steels 

Door Inner: 

Mild Steel 

However, designers cannot use every available material because they are constrained by practical day-today difficulties such as supply-chain, infrastructure, cost, reparability, environment, etc. Figure 8 shows 

the current material mix in 14 major vehicle components from the body structure and closures. 

2 Baron, J., and Modi, S. Assessing the Fleet-wide Material Technology and Costs to Lightweight Vehicles. 

September, 2016, 

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49 

Figure 8: Current Vehicle Material Mix Based Upon 14 Major Components from 42 Mass Produced 

Vehicles 

Aluminum 

(5xxx/6xxx/7xxx) 

Steel 1200·1500 

(HF. Boron) 

Magnesium 

1 

CFRP/GFRP 

1% 

Mild 

Components: 

A Pillar 

B Pillar 

Front Bumper Strucuture 

Roof Panel 

Engine Cradle 

IPBeam 

Floor 

Steel 700·1200 

(DP.CP) 

Lower Control ArmDStreering 

Knuckle 

11 

Source: CAR Research 

Steel500-700 

(DP) 

Steel 200-500 

(HSLA. BH) 

31% 

Fender 

Front Door Inner 

Front Door Outer 

Hood 

Decklid 

Vehicles today are predominantly steel structures with some use of aluminum. The grades of steel range 

from mild (270 Mega Pascal (Mpa) tensile strength) to hot-formed boron (1500 MPa plus tensile 

strength). Magnesium and polymer composites are used in some components mostly on higher end 

vehicles. 

The predominant manufacturing technology today is cold stamping, but higher strength steels are 

difficult to cold form. The use of hot stamping is increasing as the heat increases the ductility of the 

material which helps in forming complex shapes without cracking. For plastics and carbon fiber 

composite parts, injection molding and resin transfer molding are currently the most common 

production technologies respectively. 

The World on the Horizon 

The regulatory pressure to reduce carbon emissions and the race to improve performance are drivers 

for change to the material mix in the vehicles. Automakers are looking for materials with higher 

strength-to-weight ratio which reduces weight, while improving performance. CAR research indicates 

the U.S. fleet will achieve a five percent curb weight reduction by 2025 through greater use of aluminum 

predominantly in the closures and body-structure. Interiors are also a recent focus for lightweighting as 

it is considered dead weight. 

Figure 9 shows the change in material mix in the U.S. fleet between 2010-2040. Experts agree that no 

single material wins in the race to lightweighting. A weight and performance optimized vehicle will have 

a mixed-material body structure. The industry is already experiencing this shift in recently introduced 

vehicles which use materials customized for each area of the car to simultaneously advance driving 

dynamics, fuel economy, and cabin quietness. 

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50 

Figure 9: Material Distribution in the U.S. Fleet (Body-in-White Plus Closures), 2010 to 2040 

• MildSteel 

2040 

2035 

2030 

2025 Boron/Martensite 

2020 

2015 

2010 

Source: CAR Research 

New manufacturing technologies are also advancing to achieve the speed and cost effectiveness 

required for mass production. Hot forming of steels is already used in high production parts and will 

reach maturity by 2025 as the need for ultra-high strength steels increases (see Figure 10). Maturity of a 

technology is a subjective term which depends on the vehicle program. In broad terms, a mature 

technology can be used in mass-produced vehicles (volume over 100,000 units a year), has multiple 

product applications, and is available from multiple suppliers with a global supply capability. Additive 

manufacturing, also called 3D printing, is a revolutionary technology with the potential to change the 

tool and die business but is not yet suited for mass production in terms of cost or cycle time. 

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51 

Figure 10: Emerging Manufacturing Processes and Enablers for Growth, 2015 to 2035 

120 

110 

;;; 

g 100 

"l 90 0 

a 

c so 

I 70 

ii: 60 

c 

~ 50 

"' 40 0 

" 30 

z 

~ 20 

10 

0 

2015 2017 

3D Printing 

High Pressure Thin 

Walled Alumninum 

Die Casting 

Resin Transfer Molding 

Warm Form Aluminum 

Hot Formed Steel 

2019 2021 2023 2025 2027 2029 2031 2033 2035 

Increase E'qufpment Capadty 

More R&D Needed Increase Equipment Capacity 

s .. nd,dl.allon of""""""" • '"'""" Eqolpment c"''"" I ReduceCyde l'ime Barometers , 

g;~:!op Supply Chain for ! 

Source: NHTSA; CAR Research 

With new materials come new challenges. Joining dissimilar materials is not easy, and is sometimes 

impossible to do using traditional resistance spot welding due to differences in melting point. Joining 

technologies-such as adhesives and advanced fasteners-will play an important role in achieving the 

optimized mixed-material architecture, since they have the ability to join any combination of dissimilar 

materials (Figure 11). 

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52 

Figure 11: Trends in Joining Processes, Current Year to Beyond 2030 

80% 

70% 

60% 

40% 

30% 

20% 

10% 

0% 

CURRENT 

Note: LW;;: Lightweighting 

Source: CAR Research, Lucintel 

Enablers and Threats 

Enablers 

20202025 

5%LW 

2025~2030 2030 -BEYOND 

15%LW 

TWB/TRB/LWB 

Tetila< \NI~Idf'C 8trrnks 

TtH'CrRoiiNI RIH:oks 

l;•ot'l W•"·irh~d Rlc~nk-, 

• Rivets/SPR 

Heavier vehicles require more power to move the vehicle. To produce more power, engines burn more 

fuel. Thus, a lighter vehicle derives better fuel economy from the need for smaller propulsion packages. 

lower fuel consumption also corresponds to lower exhaust emissions. Across the globe, governments 

are imposing regulations to control vehicle emissions to address climate change. This is the primary 

driver for increased usage of lightweight materials. To stay competitive, automakers add content to the 

vehicles every model year- such as improved infotainment features, driver assist sensors, increased leg 

and cargo space, etc. CAR's research indicates that by 2025, around five percent of the curb weight of 

the U.S. fleet will be added to every vehicle for safety and performance improvements (Figure 12). For 

example, an additional 200 to 300 pounds per vehicle will be added for automated driving features. 

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53 

Figure 12: Drivers for Material Technology Change 

Economy 

Autonomous Vehicles 

Vehicle Emission Reduction 

Powertrain 

Added Content 

Source: CAR Research 

To maintain or improve performance and fuel economy, the weight added for the additional consumer 

and safety content needs to be offset elsewhere. Also, with increasing trends towards electrified 

powertrain, the weight differential between an internal combustion engine (ICE) and battery packages 

affects vehicle weight targets. In fact, battery electric vehicles (BEV) need to be much lighter than their 

ICE counterparts to get adequate driving range. The regulatory push towards BEVs coupled with rising 

customer expectations will increase the pace of introduction of lightweight materials into the vehicles. 

Threats 

Working with multiple materials in a manufacturing environment is not an easy task. Apart from joining, 

galvanic corrosion and thermal management are two major issues engineers face while designing 

vehicles with mixed-material body structures. While engineers worry more about the technical 

challenges, purchasing and manufacturing executives are more concerned about the cost of new 

materials and potential supply-chain risks. Newer manufacturing technologies such as additive 

manufacturing, resin transfer molding, thin walled die casting, etc. are not yet mature processes. These 

technologies have longer cycle times, as well as quality issues that need to be resolved for use in mass 

production across-the-board. Figure 13 lists major challenges the auto-industry is facing with new 

materials and mixed-material assemblies. 

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54 

Figure 13: Challenges to Address for Faster Introduction of New Materials 

Source: CAR Research 

Monitoring the Future 

Automakers, as well as new players in the Silicon Valley, are investing in automated vehicle technology. 

Automated vehicles may lead to new business models, insurance structures, and new mobility models 

that will affect vehicle design and hence the materials mix. The National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration (NHTSA) estimated that in 94 percent (±2.2 percent) of the crashes the critical reason 

was the driver. 3 If human drivers can be replaced by automation, many of the crashes can be prevented 

and traffic deaths avoided. This will give vehicle designers flexibility to downsize vehicle crash structure 

3 Singh, S. (2015, February). Critical reasons for crashes investigated in the National Motor Vehicle Crash Causation 

Survey. (Traffic Safety Facts Crash Stats. Report No. DOT HS 812 115). Washington, DC: National Highway Traffic 

Safety Administration. 

18 
55 

and use lighter materials. However, at this moment the future of automated vehicles and safety 

regulations are uncertain. 

Another technology to monitor is 3D printing, which is currently used primarily for rapid production of 

prototype parts, but the future looks bright if the cycle time and equipment cost can be reduced. In 

materials, the steel industry is investing in developing high strength steels which also have high 

elongation. These "gen-3 steels" can limit the use of other lightweight materials due to potential cost 

differences, and because automakers are more invested in working with steel. 

Other uncertainties include cost of polymer composites, innovations around dissimilar bonding 

technologies, and fuel prices which can change the roadmaps presented in this whitepaper. 

Shaped by emissions and fuel economy regulations, and driven by customer expectations, light duty 

vehicle propulsion systems have evolved rapidly in recent years. However, many believe the industry 

may be on the verge of truly revolutionary change. The Center for Automotive Research (CAR) 

developed a roadmap to provide a better understanding of key propulsion system trends through 2030. 

This technology road map reflects a synthesis of stakeholder expectations and is the result of CAR's inhouse research, completed by a critical analysis of publically available reports from leading consulting 

firms, research organizations, investment banks, and universities, and validated by select industry 

leaders and stakeholders. While there is general agreement on the direction of change, a great deal of 

uncertainty remains in predicting specific timeframes and technology pathways. 

World We Know 

Current Industry 

Manufacturers are investing in a wide range of propulsion technologies. The fact that they plan to do so 

for many years suggests great uncertainty. While regulations arguably drive light-duty vehicle advanced 

propulsion technology implementation, the success of many alternative propulsion technologies is 

ultimately determined by the customer. In a highly competitive market, vehicle performance and 

purchase price are critical. Manufacturers must balance regulatory and consumer requirements while 

developing and delivering solutions. Contrary to some reports, the answers are not necessarily clear. 

For over a century, the dominant propulsion for light-duty vehicle has been the internal combustion 

engine (ICE), and in North America, the spark-ignited (gasoline) ICE. In that time, and specifically since 

the introduction of computer controls, the ICE has undergone a dramatic evolution. Yet, many believe 

the industry is on the verge of a propulsion revolution; they believe that the industry has in fact reached 

the electrification tipping point. 

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56 

The World Horizon 

Forecasts for future propulsion technology penetrations vary greatly. The following points are worth 

considering: 

First, the automotive industry appears to be at or near an inflection point in propulsion 

technology. Advanced battery development, further enabled by increasingly stringent emission 

regulations, has created expectations of a shift to electrification; 

Second, regional regulation differences and local market characteristics will create differing 

mixes of ICE, electrification and even fuel cells between regions. In many instances, more 

developed markets will likely be able to support more advanced propulsion technologies, while 

less advanced markets may take longer to accept these costlier higher-tech solutions; 

Third, at least in the mid-term (4-10 years) some governments may choose a technology 

solution, leading to a higher than (global) average penetration rate for that country. Conversely, 

other countries may choose to delay or minimize regulatory policy, thus decreasing the 

implementation of advanced propulsion technologies in those markets. 

Globally as well as within North America, the ICE is likely to remain the most cost competitive mass 

market propulsion system through 2025. The automotive industry-suppliers and manufacturers-are 

masters of evolutionary change. There continues to be disagreement over how long ICE will be able to 

meet future standards. However, the industry will continue to refine, and add technology to make the 

spark-ignited engine even more efficient. 

Gasoline direct injection and turbocharging for gasoline engines are expected to continue to increase 

penetration globally. These technologies have been integral to recent efficiency increases, and will 

continue to be tools for future gains. Atkinson cycle engines have recently been promoted by some U.S. 

regulators as a likely contributing technology, and is commonly used in hybrid vehicles. However, many 

manufacturers appear to have reservations about its effectiveness in non-hybrid applications. Variable 

compression ratio (VCR) and homogenous charge compression ignition (HCCI) are expected to see very 

early market introduction, but are likely to remain niche applications. 12-volt stop/start technology 

offers opportunity for reduced fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, and will likely be widely 

implemented. Stop/start can be a relatively cost-effective means of reducing emissions, and could be 

key in many developing markets where cost is a significant barrier for new technology. (Figure 14). 

Globally, diesel engines will continue to be part of the propulsion technology mix. However, diesel will 

face increasingly significant headwinds in many key markets as governments increasingly tighten NOx 

and particulate emissions regulation and focus on more rigorous testing. In recent years, diesel 

technology has lost share in Europe, and faces challenges from urban local emissions regulations in 

several regions 

20 
57 

Figure 14: Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) Technologies 

2010 

Gasoline Direct Injection 

Turbocharged (Mechanical) 

Atkinson Cycle 

Variable Compression Ratio 

Homogenous Charge 

Compression Ignition 

12 Volt Stop/Start 

2015 2020 2025 

Source: CAR Research, USEPA/NHTSA Technical Assessment Report; Various media publications 

Clearly, the electrification of light-duty vehicle propulsion is underway. However, the timing for mass 

market acceptance and the type of electrification remains uncertain. Hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) were 

introduced in the mid-1990s, and have struggled to gain consumer acceptance in most markets. While 

offering efficiency gains, the cost of two propulsion systems will continue to hinder HEV cost 

competitiveness. Plugin hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) offer opportunity for zero emissions over short 

distances, and this may help with some local emissions challenges. However, PHEVs still incur the cost 

of two propulsion systems, plus added cost for a larger battery. While viewed by some as transitional 

technologies, HEVs and PHEVs will be an important part of the market through at least 2030. 

Currently, 48-volt hybrids (mild hybrids) have gained initial penetration in Europe and China, but not in 

the North American market. These 48-volt hybrids appear to present opportunity as a transitional 

technology for luxury vehicles and possibly for pick-up trucks in North America. 

Battery electric vehicles (BEV) may present opportunity for wider market acceptance in the coming 

decade. Regulations, and a strong commitment to BEV by proponents are driving increased 

expectations for the technology. However, market acceptance lags behind these expectations. BEV 

performance (range, recharge time, etc.) still does not meet most consumer requirements. In time, 

many of these issues may be resolved-or at least greatly minimized. If costs are significantly reduced, 

the 200 mile-plus range BEV with fast-charge capabilities could become an important part ofthe 

advanced propulsion equation. 

It is important to note that even with the current enthusiasm for BEV, many major vehicle 

manufacturers continue to develop fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV) as yet another alternative. Although 

significant cost, hydrogen production, distribution infrastructure, and onboard storage challenges 

greatly limit FCEV penetration over the next decade, FCEVs do offer short-term low-volume compliance 

opportunities. Also, the amount of investment by key players indicates the technology may present a 

viable long-term solution, and a defensive strategy against battery development delays (Figure 15). 

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58 

Figure 15: Electrified Vehicle Technology Pathways 

2010 2015 2020 2025 2030 

48 Volt Stop/Start Mild Hybrid 

HEV Power Split!P2 

Plugin Electric Vehicle 

Battery Electric Vehicle 

Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle 

Source: CAR Research summary of various media publications 

Advanced energy storage development is the single most critical enabler for reaching the electrification 

tipping point. Advanced battery development continues to track at an impressive rate. Battery cost 

estimates are very difficult to verify, with some published estimates being overly optimistic for 

marketing purposes, and others overly pessimistic. However, it is clear that costs are rapidly declining 

while performance is increasing. Second generation lithium ion battery packs costs are likely at or 

below $275 per kilowatt-hour (kWh). The battery packs are expected to decrease rapidly in the coming 

decade with $75 per kWh possible by 2035. And, as costs are reduced, energy and power are increasing. 

Third generation lithium ion battery technology-possibly reaching market after 2020-is expected to 

greatly improve performance characteristics and lower costs (Figure 16). 

There are several battery technologies in early development stages that may replace lithium ion, but 

they appear to be at least a decade away from real world application-and likely much farther from 

mass market automotive use. 

22 
59 

Figure 16: Advanced Battery Development Trends 

COST 

(system cost) 

BATTERY 

CHEMISTRIES 

2010 2015 2020 2025 2030 

2nd Generation Li Ion: 

$ Higher voltage/capacity cathode materials 

3rd Generation Li Ion: 

Beyond Li Ion: 

"' Theoretical densities 3~5 times Li Ion 

% Advanced metal alloy and composite anodes 

* High voltage and solid polymer composite 

electrolytes 

.. !il)lijlSII!llitithiumMelal ~·~"·····~····· ·& 

'. tit~ AU •• :.,:."·~·+•·"~·-·-········~> 

"' Some early stage success - but not real 

world ready 

• .~AU--.'-"~··---

-~..nmnton ~········"~~ 

Source: CAR Research, summary of various media publications 

As noted earlier, published forecasts for future propulsion technology penetrations vary greatly. 

Broadly, there are indications the global light-duty vehicle propulsion market may be at a technology 

tipping point, with significant change coming over the next 15 years. Electrification is happening, and 

BEVs, long a niche player in the market, appear to be developing rapidly. HEV and PHEV technology will 

be required to meet future emission standards. Yet the rapidity and completeness of this transition is far 

from certain. 

It is likely at least 20 percent of the North American market, and nearly 30 percent of the global market 

will include some form of electrification by 2030. It is also likely electrification in some major markets 

may exceed these estimates. However, the internal combustion engine will continue to present a very 

strong cost/efficiency target for the consumer. Clearly regulation will drive this change, what remains 

uncertain is whether the consumer is willing to accept this revolution (Figure 17). 

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60 

Figure 17: North American and Global Light Duty Vehicle Propulsion Technology Market Penetration 

2015-2030 

N.A. Estimate, 2015- 2025 Global Estimate, 2015- 2030 

Source: CAR Research; USEPA/NHTSA Technical Assessment Report; Global EV Outlook 2016, International Energy Agency; 

Joining Forces to Tackle Road Transport C02 Challenge, European Automobile Manufacturers Association; various others 

Enablers and Threats 

Enablers 

Increasingly stringent emissions regulations will require increased application of advanced propulsion 

technologies, and even may open the door to an electrification revolution. Advanced battery 

development will be the important enabler in expediting significantly increased light-duty vehicle 

electrification. Cost reductions, combined with improved chemistries and more effective thermal 

management will increase battery capabilities and likely decrease charge time, making electrification 

more enticing to consumers. Two hundred-plus mile range, combined with quicker charge times, may 

also reduce charging infrastructure requirements. 

The advancement of connected and automated vehicle technology is in many ways symbiotic with 

increased electrification for light-duty vehicle propulsion systems. As vehicles become more highly 

automated, they will quickly over-tax the twelve-volt system. Forty-eight-volt systems or greater may 

be required to supply power to automated technologies. 

Threats 

Consumer acceptance is possibly the most daunting threat to advanced propulsion technology. low 

(and relatively stable) energy prices in the United States will continue to make market acceptance of 

advanced propulsion systems challenging. Even if battery costs continue to plummet as forecasted, ICE 

will present a difficult cost target with which to compete. Also, many consumers are cautious with new 

technologies. Backlash by the consumer is possible if future BEV (or FCEV) technology does not meet 

consumer expectations and this could occur either in the form of refusal to purchase the technology, or 

pressure on regulators to reduce regulations. 

Monitoring the Future 

Industry stakeholders need to monitor several key trends. Emissions and fuel economy regulation will 

be critical. Those countries that have the ability to implement top down regulation, or those where 

there is strong public support for environmental issues will likely have the ability to implement more 

stringent regulation. In countries where there is less central control or where consumers may not place 

24 
61 

a high value on environmental issues, implementing more stringent emissions regulation will be more 

challenging. However, globally, advancement will continue to happen. 

Technology development will also play a pivotal role. Battery development is proceeding rapidly, but 

still needs improvement before the electric vehicle is perceived as a replacement for ICE. And, the 

industry will continue to refine the ICE. 

These forecasts should be considered a guideline. There are many uncertainties driving light-duty 

vehicle propulsion. It is possible these forecasts underestimate the success of electrification over the 

next 15 years. However, proponents of vehicle electrification have been declaring the end of internal 

combustion for decades -yet ICE still accounts for approximately 98 percent of vehicles sold globally. 

Among the three technology sections, there are several factors that could potentially impact the future 

advancement of technology in the automotive industry. They include, consumer acceptance; cost 

reduction and uncertainty; cross-sector communication; and policy and regulation. 

The more accepting consumers are of new materials, technologies, or new mobility services-the more 

likely these technologies will advance. The market determines the success of a vehicle, not regulators or 

technology advancements. Consumers are concerned with safety, privacy and security issues, 

environmental impacts, efficiency, and cost. Governments can nudge consumers on a certain path, but 

in the end will not overpower consumer acceptance. 

Relative cost competitiveness is another influential factor. Automakers and suppliers are costconstrained, and make decisions on which advancements to pursue based on those that will not add 

significantly to the cost of the vehicle. The path of technology development and the pace of cost 

reductions are uncertain. Key examples include Industry 4.0, Additive Manufacturing/3D Printing, and 

New Mobility Business Models. 

Increased cross-sector communication and communication between automakers and their suppliers, as 

well as within the supply chain is required to effectively incorporate technology changes into a product. 

As technology advances, cross-industry collaboration among the automotive industry as well as other 

industries will significantly increase due to the sophistication of technologies. This is evident in several 

partnerships and mergers among technology companies, startups, automakers, and suppliers. A 

breakdown in communication can lead to several inefficiencies including increased cost and waste of 

materials. 

long-term agreements on the regulatory future can also enable technology advancements. Automakers 

and suppliers are risk-adverse, and desire certainty in the direction set by governments. Uncertainty in 

public policy or the regulatory environment can be a barrier to technology advancement. If one 

government sets lower regulatory standards, overall global OEMs will continue to advance technologies 

to meet standards set in other countries, but may not be able to amortize those development costs over 

the entire global fleet when one large market differs substantially from the rest. 

25 
62 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you. 

Dr. Dorobantu, welcome. 

STATEMENT OF DR. MIHAI DOROBANTU, DIRECTOR, TECHNOLOGY PLANNING AND GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS, EATON – 

VEHICLE GROUP 

Dr. DOROBANTU. Good morning. Chairman Murkowski, Senators 

Stabenow and Manchin, thank you for the opportunity to testify in 

front of your Committee. 

The industry is in a period of rapid change and it’s enabled by 

automation, electrification and connectivity. This Committee has 

correctly identified these trends as enormous opportunities as we 

move into the next generation of commercial and passenger vehicles. 

Eaton is a leading Tier 1 supplier with 20,000 associates in more 

than 110 facilities across the United States, and our vehicle group 

employs nearly 3,000 associates in manufacturing, research and development in Georgia, Indiana, Nebraska, North Carolina and, of 

course, Michigan. 

As an independent supplier, Eaton’s innovations are incorporating a large number of vehicles, delivering significant fuel consumption improvements both in the U.S. and worldwide. 

Regulatory pressure, technology innovation and customer expectations are driving the adoption of clean and intelligent products, 

creating exceptional growth opportunities for well-positioned companies. 

At the vehicle level, the need to simultaneously reduce carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide emissions is driving advances in internal 

combustion engines and powertrain electrification, both as a means 

to improve efficiency. 

At the transportation systems level, connectivity and better electronics and controls enable step changes in efficient utilization of 

these vehicles. 

Eaton recognized early that the vehicle sector was on a trajectory 

of increased CO2 emissions and petroleum-based fuel burn, so we 

positioned our entire vast R&D portfolio to address vehicle energy 

efficiency allowing the following three directions: To first improve 

the efficiency of the vehicle power creation both conventional and 

electrical, then to efficiently distribute that power from its creation 

all the way to the wheels, and finally to optimize the use of that 

power in an increasingly diversified set of needs. 

So over a decade we have worked closely with several government agencies that are also pursuing advanced energy use in vehicles. Our public-private collaborations with national labs, such as 

Oak Ridge in Tennessee or the National Renewable Energy Lab in 

Colorado, accelerate innovation and promote U.S. competitiveness. 

Eaton benefits from access to leading edge talent and capabilities 

such as high-performance computing or vehicle testing equipment 

as well as precompetitive results. But at the same time, we contribute expertise, research direction, materials and funding. The result is that working together we create and demonstrate new technologies and join in the vast state-of-the-art and enhance our competitiveness. 
63 

We also work closely with the Department of Energy through its 

Vehicle Technologies Office and Advanced Manufacturing Program. 

In partnership with the DOE, we successfully developed the fundamentals of advanced technologies that are now becoming essential elements of new products. 

From the perspective of the vehicle programs at the DOE, these 

play a vital role in maintaining the U.S. technology leadership in 

global markets. 

And especially important is the public-private partnership model. 

These partnerships accelerate innovation several ways. They foster 

collaboration across the industry in ways that are not easily 

achieved with separate commercial entities that are acting independently. And thus, we create new opportunities and new products. They also connect basic research capabilities in universities 

and national labs with their industrial R&D counterpart organizations thus accelerating the pace of introduction of innovation. The 

partnerships also connect technology startups, where new concepts 

are developed, to industrial players that have manufacturing capabilities and scale. And finally, they also demonstrate the potential 

of new technologies and thus enable product development investments that otherwise could not be made in what is, essentially, a 

conservative industry. 

The vehicle programs at the Department of Energy and national 

labs are key to maintaining the U.S. industry’s leadership position 

at all the levels of the supply chain. The public-private partnership 

model is proving particularly effective in guiding investments in 

areas that have a promise of high impact or perhaps too early, too 

broad or too unproven for industry to pursue alone. 

It is essential that the investments are balanced between fundamental research and funding technology demonstration programs. 

In my experience, it is easy to recognize fundamental science and 

that’s typically the domain of public investment. And it is also easy 

to recognize new product development which is typically the industry’s job. However, the transition between these two areas is nontrivial. It is at this juncture in the innovation process, the publicprivate partnerships are most effective. 

In closing, I would like to thank you again for the opportunity 

to testify. As we can see by the automotive innovation that surrounds us here today, the industry is moving forward at a rapid 

pace and we applaud your efforts to understand the emerging 

trends and support American innovation in the field. 

Thank you. 

[The prepared statement of Dr. Dorobantu follows:] 
64 

Testimony for the hearing, 

Before the 

Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

Offered by 

Dr. Mihai Dorobantu 

Director, Technology Planning and Government Affairs 

Eaton -Vehicle Group 

January 25, 2018 

Chairman Murkowski, Ranking Member Cantwell, and Members of the Committee, thank you for 

inviting me to share Eaton's experience with innovation in the automotive industry. The U.S. and global 

automotive industry are in a period of rapid change and development, which this Committee has 

correctly identified as an enormous opportunity, as we move into the next generation of truck and 

passenger vehicles. At the same time, these rapid changes in the industry also present challenges. I look 

forward to discussing both the opportunities and challenges that Eaton sees with the Committee. 

Eaton is a leading Tier 1 supplier that competes in the global market by consistently driving technology 

innovation. For over 100 years, Eaton has helped our customers grow their business profitably through 

innovation that drives results. With 10,800 patents, Eaton is focused on developing technology solutions 

for our customers' toughest power management challenges. We have 28,000 associates in more than 

110 facilities throughout the United States. Eaton's Vehicle Group employs nearly 3,000 associates in 

manufacturing and research and development centers of excellence in Georgia, Indiana, Nebraska, 

North Carolina and Michigan. 

We are part of a motor vehicle parts manufacturing industry that is a driving force in transforming 

mobility through innovation and technology, while leading greater environmental improvements 

through sustainability around the global economy. Motor vehicle component manufacturers are the 

nation's largest direct employer of manufacturing jobs in the U.S., employing over 871,000 workers in all 

50 states. Together with indirect and employment-induced jobs, the total U.S. employment impact of 

the supplier industry is 4.26 million jobs. The total jobs in the supplier industry saw nearly 19 percent 

growth between 2012 and 2015. 

As an independent supplier, Eaton's technology innovations are incorporated into a large number of 

vehicles, delivering significant fuel consumption improvements in the U.S. and world-wide. 

Light-duty suppliers alone account for 30 percent of total automotive investment in research and 

development and continue to take on a greater role in the design, testing, and engineering of new 

vehicle parts and systems in the United States. Motor vehicles suppliers provide the technologies and 

components that make up more than 77 percent of the value of a new vehicle. Development and 

manufacturing of these advanced products have also provided a robust domestic supply base that 

generates jobs and investment while boosting U.S. competiveness. 

Regulatory pressure, technological innovation, and customer expectations are driving adoption of clean 

and intelligent products, challenging traditional notions of mobility and creating exceptional growth 

opportunities for well-positioned companies. 
65 

Eaton's advanced products help customers increase energy efficiency through a portfolio of solutions 

dedicated to enabling sustainable businesses. Whether a vehicle covers 50 or 500 miles a day, or makes 

five or 500 stops, it needs to be safe, reliable, and efficient. Our technology solutions offer improved 

fuel efficiency, enhanced vehicle productivity and performance, and safety and comfort enhancements 

that protect vehicle operators, the environment, and our customers' business investment. Our 

technologies also enable businesses to meet regulatory requirements and performance goals, ensure 

reliability and uptime, and lower fleet operational costs. Our experience tells us that new product 

developments will only succeed when all of these customer expectations are met. Our approach to 

innovation begins and ends with these requirements. 

At the vehicle level, the need to simultaneously reduce carbon dioxide (C02) and nitrogen oxide (NOx) 

emissions drives advanced internal combustion technologies and powertrain electrification as a means 

to improve efficiency. Light-weighting and aerodynamic solutions are also applied to reduce vehicle 

energy demand. 

The vehicle transportation industry will continue to seek clean and intelligent solutions. Vehicle 

electrification will play a key role in reduced emissions and improved fuel economy with 12% of global 

passenger cars projected to be battery electric by 2030. Eaton will provide original equipment 

manufacturers with innovative power management, distribution and protection technologies for 

electrified vehicles. Emerging markets for fuel cell vehicles also provide additional opportunities for 

zero-emission mobility solutions in the transportation sector. 

We will also continue to improve the efficiency and fuel emissions of internal combustion engines 

through an extensive portfolio of powertrain solutions. At the transportation systems level, connectivity 

and embedded electronics and controls enable step-changes in the utilization of vehicles, including 

levels of autonomy ranging from driver assistance to full autonomy, optimized routing and platooning, 

enhanced fleet management, and increased productivity. 

Eaton recognized early that the vehicle sector was on a trajectory of increased C02 emissions and 

petroleum-based fuel burn, and that market, societal and regulatory forces will need to come together 

to reverse that trend. We positioned our entire advanced research and technology portfolio to address 

vehicle energy efficiency, along the following three directions: 

• Improving the efficiency of vehicle power creation, both conventional and electrical; 

Efficiently distributing that power from creation to the wheels, and 

Optimizing the power usage for increasingly diversified needs. 

The key technologies we invest in are engine air management and controls, through variable valve 

actuation and precise air flow control; efficient transmissions and torque control devices, including 

electrified powertrains; automation and deep integration of powertrains, as well as power electronics 

systems for charging, conversion, distribution and protection. 

For example, Eaton led the global market in introducing hybrid electrical systems for heavy duty 

commercial vehicles in North America, followed by exports world-wide. Recently, we found ways of 

improving the efficiency of electric commercial vehicles, helping customers reduce battery sizes and 

extend range. Technology innovation in air management systems improves fuel consumption by 

increasing heavy duty diesel engine efficiency and enabling novel highly efficient combustion cycles for 

passenger cars, such as gasoline compression ignition. We introduced the first commercial vehicle dual 
66 

clutch transmission, as well as heavy duty high efficiency automated transmissions deeply integrated 

with diesel engines. These advanced products reduce fuel consumption and vehicle down-time, while 

increasing performance and safety. 

Working with the National Laboratories and the Department of Energy 

In the past decade, we have worked closely with several government agencies that also are pursuing 

advances in vehicle energy use. Our public-private collaborations, with National Laboratories, such as 

Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Colorado, 

accelerate innovation and promote U.S. competitiveness. 

Eaton benefits from access to leading edge facilities, such as high-performance computing or vehicle 

testing equipment, as well as pre-competitive results, such as agency research on new battery 

technologies. These benefits enhance our global competitiveness. At the same time, we contribute our 

expertise and research direction, materials, and funding, to the Labs' efforts. The result is that, working 

together, we create and demonstrate new technologies and jointly advance state of the art technologies 

and enhance American competitiveness. 

We also work closely with the Department of Energy, through its Vehicle Technologies Office and 

Advanced Manufacturing Program. In partnership with the Department of Energy, we successfully 

developed the fundamentals of new technologies that have become essential elements of advanced 

products. For example, the Super Truck programs became testbeds for multiple technologies that are 

now entering the heavy duty market and are enabling U.S. manufacturers and suppliers, for the first 

time, to take the lead in efficient trucks over our European competitors. 

From our perspective, the vehicle programs play a vital role in maintaining U.S. technology leadership in 

global markets, especially through private-public partnerships. These partnerships accelerate innovation 

in several ways: 

1. Public private partnerships foster collaboration across the industry in a way that is not easily 

achieved with separate commercial entities acting independently, thus creating new 

opportunities and new products. As an example, engines and transmissions are traditionally 

designed by different organizations that aim to maximize generic pairings. SuperTruck allowed 

Cummins and Eaton to consider the engine and transmission as an optimized and deeply 

integrated powertrain, resulting in significant fuel consumption reduction, and ultimately a new 

product line: the SmartAdvantage powertrain. 

2. They connect basic research capabilities in universities and National Laboratories with industrial 

research and development organizations, accelerating the pace of innovation. As an example, 

battery life extension methodologies developed by NREL were integrated with optimized hybrid 

powertrain controllers, resulting in reduced battery needs for hybrid buses. 

3. Public private partnerships connect technology start-ups developing new ideas to industrial 

players that have manufacturing capabilities and scale. As an example, advanced air breathing 

technologies enable novel 2-stroke opposed piston engine concepts with a promise for both low 

fuel and low emissions breakthroughs in diesel technology. 

4. They also demonstrate the potential of new technologies, enabling product development 

investment decisions that otherwise would not be made in a conservative industry. As an 

example, the benefits of multi-speed transmissions for electrical trucks and buses are enabling a 

shift towards commercialization by significantly reducing motor and battery needs. 
67 

The vehicle industry is facing significant challenges. As it is very capital intensive, the industry has 

historically been relatively conservative in investment. However, the technology landscape is changing 

rapidly and forward-looking investment is imperative. The industry is responding to the challenge of 

reducing fuel burn, which adds cost and complexity throughout the supply chain. Evolving markets are 

also creating industry challenges as we face increased technology competition from Europe and 

pressure from emerging markets. Vertical integration is putting additional pressure on independent 

manufacturers. 

Our successful response to these challenges lies in our commitment to innovation and to the quality and 

vitality of the U.S. vehicle technologies and workforce. The vehicle programs at the Department of 

Energy and National Labs are key to maintaining U.S. industry's leadership position at all levels of the 

supply chain. The public-private partnership model is proving particularly effective in guiding 

investments in areas that have the promise of high impact in the market but are perhaps are too early, 

too broad or too unproven for industry alone to pursue. 

We work continuously with government agencies to identify critical areas for technology investments 

that are potential game-changers. In our case, that means advances that can significantly reduce 

transportation energy consumption and costs, and at the same time increase the competitiveness of 

U.S. manufacturers. 

It is essential that those investments are balanced between growing the fundamental research 

capabilities of the nation and funding technology demonstration programs. Without proper support for 

demonstration, particularly through various forms of public-private partnerships, the potential 

breakthroughs identified by basic research can be lost. I have witnessed technologies, which were 

successfully developed, only to be trapped in the so-called "Valley of Death." The technologies failed to 

gain a sustainable market- not due to lack of merit, but rather due to insufficient attention in 

demonstrating value to the stakeholders who are responsible for much larger product development 

investment decisions. 

In my experience, it is easy to recognize fundamental science, typically the domain of public investment, 

and new product introduction, which is typically the job of industry. However, the challenges of 

transitioning between these areas are not trivial. It is at this juncture of innovation that public-private 

partnerships are most effective. 

In closing, I would like to thank you again for the opportunity to testify on this important topic. As we 

can see by the automotive innovation that surrounds us here today, the industry is moving forward at a 

rapid pace. We applaud your efforts to understand these emerging trends and to support American 

innovation in this field. 

### 
68 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you, Dr. Dorobantu. 

Ms. Gross, welcome. 

STATEMENT OF BRITTA GROSS, DIRECTOR, ADVANCED VEHICLE COMMERCIALIZATION POLICY, GENERAL MOTORS COMPANY 

Ms. GROSS. Good morning. My name is Britta Gross, and I am 

General Motors’ Director of Advanced Vehicle Communication Policy. I want to thank Chairman Murkowski, Senator Stabenow and 

Senator Manchin for inviting me here today to talk about some of 

the opportunities and challenges General Motors sees facing advanced vehicle technologies, particularly electric, or zero emission, 

vehicles. 

If I may first offer you a perspective about how quickly the world 

is changing. In 2010, when General Motors introduced the plug-in 

Chevrolet Volt, we were one of consumers’ first experiences with a 

plug-in vehicle. However, last year Americans purchased nearly 

200,000 electrified vehicles, including battery electrics, plug-in hybrid electrics and fuel cell electric vehicles from more than a dozen 

manufacturers. Our own ground-breaking Chevrolet Volt, Chevrolet 

Bolt EV and Cadillac CT6 Plug-in accounted for nearly one-quarter 

of those vehicles. While this sounds like an incredible growth in 

electric vehicle interest, it’s nothing compared to what is coming. 

You may have heard General Motors recently announced our 

zero, zero, zero vision: that is, our belief in a future world with zero 

crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion. This vision represents 

the convergence of our work in connectivity, electric vehicles, autonomous vehicles and car-sharing in an effort to move humanity 

forward. And as part of that vision, we announced our plans to 

bring at least 20 new all-electric vehicles to the market by 2023, 

our next step in moving to a zero emissions world. 

We know we are not alone in our optimism. As electric vehicles 

become cheaper, as batteries improve on performance and price 

and as manufacturers reach scale, we will see exceptional growth 

in EV adoption. 

Electric vehicles bring enormous societal, economic and technological opportunities. Not only are electric vehicles cleaner and 

quieter to operate, they are also fun to drive thanks to the instant 

torque electric motors provide. 

Because of electric vehicles, General Motors is making major financial investments in manufacturing facilities, as well as research 

and development facilities here in the United States. We are innovating around battery design and we’re increasing hiring in areas 

not always associated with the auto sector, like computer science 

and software design. 

With all the benefits electric vehicles bring, there are challenges 

too. Consumer acceptance of electric vehicles has steadily increased, but we still have a long way to go. 

I want to focus on two areas where your Committee could help 

sustain continued growth. The first is consumer adoption, and the 

second is aiding with charging infrastructure build-out. 

The Federal Electric Vehicle Tax Credit, worth up to $7,500, has 

been an important incentive for EV buyers and is without a doubt 

responsible for helping to fuel EV adoption. We appreciate the Sen-
69 

ate’s role in keeping this customer incentive in place as tax reform 

passed last year. This federal incentive sends a particularly powerful signal about the importance of vehicle electrification to consumers in all 50 states. 

Right now, when we are on the cusp of attracting more mainstream consumers to EVs, is when we need to continue and 

strengthen this positive signal the most. It is a valuable tool to 

allow consumers greater access to EVs. 

On infrastructure, this Committee has a unique opportunity to 

lay the foundation for the future. Mass-adoption of electric vehicles 

represents a large, smart and flexible load that is unlike any other 

load on the electric grid. 

If we do this right and if we plan for smart-charging of EVs late 

at night and in the early morning hours, EVs can act as storage 

devices that make use of under-utilized power plants at night and 

take advantage of intermittent renewables. Thus, EVs can lead to 

a more balanced grid load. 

But all the benefits to the grid can’t happen unless the United 

States reaches true scale with EVs. We need EV charging stations 

that are highly visible to consumers and that drive consumer confidence in the ability to drive EVs anywhere at any time. 

EV charging infrastructure today has grown from non-existent to 

over 17,000 public stations, but more is required. This market will 

become more viable and competitive over time, but we have a long 

way to go. This early market currently requires continued partnership between electric utilities, station operators, vehicle manufacturers and support by federal, state and municipal government to 

establish charging stations at the same scale as the 168,000 gas 

stations across the country. 

I would also like to thank the Committee for their support for 

the Vehicle Innovation Act, bipartisan legislation introduced by 

Senators Stabenow, Alexander and Peters, that would support the 

development of new technologies in the automotive space, including 

electric vehicle charging. This is important legislation we hope the 

Congress will pass this year. 

EV infrastructure is not only key to removing the barriers to acceptance of electric vehicles, but is also an imperative for other innovative and advanced mobility solutions, such as car-sharing, 

ride-hailing and self-driving vehicles. The speed with which EV 

charging infrastructure and EV adoption grow will determine the 

future of mobility in the United States and set the stage for even 

more advanced transportation technologies, and leading in these 

technologies here in the United States means we can take these 

technologies to global markets and that’s good for all of us. 

Thank you for your time today, and I look forward to answering 

any questions that the Committee members might have. 

[The prepared statement of Ms. Gross follows:] 
70 

Statement to U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee 

Britta Gross 

Director, Advanced Vehicle Commercialization Policy 

General Motors Company 

January 25, 2018 
71 

Good morning. 

My name is Britta Gross and I am General Motors' director of advanced vehicle 

commercialization policy. I want to thank Chairman Murkowski, Ranking Member 

Cantwell, and the other committee members for inviting me here today to talk 

about some of the opportunities and challenges General Motors sees facing 

advanced vehicle technologies, particularly electric, or zero emission, vehicles. 

If I may first offer you a perspective about how quickly the world is changing. In 

2010, when General Motors introduced the plug-in Chevrolet Volt, we were one 

of consumers' first experiences with a plug-in vehicle. However last year, 

Americans purchased nearly 200,000 electrified vehicles including battery 

electrics, plug-in hybrid electrics, and fuel cell electric vehicles from more than a 

dozen manufacturers. Our own ground-breaking Chevrolet Volt, Chevrolet Bolt EV 

and Cadillac CT6 Plug-in accounted for nearly one-quarter of those vehicles. While 

this sounds like an incredible growth in electric vehicle interest, it's nothing 

compared to what is coming. 

You may have heard General Motors recently announced our zero, zero, zero 

vision: that is, our belief in a future world with zero crashes, zero emissions and 

zero congestion. This vision represents the convergence of our work in 

connectivity, electric vehicles, autonomous vehicles and car-sharing in an effort to 

move humanity forward. And as part of that vision, we announced our plans to 

bring at least 20 new all-electric vehicles to the market by 2023- our next step in 

moving to a zero emissions world. 

2 
72 

We know we are not alone in our optimism. As electric vehicles become cheaper, 

as batteries improve on performance and price, and as manufacturers reach scale 

-we will see exceptional growth in EV adoption. 

Electric vehicles bring enormous societal, economic and technological 

opportunities. Not only are electric vehicles cleaner and quieter to operate, they 

are also fun to drive thanks to the instant torque electric motors provide. Because 

of electric vehicles, General Motors is making major financial investments in 

manufacturing facilities, as well as research and development facilities in the U.S. 

We are innovating around battery design and we're increasing hiring in areas not 

always associated with the auto sector, like computer science and software 

design. 

With all the benefits electric vehicles bring, there are challenges too. Consumer 

acceptance of electric vehicles has steadily increased, but we still have a long way 

to go. I want to focus on two areas where your committee could help sustain 

continued growth: the first is consumer adoption and the second is aiding with 

charging infrastructure build-out. 

The Federal Electric Vehicle Tax Credit, worth up to $7,500, has been an important 

incentive for EV buyers and is without a doubt responsible for helping to fuel EV 

adoption. We appreciate the Senate's role in keeping this customer incentive in 

place as tax reform passed last year. This federal incentive sends a particularly 

powerful signal about the importance of vehicle electrification to consumers in all 

50 states. Right now, when we are on the cusp of attracting more mainstream 

3 
73 

consumers to EVs, is when we need to continue and strengthen this positive 

signal the most. It is a valuable tool to allow consumers greater access to EVs. 

On infrastructure, this committee has a unique opportunity to lay the foundation 

for the future. Mass-adoption of electric vehicles represents a large, smart, and 

flexible load that is unlike any other load on the electric grid. If we do this right, 

and plan for the smart-charging of EVs -late at night and in the early morning 

hours- EVs can act as storage devices that make use of under-utilized power 

plants at night and take advantage of intermittent renewables. Thus, EVs can 

lead to a more balanced grid load. 

But all the benefits to the grid can't happen, unless the United States reaches 

true scale with EVs. We need EV charging stations that are highly visible to 

consumers and that drive consumer-confidence in the ability to drive EVs 

anywhere at any time. 

EV charging infrastructure today has grown from non-existent to over 17,000 

public stations, but more is required. This market will become more viable and 

competitive over time, but we have a long way to go. This early market currently 

requires continued partnership between electric utilities, station operators, 

vehicle manufacturers and support by federal, state and municipal government 

to establish charging stations at the same scale as the 168,000+ gas stations 

across the country. 

4 
74 

EV infrastructure is not only key to removing the barriers to acceptance of electric 

vehicles, but is also an imperative for other innovative and advanced mobility 

solutions, such as car-sharing, ride-hailing, and self-driving vehicles. The speed 

with which EV charging infrastructure and EV adoption grow will determine the 

future of mobility in the U.S., and set the stage for even more advanced 

transportation technologies. And leading in these technologies here in the U.S. 

means we can take these technologies to global markets- and that's good for all 

of us. 

Thank you for your time today and I look forward to answering any questions 

that the members of the committee might have. 

5 
75 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you, Ms. Gross. 

Mr. Wimmer, welcome. 

STATEMENT OF ROBERT WIMMER, DIRECTOR, ENERGY & 

ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH, TOYOTA MOTOR NORTH 

AMERICA, INC. 

Mr. WIMMER. Chairman Murkowski, Senator Stabenow, Senator 

Manchin and members of the Committee, Toyota appreciates the 

opportunity to testify before the Committee today on energy innovation in automotive technologies. 

Toyota believes there is no one solution to addressing our energy 

and environmental challenges. That’s why we’re developing a portfolio of technologies from advanced gasoline and diesel engines to 

more efficient transmissions, to lighter weight materials, hybrid 

and plug-in hybrid drive systems, as well as our zero emission, battery electric, and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. 

It is our hydrogen fuel cell technology that I’m pleased to discuss 

today. Fuel cells are not new. In fact, they were developed in the 

1800s and provided electricity and drinking water for our Apollo 

and space shuttle astronauts. Systems for on-road vehicles combine 

hydrogen gas stored in onboard carbon fiber tanks with oxygen 

from the air to produce electricity that powers the vehicle. A fuel 

cell vehicle’s only emission is a small amount of water vapor from 

the tailpipe. 

For Toyota, hydrogen fuel cells are an integral part of our zero 

emission vehicle strategy. What differentiates fuel cell vehicles 

from other zero emission technologies is their long driving range, 

typically over 300 miles on a fill of hydrogen; their ability to refuel 

quickly, usually under five minutes; and scalability of fuel cell systems to virtually any size vehicle. Toyota believes retaining key attributes of the internal combustion engine allows hydrogen fuel cell 

vehicles to appeal to the broadest range of buyers, ultimately leading to greater zero emission vehicle sales. 

Toyota introduced its first retail fuel cell vehicle, the Mirai, in 

2015. Since its introduction, over 3,000 have been sold in California 

and over 5,000 globally. The Mirai has an EPA estimated range of 

312 miles on a tank of hydrogen and a fuel economy rating of 67 

miles per gasoline gallon equivalent, about twice that of a standard 

mid-size sedan. 

Scalability is another important aspect of fuel cell technology like 

adding more cylinders to an engine, more cells can be added to a 

fuel cell stack to increase system power. This makes fuel cells the 

perfect zero emission technology for SUVs and trucks which accounted for over 65 percent of new vehicle sales in the U.S. in 

2017. 

Scaling the technology further, Toyota has developed fuel cell 

systems for both transit buses and tractor trailers. We recently announced that Toyota will build 100 second generation fuel cell 

buses for athlete transport during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. 

In the U.S. we have begun testing a proof of concept drayage 

tractor trailer hauling cargo containers from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to local destinations and rail yards. This tractor trailer has a range of 200 miles per tank and has a gross vehicle weight of 80,000 pounds. If successful, fuel cell drayage trucks 
76 

could provide an opportunity to eliminate emissions and noise from 

often highly-polluted and underprivileged port areas. 

A great advantage of hydrogen is its ability to be produced in a 

variety of ways from different fuels. Toyota will demonstrate one 

approach with the world’s first megawatt scale carbonate fuel cell 

power generation plant and hydrogen fueling facility that we are 

building at the Port of Long Beach to fuel our port operations. The 

Tri-Gen facilities will use renewable bio-waste to generate water, 

electricity and hydrogen. 

Toyota believes the greatest challenge to fuel cell vehicle success 

is not vehicle price nor consumer acceptance, but hydrogen refueling infrastructure. California is the leader in infrastructure in the 

U.S., having committed $200 million to co-fund 100 hydrogen fueling stations. To date, there are 31 stations open to the public with 

potentially another 12 expected to open this year. 

While impressive, other countries with strong federal policy and 

financial support are outpacing California. There are 91 operational hydrogen stations in Japan, 44 in Germany and about 20 

in Korea. To ensure the U.S. remains competitive in the emerging 

hydrogen economy, the Federal Government needs to take a more 

proactive approach to growing both hydrogen infrastructure and 

fuel cell vehicle sales. 

Finally, Toyota wants to recognize the Department of Energy for 

their ongoing support of hydrogen and fuel cell research, development and commercialization. Their investment of over $1 billion for 

R&D has accelerated commercialization of the technology to the 

benefit of all. Recently, it’s ongoing engagement with state and regional authorities to address technical questions related to tunnels 

and bridges and to alleviate any concerns about the safety of the 

technology has been highly beneficial. DOE’s continued support in 

these areas is critical to eliminating regulatory barriers that will 

slow the roll out of the Toyota technology. 

Toyota strongly believes that a portfolio of advanced technologies, 

highly efficient engines and a range of electric drive options are required to meet the sometimes divergent needs of customers, regulators and society. With their longer range and ability to refuel 

quickly and scalability, we believe hydrogen fuel cell vehicles can 

fulfill many of those needs. 

We appreciate the opportunity to testify before the Committee 

and we’d be happy to answer any questions. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Wimmer follows:] 
77 

Testimony of Robert Wimmer 

Director, Energy & Environmental Research, Toyota Motor 

North America, Inc. 

Hearing on The Road to Tomorrow: Energy 

Innovation in Automotive Technologies 

Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

United States Senate 

January 25, 2018 
78 

Chairman Murkowski, Ranking Member Cantwell and members of the committee, Toyota 

Motor North America appreciates the opportunity to testify before the Senate Energy 

Committee today. 

Toyota has been doing business in the US for over 60 years. Over that time, we've 

directly invested over $24 billion, which we've used to build 10 manufacturing plants that 

produce nine different models, in addition to sales distribution and R & D centers. And 

just this month we announced a joint-venture plant with Mazda in Huntsville, AL, which 

will employ 4,000 associates. These jobs will add to the 136,000 Toyota/Lexus1 jobs in 

the US. 

Toyota is developing a portfolio of technologies to address energy and climate challenges, 

while also meeting the needs of customers. These technologies include advanced 

gasoline and diesel engines, more efficient transmissions, lighter weight materials, hybrid 

drive, plug-in hybrids and a number of Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) technologies such 

as battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs). This 

past December, Toyota announced our intent to sell more than 5.5 million electrified 

vehicles per year globally by 2030, with 1 million of those being BEVs and FCEVs. Toyota 

also plans to introduce 10 new BEVs globally by the early 2020s and have electrified 

vehicles across our entire model lineup by around 2025. 

While all these options will likely be needed across global markets, much of the public 

and policy attention over the past 1 0-years has focused largely on BEVs, and to a lesser 

1 Includes Toyota manufacturing, supporting operations and dealerships 

2 
79 

extent, PHEVs, especially here in the US. For Toyota, an integral part of our zeroemission strategy- in addition to battery electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles- are 

fuel cell vehicles. What differentiates FCEVs from other zero emission technologies is 

their long driving range (typically over 300 miles on a "fill" of hydrogen), their ability to 

quickly refuel (usually less than five minutes) and the scalability of fuel cell systems to 

virtually any size vehicle. Toyota believes retaining key consumer attributes of the internal 

combustion engine allows hydrogen fuel cell vehicles to appeal to the broadest range of 

buyers, ultimately leading to greater zero emission vehicle sales. 

Fuel cells are not new. In fact, they were developed in the 1800s and provided electricity 

and drinking water for the Apollo and Space Shuttle astronauts. There are several 

different types of fuel cells, but those used to power on-road vehicles all function 

essentially the same way. They combine hydrogen gas, stored on-board in carbon fiber 

tanks, with oxygen from the ambient air, to produce electricity that powers the vehicle. A 

fuel cell's only emission is a small amount of water vapor from the tailpipe. 

Toyota introduced its first retail fuel cell vehicle, the Mirai, or "future" in Japanese, in 2015. 

It is a mid-sized sedan that represents the culmination of over two decades of R&D that 

started before the introduction of the first hybrid electric Prius or RAV4 EV. This extensive 

R&D allowed engineers to design the entire fuel cell powerplant and much of its assembly 

tooling in-house. Toyota even took advantage of its extensive knowledge of high-speed 

textile looms2 to develop a significantly faster and more precise machine for winding 

carbon fiber around the hydrogen fuel tanks. This new tool optimizes tank design, while 

2 Toyota was founded in 1926 as Toyoda Automatic Loom Works, Ltd. producing a series of manual and machinepowered textile looms. 

3 
80 

maximizing strength. The result is a lighter tank that takes less energy to manufacture, 

while meeting all US and global safety requirements for high-pressure tanks. 

The "final exam" for this massive engineering effort and investment was the construction 

and real-world testing of over a hundred fuel cell vehicle prototypes. The objective was 

to ensure the technology's, durability, performance and safety in all operating conditions 

and climates. The success of this multiyear test program allowed us to move forward 

with the Mirai production program. 

Since its introduction in 2015, over 3,000 Mirai have been sold in California and 5000 

globally. The vehicle has an EPA-estimated range of 312 miles on a tank of hydrogen 

and a fuel economy rating of 67 mile per gasoline-gallon equivalent (mpgge), about twice 

that of a standard mid-size sedan. The Mirai has a Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price 

(MSRP) of $57,500 (before government and/or manufacturer incentives) or can be leased 

for $349/month. Either way, customers receive three years of free fuel, maintenance and 

roadside assistance. Like Prius, the Mirai is a hybrid with a small battery pack that 

recovers energy while braking and aids in acceleration. In addition to great low-speed 

acceleration, like all fully electric vehicles, the Mirai cruises effortlessly at highway speeds. 

Along with Toyota, Honda and Hyundai are currently delivering fuel cell vehicles to 

customers in California. The State's ZEV regulations, combined with its strong 

commitment to the success of fuel cell technology, made it the logical place to start 

The Mirai joins Toyota's portfolio of 14 hybrid electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles 

offered in the US. Globally, Toyota has sold over 11 million electric drive vehicles ranging 

4 
81 

from sub-compacts to shuttle buses, which are estimated to have saved over 8. 7 billion 

gallons of fuel and reduced C02 emissions by 85 million metric tons. 

Another important aspect of fuel cell technology is its scalability. Like adding more 

cylinders to an engine, more cells can be added to a fuel cell stack to increase system 

power. In the same way, a larger hydrogen fuel tank can be added to increase range. 

This makes fuel cells the perfect zero emission technology for SUVs and trucks, which 

accounted for over 65% of the new vehicle sales in the U.S. in 2017. 

Toyota currently is testing hydrogen fuel cells in transit buses and trucks. Over a decade 

ago, Toyota operated a small fleet of fuel cell buses at the Achi Expo in Japan. Since 

then, our fuel cell buses have been used to shuttle passengers at the Nagoya airport and 

on regular routes in Toyota City, and we recently announced that Toyota will build 100 

second-generation hydrogen fuel cell buses for athlete transport during the 2020 Tokyo 

Olympics. 

In the US, a small group of Toyota engineers in Southern California and Michigan have 

taken two Mirai fuel cell systems and integrated them into a Class 8 drayage truck (tractor 

trailer). This proof of concept truck has a range of 200 miles per tank and has a gross 

vehicle weight of 80,000 pounds. It is currently undergoing real-world testing by hauling 

cargo containers from Los Angeles/Long Beach ports to local destinations and rail yards. 

Our objective is to demonstrate how zero emission fuel cell technology can meet the 

performance needs of drayage operators, while eliminating all emissions from the vehicle. 

If successful, fuel cell drayage trucks could provide an opportunity to eliminate emissions 

and noise from often highly polluted and underprivileged port areas. 

5 
82 

At the other end of the scalability spectrum, hydrogen fuel cells are being used to power 

nearly 20,000 fork lift trucks at warehouses around the country. Companies like Walmart 

and Amazon have embraced the technology for its superior performance and warehouse 

efficiency relative to battery powered fork trucks. 

It is important to consider upstream greenhouse gas generation from fuel production 

when assessing the overall benefit of any zero-emission vehicle. Like electricity, 

hydrogen can be produced in a variety ways. Today, most hydrogen is efficiently 

produced from abundant domestic natural gas. Using hydrogen produced from natural 

gas, fuel cell vehicles generate about 50% of the greenhouse gases per mile of a 

conventional gasoline vehicle on a well-to-wheels basis. Hydrogen also can be produced 

renewably using electrolysis from wind, solar or hydropower, or using bio-methane 

captured at landfills and sewage treatment plants. Toyota currently is constructing the 

world's first megawatt-scale carbonate fuel cell power generation plant with a hydrogen 

fueling station at the Port of Long Beach to fuel our port operations. The Tri-Gen facility 

will use bio-waste sourced from California agricultural waste to generate water, electricity 

and hydrogen. When it comes online in 2020, Tri-Gen will generate approximately 2.35 

megawatts of electricity and 1.2 tons of hydrogen per day. In addition to generating 

hydrogen and electricity, this process prevents these bio-methane gases from being 

released to the atmosphere. Ultimately, hydrogen will be produced by a combination of 

sources based on the region of the country, availability, price of the feedstock, and 

regulatory requirements. 

Hydrogen is relatively simple to store and transport. Where electricity requires a battery 

for storage, hydrogen can be stored as a gas for extended period in tanks. This ability is 

6 
83 

the cornerstone of the DOE H2@Scale project and the Hydrogen Society concept Both 

envision the generation and storage of low-cost hydrogen from excess wind or solar 

power. This would help to decarbonize the energy sector as renewable hydrogen could 

be used for vehicles, for industrial processes, or even turned back into the electricity grid 

in an emergency. Hydrogen generation can take place near where the renewable 

electricity is generated or hundreds of miles away off the grid. Likewise, the generated 

hydrogen can be transported and used elsewhere. As part of the Hydrogen Council, an 

international multi-industry organization, Toyota is exploring these concepts and 

promoting ways to transition hydrogen into the energy sector to help decarbonize society. 

Toyota believes the greatest challenge to fuel cell vehicle success is not vehicle price nor 

consumer acceptance, but hydrogen refueling infrastructure. California is the leader in 

infrastructure in the US, having committed $200 million to co-fund 100 hydrogen fueling 

stations. To date, there are 31 stations open to the public with potentially another 12 

expected to open later this year. Most stations are in the Los Angeles and San Francisco 

metropolitan areas. The remainder are connector stations that allow fuel cell vehicle 

drivers to travel between metro areas. While impressive, the station roll-out in CA has 

been slower than expected. 

To accelerate station construction, Toyota has partnerships with several companies. In 

CA, we have partnered with First Element Fuel (FEF) on 19 stations and recently 

announced two additional partnerships, one with Shell to add refueling capabilities to 

seven stations in Northern CA and another with FEF for eight additional stations. In the 

Northeast, we have partnered with Air Liquide, an industrial gas supplier, on the 

development of 12 hydrogen stations in NY, NJ, MA, Rl and CT. These states were 

7 
84 

selected for their large metro areas, customer demographics, contiguous proximity, and 

requirement that automakers sell zero emission vehicles. Most stations will be in the 

Boston and New York City metro areas, with a few connector stations to allow convenient 

travel between the two cities. Most stations will be completed this year, with vehicle 

deployment starting when a sufficient number of stations are operational to meet 

customer needs. 

To insure the US remains competitive in this space, the federal government needs to take 

a much more proactive role supporting hydrogen infrastructure growth. In Japan, Korea, 

Germany and Scandinavia, the federal governments provide strong policy and financial 

support for both fuel cell vehicles and infrastructure. This has resulted in 91 operational 

hydrogen stations in Japan, 44 in Germany, and about 20 in Korea. Without robust federal 

support for hydrogen infrastructure, possibly part of a national infrastructure program, the 

numbers of fuel cell vehicles on our roads will remain modest. 

The federal government can also help by assuring all zero emission vehicles are treated 

equally when it comes to vehicle and infrastructure incentives. Currently, zero emission 

battery electric vehicles are eligible for a consumer tax credit, which we support. But zero 

emission fuel cell vehicles are not. The fuel cell tax credit expired prior to any meaningful 

number of vehicles being on the road. The credit needs to be reinstated. We were 

pleased to see it included in Chairman Hatch's tax extender package, but would 

encourage members to support a longer extension of the credit, so that both the industry 

and consumers can have greater cost certainty. Reinstatement of the credit also is 

important to reestablish parity among zero emission vehicles. 

8 
85 

Toyota also supports the alternative fuel vehicle infrastructure tax credit, which, like the 

vehicle tax credit, has expired. Hydrogen stations are multi-million dollar investments. 

For the tax credit to be meaningful it needs to increase (from its current $30,000 cap) to 

a level that makes hydrogen infrastructure investment viable. These actions would send 

a signal to industry and the States that the federal government supports fuel cell and 

hydrogen technology, while addressing a primary concern of many investors. 

We appreciate that the Committee does not have jurisdiction over tax policy, but thought 

it important to highlight government policies that would have a major impact on getting 

hydrogen fuel cell technology out into the market in the shortest time possible. 

Finally, Toyota wants to recognize the Department of Energy for their ongoing support of 

hydrogen and fuel cell research, development and commercialization. Their investment 

of over a billion dollars for R&D has accelerated commercialization of the technology to 

the benefit of all. DOE supported Toyota's initial Cooperative Research and Development 

Agreement (CRADA) with a national lab and a real-world range test of our fuel cell 

prototype vehicle, the FCHV-adv in 2009. The vehicle demonstrated a range of over 430 

miles on single fill of hydrogen. More recently, DOE's support of codes and standards 

development is benefiting station developers and automakers alike. Similarly, it's ongoing 

engagement with state and regional authorities to address technical questions related to 

tunnels and bridges, and to alleviate any concerns about the safety of the technology has 

been highly beneficial. DOE's continued support in these areas is critical to eliminating 

regulatory barriers that will slow rollout of the technology. 

9 
86 

Toyota strongly believes that a portfolio of advanced technologies, highly efficient engines 

and a range of electric drive options are required to meet the sometimes-divergent needs 

of customers, regulators and society. With their longer range, ability to refuel quickly and 

scalability, hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles are an important part of Toyota's portfolio. 

We appreciate the opportunity to testify before the Committee today and would be happy 

to answer any questions. 

10 
87 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you, Mr. Wimmer. 

I was just sitting here thinking, I can’t remember what year it 

was that President Bush, in his State of the Union, made the statement that a child that was born that year, when he or she turned 

16, they would be driving a car that was a hydrogen-powered vehicle. What year was that? 

Mr. WIMMER. I believe it was 2000. 

The CHAIRMAN. Yes, I think so. 

Mr. WIMMER. I believe it was 2000. So, we’re right there, yes. 

The CHAIRMAN. Okay, well, we are now in 2018. 

[Laughter.] 

Okay, get moving. 

Senator STABENOW. That’s right. 

The CHAIRMAN. But very interesting updates from each of you. 

I appreciate that. 

The focus on the innovation and the advancements that we have 

made, how we can move to not only higher safety standards, but 

greatly decreased emissions. I see some in the audience here. The 

Moms Clean Air Force, focusing on how we can do a better job, an 

important job, of reducing emissions when it comes to our transportation fleet. 

So thank you for what we have heard today. 

Here in the nation’s capital and up on the Hill, there is a lot of 

discussion about infrastructure and what an infrastructure package 

might look like that we could work to advance. I would be curious 

to know, several of you have hit upon it. Mr. Wimmer, you certainly spoke to the need for infrastructure as it relates to hydrogen 

stations. Ms. Gross, you spoke to the need for charging stations for 

EVs. But what else is out there in terms of energy-related infrastructure challenges that we are seeing right now with regards to 

advanced vehicle technologies? If we are putting together a package that could help advance these technologies and start making 

a difference, what else is out there other than charging stations? 

And you can amplify, if you want, but I would be curious to hear 

from each one of you. 

Let’s begin with Dr. Khaleel. 

Dr. KHALEEL. Thank you, Senator. 

So clearly, like you said, charging stations will be needed. Other 

infrastructure for producing hydrogen will be needed, but a lot of 

these depend on, really, electricity either from the main grid or 

from a microgrid. 

So I think the big thing that we really need is to make sure our 

electrical grid is resilient and reliable through the introduction of 

things like microgrids and also energy storage in various ways. I 

think that would be the backbone to all of the items you discussed 

there. 

The CHAIRMAN. Very important. 

Ms. Bailo. 

Ms. BAILO. Thank you. 

I fully support the need to have the correct infrastructure, both 

in charging stations and in hydrogen. Hydrogen and fuel cells are 

one of the powertrains that will have the greatest impact on fullsize trucks and/or commercial vehicles. And with the burgeoning 
88 

E-commerce load that we’re seeing today, it makes a lot of sense 

to propel that technology. 

When we think about the burden that it will have on the grid 

to reinforce it, microgrids are very essential. We need to start 

trialing those in various areas. 

We also need to look at grid balance and the appropriate positioning of where we put those charging stations. It may not be 

equally distributed. You really have to look at the demographics of 

usage. 

We also need to get the private sector involved. Companies have 

to put in charging stations for their employees. All new multi-unit 

dwellings, all new homes should at least have a charging station 

plumbed in as part of its code. Fundamentally, same as you, you 

know, you plumb in it for a dryer today. It should be there. It 

should be ready. Doesn’t mean you need to put the expense of a 

charging station, but it’s easier to do it in the beginning than in 

the end. 

We also need to focus, as I mentioned before, on renewables, 

making sure that we have a clean energy supply coming into that 

grid. 

Dr. DOROBANTU. So I’ll reinforce the point about the electric grid 

and especially the electrical grid modernization. We have a number 

of issues, challenges, facing us in the form of grid stability, incorporating renewables. People talked about microgrids and that is a 

significant change to our infrastructure. But also, things like smart 

grid management in the overall control and distribution, geographically, of the electrical grid. 

The CHAIRMAN. Ms. Gross. 

Ms. GROSS. Yeah, a couple things come to mind. 

First of all, I just echo everything that Carla talked about, the 

public charging, the workplace charging and the building codes 

that would ensure that housing, single family homes, multi-dwelling user unit homes, that everything is just building in codes that 

require just a simple dedicated circuit when you move into this 

home so that it’s ready to charge a vehicle when you move into the 

home. So I think that’s really important. 

But beyond that I would say one thing that’s really tough right 

now in this early market and why there’s a lack of investment in 

EV infrastructure is that it’s a really tough business case. There 

just isn’t the scale. There isn’t the utilization of these stations. And 

so, a business case is very, very tough which means there’s just not 

that competition out there, which means there’s just not the investment. 

One of the likely parties that you can turn to is the utility industry. They are experts at deploying electrical systems, at maintaining, at operating, they’re reliable. They do a fantastic job in that 

industry. But if you look at the 3,000 utilities in this country, then 

the 50 state regulators for most of those utilities, you start to recognize there’s nothing that knits them together so that the infrastructure they put in, sort of, is adapted to the utility next door 

and the next utility so that we end up with a semblance of some 

national strategy. So coordinating the utility industry and the state 

regulators to participate together is really important. 
89 

And maybe I’ll, sort of, just touch on the smart charging area of 

vehicles. It’s really important to take advantage of this big load 

coming and do it right by smart charging, you know, charge the vehicles in the early morning hours when there’s low—when the wind 

is blowing or in the daytime at work, when the sun is shining and 

there’s excess electricity on the grid. 

Utilities being prepared today with APIs on their front end to 

talk to telematic systems, like our OnStar system, mean that utilities could talk to OnStar, talk to all of our vehicle drivers and say 

hey, would you like to take advantage of hydroelectric power on the 

grid right now, we’ve got access. We’ll drop your rate a couple pennies. And here you go, charge up tonight. You don’t care as long 

as the vehicle is charged by six o’clock in the morning. 

So, those kinds of, sort of, forward looking, system views of how, 

what the utility’s role is in EV infrastructure and the smart charging of this load is going to be really, really powerful going forward. 

The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Wimmer, final words? 

Mr. WIMMER. Final words. 

[Laughter.] 

I agree with what many of the other panel members said, but on 

hydrogen, I think we can look at, from the infrastructure standpoint, the needs to have some standardized codes and standards 

from the different cities and states. In California, it’s been fairly 

straightforward because we’re dealing with, primarily, one entity. 

But in the Northeast when we look at expanding infrastructure to 

other states you’re dealing with each individual state and each individual city, and their regulatory process is very different. There’s 

a long education that goes, or involved education process that the 

industry has to do with each regulator. 

Then also, the hydrogen production, as I mentioned. We’re looking at one approach, unique approach, to hydrogen production. I 

think there’s many other ways. One is DOE’s hydrogen at scale approach where you’re looking at using excess renewable or grid energy to produce the hydrogen in a very clean and efficient way. To 

be able to look at other options for hydrogen production and transport to the stations would be helpful. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you all very much, very helpful. 

Senator Stabenow. 

Senator STABENOW. Well, Madam Chair, Senator Manchin has 

indicated he is going to have to leave shortly, so I will yield—— 

The CHAIRMAN. He is going to go buy a car. 

[Laughter.] 

Senator STABENOW. He has to go buy a car, so, I will yield to him 

and then I will reclaim my time after. 

The CHAIRMAN. Great, great. 

Senator STABENOW. Thank you. 

Senator MANCHIN. I wish. 

Let me just say, first of all, thank you all for your presentations. 

I want to remind everybody that 76 percent of all the electricity 

produced in America comes from coal and natural gas, and West 

Virginia is proud to produce 76 percent of your energy. We are an 

all-in energy state. Water, hydro, solar, wind, we love it all. But 

the fact is, if you want 24/7 reliability, you have to go with baseload. So don’t ever forget that right now. We are still trying to 
90 

move through the new technologies, but you have to remember 

what has us at the dance right now. 

I understand a major challenge of the grade of manufacturing, 

and this is from the manufacturing, okay, adoption of electric vehicles is access to critical minerals, also known as rare earth minerals or rare earth elements. China’s monopoly in this space is concerning, extremely concerning, to me from both the economic and 

national security perspectives. This Committee examined the issue 

last year and we continue to have discussions around how to ensure the U.S. consumers and manufacturers have access to these 

materials, including the recreation of a domestic supply chain. 

I find it interesting that the largest global adopter of electric vehicles in 2016 was China at 40 percent of global demand for these 

vehicles. 

So my question would be, in light of the use of critical minerals 

and lithium-ion batteries and other components of these vehicles, 

how concerned are you and your company about access to critical 

minerals? It could be shut down at any time. You could be choked 

off at any time. 

So we need you to engage. I think I have three people I know 

it hits directly and everybody can respond. 

On top of that, I needed to finish up on that and rare earth elements, so that you will know. We don’t mine any rare earth elements in the United States of America at all. We do not produce 

one ounce anymore. We are relying on another foreign country to 

produce where you all want to go and where the American consumer might want to go, but you have to be realistic. We are not 

prepared to do it. And you are putting billions and billions of dollars in investment that could shut you down overnight. 

So, again, my little State of West Virginia, we have a lot of rare 

earth minerals that come from the mining of the coal, even from 

some of our waste, it has to be that we are trying to contain for 

the climate which is our mine drainage. We can produce and we 

are working on that, 45,000 tons per year. Forty-five thousand tons 

per year of rare earth elements just from the waste in the mining 

of what we do for the country. 

But it is going to take an investment from the Department of Energy working with us. We have our friends here with the Department of Energy, and I am glad they are here. We want to make 

sure that you are all aware of that because we are going to need 

your help. 

So, if you could tell me how this could affect you? 

Yes, sir, Mr. Khaleel. 

Dr. KHALEEL. So, Senator, I think, a few points. 

On coal, one should look at coal to products and one of these 

products, actually, is rare earth, but there are a lot of other things 

one can do with coal. 

Senator MANCHIN. Sure. 

Dr. KHALEEL. Including, you know, you can produce carbon fiber. 

Senator MANCHIN. We do. 

Dr. KHALEEL. When it comes to rare earth, we need also to look 

at substitutes, other substitutes, for example, making magnets 

without any rare earth. 
91 

There is an initiative and an institute funded by the Department 

of Energy, and actually the National Energy Technology Lab is 

part of that, called the Critical Material Institute led by Ames National Lab and Oak Ridge is a participant in that. 

Senator MANCHIN. Right. 

Dr. KHALEEL. And we’ve been able to produce electric motors 

with no rare earth elements in them with much higher efficiency 

than existing—— 

Senator MANCHIN. Are you doing that on a commercial scale 

right now? 

Dr. KHALEEL. No. 

Senator MANCHIN. Or just basically in the production, I mean, 

into the—— 

Dr. KHALEEL. But I think they can move into that easily. 

Senator MANCHIN. Into commercial. 

Dr. KHALEEL. The other thing is when it comes to batteries, yes, 

there are a lot of critical elements like lithium, manganese, cobalt, 

nickel. And you know, clearly, when it comes to lithium, for example, we in the United States don’t have that production. Although 

we have the resources in North Carolina with the—— 

Senator MANCHIN. We’re not buying any of it. 

Dr. KHALEEL. Right. 

And I think that’s a challenge. Today we get it from Chile—— 

Senator MANCHIN. I think what I am asking is are you all concerned about your supply chain because of our trade differences or 

our trade, maybe, disagreements that you could be harmed if something happens in our relationships? 

Dr. KHALEEL. I could speak from the research point of view, I 

think, and the innovation. 

I think we need to really invest in the research and the innovation. 

Senator MANCHIN. Okay. 

Dr. KHALEEL. To make sure we can produce things at cost. 

Senator MANCHIN. So right now you are saying you are not concerned at all. 

Dr. KHALEEL. No, I am. 

Senator MANCHIN. Oh, okay. That is all I need to know. 

[Laughter.] 

Who would like to speak next? 

I know, but all of you can, if you have time, Madam Chairman? 

All of you can really just respond to this, I’m sorry. 

Mr. WIMMER. Well, as a large manufacturer of batteries, clearly 

any interruption in our supply chain materials, we would be concerned with, but—— 

Senator MANCHIN. Is that part of your strategic planning and 

thinking? 

Mr. WIMMER. Exactly. 

And we are looking at, as was mentioned by my colleague, of 

technologies, materials that can either substitute in—— 

Senator MANCHIN. Gotcha. 

Mr. WIMMER. ——our electronics, our motors, our batteries or diversifications. 

For example, our hybrid batteries, most are nickel metal hydride 

with only a few as lithium-ion. So with diversification if there’s a 
92 

shortage in one type of material, it might not affect all of our vehicles, but just some. 

It’s a concern, but the diversification and moving toward—— 

Senator MANCHIN. Well right now, as most of your products that 

you use, as far as your product you manufacture, does that come 

from China? Are you all buying from China? 

Mr. WIMMER. I don’t happen to know that. 

Senator MANCHIN. You don’t know that, okay. 

Mr. WIMMER. We can get back to you on that. 

Senator MANCHIN. We know you are because they are the ones. 

They have most of the—— 

[Laughter.] 

We already knew the answer before we asked you. 

[Laughter.] 

But they have the global control of rare earth energy and elements. 

I am sorry, Ms. Bailo. 

Ms. BAILO. Thank you. 

Most of the automakers, fundamentally, have a diversification of 

supply. As much as possible they try to mitigate that risk. Now if 

there’s only a single source, of course, that’s a risk too that has to 

be tackled. 

What each company does is hedge that and look at the costs associated with that. When we look at what’s happening globally for 

the cost of some of those rare earth materials, as well as aluminum 

and steel—— 

Senator MANCHIN. Sure. 

Ms. BAILO. ——we are seeing significant increases recently. So 

all of that needs to be hedged and put into the future plans and 

it goes into the design optimization process. 

The one thing that really needs to be focused on is the reduction 

of some of those rare earth elements, and that can only happen 

through the technological breakthroughs in research that is required. And it needs to be supported, not only within the industry, 

but also within academia and international—— 

Senator MANCHIN. Let me ask one question. 

What time period are you talking about before this evolution 

comes to these new alternative rare earth elements that you do not 

need anymore? 

Ms. BAILO. Well, we’ve already seen a significant reduction, even 

in the very basics that exist today in catalytic converters. 

Senator MANCHIN. Okay. 

Ms. BAILO. Probably up to 60 percent has been reduced. And 

again, as we keep finding breakthroughs and better chemical equations in the battery technology, et cetera—— 

Senator MANCHIN. Sure. 

Ms. BAILO. ——that number will continue to come down. If it’s 

ever going to become zero is anybody’s guess. 

The other thing I wanted to add on the coal front is I don’t think 

we can negate the fact that in some coal plants producing energy, 

if you put in the right catalytic converters and others, you can have 

a pretty efficient plant. 

So, we can also look at—— 
93 

Senator MANCHIN. Not when we had an Administration that 

tried to shut us down completely eight years ago. 

Horrible. Okay. 

Mr. Dorobantu. 

Dr. DOROBANTU. Eaton, in its vehicle business, is not really a 

player in the battery, on the battery side of the business. 

Senator MANCHIN. Okay. 

Dr. DOROBANTU. So we’re not directly affected. 

I can go back and ask about our other industries—— 

Senator MANCHIN. Yes. 

Dr. DOROBANTU. ——and get back to you. 

[The information requested had not been received as of the date 

of printing.] 

Senator MANCHIN. Thank you. 

Ms. Gross. 

Ms. GROSS. Yeah, and just to add a couple nuances from our perspective. 

Yes, we care about the sources. We have teams of people that 

look around the world and make sure that we know how to source 

these materials. 

One thing that’s of interest, though, is that some of these, not— 

a lot of these materials are also not just in automotive in our batteries, they’re also across all of electronics, laptops, cell phones and 

so on. So, it isn’t just us tugging on these resources. That’s important. 

What also comes back to us is, sort of, the cost of these materials. More recently there’s been an issue with cobalt. Prices increasing. Of course, that just drives prices on our side as well and 

that’s a problem for, you know, the price that we can offer these 

vehicles to the consumer. We do watch that closely. In fact, the important work that’s happening when we move from Generation One 

technology, the Volt that came out in 2010 and where we are today 

with Generation Two and the Volt 2E as well. In that period, what 

we’re doing is trying to streamline our use of those materials, in 

many cases. It’s trying to reduce the way, reduce the amount of 

lithium or the amount of cobalt in these systems so that they still 

operate. They’re safe. They’re durable, dependable, but that we can 

reduce the cost by peeling out and improving either the engineering process, the architecture of the system or also the manufacturing process itself in how we apply the material. 

We get more and more effective, and that’s part of the learning 

process of developing and innovating. 

Senator MANCHIN. Let me thank all of you as a panel, because 

you have been extremely informative and very professional. 

The CHAIRMAN. Well, thank you, Senator Manchin. 

No pun intended, but that was a critical question. 

[Laughter.] 

No, it is so important to the discussion because we recognize that 

we have extraordinary opportunities for advances in these technologies, but if we can’t safely, reliably and affordably gain access 

to those base elements that we need to manufacture them, and I 

appreciate what you have said, Ms. Gross, that this is not just in 

the automotive. 
94 

As we look to build out many of our renewable energy sources, 

whether it is wind turbines and the fact that you need to have the 

coating on the blades and the coating comes from so many of these 

minerals. 

It is an issue that, I think, has finally registered an appropriate 

level of attention within the government. We have certainly been 

pushing it for years on the Energy Committee. Now we feel like we 

have a chorus of voices that are saying, hey, yeah, this is really important. Let’s not forget it. 

Let’s go to Senator Stabenow. 

Senator STABENOW. Thanks very much, Madam Chair. And 

thank you again to all of you. 

There are so many different kinds of issues that come into play 

here from infrastructure to rare earth materials to all of the research that needs to be done. 

I want to start with something a little bit different that goes to 

another need that we have in all of this. Ms. Bailo, you talked 

about that, and that is talent, stretching our talent right now in 

what is happening. 

One of my big concerns is that when you look in the big picture, 

National Association of Manufacturers says the next seven years 

we will create three and a half million new manufacturing jobs— 

and at the moment we could fill one and a half million of them. 

As we look at this piece of it as well, not only engineers, not only 

scientists, but skilled trades. People that can do coding. People that 

are interested in a career in technical education. 

So my question would be, and I will start with Ms. Bailo because 

you had mentioned this specifically and you are working with a variety of folks in this context. What are your thoughts on how we 

look at our educational system and can best prepare individuals for 

jobs, not only tomorrow, but that are right here, right now and redesigning? I am working on efforts to support more options in college, but also redesigning and expanding career and technical education in high school and lifting up the privately funded, skilled 

building trades training centers that we have in Michigan and 

other places. 

I don’t know how many times somebody has said to me in a manufacturing operation, just give me a skilled welder, give me an electrician that can do the pieces that need to be done. So what should 

we be doing in that space? 

Ms. BAILO. Thank you. 

I mentioned it’s a passion of mine, so I’ll try to not talk for a 

long, long time. 

I think we have to look at the entire chain of education and 

think of ourselves as a lifelong learning industry and country starting with even very young children in their education to begin to enlighten them into new ways of thinking, innovative ways of thinking. A different mindset is needed in today’s industry than existed 

before. So starting there and then working your way up through. 

I think we need to eliminate the notion that every person needs 

to go to a four-year institution, because some people are honestly 

better skilled and will enjoy a quality of life and get rewards from 

what they love to do. You need to follow your passion, and we need 

to provide students that show that aptitude a place. It doesn’t have 
95 

to be four years. We also need to provide opportunities for apprenticeships, internships, even starting in high school to again, build 

that passion. We need the skilled trades, not only to manufacture 

the products, but to work on the infrastructure that we need for 

connected autonomous vehicles, to do the coding, et cetera. 

The other piece of the puzzle, I believe, is in the four-year institutions today, we are teaching children to think vertically, mechanical engineering, industrial engineering. And in today’s world, you 

need to be a systematic thinker. So how we can start thinking 

about new ways to manage education, supplanting the standards of 

education that we require today with certification programs. We 

have a great example of Udacity, which is entering the university 

space that basically says, we’re going to guarantee you a job. It’s 

a very low price you have to pay, around $2,000, 18 months. You 

have a certificate, and you get a job immediately. If that job becomes obsolete or changes, you go get another certificate. So there’s 

a number of things that we can think about to enable that lifelong 

learning. 

The other part is with technology eclipsing so rapidly, if we are 

not continually teaching and training our existing workforces, then 

they will also become obsolete. It has to be a lifelong learning way 

of doing business. 

Senator STABENOW. Thank you. 

I believe that strongly. I think this is a major issue for us and 

we will develop new technologies and not have the talent, the 

skilled people, that we need for that. 

Anyone else want to comment on that briefly? 

Yes, Mr. Wimmer. 

Mr. WIMMER. The impact of technology on the workforce is clearly significant, as you mention. It’s really an issue Toyota has been 

working on and, to some extent, struggling with for a while. 

Universities have a role to play but so does industry. Technology 

is moving so quickly these days that there needs to be a lot of 

work. We must work together with universities to develop programs that ultimately help provide the skills and the training for 

both university graduates and engineering fields as well as the 

technicians to come right to work into the workplace. 

We’re currently partnering with over 50 community colleges and 

other institutions to train the technicians for our dealers, for our 

manufacturing facilities. They can come in and work on tools to 

prepare them for life in the industry. 

We’re also working to promote STEM at a variety of K through 

12 schools, again, focusing on both the technical career path as well 

as a university engineering career path. 

Finally, I’d like to mention our company’s strong support for the 

reauthorization of the Perkins Career and Technical Education Act. 

I understand it’s been reauthorized in the House, and we would 

hope that the Senate would continue or consider passing the bill 

as well. 

Senator STABENOW. Absolutely. 

Yes, Ms. Gross. 

Ms. GROSS. Yeah, I just, you know, when we talk about this very 

quickly changing industry, it’s almost mind boggling what’s going 

on right now. And if I just, sort of, share a couple, just tidbits. 
96 

Applications from Silicon Valley into GM have increased 100 percent over just the last couple years, so there’s incredible interest 

in the innovation that’s being announced these days. And that innovation does spur the movement of folks around with the talents 

that we’re going to need, because it’s just a very different place 

than it was before. 

The second one is that 35 percent of our salaried workforce at 

General Motors right now has been with the company less than 

four years. Stunning. But that’s the kind of movement in our industry bringing in the talents that we’re looking for. 

And so, just as Bob said, we’re also looking very carefully and investing in STEM programs. In particular, we’ve made some recent 

investments in Girls Who Code making sure and blacks, black girls 

who code as well, to make sure that we’re looking at, not only diversity, but the talents and the STEM resources and the capabilities that we’re looking for also to drive the innovation that we 

need. 

Senator STABENOW. Terrific. 

Yes, Mr. Dorobantu. 

Dr. DOROBANTU. At Eaton we are concerned with the future of 

our workforce and the quality of that workforce. Our normal, traditional university programs do not produce enough engineers, especially in the fields that are now in place, software and controls, 

electronics and so forth. 

So we work with universities, obviously, to try to lay track for 

our workforce through the more traditional channels like internships and so forth, but we have worked also with some leading universities to establish certificate programs around, for example, systems engineering and manufacturing technologies. 

I will say that we do spend a lot of time and resources in retraining, continuously retraining, our workforce. That is important. 

And last but not least, we do have policies in place trying to tap 

into the talent pool, the diversified talent pool. Right now, our industry looks very mechanical, engineering, very non-diverse oriented. We have to change that because there’s just too much talent 

that we’re not tapping into. And I can get back with details, if you 

need those. 

Senator STABENOW. Great. Thank you. 

[The information had not been received as of the date of printing.] 

Senator STABENOW. I know I am about to get—I’m sorry, Doctor, 

did you—— 

Dr. KHALEEL. Sure, I actually wanted to give you an example. 

Last week I was in Corktown, Michigan, and we had a meeting 

with Michigan State University—— 

Senator STABENOW. Yes. 

Dr. KHALEEL. ——and Michigan Economic Development Council 

about really trying to come up with a new program of how we gear 

to train a workforce around manufacturing. And you know, the 

idea is to bring the capabilities of the university to Detroit, but 

then to co-locate with the Corktown facility so people learn how to 

deal with the new equipment and things like that. 
97 

In the State of Tennessee, as you know, the Governor, now, said 

we can, actually everybody in the state can go and do a two-year 

college free. Right? 

So we’re trying to actually, around Oak Ridge National Lab with 

the community colleges, to reinvent the program, 2+2. You could 

spend two years in the community college and come work or train 

in the national lab on some of the tools that we have. Then if you 

decide you want to go to the next level and go to the university, 

then the University of Tennessee may be able to do that. That’s in 

the works. We’re thinking about it, and I think it’s really an important concept. 

The other thing is, within the State of Tennessee, we have something called the Bredesen Center. It’s for graduate students who 

actually do their research at Oak Ridge National Lab. Many of 

them are from the University of Tennessee, but there is a parallel 

program for other students from other universities. And that, actually, is quite enriching for the students and for the lab, not just 

from a research point of view, but they learn other things, in terms 

of innovation, entrepreneurship and things of that nature. 

So that’s really another role that the national labs can play in 

helping folks in the country moving forward. 

Senator STABENOW. Thank you. 

I am so glad you could come to Corktown. It was my pleasure 

to be there when that facility was opened. 

Dr. KHALEEL. Yes. 

Senator STABENOW. It was truly a great example of partnership 

with the Federal Government, the state and the private sector. 

Dr. KHALEEL. Right. 

Thank you, Senator. 

Senator STABENOW. Thank you. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you, Senator Stabenow. 

As we are talking about how we get more, particularly young 

people, into these fields in manufacturing and all of the really 

high-tech skills that we need, I am reminded that in most Alaska 

villages that I visit, it’s not the person with the Ph.D. that has 

great value. It’s that young kid that can repair the snow machine, 

that can repair the four-wheeler. 

Senator STABENOW. Yes. 

The CHAIRMAN. They are the ones that we all look to. 

So making sure that we are not only training them on the manufacturing end and, again, kind of, the fun stuff. It is those who will 

be repairing and working on these advanced vehicles. It is one 

thing to know how to fix your father’s Oldsmobile and the engine 

that was underneath it and now today so much of it is computerrelated and making sure that those who can be on the repair end 

of things have those same appropriate skill sets as well. So it is 

changing. 

I just have a couple more questions that I will ask and then I 

will turn back to Senator Stabenow before we conclude. 

I want to pick up on something that you raised, Ms. Gross, when 

I asked the question about infrastructure and what more we need 

to be doing. You pointed out what I think is the appropriate role 

of working with the utilities and a recognition that there needs to 

be some level of coordination, or certainly communication, so that 
98 

there is a better understanding as to how, particularly with EVs, 

we can maximize the efficiencies. It goes to a statement that was 

made earlier and this might have been by you, Ms. Bailo, that we 

can’t make folks buy things they don’t want. It is how we are communicating with the public about what is happening with these advancements and how they might benefit you, and if they do, how 

you can be a better participant. 

Senator Stabenow and I were speaking before the hearing here 

about driverless vehicles, and I will be the first one to publicly 

admit out loud they scare the living daylights out of me. 

[Laughter.] 

And she described, or you described as well, Ms. Gross, your experience last weekend of driving hundreds of miles without touching the wheel. 

What is the effort out there within the industry to help better 

educate the consumer, make us feel more comfortable, but also 

allow us to recognize the benefits that can come when we are 

smartly using the advanced technologies that the industry is clearly poised to help deliver? It is, kind of, a broad question, but I am 

curious to know what your response might be. 

Ms. GROSS. Yeah, it’s a wonderful, wonderful question because 

it’s, sort of, at the crux of the opportunity right now is how do all 

players play together and take on part of the role, because it is a 

very large challenge. 

It’s unifying utilities and their role in building and installing infrastructure. It’s also rallying environmental groups and industry 

groups to cooperate on national awareness campaigns. 

You know, there’s a lot of, there’s just a lot of cooperation that 

has to go on. 

Maybe if I just touch on first the infrastructure side of it. Back 

in 2007 when we were just penciling out the Volt program and we 

were, sort of, reflecting on what we had learned from EV1 in the 

’90s, it was very clear that one of the major strategies that was either going to make or break electric vehicles was going to be the 

engagement of electric utilities because we had learned in EV1 that 

they have to be a partner right by your side. So back in 2007 we 

set up a very large and broad partnership with EPRI, the Electric 

Power Research Institute, and about 50 of its utility members who 

were very forward-leaning looking at electric vehicles. Then so, we 

back then said now we’ve been working on this a decade. Now 

we’re up to 200 or so utilities that really work very cooperatively 

together on aligning policy priorities, aligning talking points, so 

that when they’re talking to consumers and we’re talking to consumers, we’re using the same vocabulary. We’re answering questions in the same way. We have the same understanding of how 

the grid operates and where the issues are and where the issues 

are not and where the opportunities are. 

And so, these areas and then lastly, the role of national, you 

know, encouraging EV education and awareness and the role of 

utilities. Utilities are so uniquely positioned because not everybody 

buys a car from General Motors. We’d love that if that were the 

case, but we don’t have access to every consumer, but a utility has 

access to every single consumer purchasing electricity in that service territory. And that path to speak to consumers about the impor-
99 

tance of electric drive and what it means to the grid, our data also 

suggests and many of the studies out there too, suggest that consumers would rather hear utilities talk about electric vehicles and 

the role of electricity in transportation than talk to dealers or automakers because they’re viewed as very trusted third-party experts 

on electricity. So, I think that that role of utilities cannot be emphasized enough when it comes to, sort of, the role of the, sort of, 

what else could happen. 

When I look at some of the things that have happened on the 

federal level—Department of Energy had a program in place called 

‘‘EV Everywhere.’’ They were also coordinating and convening industry experts, academia, NGO’s, everyone who is a stakeholder in 

the EV market. We were working together on EV awareness campaigns, and it just needs to be more. It needs to be—we need to 

invest in this, sort of, messaging. And we need to, sort of, show a 

vision nationally. 

One thing I can point to that has been a really nice piece of glue 

is the effort by DOT in cooperation with the Department of Energy 

in establishing these alternative fuel highway corridors across the 

country. Now there’s no money assigned to that. It would be great 

if it were also funded, but just simply the notion of creating a map 

of charging stations across the country from coast-to-coast has allowed local utilities and states to, sort of, recognize how, if they do 

their part, it glues into this larger strategy and vision for EV infrastructure. 

So just simply creating a vision and communicating that federally and nationally is really, really helpful to help these, sort of, 

disconnected pieces, but important, important local stakeholders 

participate in the solution space for how we get these vehicles 

growing and adopted in the marketplace. 

The CHAIRMAN. Let’s go to Dr. Khaleel and then—— 

Dr. KHALEEL. So, I think, Senator, first of all we face multiple 

challenges. The consumers worry, as Carla mentioned, about range, 

so they’re anxious about the range, the driving range. The other 

thing they’re anxious about is time to charge their car, you know, 

today and with today’s technologies it takes about 30 minutes to 

charge a battery to 80 percent capacity. So that’s also a concern. 

Then there is another concern regarding uncertainty of the demand, so you don’t know where these charging stations need to be. 

So the utilities, when we speak to the utilities that we work 

with, clearly, they’re willing to engage, but the issue is also cost. 

The cost needs to come down. 

There are uncertainties that the consumer face, but also the utility folks face to where they place it, it is part of their business 

model and so on. So I think the critical thing for us to do is to overcome these challenges. 

And one way to overcome these challenges is really for us to win 

the energy race in these areas. We need to innovate and we need 

to do, to perform, research, work together. The companies, the U.S. 

companies, along with the innovation capacity that we have in the 

country, that includes the national labs and universities, to really, 

you know, move ahead of these challenges. 

Ms. BAILO. Just a couple quick examples about things that have 

worked to educate the public. 
100 

One is when Nissan first launched the Leaf in the early 2012 period. The thing that worked very well was cooperating with cities 

directly and dealerships directly and holding public forums with 

just ‘‘Meet your EV day’’ and ‘‘This is how you charge the vehicle,’’ 

‘‘This is how the vehicle performs.’’ 

A second example is the Columbus Smart City Initiative of which 

Vulcan donated $10 million for basically increasing the number of 

EVs by three times, charging stations, et cetera, within the whole 

city. Part of that initiative involves local businesses and working 

with the automakers, taking the products to a company for a daylong event, ride and drive, let people drive the vehicle, let them understand how to charge the vehicle, let them see how it can be integrated into their daily lives. Seeing is believing, and until we have 

the momentum of word of mouth, these kinds of events really, really seem to be working. 

Dr. DOROBANTU. So I’d like to shift the discussion a little bit onto 

commercial vehicles, much more passenger car vehicles, of course, 

on the roads, but if you look at it from an energy consumption perspective, the commercial vehicles are right behind the light duty 

segment in terms of how much CO2 is emitted and how much fuel 

is being burned. Furthermore, that consumption is increasing in 

time as opposed to the passenger car market where, because of all 

the work that’s being done and all the focus that’s on it, the total 

emissions are actually going down. 

So the commercial vehicle space is different. It has very different 

challenges. We do not have the consumer there, but we do have the 

fleets or the operators of these vehicles and they have different 

needs than the consumers in light duty. For them, the vehicles are 

a means of performing work. So, for them, things like down time 

is critical. Total cost of ownership is critical. So there are other 

means, there need to be other means who reach that community. 

Things that have worked are demonstration programs, as well as 

investments. I will give one example. We’re working actively with 

NREL to look at how the grid and fleets of commercial vehicles 

that have batteries on them could interact and could provide benefit and, in fact, improve the value proposition of electrifying commercial vehicles by offering grid services. That’s a different process. 

The end result is the same. It’s the education of stakeholders, but 

the stakeholders in the commercial vehicle space have a very different bag that they’re trying to optimize. 

Ms. GROSS. Might I also add one more point when I think about 

consumer awareness and really grabbing consumer’s attention and 

that is, I talked about the share mobility programs that were operating around the country right now. We have 300 Bolt EVs in our 

Maven program which is a ride-sharing/ride-hailing program in six 

cities in the United States. In those 300 vehicles, we’ve been operating only about 18 months or so, we have had 400,000 riders in 

Bolt EVs. These are 400,000 people that didn’t have the ability to 

experience what we always say is a ‘‘butts in seats’’ experience 

where you experience the drive in a car which changes your mind 

instantly about how fun these vehicles are to drive. So that’s another form of how we’re embedding electrification in the ability to 

get the vehicles out there, driven, so that people can experience 
101 

and ask the driver, hey, what am I driving, this is really fun. 

That’s another form of awareness growing in the country. 

The CHAIRMAN. Senator Stabenow. 

Senator STABENOW. Well, thank you again, Madam Chair. 

I want to talk about public-private partnerships in my last questions, because we know we have basic research and then we have 

what companies are doing in terms of commercialization and so on. 

The big debate, it seems to me, that we have, in terms of the 

Federal Government’s role, of course, sometimes we are doing it, 

sometimes we are not, is this piece in the middle which is sometimes called ‘‘the Valley of Death.’’ You get ready to commercialize 

or get ready to take that step and then there is not the support 

in the middle of that. 

One of the things Department of Energy has done is the 

SuperTruck program. Dr. Dorobantu, I know that your company is 

a participant in this, so I wanted to get your thoughts. 

As you know, 50/50 cost share, public-private partnership promoting research and development and demonstrating technologies 

to improve, as you were talking about, commercial vehicles, the 

Class A tractor trailer trucks, and the goal is to improve, by more 

than 100 percent by 2020. I should just remind all of us that trucks 

haul as much as 80 percent of the goods for the country. They 

make up only 4 percent of the vehicles, but they are 20 percent of 

the fuel. So a major way to save fuel economy is to focus on trucks. 

What is your assessment of the SuperTruck program at this point? 

Dr. DOROBANTU. So, just—— 

The CHAIRMAN. Push that button. 

Senator STABENOW. I’m sorry, yes. 

Dr. DOROBANTU. There are actually two SuperTruck programs. 

One has been successfully concluded a couple of years back, and 

then there’s another one that has recently been launched. 

Senator STABENOW. Correct. 

Dr. DOROBANTU. So I’ll talk about the one that—— 

Senator STABENOW. We know the first phase had a number of 

impressive results. 

Dr. DOROBANTU. Right. 

Senator STABENOW. I am just wondering, as it goes forward what 

we need to do. 

Dr. DOROBANTU. Right. 

What this program allowed us to do, the industry as a whole, 

not, obviously, not just Eaton, is to provide laser sharp focus on 

fuel efficiency at the system level. 

There’s been many investments in very particular technologies 

which were needed and the technologies have evolved. In a complex 

vehicle, many technologies have evolved. But what SuperTruck allowed manufacturers and suppliers to do is to put these technologies together in packages and see what actually works and 

what doesn’t when they’re put together as a system. It helped the 

industry sort out many options and prune some of these technologies, but also, we now have the technologies from SuperTruck 

that were evolved under the first SuperTruck program already in 

production. They’re saving fuel today. 

So to give you some feel about this. When the SuperTruck program started, most of the Class A trucks were averaging about six 
102 

miles per gallon. The SuperTruck program itself produced some 

mind-blowing results so we’re looking at 10, 11, 12 miles per gallon 

trucks, but those were research trucks. What we are seeing with 

the trucks that are coming out today, that are incorporating the 

technologies that were demonstrated and that were straightened 

out under the SuperTruck II program, those trucks are in the 7.5 

to 8.5 miles per gallon today. Moving from under 6 to 7.5, 8 miles 

per gallon, in a period of maybe, five, six years, that is a tremendous achievement. It has impact in the fuel consumption, it has impact in the cost of transportation and it has impact in our competitiveness worldwide. 

When we started SuperTruck, we were way behind the European 

trucks. Now we are, with the combination of technologies that were 

developed under SuperTruck and very stringent CO2 regulations 

that were recently enacted, we’re in a position to overtake the Europeans that pride themselves in being fuel efficient by bounds and 

leaps. So very excited with the outcome of the SuperTruck program 

and we’re looking forward at this second addition. 

Senator STABENOW. Well, thank you, Doctor. 

We are going to need you to help tell this story. I indicated earlier that vehicle technology, the Innovation Act, with the Chair’s 

support and the Committee, is in the Energy bill on the Floor 

which is very important. But I do need to say, that we are going 

to have a big debate on this, in general, of these partnerships because the Administration has proposed cutting nearly $1 billion 

from the Department of Energy’s Office of Science and cutting the 

Vehicles Technologies Office budget by 73 percent. So we are going 

to be having a lot of discussion. We are going to need your help, 

all of your help, on why this is important. 

And then just to that, broadening as we look at other countries 

because we know we are in a competition with other countries. You 

are in competitions between companies, obviously, as well. For all 

of us, this is about American leadership and remaining the leaders 

in this technology. 

Mr. Dorobantu, your company, I know, does business in 175 different countries, including the U.S., and we are glad you are in 

Michigan. Can you talk about, a little bit more about, how the U.S. 

compares to other major world economies in terms of supporting 

technology innovation? And from your perspective, how does a company with a global footprint decide where to invest its research and 

development dollars? 

Dr. DOROBANTU. Thank you. That is a complex question. 

But I’ll start, when we look around the world at what other people are doing, what other countries or regions are doing, we’re seeing a significant competition in terms of advanced technologies, obviously, coming from Europe. 

I will give one example of how other countries do this. So the 

United Kingdom, for example, has realized about five, ten years 

ago that it had lagged behind from being a leader in the automotive world, to becoming a lagger. They have made some crystalclear decisions in terms of investment and strategy to redress that 

situation. They view it as an economic, competitive edge to invest 

in innovation. What they have done is they have set a massive public-private partnership called the UK Automotive Council. They 
103 

funded it sufficiently for a period of ten years so that they have the 

stability in that. And then they have defined a number of key technologies that, if successful, would put the UK back into the saddle. 

They are funding anything from startups to major starts with this 

sharp strategy and with long-term funding associated with it. They 

do use the 50/50 cost share mechanism to make sure that, you 

know, it’s not a bunch of scientists, perhaps, like myself, that make 

decisions and then turn out to be wrong. So, they, the cost share 

with the industry is a mechanism of ensuring that the research is 

guided toward actual commercialization. 

I think in terms of how we operate globally, well, we obviously 

have to be where our customers are. So, we do that. But we have 

also global resources, and we have centers of excellence that have 

global reach. So our investment, in terms of technology, is done 

here in the U.S. and this is where we put our advanced technology 

monies. What we do have in other parts of the world, we have engineering centers that are, of course, trying to adapt these technologies and optimize them for the specifics of those markets. 

Senator STABENOW. Thank you. 

Thank you, Madam Chair. I would love more questions, but I 

know in the interest of time at this point, I will save those for another day. 

Excellent panel, and we appreciate your input. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you, Senator Stabenow. 

I would certainly hope that the recent move that we made in the 

Congress to lower that corporate rate is going to be one of those 

forcing mechanisms, if you will, that would allow many others to 

look at the United States as the place to either return some of that 

business to allow for more of whether it is the R&D or the manufacturing. Hopefully, that helps with the competitive aspect of it. 

I, too, want to thank everyone for the information that you have 

shared with us today. Nobody really thinks about Alaska as being 

innovators in the automotive sector, but we have been plugging in 

our cars for decades. 

[Laughter.] 

All of the cars that I have ever owned had a head bolt heater, 

the little plug is sticking out of the car, out of the front of the grill, 

and you just plug in your car because if you don’t plug in your car, 

it doesn’t start the next morning, at least this time of the year in 

Fairbanks where I learned to drive. 

So, maybe not the precursor, but we certainly understand what 

it means to plug your car in, and I am just amazed and very inspired by the level of innovation that we have heard here today. 

Maybe I need to take advantage of some of the ride sharing that 

you have talked about, but still the driverless one, I am going to 

feel compelled to still reach for the wheel or be more hands on. I 

will get used to it. 

Before we do close though, I want to thank Bob Yoffe and Joe 

Koch and all of the convention staff that made this hearing possible and allowed us to work our staff with yours. It was a good 

opportunity. I certainly have enjoyed it. 

Senator Stabenow, I am just even more motivated to come to Detroit, come to Michigan—— 

Senator STABENOW. Great. 
104 

The CHAIRMAN. ——and see more of what you have going on. 

And you, in turn, are welcome to come to Alaska and you can 

see—— 

Senator STABENOW. Yes. 

The CHAIRMAN. ——how in our little communities, the Mayor of 

Cordova, one guy, saying, you know what? We are going to be a 

demonstration case in our little fishing village and start them one 

little charging station at a time. 

Senator STABENOW. That’s right. 

The CHAIRMAN. So we may have to bring you up to Cordova, and 

I will go to Detroit. 

Senator STABENOW. That’s a deal. 

The CHAIRMAN. With that, we stand adjourned. 

[Whereupon, at 11:51 a.m. the hearing was adjourned.] 
(105) 

APPENDIX MATERIAL SUBMITTED 
106 

U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

January 25, 2018 Field Hearing 

The Road to Tomorrow: Energy Innovation in Automotive Technologies 

Questions for the Record Submitted to Dr. Mohammad Khaleel 

Questions from Ranking Member Maria Cantwell 

Question 1: We have seen composites in Washington state advance dramatically. 

1t has taken years of work in advanced materials to get where we are. 

And there has been significant private sector investment, as well as public-private sector 

collaboration, including with our national labs. Now, we are beginning to the see that investment 

pay off through the increased use of composites not only in aviation, but the automotive sector as 

well. The BMW i-3 is just one example. 

But it also means jobs in areas like Moses Lake, Washington and Port Angeles Washington, 

where composites are helping to bring economic development to areas where it is needed most. 

(la) Dr. Khaleel, can you tell us about some of the research going on at Oak Ridge as it relates to 

new materials for vehicles~ 

(lb) When it comes to composites and other advanced materials, can you talk about the 

importance of organizations like the Institute for Advanced Composite Manufacturing 

Innovation (IACMT) to further development of composites? 

Answer: 

La. The modem materials research tools at ORNL, coupled with dedicated, world-class 

expertise, allow our scientists to analyze and build new materials at the atomic scale. We 

discover and make new materials; we study their structure, dynamics, and functionality; and we 

use high-perfonnance computing to understand and predict how they will behave in applications. 

ORNL's low-cost carbon fiber and composites work is focused on reducing production cost of 

industrial-grade carbon fiber by approximately half to enable widespread deployment in high 

volume, cost-sensitive automotive applications. 

ORNL is home to DOE's Carbon Fiber Technology Facility (CFTF)-a 42,000 sq. ft. innovative 

technology facility. The CFTF offers a highly flexible, highly instrumented carbon fiber line for 

demonstrating advanced technology scalability and producing market-development volumes of 

prototypical carbon fibers and serves as the last step before commercial production scale. 

The CFTF has made available for licensing a new method of producing carbon fibers from 

multipurpose commercial fiber precursor-such as fibers used in carpeting or clothing. The 

technology has the potential to reduce carbon fiber production costs by more than 50%. In 

addition, the method reduces energy consumption by as much as 60% and has applications 

across the aerospace, transportation, energy, and infrastructure industries. LeMond Composites 

was the first company to license the acrylic fiber method, with plans to take the technology to 

market. 
107 

U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

January 25, 2018 Field Hearing 

The Road to Tomorrow: Energy Inno1•ation in Automotive Technologies 

Questions for the Record Submitted to Dr. Mohammad Khaleel 

ORNL is leveraging its expertise in advanced and composite materials and additive 

manufacturing in partnership with the University of Maine and its Advanced Structures and 

Composites Center to develop new methods and uses for forest-based biomaterials, including for 

automotive and other industrial applications-a partnership supported by EERE's Advanced 

Manufacturing Office. 

ORNL is also home to DOE's Manufacturing Demonstration Facility (MDF), where we 

collaborate with automakers to create lightweight, complex components for the transportation 

industry. Some of our most high-impact research in this space revolves around advances in the 

tool and die industry-creating custom molds, for instance, for new vehicle designs quickly and 

at a much lower cost than in conventional manufacturing practice. 

We are working with Ford and Volkswagen to produce low volume composite tooling out of 

high temperature thermoplastic materials via additive manufacturing. We are also collaborating 

with American automotive tooling companies to produce high-volume stamping dies via largescale metal additive manufacturing. 

ORNL collaborated with Local Motors to develop materials processes for 3D-printing the chassis 

of the world's first 3D-printed car-the Strati-using the big-area additive manufacturing 

(BAAM) machine developed by ORNL and Cincinnati Incorporated. Building on that success, 

the laboratory 3D-printed the Shelby Cobra electric sports car, used as a living laboratory for 

integrating advanced vehicle technologies, at the MDF using the BAAM system. Local Motors 

leveraged the same technology to additively manufacture the chassis for its Olli autonomous 

shuttle bus. 

l.b ORNL is a founding partner of the Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing 

Innovation, one of the Manufacturing USA centers for innovation. IACMI, the Composites 

Institute, has assembled a consortium of almost 160 members, including more than 120 

companies and the economic development offices from 6 core partner states, committed to 

moving carbon and other advanced fiber composites into mainstream use in strategic application 

areas for the United States, including vehicles and transportation. IACMI, working with ORNL 

and other innovation partners, is working with leading OEMs Ford, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, 

and others as they team with partners in their supply chains such as Dow, Faurecia, DuPont, 

BASF, and PPG to develop and demonstrate new materials and processes on the path to large 

scale deployment. 

IACMI and the LIFT (Lightweight Innovations for Tomorrow) organization have opened a 

manufacturing scale-up facility at Corktown in Detroit, Michigan, where industry and institute 

members can conduct research and development in lightweight metals and advanced composite 

materials. ORNL, for instance, is collaborating on a project at Corktown to develop new, lighter 

materials for electric vehicle battery shielding. 

2 
108 

U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

January 25, 2018 Field Hearing 

The Road to Tomorrow: Energy Innovation in Automotive Technologies 

Questions for the Record Submitted to Dr. Mohammad Khaleel 

The composites community is excited about the impact carbon fiber will make when deployed in 

mainstream automobiles. In addition to reduced energy use, this will create new jobs and grow 

the market for carbon fiber components beyond an already strong 12% compound annual growth 

rate. 

IACMI is also partnering with leading trade organizations such as the American Chemistry 

Council and the American Composites Manufacturer's Association to identify workforce 

development needs and deliver targeted training and retraining programs to the composites 

industry as it grows. 

In addition to the capacity building impact of the organization, the breakthrough technology 

work being led through the institute is fulfilling the enormous potential for energy savings and 

carbon reduction and creating a global composites recycling industry. This is being realized 

through more efficient utilization of some of the 50 million pounds of annual carbon fiber scrap 

that would otherwise go to the landfill and is instead being used to manufacture new automotive 

products such as the seatback created as a result of an IACMI and the Composite Recycling 

Technology Center (CRTC) project. 1 

Along with the technology advances, the collaboration with industry and trade organizations is 

strengthening visibility for the industry and expanding opportunities for to train the current and 

future workforce at all career entry points. Workforce development opportunities include handson training and to-date have benefited over 1,200 people from across the US .is at the technician 

level training provided by IACMI and partners. 

IACMI was built to leverage core competencies and infrastructure at ORNL, and in its first three 

years, this public-private partnership has generated more than $70M in infrastructure and 

capacity building investment, including key facilities that are unique to the Americas and critical 

for US companies' global competitiveness. 

As an example, Dow and Ford have been working with IACMI on new materials and 

manufacturing processes to reduce the cost and cycle time for automotive carbon fiber 

components. These are currently demonstrated in the Ford GT, with plans to develop further so 

they are suitable for high volume platforms. This success builds off ORNL investments in both 

the Manufacturing Demonstration Facility and the Carbon Fiber Technology Facility and is a 

model example of how the US leveraging strategic innovation assets to support global 

competitiveness in manufacturing. 

Question 2: As more electric and alternative fueled vehicles enter into the marketplace and are 

on the road, this presents an opportunity for infrastructure development. 

3 
109 

U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

January 25, 2018 Field Hearing 

The Road to Tomorrow: Energy Innovation in Automotive Technologies 

Questions for the Record Submitted to Dr. Mohammad Kbaleel 

(2a) What are some of the obstacles in deployment of electric vehicle (EV) and alternative fuel 

charging infrastructure? 

(2b) How can industry partner with the Department of Energy to bring about increased 

infrastructure? 

Answer: 

2.a. To boost consumer acceptance of electric and alternative-fuel vehicles, recharging/refueling 

stations must be convenient, accessible, reliable, and numerous. A vehicle range that limits longdistance travel has been a significant barrier to the adoption ofEVs. 

In a September 2017 DOE report, National Plug-In Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Analysis, 

researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) found that an extensive and 

convenient network of fast-charging stations spaced about 70 miles apart along the U.S interstate 

system could enable reliable inter-city travel and encourage wider EV adoption. The report 

suggested that 400 such stations would need to be built for this purpose. 2 

In October 2017, a DOE report issued by Idaho National Laboratory, NREL, and Argonne 

National Laboratory identified technical gaps to implementing an extreme fast charging network 

in the United States. The aim of this DOE/national lab consortium is to develop charging stations 

with 400-kilowatt capability-which would recharge a battery-powered EV in less than 10 

minutes. The report addressed challenges in three key areas: better batteries with higher energy 

density, extended lifetimes, and lower cost; vehicle improvements to handle the higher voltage 

through advanced power electronics, including solving the tradeoff between driving range and 

recharge time; and infrastructure challenges such as standardization of vehicle systems and 

recharging stations, careful planning of station siting, and eff01ts to limit impacts to the larger 

power grid3 

2.b. ORNL and the other national laboratories actively seek out industrial partners for research 

collaborations that seek to solve complex challenges. 

We think that the electrification of the US fleet will require three major breakthroughs that 

reduce the range anxiety and uncertainty that is slowing adoption of electrified vehicles. 

First, we need to increase battery energy density and reduce cost. We need more energy, in less 

weight and volume, at a lower cost. The Department of Energy and the National Laboratories 

contain the nexus of scientific talent, world-class materials research instruments, and the highperformance computing facilities to reveal the next generation of batteries that reduce range 

anxiety. 

2 http://wmv .nrcl.gov/docs/fy t 7osti/6903l.pdf 3 

4 
110 

U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

January 25,2018 Field Hearing 

The Road to Tomorrow: Energy Innovation in Automotive Technologies 

Questions for the Record Submitted to Dr. Mohammad Khaleel 

Second, we need to co-develop the vehicle batteries and power electronics to enable automated 

charging of vehicles in minutes instead of hours using extreme fast charging technology. 

Extreme Fast Charging delivers charge to vehicles 50 times faster than conventional charging 

technologies. 

Finally, we need a viable vehicle charging station and standards, with DOE-led demonstrations 

that are co-developed with the electric grid to deliver several megawatts to vehicles at convenient 

locations. The DOE has the ability to significantly accelerate the electrification, and all of these 

breakthroughs must be done with industry partners that will drive the vehicle sales and 

infrastructure installations that will achieve massive electrification in the US. 

For example, we partnered with Toyota, Cisco Systems, Evatran and Clemson University to 

install an ORNL-designed 34-kilowatt wireless vehicle charging system that can charge 

passenger vehicles five times faster than conventional plug-in systems at the same efficiency as a 

wired connection. We are targeting a 100-kilowatt system for next year on the way to an ultimate 

350 to 400-kilowatt system. We are currently working with United Parcel Service to develop a 

bidirectional wireless charging system with higher ground clearance for the company's delivery 

trucks. Evatran has since developed a commercial wireless EV charging system based on this 

breakthrough, "Plugless," which it plans to roll out as automakers introduce vehicles with 

wireless charging technology. 

In another project, we collaborated with Clemson University to develop a novel method to 

anticipate the demand for electric vehicle charging stations and to assist communities with 

infrastructure planning for inter-city traveL The data-driven method, developed with input from 

the California Department of Transportation, considers electric vehicle volume and random 

timing of vehicles arriving at charging stations to determine the optimal number of chargers 

needed in the near- and long-term. 

Question from Senator Tammy Duckworth 

Question: Advanced manufacturing is an important issue that plays a central role in multiple 

industries. Furthermore, progress in the field is critical to maintaining US. competitiveness in 

the global marketplace. 

Dr. Khaleel, your testimony specifically discussed the important role advanced manufacturing 

plays in energy innovation in the transportation sector. You shared that these techniques can 

increase the energy savings over the lifecycle of a vehicle by improving manufacturing 

efficiency, as well as creating lightweight materials that increase fuel economy. 

In your opinion, how can Congress help facilitate further progress in advanced manufacturing to 

boost innovation and improve energy savings in the automotive industry and across all sectors? 

5 
111 

Answer: 

U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

January 25, 2018 Field Hearing 

The Road to Tomorrow: Energy Innovation in Automotive Technologies 

Questions for the Record Submitted to Dr. Mohammad Kbaleel 

Advanced manufacturing research at the national laboratories involves working hand-in-hand 

with industry to lower the cost and energy intensity of manufacturing methods, in order to 

enhance the sector's global competitiveness and bring manufacturing jobs back to U.S. shores. 

While the United States has world-class innovation capacity and a unique culture of 

entrepreneurship, there has historically been significant under-investment in many of clean 

energy's most promising and important technologies. As these technologies have advanced, 

market barriers have become a more significant and visible limitation to the speed of 

deployment. Our sense of urgency is further increased as we see the rest of the world investing 

billions of dollars in clean tech R&D and deployment while the impacts are becoming more 

apparent in our daily lives. 

At ORNL, we are utilizing the MDF to encourage research collaborations to advance 

lightweight, complex components for the transportation industry. One highly impactful research 

area is lowering the cost of tools and dies by additively manufacturing molds to be used to make 

components for new vehicles. Our Battery Manufacturing R&D Facility at the MDF supports 

research into new battery materials from the nanoscale up to industrially relevant scales, 

including roll-to-roll manufacturing techniques to advance faster, more efficient production. 

These remarkable breakthroughs would be difficult if not impossible for industry to solve alone. 

DOE's national laboratory system brings together world-class facilities and experts across a wide 

spectrum of disciplines to tackle scientific challenges from a vehicle's smallest component to 

solutions for energy-efficient, vast transportation networks, in collaboration with partners from 

industry, academic, and public institutions who help guide our research for the greatest impact. 

The national laboratories are a remarkable asset for the United States, taking on large-scale, 

long-term research and development efforts that are outside the scope of industry or universities. 

Over the past 75 years, the labs have provided the science and technology breakthroughs needed 

to address compelling national problems. They offer an extraordinary set of resources for 

sustaining and advancing the nation's security, quality of life, and economic competitiveness. 

6 
112 

U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

January 25, 2018 Field Hearing 

The Road to Tomorrow: Energy Innovation in Automotive Technologies 

Questions for the Record Submitted to Ms. Carla Bailo 

Questions from Ranking Member Maria Cantwell 

Question 1: Significant developments in engine technology have led the way to greater fuel 

economy, however there is a limit to that which can be achieved through motor engineering 

alone. 

[fwe are going to continue to drive down fuel consumption without dramatic increases in costs 

to consumers, it seems we need to do more in the way of"lightweighting," including furthering 

the use of composites. 

Ms. Bailo, what are the trends the Center for Automotive Research is seeing on lightweighting? 

The development of a passenger vehicle is a complex undertaking that requires many tradeoffs. Fuel 

economy improvement (or co, reduction) is undoubtedly a critical goal during vehicle development. 

However, automakers must balance this objective with many others. CO, reduction opportunities for 

vehicles come from many different technologies and strategies (e.g., different powertrain technologies, 

engine downsizing, mass reduction, aerodynamics, and other means). How companies manage these 

tradeoffs is of critical importance. 

During the vehicle planning process, each manufacturer must assess the costs and potential efficiency 

gains of each fuel efficiency option, and decide the most cost-effective pathway to meet program 

requirements and constraints. Design optimization is fundamental and is dependent on customer usage 

for the segment, vehicle attributes (including mass), manufacturing processes, and specific plant 

characteristics. Companies perform this optimization very early in the product planning cycle. Balancing 

these technological and strategic factors ensures the most effective technology packages are offered to 

meet the customer requirements. 

For nearly one hundred and twenty years, the internal combustion gasoline engine (ICE) has been the 

standard for passenger vehicles. While battery electric vehicle (BEV) technology is advancing rapidly, 

there remains tremendous room to develop the ICE. The recent shift from port fuel injection to direct 

injection, increased use of turbochargers, and near-term technologies such as variable compression 

ratio cylinders and homogeneous charge compression ignition indicate the cost and performance of the 

ICE continue to be moving targets. ICEs, whether alone, or supplemented with electric motors and 

advanced batteries, are becoming more efficient every year, and will likely be an essential part of the 

automotive efficiency equation for years to come. 

Mass reduction, through the use the alternative materials, is also a significant part of any 

manufacturers' CO, reduction strategy. New applications of composites, steel, and aluminum present 

viable mass reduction opportunities, and continued development and implementation of each of these 

material solutions is vital to meeting efficiency gains. CAR works closely with multiple industry 

stakeholders to track mass reduction and advanced material trends, and we have ongoing efforts via 

CAR's Coalition for Automotive Lightweighting Materials. The trend for body-in-white panels (the outer 

skin of the vehicle) that comprise most of the weight of the auto body is to move first from mild steel 

to higher-strength and lighter steels, then from these advanced high-strength steels (AH55) to 

aluminum, and finally from aluminum to composites such as carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP). 

Utilizing these alternative materials impacts cost significantly. 
113 

U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

January 25, 2018 Field Hearing 

The Road to Tomorrow: Energy Innovation in Automotive Technologies 

Questions for the Record Submitted to Ms. Carla Bailo 

Once an automaker launches a vehicle, material substitution for mass reduction becomes very difficult, 

so the vast majority of these changes must take place during the development phase. Changing 

materials for components such as trunk and hood lids may be possible, but beyond a select few, there 

are very few mass reduction opportunities available after the product launch. 

What are some of the challenges and opportunities with increased use of advanced materials? 

While substantial opportunity exists for implementation of advanced materials, such actions do present 

several challenges. In 2016, CAR published a report that identifies real-world barriers to vehicle mass 

reduction. 1 The report showed that the material supply chain is constrained for the many new advanced 

materials. In the development phase for advanced materials, vehicle manufacturers often have to 

engage with material providers to secure the necessary supply for their production components, 

something not necessary for the standard steel or aluminum production, where coils of base materials 

are readily available for purchase as commodities. 

Components using advanced material represent a significant challenge for implementation. At least 

initially, manufacturing costs are higher with advanced materials, due to the higher base cost of 

materials, slower cycle times, and even duplicate tooling equipment required for higher volumes. For 

example, the highest strength metallic materials (e.g., specialty boron steel or 7000-grade aluminum) 

need to be heated to be formed into parts, and this heat treatment adds time and cost to the 

manufacturing process. The formation of composite materials into auto body outer skin panels can 

require even longer processing times using highly-specialized equipment and processes. 

Stranded capital is also a concern for vehicle manufacturers and suppliers. The installed infrastructure of 

metal forming presses, welders, and paint systems represents hundreds of billions of dollars, and it 

would need to be replaced, or at least significantly upgraded and enhanced to apply to advanced 

materials such as CFRP. Capital availability for such investments is itself a constrained commodity for 

every automaker, and manufacturers' projections on future vehicle volumes are also critical from a 

return-on-investment standpoint. 

CAR has produced several reports that address this question in greater detail than can be provided in 

this response2 These reports illustrate both the opportunities advanced materials offer for vehicle 

mass reduction, as well as the many substantial challenges ahead. 

1 Baron, I. (2016). Ident({ving Real-TForld Barriers to Imp~ementing Lighfl.veighting Technologies and Challenges in {L<;timating the Increase in C!osts. Ann .Arbor, MI: Center for Automotive Research:. 

ar~~~)i~'f~r Ttit?Jin~tk~~ i{~&;!:~fl~sing the Fleet-wide mataial Technologv and Costs to Lightweight Vehicles. Ann Arbor, 

uum ,''·'-'"'"'""·'·Ann Arbor, 

Dc>ptula, L., & Noah, A (20 15). Assessing the Cost & Benejt't qf Ejfi!ctive Liglrtu·eighting Technologies. Ann Arbor, MI: Center 

for Automotive Rcs~arch. 

2 
114 

U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

January 25, 2018 Field Hearing 

The Road to Tomorrow: Energy Innovation in Automotive Technologies 

Questions for the Record Submitted to Ms. Carla Bailo 

Question 2: Ms. Bailo, numerous studies, including from the Department of Energy, 

academic and environmental organizations have shown that, with the current grid mix, electric 

vehicles provide significant well to wheels emissions benefits compared to gasoline-powered 

vehicles. These benefits increase with additional renewable power to the grid. 

Do you disagree with these studies? lf so, can you provide the basis for this disagreement? 

In virtually all instances, a BEV charged on the current U.S. grid, on average, outperforms the ICE in 

terms of CO, emissions-sometimes significantly. As natural gas and renewable energy sources 

increasingly replace coal generation in this country, the U.S. grid will continue to become cleaner. This 

shift will likely increase the co, advantage of BEVs relative to gasoline powered vehicles. 

However, due to variation in the grid, it may be misleading to assume an average co, reduction 

applies to every case. Due to differences in power generation mix (i.e., more or less coal, renewables, 

and the like), some regions may perform much better or much worse than the national (or even 

regional) average. 
115 

U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natm·al Resources 

January 25, 2018 Field Hearing 

The Road to Tomorrow: Energy Innovation in Automotive Technologies 

Questions for the Record Submitted to Ms. Britta Gross 

Questions from Ranking Member Maria Cantwell 

Ouestion 1: As more electric and alternative fueled vehicles enter into the marketplace and are 

on the road, this presents an opportunity for infrastructure development. 

What are some of the obstacles in deployment of electric vehicle and alternative fuel charging 

infrastructure? 

How can industry partner with the Department of Energy to bring about increased infrastructure? 

What role do utilities play in electric vehicle charging infrastructure development? 

Answer: 

EV charging infrastmcture today has not attracted sufficient investment to establish a compelling 

foundation of EV charging stations across market sectors. This suggests that the EV charging 

infrastmcture market remains a challenging business case and thus uncompetitive. This market 

will become more viable and competitive over time, for example, as hardware costs decrease, as 

installations become more streamlined through enabling building codes, and as station utilization 

increases. But this early market currently requires additional investment to close the 

infrastructure gap and establish a network of charging stations that is highly visible to consumers 

and drives consumer confidence in the ability to drive EVs anywhere at any time. EV 

infrastructure is also key to attracting innovative and advanced mobility solutions, such as carsharing, ride-hailing and autonomous vehicles. The ability to introduce and grow these advanced 

mobility services relies on a robust foundation ofEV charging infrastructure, especially DC fast 

charging. 

From a practical perspective, station siting poses a large obstacle to the buildout of EV charging 

infrastructure. Finding sites that can support EV charging loads, finding locations that consumers 

will find attractive and convenient, and getting various permits approved across multiple levels 

of government all pose challenges to infrastmcture development. Without proper siting, some 

stations could be over-utilized, resulting in long waiting lines, while others could be underutilized, undermining the business case for development. On the residential side, where most 

charging takes place, it has proved challenging to install EV charging at multi-dwelling units 

such as apartments and condos. Unique circumstances and the many parties often involved--

Home Owners' Associations, property managers, and garage managers, for example-make 

installation burdensome and time consuming. 

Finally, the lack of general consumer awareness about where EV charging exists poses an 

additional obstacle to the development of a robust network. Increased use of and better signage 

to direct consumers to EV charging stations can help spread awareness amongst road users. 

The Department of Energy (DOE) can continue to play a very positive role to help increase EV 

infrastructure development. Past initiatives, such as DOE's EV Everywhere and the Workplace 
116 

U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

January 25, 2018 Field Hearing 

The Road to Tomorrow: Energy Innovation in Automotive Technologies 

Questions for the Record Submitted to Ms. Britta Gross 

Charging Challenge, provided a platform to engage stakeholders across industry in robust 

discussions on how to develop EV charging infrastructure. This lead in part to the 2016 

announcement by the White House of the "Guiding Principles to Promote Electric Vehicles and 

Charging Infrastructure." These principles represented the culmination of several years of 

vigorous work by stakeholders in government, including DOE, and the private sector. Ultimately 

forty-six industry members agreed with the vision articulated by the principles. These initiatives 

should be continued. Furthermore, the important work done in partnership between DOE and the 

Department of Transportation (DOT) in developing EV charging corridors can help form the 

basis of a national plan to implement EV charging infrastructure. 

Utilities also play a vital role in the development ofEV charging infrastructure and they must be 

active participants in increasing consumer awareness. Since most EV charging takes place at 

home and since workplace charging is key to growing EV awareness, the ability of utilities and 

their regulators to influence grid needs (for example, making sure electricity is cheaper than 

gasoline) is a key factor in growing the market. In 2007, GM partnered with the Electric Power 

Research Institute and over 50 utilities to launch the largest existing auto-utility collaboration 

focused on messaging and policy priorities, customer outreach and infrastructure, and vehicle to 

grid technology. The more varied role of utilities in the development of early market EV 

charging infrastructure, the better. 

Question 2: Carbon fiber's high manufacturing cost and high performance make it an attractive 

recycling target, which can help bring about further adoption in the automotive industry. 

There is a whole new industry that is beginning to emerge around composite recycling in 

Washington state. 

Recycling not only prevents the waste going to landfills, but the recycling process itself 

significantly reduces the amount of energy needed compared to making new composites. 

To what extent, if any, have your companies explored composites and composite recycling as 

you incorporate more advanced materials into your manufacturing processes? 

Answer: 

Earlier this year, GM revealed the 2019 GMC Sierra, which for the first time includes an option 

for a new carbon fiber truck bed, the "CarbonPro" box. The "Carbon Pro" box saves 62 pounds in 

the truck bed. This new feature was developed jointly through a collaboration with Teijin, a 

premier carbon fiber manufacturer. Over the last several years, we have worked with Teijin to 

develop advanced carbon fiber/thermoplastic composite structures for production automotive 

applications. Since the system is recyclable, we can recycle scrap from the truck bed and use it in 

other components of the truck's structure. Though our use of composites and composite 

recycling is in its early stages, recycling makes sense due to the cost of composites. We would 

welcome the opportunity to keep you and your staff informed as our use of composites and 

composite recycling develops and matures. 

2 
117 

U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

January 25, 2018 Field Hearing 

The Road to Tomorrow: Energy Innovation in Automotive Technologies 

Question for the Record Submitted to Mr. Robert Wimmer 

Question from Ranking Member Maria Cantwell 

Question: Carbon fiber's high manufacturing cost and high performance make it an attractive 

recycling target, which can help bring about further adoption in the automotive industry. 

There is a whole new industry that is beginning to emerge around composite recycling in 

Washington state. 

Recycling not only prevents the waste going to landfills, but the recycling process itself 

significantly reduces the amount of energy needed compared to making new composites. 

To what extent, if any, have your companies explored composites and composite recycling as 

you incorporate more advanced materials into your manufacturing processes? 

Answer: Thank you, Senator Cantwell, for your question on Carbon Fiber (CF). Toyota is 

committed to the efficient use materials in our automobiles and designs that enhances 

recyclability at the end of life. As you mentioned, CF is energy intensive to produce, so finding 

ways to recycle and reuse this material has both environmental and COz reduction benefits. To 

that end, Toyota is developing CF recycling technology and assessing ways to utilize recycled 

CF in body and component materials for new vehicles. Our philosophy is to use "the right 

material in the right place". 

0