4.4 Exploratory Technology
Development

Exploratory Technology Development in FY 1992
included cross-cutting research at Lawrence Berke-
ley Laboratory to provide a technology base and a
core technology program at Los Alamos to support
the development of fuel cells for transportation appli-
cations.

Cross-cutting research at Lawrence Berkeley
provides a critical scientific and electrochemical en-
gineering base to support the development of fuel
cells for transportation applications. The projects at
Lawrence Berkeley include spectroscopic and in situ
studies of electrochemical reactions at electrode
surfaces, studies of electrocatalysts using advanced
surface techniques, electrocatalysis studies, and
modeling of electrochemical and transport phenom-
ena. Lawrence Berkeley has developed mathematical
models to understand transport and kinetic phenom-
ena occurring in electrochemical systems.

Improvements to the model of a solid-polymer-
electrolyte fuel cell were made to include the effects
of electrode kinetics, mass transfer to the membrane-
electrode interface, and thermal effects. Lawrence
Berkeley is using sophisticated surface-sensitive
techniques and photothermal deflection spectroscopy
(PDS) to study the electrooxidation of CH3OH on Pt
based electrocatalysts. The PDS study indicates that
the rate-limiting step appears to be the transfer of
oxygen from water to the Pt catalyst where it can
react with CH3OH to form COz. The surface compo-
sition of Pt (MPt3) alloys for methanol
electrooxidation was found to be strongly dependent
on the strength of the intermetallic Pt-M bond. In
CoPts, for example, where the intermetallic bond is
relatively weak, the lower surface energy of Pt pro-
duced pure Pt planes on both the [111] and [100]
orientation. Investigations of dispersed Pt-Ru
electrocatalysts showed they have a much higher
catalytic activity for the electrooxidation of vaporized
methanol than Pt alone in 72 percent weight CseCO3
at 120°C. Furthermore, a cell with 72 percent weight
CsgCO3 exhibited much lower potential losses than a
comparable cell operated with concentrated H3P04
under similar conditions (80°C).

Much of the fuel cell exploratory technology de-
velopment underway at Los Alamos and Brookhaven
National Laboratory is directed at improving the
performance, life, and costs of the polymer-electrolyte-
membrane for the PEM fuel cell; the focus is on

electrocatalysis, theoretical studies, fuel-cell testing,
fuel processing, and membrane characterization. Los
Alamos has found that processing membrane-elec-
trode assemblies (MEA) with membranes that con-
tain the Na* form rather than the H* form permits the
use of higher processing temperatures, 185 vs. 135°C,
and the MEA are more robust, have a lower imped-
ance, and are more tolerant to adverse humidification
conditions in fuel cells. Los Alamos has characterized
some of the H2O-management properties of Nafion
117, membrane C, and an experimental Dow mem-
brane. The Dow membrane appears to show the
highest H2O uptake and smallest water drag. These
properties are beneficial for obtaining high perfor-
mance in fuel cells with the Dow membrane. A large
50-cm? cell was operated at Los Alamos which at-
tained an initial performance of 2 A/cm? on Oy (5 atm)
without experiencing transport losses at the Oz elec-
trode. The initial performance on air (5 atm) showed
only marginal losses up to 1 A/cm?. Brookhaven is
utilizing X-ray absorption spectroscopy to investigate
the properties of Pt/C and several of its alloys with
Cr, Co, and Ni. The results indicate that alloying
with Ni has a large effect on the character of Pt,
whereas Cr has little effect. Nickel forms a solid
solution with Pt, with the Ni atoms substituting at Pt
sites.

Los Alamos is conducting basic and applied re-
search necessary to bring PEM fuel cell technology
to the performance and cost levels required for
widespread use in transportation. The specific goals
are to reduce the intrinsic costs, to increase the power
density, to optimize the system for operation on re-
formed organic fuels and air, and to achieve stable,
efficient long-term operation. Major areas of activity
in FY 1992 are: optimizing platinum/carbon electrode
structure; improving performance on low-pressure
air; evaluating long-term endurance and materials
stability; studies on catalysis and catalyst utilization;
characterizing conductivity and water transport in
polymer electrolyte membranes; and research on di-
rect methanol oxidation.

The optimization of Pt/C electrodes for PEM fuel
cells has been a focus of effort at Los Alamos since
1984. Over the past 2 years, a thin-film electrode
technology that uses carbon-supported platinum in a
4- to 5-mm-thick layer applied directly to the mem-
brane was developed. This electrode structure pro-
duces power densities greater than 1 W/cm? on Hg
and air, with a platinum loading of 0.12 mg/cm?. This
technology, for an 80 kW peak-power passenger car,

31


4.0 FUEL CELL SYSTEMS R&D

a

Fuel cells, operating on non-petroleum fuels, can
potentially provide an alternative transportation pro-
pulsion system with nearly twice the fuel economy
and greatly reduced emissions/noise compared to
the internal combustion engine. A fuel cell is an
electrochemical device that combines hydrogen with
oxygen and converts their chemical energy into
electricity. The waste product from the process is
water; fuel cells emit essentially no carbon monoxide,
nitrogen oxides, or particulates.

The objective of the DOE Fuel Cells for Trans-
portation program is to advance fuel cell technologies
from the R&D phase, through optimization and scale-
up, to demonstration in cars, vans, and buses, in
order to provide energy savings, fuel flexibility, and
air quality improvements. Near-term efforts are di-
rected at phosphoric acid fuel cells (PAFC) technol-
ogy, which is the only one suitably developed for
transportation at this time. The result will be a
methanol-fueled, fuel-cell-powered bus system with
performance equivalent to diesel buses, but with a
reduction in exhaust emissions of more than 99 per-
cent. For the longer-term, the program is directed at
the introduction of proton exchange membrane
(PEM) fuel cells into cars and vans. PEM fuel cells
can achieve the power density required for cars and
vans, but additional R&D is required to reduce costs,
optimize performance, and otherwise extend the
technology. Advanced reformer technology and im-
proved hydrogen storage systems are being devel-
oped to improve the competitiveness of PAFC and
PEM fuel-cell-powered vehicles by reducing system
size and cost, reducing start-up times, and increasing
transient response capability. Fuel flexibility can be
attained with the capability of reforming methanol,
ethanol, or natural gas into hydrogen for use in fuel-
cell-powered vehicles.

During FY 1992, DOE initiated the development
of a National Program Plan for Fuel Cells in Trans-
portation. This 10-year plan is being developed from
aconsensus for the development and commercializa-
tion of fuel cell vehicles formed at the two meetings
of an ad hoc technical panel consisting of more than
50 representatives from the transportation industry,
universities, national laboratories, government agen-

cies, regulatory bodies, and alternative fuels propo-
nents.

4.1 Phosphoric Acid Fuel Cell
Bus Project

The objective of this program is to develop and
demonstrate a fuel cell propulsion system in an urban
transit bus. An urban transit bus was selected as the
initial test vehicle because its larger size can readily
accommodate the packaging of a first-generation fuel-
cell-powered propulsion system, and because the ac-
quisition cost of present-day fuel cell systems can be
amortized over a longer service life in a bus than in
passenger cars. Methanol fuel was selected because
it can be derived from nonpetroleum sources (¢.g.,
coal, natural gas, biomass), it can be easily stored
onboard to provide an acceptable driving range, and
it can be reformed into hydrogen for fuel cell use at
relatively low temperatures.

The phosphoric acid fuel cell was selected be-
cause of its near-mature state of development and
because its operation on reformed methanol has been
demonstrated. The use of a battery in parallel with
the fuel cell minimizes the size of fuel cell required;
the fuel cell provides the average power required,
and the battery, which is recharged by the fuel cell
during bus idle periods, provides the supplemental
power needed during vehicle acceleration. For
maximum energy efficiency, the energy released
during vehicle braking can also be used to charge
the battery.

This program is co-sponsored by the Department
of Transportation/Federal Transit Administration and
by California’s South Coast Air Quality Management
District. Argonne National Laboratory and
Georgetown University provide technical manage-
ment for this program.

In Phase I of this project, two industrial contrac-
tors demonstrated the feasibility of the concept by
building and testing a laboratory brassboard power
system one-half the size needed for the bus. The
team of Booz-Allen & Hamilton, Chrysler Pentastar
Electronics, and Fuji Electric built and tested an in-
tegrated 68-kW power source consisting of a 25-kW

27


Figure 17. MEVP 75-hp test bed vehicle - Concept vehicle — Ecostar.

Table 6. Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Program Site Operators

Continuing Site Operators

Arizona Public Service Company*

Kansas State University in cooperation with KEURP

Los Angeles Department of Water & Power

Orcas Power and Light Company

Pacific Gas and Electric

Platte River Power Authority

Public Service Gas & Electric Company

Southern California Edison*

Texas A&M University in cooperation with South Central Utility Consortium
University of South Florida in cooperation with the City of Tampa and Florida Power
York Technical College’ in cooperation with the City of Rock Hill and Duke Power
U.S. Navy

New Site Operators

Potomac Electric Power Company

36

* Participants under prior program





included network specific programming. Telephone
access to the database was also implemented. Upon
completion of the testing, parties outside the Idaho
were able to access the database via a personal com-
puter equipped with a telephone modem. The Idaho
Battery Test Data Database, Version 2.0, and tele-
phone access to it were demonstrated March 5, 1992,
at the EPRI Battery Testing Project Review Meeting
at Electrotek in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

The Site Operator Database is a continuing record
ofthe Site Operator program and contains information
on the operators, vehicles, and vehicle operation and
maintenance records. This information is available
as background-expanded activities in electric vehicle
technology and applications. The first database was
compiled starting in 1988. Cognizance of the database
was given to the Idaho during the summer of 1991.
As a result of review and use of the database by the
site operators, recommended modifications of the
Site Operator Database programs are in progress at
the close of FY 1992.

Maintenance and updating of the EHV Library by
the Idaho continued through FY 1992. Presently, the
library contains 2,900 entries of technical electric
and hybrid vehicle literature, ranging from technical
reports from a multitude of public and private sources,
to meeting papers from various technical societies.
During FY 1992, over 400 volumes were added to the
library. In order to provide easy retrieval of informa-
tion, a program was developed and furnished to the
DOE which searches the library database for publi-
cations based upon keywords provided by the user.

6.3 Environment, Health, and
Safety Studies

Environmental Impact

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory is
conducting environmental, health, and safety (EH&S)
assessments of advanced batteries for electric ve-
hicles. In FY 1992, National Renewable Energy pub-
lished the following reports on EH&S issues relevant
to cell and battery design, shipping, in-vehicle use,
and recycling and reclamation of sodium-sulfur
(Na/S) batteries.

Volume I, Ce// and Battery Safety, covers cell de-
sign and engineering as the basis of safety for Na/S
batteries and describes and assesses the potential
chemical, electrical, and thermal hazards and risks of

46

Na/S cells and batteries. Research and development
performed in the past, currently underway, or needed
in the future to address these hazards and risks are
also reviewed.

Volume I, Battery Recycling and Disposal, gives
an overview of the Resource Conservation and Re-
covery Act (RCRA), discusses RCRA regulations
governing Na/S battery recycle/reclamation, and
contains a preliminary regulatory analysis for Na/S
recycling and reclamation.

Volume II, 7xansport of Sodium-Sulfur and So-
dium-Metal Chloride Batteries, discusses issues as-
sociated with the transport of Na/S and sodium-metal
chloride cells and batteries. In Volume III, batteries
employing either technology are generically de-
scribed as sodium-beta (Na-beta) batteries, and, for
purposes of transport, no distinction is drawn between
them. Volume III examines the regulations that
govern the shipment of dangerous materials. El
emental sodium contained in Na/beta batteries is
classified as a dangerous material and is listed on
both the national and international hazardous mate-
rials listings. Both national and international regula-
tory processes are considered in the report, and the
interrelationships as well as the differences between
the two processes are highlighted.

Volume IV, /x-Vehicle Safety, covers the in-ve-
hicle safety issues of electric vehicles powered by
Na/S batteries. The report is based on a review of
the literature and on discussions with experts at DOE,
National Laboratories and agencies, and private in-
dustry. It has three major goals: (1) to identify the
unique hazards associated with EV use; (2) to describe
the existing standards, regulations, and guidelines
that are or could be applicable to these hazards; and
(8) to discuss the adequacy of the existing require-
ments in addressing the safety concerns of EVs.

Work began in FY 1992 on a similar assessment
of nickel/ metal hydride batteries. Although the same
EH&S issues will be addressed, (i.e., cell and battery
design, shipping, in-vehicle use, and recycling and
reclamation) the format will be slightly different.
Because much of the information on the regulatory
issues pertaining to shipping and in-vehicle safety is
not battery dependent, the assessment of nickel/
metal hydride batteries will focus on unique cell and
battery characteristics and will include a brief dis-
cussion on shipping, in-vehicle safety, and recycling
issues particular to nickel/metal hydride batteries.

To provide current information on regulatory is-
sues, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in-






Bloom, I., M.C. Hash, J.P. Zebrowski, K.M. Myles,
and M. Krumpelt, “Oxide-Ion Conductivity of Bis-
muth Aluminates,” Solid State Ionics, 53 (56): 739-747.
(1992)

DeLuca, W.H., K.R. Gillie, C.E. Webster, and J.E.
Kulaga, “Effects of Charge Methodsand Pulse Charge
Currents on Nickel/Iron Traction Battery Perfor-
mance,” Proceedings of the Seventh Annual Battery
Conference on Applications and Advances, Long
Beach, CA, January 21-23, 1992, Paper No. 92EV-7, 2
(7). (1992)

DeLuca, W.H., K.R. Gillie, J.E. Kulaga, J.A. Smaga,
A.F. Tummillo, and C.E. Webster, “Performance and
Life Evaluation of Advanced Battery Technologies for
Electric Vehicle Applications,” Proceedings of the
Society of Automotive Engineers International Meet-
ing on Future Transportation Technology, SAE
Technical Paper No. 91163. (1992)

DeLuca, W.H., K.R. Gillie, J.E. Kulaga, J.A. Smaga,
AF.Tummillo, and C.E. Webster, “Results of Advanced
Battery Technology Evaluations for Electric Vehicle
Applications,” Proceedings of the SAE 1992 Future
Transportation Technology Conference, Costa Mesa,
CA, August 10-13, 1992, SAE Technical Paper No.
921572. (1992)

Hash, M.C., J.A. Smaga, R.A. Guidotti, and F.W.
Reinhardt, “Material-Deposition Processes in the
Separator of Li-Alloy/FeS, Thermal Cells,” pp. 228-
243 Proceedings of the Eighth International Sympo-
sium on Molten Salts, St. Louis, MO, May 17-21, 1992.

Hash, M., 1. Bloom, and M. Krumpelt, “Synthesis and
Characterization of Bismuth Aluminates,” p. 83 in the
94th Annual Meeting & Exposition of the American
Ceramic Society Abstracts, Minneapolis, MN, April
12-16, 1992.

Henriksen, G.L. (ANL), and J. Embrey (SAFT R&D
Center), “Lithium/Metal Sulfide Technology Status,”
Proceedings of the Annual Automotive Development
Contractor's Coordination Meeting 1991, Dearborn,
MI, October 28-31, 1991.

Kumar, R., “Modeling of PEM Fuel Cell Systems,”
Proceedings of the International Energy Agreement
(IEA) Workshop on PEM Fuel Cells, Ottawa, Canada,
September 14, 1992.

54

Kumar, R.,and S. Ahmed, “Multi-Fuel Reformer R&D,”
Proceedings of the Annual Automotive Technology
Development Contractors’ Meeting, Dearborn, MI,
October 28-31, 1991, Society of Automotive Engineers,
P-256: 239-244. June 1992)

Kumar, R., S. Ahmed, M. Krumpelt, and K.M. Myles,
“Reformers for the Production of Hydrogen from
Methanoland Alternative Fuels for Fuel Cell Powered
Vehicles,” ANL-92/31. (August 1992)

Miller, J.F., “Fuel Cell Powered Vehicle Development
Programs,” Proceedings of the SAE Topical Techni-
cal Conference (TOPTEC) on Fuel Cells For Trans-
portation, Arlington, VA, November 4-5, 1991.

Nelson, P.A., A.A. Chilenskas, and R.F. Malecha,
“Variable Pressure Insulating Jackets for High-Tem-
perature batteries,” p. 57, vol. 3 of the Proceedings of
the 27th Intersociety Energy Conversion Engineering
Conference, San Diego, CA, August 3-7, 1992.

Prakash, J., L. Redey, R. Skocypec, L. Lowrey, and
D.R. Vissers, “Dual Role of Nickel in Sodium/Nickel
Chloride Batteries,” Extended Abstracts, Electro-
chemical Society Meeting, Toronto, Canada, October
11-16, 1992, The Electrochemical Society, Pennington,
NJ, 92 (2): 112. (1992)

Prakash, J., L. Redey, R. Skocypec, and D.R. Vissers,
“High-Performance Nickel Chloride Electrode Stud-
ies,” Extended Abstracts, Electrochemical Society
Meeting, Toronto, Canada, October 11-16, 1992, The
Electrochemical Society, Pennington, NJ, 92 (2): 108.
(1992)

Redey, L., J. Prakash, D.R. Vissers, and K.M. Myles,
“Development of Na/NiCl, Cells,” p. 343 in the Pro-
ceedings of the IEEE 32nd Power Sources Meeting,
Cherry Hill, NJ, June 22-28, 1992.

Redey, L., K.M. Myles, F.J. Rotella, J.W. Richardson,
G.P. Felcher, L.L.R. Hittermann, and R. Kleb, “Elec-
trochemical and Neutron Diffraction Measurements
of PdD, Cathodes,” Proceedings of the Symposium on
Hydrogen Storage Materials, Batteries, and Electro-
chemistry, D.A. Corrigan and S. Srinivasan, eds., The
Electrochemical Society, Pennington, NJ, 92 (5): 258.
(1992)


late actual EV operation and environments. Test and
evaluation programs are in process that (1) subject
batteries to the actual electrical loads of high tech-
nology EVs in test bed vehicles on a dynamometer;
(2) integrate advanced EV drive systems in vehicles,
and test them on the track, road, and dynamometer;
(3) test and characterize auxiliary systems, such as
battery chargers, state-of-charge indicators, and bat-
tery monitoring and thermal management systems
in a realistic EV environment; and (4) test advanced
batteries by electrically loading them with complex
driving cycle power profiles in a controlled labora-
tory environment over a range of operating tempera-
tures from -20°C to +80°C.

Since FY 1984, the Idaho National Engineering
Laboratory has performed testing activities at their
dynamometer and battery test laboratories which
were established for this purpose. Typical standard
driving profiles on which vehicles are routinely tested
are the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) EV
driving cycles (SAE J227a) and the SFUDS. Special
tests have been performed in the laboratory and on
the test track to provide direct comparisons of AC
and DC powertrains, measure regenerative braking
performance, evaluate air-conditioning concepts,
evaluate interior noise levels, and measure electro-
magnetic emissions.

In FY 1991, Idaho installed a new-generation dy-
namometer system controller and enhanced the data
acquisition processing and display capabilities of the
dynamometer laboratory with the installation of an
integrated laboratory data acquisition system. It ac-
quires and logs data, monitors for alarms, and displays
“real time” and/or historical data via high-resolution
graphic displays. The operating system provides a
real-time, multi-user, multi-tasking, and networkable
operating environment.

In FY 1992, Idaho tested the Ford/GE Second
Generation Single-Shaft Electric Propulsion (ETX-II)
System test bed vehicle and the CSPL sodium-sulfur
battery. The vehicle test program included a series
of constant speed tests, energy economy tests, SAE
J227a/C, and FUDS cycles performed on a chassis
dynamometer (see Figure 21). The dynamometer
tests demonstrated that the ETX-II vehicle operated
well with the CSPL sodium-sulfur battery, yielding a
range of >180 km (110 mi) at 88 km/h (55 mph). The
sodium-sulfur battery easily provided sufficient power
to utilize the maximum power (52.5 kW) capability of
the ETX-II interior permanent magnet motor. The
test results provided in Table 8 indicate that all the
performance goals for the program have been
achieved.

Table 8. ETX-II Performance Versus Program Goals

GOAL RESULTS
Acceleration (sec) [0 to 80 km/h] <20 17.35
Gradeability limit (%) 30 30
Top speed (km/h) 96 105
Payload (kg) 545 590
Energy consumption (kW-h/km) [on FUDS] 0.250 0.212
Range on FUDS (km) >160 >160

42


at operating temperature for 21 months, but only
logged approximately 60 cycles. In February, when
the capacity of the battery had decreased from its
initial 300 A-h to 230 A-h, testing was terminated. For
reference, a peer group from the ETX-II cell popula-
tion was also tested continuously at Argonne National
Laboratory. This 120-cell bank at Argonne completed
about 500 Simplified Federal Urban Driving Schedule
(SFUDS)-based electrical cycles before suffering a
significant loss in capacity.

Development of improved mechanical and elec-
trical systems for the second-generation battery was
completed along with a detailed design. Part of the
development ofa suitable mechanical system involved
qualifying the various cell and battery components
with respect to vibration resistance. The small CSPL-
manufactured test battery shown in Figure 6 (contain-
ing 120 PB cells arranged in two 8-volt banks) was
used to qualify the response of the ETX-IIs battery
components to vibration. The actual second-genera-
tion battery will have a reduced weight compared to
the first-generation battery and will be suitable for
underfloor mounting and evaluation in the Ford ETX-
II vehicles. The battery will utilize the latest CSPL-PB
cells that contain an improved seal material. The
service life of the battery is expected to be at least 2
years and 500 cycles. Although the intent was to
perform the evaluation in the actual vehicle, funding

limitations prevented the fabrication of a full voltage
battery. Instead, a 100-volt, 24-kW-h battery will be
delivered to Argonne for performance and life charac-
terization. The expected initial energy and power
densities for this battery are: 90 W-h/kg, 135 W-h/1,
125 W/kg, and 185 W/1. Final fabrication and delivery
of the battery to Argonne will be completed in January
1993.

The design of common, high-performance so-
dium/sulfur cells and batteries for electric vans was
also completed in FY 1992. This work, performed
under a 30 percent cost-shared contract with Beta
Power, Inc., defined the mid-term capabilities of the
sodium-sulfur technology. A task was also included to
consider purpose-built, passenger vehicles. The pe-
riod of performance for this $460K contract was 18
months.

A conceptual cell design formulated in FY 1991
exceeded original program goals with high energy
(250 W-h/kg and 420 W-h/l) and power (600 W/kg
and 1010 W/}) densities. During FY 1992, conceptual
battery designs were defined for the G-Van, TeVan,
and ETX-II vehicles using this cell. The same internal
battery module configuration is employed, consisting
of 15, 3-cell series strings connected in parallel. In all
cases, the batteries satisfied the required performance
with much smaller size and weight than is possible
with the current sodium/sulfur technology.

Figure 6. Sodium/sulfur battery used in vibration testing.

14


would require less than $500 for platinum. The final
goal of this task is to produce membrane/electrode
assemblies, with platinum loading smaller than 0.25
g/kW, that can be manufactured at a low cost in large
areas and that exhibit stable performance over 2,000
to 3,000 hours of drive-cycle operation on methanol
reformate and air. In developing thin-film electrodes,
significant improvements in the low-pressure air
performance have been achieved. Current densities
greater than 800 mA/cm”, at a cell voltage of 0.5 V,
have been achieved using ambient pressure hydrogen
and air. To determine degradation mechanisms,
single cells, with very low platinum loading, were
tested for up to 4,000 hours. The cells continue to
operate well for these long periods; however, there is
a slow loss in performance. The “post mortems” of
these cells indicate that the platinum catalyst particles
agglomerate, slowly reducing the active catalyst sur-
face area. Preliminary experiments indicate that
starting with larger platinum particles may alleviate
this problem.

In a PEM fuel cell, the water content and water
distribution in the polymer membrane have a domi-
nant effect on performance. To characterize these
membranes, water sorption, water diffusion, and wa-
ter drag coefficients were measured under experi-
mental conditions that mimic the conditions in an
operating fuel cell as closely as possible. Substantial

32

data have been accumulated for Nafion 117, Mem-
brane C, and the Dow experimental membrane at
both 30°C and 80°C. These data have been incorpo-
rated into a detailed microscopic model of water
transport that can predict net water transport, water
profiles, and membrane resistance as a function of
operating conditions.

Fuel cells which could use methanol directly
would greatly simplify the vehicle propulsion system
by eliminating the need for a reformer. Unfortunately,
methanol tends to poison the catalysts and the per-
formance is poor. To overcome these problems,
research is being conducted on direct methanol oxi-
dation (DMO). During FY 1992, the work focused
on accurately characterizing the effects of methanol
on operating PEM fuel cells. Electrodes using
methanol-tolerant, Pt:Ru-alloy catalysts were fabri-
cated using the thin-film-electrode technology devel-
oped at Los Alamos. Key parameters of the cell were
evaluated during operation with a methanol/water
vapor mixture at the anode and air at the cathode.
These experiments showed that the rate of DMO
could be significantly increased by increasing the
methanol vapor pressure at a well-designed anode
catalyst layer. Losses due to methanol penetration
through the membrane were also quantified and
possible solutions have been identified.


TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface
List of Figures
List of Tables
1.0 Introduction
2.0 FY 1992 Accomplishments
3.0 Battery Systems R&D
3.1 United States Advanced Battery Consortium
3.2 Advanced Battery R&D
3.3 Exploratory Technology Development
3.4 Battery Testing
3.5 Ultracapacitors
4.0 Fuel Cell Systems R&D
41 Phosphoric Acid Fuel Cell Bus Project
42 Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Research
43 Multifuel Reformers and Hydrogen Storage
for Fuel Flexibility
44 Exploratory Technology Development
5.0 Vehicle Systems R&D
5.1 Hybrid Propulsion Systems
5.2 Modular Electric Vehicle Program
5.3 Site Operator Program
5.4 Engineering Evaluation Testing
6.0 Studies and Assessments
6.1 Battery Test Task Force
6.2 Database Development
6.3 Environment, Health, and Safety Studies
7.0 Incentives
8.0 Use of Foreign Components
9.0 Recommendations for Initiatives
10.0 FY 1992 Publications
Acronyms

Units

iii

51

61
61


Life cycle testing of two Sonnenschein DF6V160
sealed lead-acid battery modules was conducted us-
ing the SFUDS battery discharge profile which simu-
lated the duty cycle expected of the hypothetical
IDSEP mini-van on the FUDS. The end of the battery
life was reached after 382 discharge cycles when the
two modules could not deliver 80 percent of the their
original energy on the cycle. Subsequent tests on the
weakest module revealed that it had deteriorated to
less than 72 percent of the rated ampere-hour capacity
due to failure of the negative half-cell. At the comple-
tion of life cycle testing, the weakest battery was
subjected to an in-depth teardown analysis to determine
the precise cause of failure. The results of this analysis
will be reported when it is completed.

Characterization tests were performed on three
East Penn 8D8G 12 volt batteries. The electrodes
used in this battery are manufactured by Sonnenschein
and are believed to be the same electrodes used in the
DF6V160 battery described above. Characterization
test results are currently being analyzed. Preliminary
indications are that the performance of the East Penn
electrodes are indeed similar to the Sonnenschein
DF6V160 electrodes.

Two flooded lead-acid battery designs manufac-
tured by Japan Storage Battery Company were tested
and characterized in the Idaho Battery Test Labora-
tory. These batteries are manufactured in Japan by
the Japan Storage Battery Co., Ltd., and imported into
the United States by GS Battery (U.S.A.), Inc. The
GS E150H model is generally considered the best
lead-acid battery in Japan for use in electric vehicles.
Performance of these batteries is fairly poor com-
pared to other lead acid batteries.

3.5 Ultracapacitors

High energy density ultracapacitors can be used
to load level the traction battery in electric vehicles or
the engine in a series hybrid electric vehicle. In the
case of electric vehicles, use of ultracapacitors would
reduce the peak power required from the battery by a
factor of three or more, resulting in a longer battery
life. The battery could also be optimized for energy
density. In the case of the series hybrid vehicle, the
ultracapacitors would be used to supply the peak
power ofthe electric drive system and permit a smaller
battery system to handle a level load.

Acontract was placed in June 1992 with Maxwell
Laboratories, San Diego, CA, and Auburn University,

Auburn, AL, to develop bipolar, carbon-based
ultracapacitors having an energy density of at least
5 W-h/kg by 1995, which could be configured in a
100 kg unit to store 500 W-h of energy. Very high
surface-area electrodes can be achieved with carbon
for significant stored energy density. Materials and
electrode research at several DOE National Labora-
tories and at private companies doing research for the
Department of Defense has indicated that development
of ultracapacitors with an energy density of 10 to
15 W-h/kg may be possible in the future.
High-energy, density capacitors obtained from
both domestic and foreign companies are being
evaluated in the Idaho Battery Test Laboratory. Tests
of the spiral-wound, carbon-based device shown in
Figure 13 have indicated an energy density of
2W-h/kgandacycle life of 503,000 charge/discharge
cycles over a period of 7 months of continuous test-
ing. A contract was placed in September 1992 with

Figure 13. A spiral-wound, carbon-
based capacitor (3 V, 600 F).

25


3.0 BATTERY SYSTEMS R&D

Since signing the Cooperative Agreement in early
FY 1992, the USABC and DOE have worked together
in selecting the advanced battery systems for R&D to
meet the USABC goals. DOE Advanced Battery Sys-
tems R&D efforts were refocused; projects supported
prior to the formation of the USABC were gradually
phased out, and new projects were initiated under the
cooperative agreement with the USABC. This section
describes activities of the USABC and DOE explor-
atory technology battery development, testing of ad-
vanced batteries as well as currently available batter-
ies, and development of high specific energy
ultracapacitors.

3.1 United States Advanced
Battery Consortium

The USABC was formed on January 30, 1991, asa
partnership of Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors.
The purpose of the USABC is to work with advanced
battery developers and companies that will conduct
research and development on advanced batteries for
electric vehicles. The USABC signed a cooperative
agreement with the Department of Energy in early FY
1992, for'a 50/50 cost-shared program of advanced
battery research and development. The formation of
the USABC and its relationship with the Government
represent a significant milestone in Government-in-
dustry cooperation in the development of technologies
for public use in commercial products.

In FY 1992, the USABC focused on selecting
potential subcontractors and negotiating suitable
agreements for the development of advanced batter-
ies. The USABC also negotiated a series of CRADAs
with several DOE National Laboratories during this
period. The following agreements were concluded:

* Subcontract to Ovonics Battery Company for
nickel metal hydride battery development -
May 4, 1992;

¢ CRADA with National Renewable Energy
Laboratory to develop advanced insulation for
high temperature batteries - June 10, 1992;

¢ CRADA with Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory
for lithium polymer battery technology devel-
opment - June 15, 1992;

¢ Subcontract to W.R. Grace Consortium for
lithium polymer battery development - an-
nounced October 29, 1992;

e Subcontractto SAFT America for development
of lithium iron disulfide batteries - announced
October 29, 1992;

¢ CRADAs with Argonne National Laboratory
for development of lithium iron disulfide bat-
tery technology and testing of advanced bat-
teries - announced October 29, 1992;

* CRADA with Idaho National Engineering
Laboratory for testing of advanced batteries -
announced October 29, 1992;

¢ CRADA with Sandia National Laboratory for
development of lithium polymer battery tech-
nology and battery reclamation - announced
October 29, 1992.

The USABC continues to negotiate with other
potential developers of advanced battery technology
and to monitor the status of development of other
advanced technologies through purchase of prototype
or commercially available cells, modules, or batteries
for independent test and evaluation. In order to better
respond to numerous external requests for informa-
tion aboutits operations, the USABC published a short
paper describing key aspects ofits program, including
the organization’s purpose, structure, and general
business objectives. The battery technology and sub-
contractor selection process were also described in
some detail.

As the USABC program developed, common tech-
nical needs were addressed, such as integrating the
advanced batteries with each partner’s electric ve-
hicles and assuring that the laboratory testing of pro-
totype batteries would be realistic. Each partner was
asked to carefully define the needs of his vehicle for
one or more specific battery configurations. The
detailed definitions included consideration of the
battery’s allowable size and weight, operating voltage,
peak power requirements, and other interfaces with
vehicle systems. Sufficient details were provided so
that the battery development contractors could engi-
neer their specific technologies for the vehicle require-
ments.

11


indicated five redox peaks which suggested the for-
mation of Cg, Ceo, Cgo*, Ceo, and Cgo*. These
anions dissolve in PEG400DME.

Lawrence Berkeley initiated research to develop
Na/polymer cells that contain thin electrodes of Na
and metal oxide and a polymer membrane that is
capable of conducting Na* ions, i.e., sodium/
poly(ethylene) oxide/metal oxide electrode (Na/
PEO/MO,). These cells are expected to operate at
lower temperatures than typically used with Li/poly-
mer cells. Furthermore, the simple cell design is
expected to be easily fabricated using existing thin-
film technology. Preliminary half-cell experiments at
90°C with Na/PEOsCF3SO3 (PEO-NaTf) demon-
strated several cycles at either 0.25 or 0.5 mA/cm?.
Figure 8 shows the voltage transient during constant-
current discharge (with periodic excursions to open
circuit) at 0.5 mA/cm? of a Na/PEO/Na cell. Al
though there was some instability in the first cycle, the
voltage stabilized subsequently. This may be inter-
preted to mean that Na initially reacts with PEO to
form a conductive and protective interface layer. This
is analogous to the behavior seen in Li cells with liquid
or polymer electrolytes.

Several projects are underway to improve the
components used in alkali/sulfur cells, such as supe-
rior alternatives to the high-temperature sulfur-poly-

sulfide electrode, and more corrosion-resistant coat-
ings for Na/S cells. Lawrence investigated the influ-
ence of phosphorus on the sulfur electrode of Na/S
cells by equilibrium open-circuit potential measure-
ments. Mixtures with P/S molar ratios from 0.143 to
0.60 and Na mole fractions from 0.0 to 0.4 were studied
at 350°C and 400°C. The Na/P,S, cells showed sig-
nificantly higher cell voltages than Na/S cells, which
is a strong indication that phosphorus may be a ben-
eficial additive to the sulfur electrode. The plots of
electromotive force vs. Na* -ion mole fraction in Fig-
ure 9 indicate that multiple crossings of phase bound-
aries occur during cell discharge.

Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) is optimizing
the quality of electrodeposited MogC coatings to ob-
tain long-term endurance, and the Environmental
Research Institute of Michigan (ERIM) is evaluating
TiN-coated containment materials, in Na/S cells. IT
observed that complete removal of moisture from the
electrolysis bath is necessary to obtain a reproducible,
high quality coating. Coatings of an even better
quality were obtained with a bath containing non-Li
alkali molybdates and carbonates. ERIM is extending
the preliminary studies at Ford Motor Company which
indicated that sputter-coated TiN on Al was resistant
to attack in a polysulfide melt during the 72-hour test.
A reactive-sputtering system is being assembled at

0.05

Cell Voltage (V)

0.5 mAlem2

S
>
+

+ + +

6 8 10 12

Time (min)

Figure 8. Discharge of Na/PEO-NaTf/Na cell at 0.5 mA/cm?.

17


Table 3. USABC Advanced Battery Technology Secondary Criteria

Secondary Criteria

Mid-Term Goals

Efficiency
C/3 Discharge
6 hr Charge

75%

Self-Discharge

<15% in 48 hours

Maintenance

No Maintenance
Service by Qualified Personnel Only

Thermal Loss (for high temperature batteries) 3.2 W/KW-h
15% of Capacity
48 Hour Period

Abuse Resistance Tolerant

SPECIFIED BY CONTRACTOR

Recyclability - 100%
Packaging Constraints

Safety
Overcharge/Overdischarge Tolerance
Vibration Tolerance

Environmental Compliance (manufacturing process, transport, in use and recycling)

3.2 Advanced Battery R&D

During FY 1992, a transition was made in the
advanced battery program. Projects funded by DOE
prior to the formation of the USABC were gradually
phased out. The FY 1992 activities for these com-
pleted projects are described in the following sections.

Sodium/Sulfur Battery

InFY 1992, three ongoing sodium/sulfur develop-
ment and evaluation activities were effectively com-
pleted; namely, the final phase of design and fabrica-
tion of an electric vehicle battery possible with state-
of-the-art cell technology; the design of a common,
high-performance sodium/sulfur cell for U.S. electric
van batteries; and characterization of the effect of the
latest Chloride Silent Power Limited (CSPL) innova-
tions on PB-cells on battery performance, service life,
and safety.

The first sodium/sulfur activity involves develop-
ment ofan electric vehicle battery possible with today’s
cell technology that was developed under a comple-
mentary, DOE-supported, core-technology program.
In September 1986, a cost-shared contract was placed
by Sandia National Laboratories with CSPL to ad-
vance the sodium/sulfur technology specific to EV
applications. This program was modified in 1987 and
again in 1990 to specify that two sodium/sulfur bat-
teries be designed, fabricated, and qualified that are
suitable for evaluation in the ETX-II experimental
electric vehicle. Total DOE funding for this 5-year
activity is approximately $2.7M.

Characterization testing of the first-generation
battery was completed in February 1992 at the Idaho
National Engineering Laboratory. The battery was
originally heated in October 1989 at Ford Motor and
satisfied its energy and power performance require-
ments. However, because of its size, it was located in
the cargo bay of the vehicle. Overall, the battery was

13


General Electric, Schenectady, NY, to study the in-
terface electronics needed to utilize the ultracapacitors
in an advanced AC driveline, such as that developed
for DOE on the MEVP program.

Electrochemists at Sandia National Laboratory
conceived the idea of utilizing for double-layer capaci-
tor (DLC) applications, carbon materials that they
have developed over the years. Since the 1980s,
Sandia has been responsible for an approximately
$80M carbon materials development program (in-
volving a wide segment of the DOE complex of
National Laboratories and Integrated Contractors)
that led to novel preparation techniques, processes,
and materials.

Aproof-of-concept program was initiated at Sandia,
with funding provided by DOE Defense Programs,
and demonstrated that some of these carbon materi-
als could be used as electrodes in DLCs. On the basis
of the successful outcome of this program, the DOE
Office of Propulsion Systems funded a $50K program
at Sandia in FY 1992 to continue materials develop-
ment and evaluation in the hope of identifying supe-
rior carbon materials and to fabricate a device using
some of these materials in order to determine if these
materials could be utilized in a device. The primary
emphasis of this program was development of a car-
bon material exhibiting >50 Farads/cm} in a device.
This program has led to the development of carbon
materials that exhibit >130 Farads/cm? in a device
having dimensions similar in size to a standard “D”
size battery, 4¢., approximately 1-5/16" O.D. by 2-7/
16" long. The device fabricated has a capacitance in
excess of 1,000 Farads and an energy density of
approximately 1.4 W-h/kg. Figure 14 shows the
assembled electrode stack that is present inside of the
double-layer capacitor laboratory prototype developed
and fabricated at Sandia. The two diametrically op-
posite main electrical leads for the device are outside
of, and extending above, the stack. The alternating
layers of electrode separators (light color) and

Figure 14, Sandia National
Laboratory prototype double-
layer capacitor.

26

carbon electrodes (dark color) that make up the stack
are also shown. A metric scale is included in Figure 14
for reference purposes.

In August of FY 1992, DOE initiated a project at
Los Alamos National Laboratory to develop conduct-
ing polymers as the active charge storage material in
electrochemical capacitors for electric vehicle appli-
cations. Conducting polymers have an important
combination of properties which make them an at-
tractive target for development as active materials in
ultracapacitors. They exhibit very high intrinsic charge
capacity while being less costly than other candidate
materials. During the first months of this project, a
new material system consisting of a novel conducting
polymer and a new non-aqueous electrolyte was
demonstrated to have an energy-density over
40 W-h/kg of active material. This provides ample
margin for support materials and packaging to exceed
the initial DOE goal of 5 W-h/kg for capacitors in
electric vehicle applications. Higher energy capacitors
potentially will be desirable for advanced applications.



oe C ;,
YORMTECH 45907

OLLEGE PROGRAM-

YORK TECHNICAL C

Figure 4. Garrett AiResearch ETV-2 at Wayne State University, Detroit, MI.






for the purpose of identifying the cause of the cell’s
abnormally high sensitivity to temperature. Post-test
results on this and other baseline cells indicated the
need for a higher electrolyte content and refinements
in the internal current collector/busbar system. The
second cell was placed on test in July 1991. Because
the clamping arrangement used in the test fixture for
this cell was modified to allow more compression on
the electrode face, this cell was less sensitive to tem-
perature and achieved a higher capacity than the first
(465°C tests). After 158 cycles, the cell was cooled to
ambient temperature fora 2-week period in December
1991. In January 1992, the cell was heated to 465°C
and testing resumed. The initial capacity (198 A-h)
was greater than that exhibited before the shutdown,
but on subsequent cycles, the capacity decreased.
The cell exhibited a decline in voltage during the
open-circuit period after discharge and was unable to
reach the required constant-voltage (CV) charge level
(1.5 V with a 120-percent charge return). These
factors indicate a high internal self-discharge rate.
Testing was suspended at cycle 163.

Nickel/Metal Hydride

Tests have been conducted on nickel/metal hy-
dride (Ni/MH) cells manufactured by Ovonics Battery
Company (Troy, MI) prior to the initiation of the
battery development contract with the USABC. The
initial C-size (3.5-A-h rating) cells exhibited good
performance characteristics, but the cycle life of four
cells (33, 238, 289, and 333) cycles) was less than
expected (500 cycles). Two extended C-size cells
(approximately 4.5 A-h) were evaluated in mid-1991.
The specific energy of these cells was slightly higher
than that of the smaller C-cells, but the cycle life was
still less than expected. These early cells exhibited a
high self-discharge loss (14 to 38-percent loss in 24
hours and 45 to 79-percent loss in 7 days). Ovonics
subsequently modified component materials and re-
duced the self-discharge loss to 15 to 20 percent in 7
days.

Two 25-A-h Ni/MH H-cells were placed on test in
June 1991. These cells represented an intermediate
step in an Ovonics program to fabricate and develop
large, full-size EV cells. Performance characterization
tests were completed, and life evaluation started in
November 1991. Life tests are being conducted with
SFUDS discharges to 80-percent DOD. All of the Ni/
MH cells tested at Argonne have exhibited a very low
resistance and exceptionally high peak power capac-

ity (approximately 200 W/kg at 50-percent DOD).
The peak-power capability of the H-cell is the highest
measured at Argonne (between 35 and 80-percent
DOD). A high peak power provides full capacity and
maximal vehicle range for all driving profile discharges.
One H-cell was removed from life test after 380 cycles
due to a sudden decline in capacity (to <70 percent of
its initial 25-A-h capacity). A reduced cell weight
indicated that the capacity decline was due to elec-
trolyte loss. Water (13.6 g) was added to the valve-
regulated cell, and full capacity (26.5 A-h) wasachieved
ona subsequent discharge. Thereafter, the capacity
declined at a rate of approximately 0.5 A-h/cycle.
Testing was halted when the capacity declined to
13.8 A-h on cycle 399, Cell weight was reduced again
(by 6.3 g). This suggests problems with the integrity
of the stainless steel case and/or the pressure release
vent. Areplacement cell (EV35) was furnished by the
manufacturer in April 1992. This cell has a 7-hour
rating of 35 A-h and will undergo performance and life
evaluation.

The second H-cell is still under life test with
SFUDS discharges to 80-percent DOD (26.3-W-h
discharges and 23-A-h CI/CI charges). This cell has
completed >300 cycles and retains approximately 100
percent ofits initial 28-A-h capacity. The weight of this
cell is being periodically measured to identify the
onset of any electrolyte losses.

Nickel/Zinc

Three Ni/Zn cells manufactured by
Electrochemica were tested from May 1991 to Feb-
ruary 1992 to determine the suitability of this tech-
nology for EV propulsion. Performance character-
ization tests were conducted ona 17-A-h cell from May
to October 1991. This cell continually exhibited un-
stable capacity, and its capacity declined >20 percent
after 170 cycles (end-of-life criterion). Special manu-
facturer-recommended conditioning cycles were im-
posed to improve cell capacity, but this rejuvenation
process was unsuccessful. Testing was halted after
the cell had completed 187 cycles, and its capacity had
declined to approximately 40 percent of its initial
14.6 Ah.

Performance tests were then conducted on two
larger cells (60-A-h rating). Testing of the first cell was
halted after 140 cycles due to excessive heating dur-
ing the initial constant-current (CI) charge period.
This occurred after the cell had inadvertently received
a216-percent return with CI/CV charging during a 50-

23


Kevala, R.J., “Status of Fuel Cell Bus Development
Program,” Society of Automotive Engineers SAE 1992
Future Transportation Technology Conference, Costa
Mesa, CA, August 10-13, 1992.

SAFT R&D CENTER

Cornu, ]J.P.,J. Embrey, J. Leonardi, K.K. Press, “Electric
Vehicle Battery Options: Present and Future,” 7th
Annual Battery Conference, Long Beach, CA, January
1992.

Oweis, S.M., J. Embrey, J. Wilson, and P. Alunans
“Rechargeable Lithium-Aluminum/Iron Sulfide Bat-
teries for High Energy Density,” presented at the 35th
International Power Sources Symposium, Cherry Hill,
NJ, June 22-25, 1992.

TRANSPORTATION MANUFACTURING
CORPORATION

Mikoryak, D.W., “Commercial Considerations for
Fuel Cell Bus Technology,” Proceedings of the Annual
Automotive Technology Development Contractors’
Meeting, Dearborn, MI, October 28-31, 1991, Society
of Automotive Engineers, P-256: 193-197. (June 1992)

59


ACRYNOYMS

BIWTF
CAFE
CRADA

CSPL
DEMI
DOD
DOE
EHP
EH&S
EHV
EPRI
ERIM

EV
EVAA

FMVSS
FUDS
GM
ICE

IIT
MEVP
NHTSA

OEM
PAFC
PEM
RCRA

SAE
SFUDS

USABC

Battery Test Working Task Force
Corporate Average Fuel Economy

Cooperative Research and
Development Agreement

Chloride Silent Power Limited
Dreisbach Electromotive, Incorporated
Depth-of-Discharge

Department of Energy

Electric and Hybrid Program
Environment, Health, and Safety
Electric and Hybrid Vehicle

Electric Power Research Institute

Environmental Research Institute of
Michigan

Electric Vehicle

Electric Vehicle Association of the
Americas

Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards
Federal Urban Driving Schedule
General Motors Corporation

Internal Combustion Engine

Illinois Institute of Technology
Modular Electric Vehicle Program

National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration

Original Equipment Manufacturer
Phosphoric Acid Fuel Cell
Proton Exchange Membrane

Resource Conservation and Recovery
Act

Society of Automotive Engineers

Simplified Federal Urban Driving
Schedule

United States Advanced Battery
Consortium

UNITS

km/h
kw
kW,
kW-h

mA/cm?
mg
mg/cm?

mm
MPa
mph
mV
sec

Wh
W-h/kg
W-h/1
W/cm?
W/kg
W/kW-h
Ww/l

ampere
ampere-hour

centimeter
square-centimeter
cubic-centimeter

farad

foot

gram

gram per kilowatt

hour

horsepower

kilogram

kilometer

kilometer per hour
kilowatt

kilowatt-electric
kilowatt-hour

liter

milliampere

milliamp per square-centimeter
milligram

milligram per square-centimeter
mile

millimeter

megaPascal

miles per hour

millivolt

second

volt

watt

watt-hour

watt-hour per kilogram
watt-hour per liter

watt per square-centimeter
watt per kilogram

watt per kilowatt-hour

watt per liter

61




7.2 hr discharge

Power (W) or
Electrode Potential (V vs. Hg/HgO)

142 miles @ average speed 20 mil/hr

05 0 60 120 180 240 300 360
Time (sec)
certs Power ——E_Air -----E—Zn

Figure 11. Discharge #6 of a 1.8 A-h Zn/air cell at SFUDS repitition #40.

was cycled at constant-current rates and the SFUDS
in a Zn/air cell (see Figure 11) with an electrolyte of
45 percent weight KOH and 40 g Zn**/l. Approxi-
mately 25 cycles were achieved, regardless of the
discharge rates.

3.4 Battery Testing

Battery testing was conducted during FY 1992 on
avariety ofadvanced and near-term batteries. Argonne
and Sandia performed tests on advanced batteries to
provide a measure of progress towards the USABC
goals. The Idaho tested near-term lead acid batteries
to provide Site Operators with information on batter-
ies available for use in their electric vehicles.

Laboratory experimental evaluations and post-
experimental examinations are conducted at the Na-
tional Laboratories to assess the suitability of various
battery technologies for EV propulsion. Advanced
battery systems are evaluated with respect to both
performance and life. Performance characterization
includes the determination of capacity vs. discharge

20

rate, peak power vs. depth-of-discharge, and capacity
loss vs. stand-time; life testing involves repeated cy-
cling with simulated driving profile discharges until
the capacity declines to <80 percent of its rated value.
These evaluations, cornbined with post-test examina-
tions of the advanced battery systems, provide insight
into those factors that limit performance and life and
help identify the most-promising R&D approaches for
overcoming these limitations.

During FY 1992, tests were performed on single
cells and a 120-cell module of four advanced tech-
nologies (Na/S, Li/FeS, Ni/Metal-Hydride, and Ni/
Zn). Table 4 provides a summary of the Argonne
battery test results. Further discussion of these tests
follow.


List OF FIGURES

10.

11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.

21.

Figure
EHP Program Structure

ETV-1 and ETX-II electric vehicles at the DOE American Museum of
Science and Energy at Oak Ridge, TN

ETV-1-2 at the York Technical Collage in Rockhill, SC

Garrett AiResearch ETV-2 at Wayne State University, Detroit, MI
HTV-1 studied at the University of Maryland

Sodium/sulfur battery used in vibration testing

Exploded view of four-cell bipolar lithium-aluminum/iron sulfide stack
Discharge of Na/PEO-NaTf/Na cell at 0.5 mA/cm?

Plots of cell potential vs. Na mole fraction in P-S melt in a Na/P-S cell

Sealed zinc/nickel oxide cell which has attained 575 deep-discharge cycles
using novel alkaline-fluoride-carbonate electrolytes

Discharge #6 of a 1.8 A-h Zn/air cell at SFUDS repetition #40

Chloride Silent Power Limited sodium-sulfur battery

Aspiral-wound, carbon-based capacitor (3 V, 600 F)

Sandia National Laboratory prototype double-layer capacitor

PAFC battery-powered test bed bus

Annual average emissions of the hybrid minivan in urban driving

MEVP 75-hp test bed vehicle - Concept vehicle - Ecostar

Photograph of a G-Van used in the Site Operator Program

University of South Florida interconnected photovoltaic charging system
ETV-1 vehicle on display at the Science Nature Museum in Charlotte, NC

ETX-II test bed vehicle on chassis dynamometer at the Idaho National
Engineering Laboratory

Page

14

16

17

18

19
20
22
25
26

28

36
37

41

43




Figure 5. HTV-1 studied at the University of Maryland.


List OF TABLES

Table
1. Major Participants in the Electric and Hybrid Vehicles Program
2. USABC Advanced Battery Technology Primary Criteria
3. USABC Advanced Battery Technology Secondary Criteria
4. Summary of FY 1992 Argonne National Laboratory Battery Testing Results

5. Summary of Idaho National Engineering Laboratory Near-Term Battery
Test Results

6. Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Program Site Operators
7. Summary of Site Operator EV Performance

8. ETX-II Performance Versus Program Goals

Page

12

13
21

42


The specifications for General Motor’s Impact
were selected as the basis for producing challenging
passenger car battery requirements. Two batteries
were designed, one using the van cell and the other
using a small diameter cell with much higher peak
power to energy ratio (4:1). The first battery with the
van cell would just fit into the Impact’s battery tunnel,
but would provide 36 kW-h of energy compared with
13.7 kW-h for the lead-acid battery. The battery
weight would decrease from 396 kg to 235 kg. The
battery utilizing the small-diameter cell designed would
provide 20 kW-h, but would reduce the battery length
by 2.4 feet. The battery weight would be reduced to
180 kg.

The final FY 1992 sodium/sulfur task involved the
characterization of the effect of cell size on perfor-
mance, service life, and safety; and the latest CSPL
innovations on PB-cell service life. This work is being
performed under a 45 percent cost-shared contract
with CSPL that extends to June 1993. Important
preliminary conclusions reached to date include the
following: (1) the service life of the larger XPB cells
(30 A-h) and modules is markedly more erratic and
poorer than that for corresponding PB cells and mod-
ules (10 A-h); (2) direct air cooling of cells is complex
and not satisfactory; (3) CSPL’s newimproved ceramic
seal is yielding improved service life and freeze/thaw
durability; and (4) a cell containing a sulfur electrode
fabricated with graded graphite felt has better low-
temperature performance, butinferior rechargeability
at nominal operating temperatures, compared with
cells containing CSPL’s standard electrode configu-
ration. However, tests of 12 PB cells at Sandia show
that cell life is only about 80 weeks, far short of current
program goals.

Lithium-Aluminum/Iron Sulfide Battery

In FY 1992, DOE provided limited support for the
phasing out of a project to develop prismatic lithium-
aluminum/iron sulfide batteries by SAFT America,
Inc., and continued a low-level R&D project on the
development of bipolar lithium-aluminum/iron sul-
fide batteries at Argonne. The project at SAFT was
initiated in April 1990 under a 3-year, $4.2 million cost-
shared contract to develop full-size EV batteries.
Argonne participation in the prismatic battery devel-
opment effort includes technology transfer, R&D sup-
port, independent evaluation of contract deliverables,
and technical management of the SAFT project, while
DOE-Chicago provides contract administration.

During the FY 1992 phase-out of the project, SAFT
fabricated and tested baseline and improved technol-
ogy cells. SAFT also completed tests on a thermal
simulator that was used to develop improved compo-
nents and component configurations for the thermal
management system. Baseline cells, cycle tested
using a C/3 power profile, exhibited >200 W-h/lenergy
density, while accumulating >365 cycles. However,
the baseline cells lacked power, especially beyond 60-
percent depth-of-discharge (DOD). Significant im-
provements in the power density and overcharge
tolerance capability were demonstrated in the im-
proved technology cells. On SFUDS cycles, the im-
proved cells delivered 55 percent more usable capac-
ity than the baseline cells, due to improved power
capabilities at deeper DOD.

In its low-level R&D project on bipolar lithium-
aluminum /iron sulfide batteries, Argonne focused its
FY 1992 efforts on scaling up cells and multiple-cell
stacks to the 13-cm diameter size. Peripheral seal
design and processing refinements formed a major
part of the overall scale-up effort. Bipolar Li-Al/FeS
and Li-Al/FeS, cells and 4-cell stacks (as illustrated in
Figure 7) were built and tested during FY 1992. Bipo-
lar 13-cm diameter Li-Al/FeS cells deliver 130 W-h/kg
at a 25 W/kg discharge rate, with a peak power
capability of 240 W/kg at 80-percent DOD. Bipolar
Li-Al/FeS, cells deliver 180 W-h/kg at a 30 W/kg
discharge rate, with a peak power capability of
400 W/kg at 80-percent DOD.

3.3 Exploratory Technology
Development

Although the USABC is taking the lead in identi-
fying and developing the most promising advanced
battery technologies, given the many technical chal-
lenges, their successful commercialization is not as-
sured. Exploratory technology developmentis needed
to maintain a base of scientific and technical expertise
in electrochemical processes and engineering that
USABC battery developers can tap into to resolve
basic problems and for new ideas/approaches.

The DOE exploratory technology development
activities in FY 1992 included research on electro-
chemical phenomena that limit the performance and
lifetime of rechargeable batteries, developing new
materials and cell components, and discovering new
electrochemical cells with superior performance and
durability for possible development by the USABC.
Battery technologies addressed include Li/Polymer,

15


DOE/EE-0003

16th Annual Report to Congress
for
Fiscal Year 1992

Electric and
Hybrid Vehicles
Program

August 1993

U.S. Department of Energy
Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
Office of Transportation Technologies
Washington, DC 20585

a


Table 7. Summary of Site Operator EV Performance

Cost/Mile
Vehicle Miles kW-h kKW-h/
Driven Used mile Ev ICE*
G-Van 104,683 121,888 1.16 $0.44 $0.55
EVcort 15,454 7,282 0.47 $0.28 $0.35
Solectria 4,655 2,197 0.47 $0.19 $0.35

* cost for comparable size Internal Combustion Engine vehicle

Participants in the Site Operator Program belong
to several consortia and organizations that represent
most of the major EV research in the country. These
include the South Central Electric Vehicle Consor-
tium, Carolinas Consortium for Electric Vehicle
Systems, the Florida EV Consortium, Kansas Con-
sortium, Mid-Atlantic Electric Transportation Coali-
tion, Calstart, Tex-Start, NESCAUM, EPRI, EVAA,
and the USABC. Numerous projects involve testing,
demonstrations, and infrastructure development.
Several Site Operators are committed to developing
the technologies and organization necessary to sup-
port the anticipated large numbers of EVs to be
operated by the public. The Site Operators’ activities
are described below.

Arizona Public Service established its Electric
Vehicle Program in 1967 and has been a part of the
Site Operator Program since 1979. The Arizona site
has a total of 13 electric vehicles of which eight are
new demonstration vehicles (three EVcorts, one
Solectria, and four G-Vans). The Solectria “Force” is
a converted Geo Metro powered by widely available
lead acid batteries. Financial support is provided by
DOE to partly finance the purchase G-vans and newer
battery types, such as sealed lead-acid, improved
flooded lead-acid, and zinc-air. During 1992, Arizona
Public Service and Motorola announced a joint re-
search project on zinc-air batteries in conjunction
with Dreisbach Electromotive, Inc., whose zinc-air
powered Honda CRX had traveled 251 miles on a
single charge. As a corporate sponsor for the Solar
& Electric 500 races at the Phoenix International
Raceway, Arizona Public Service entered two zinc-
air powered vehicles in the EV race. This site operator
also loans EVcorts to local government agencies to
demonstrate electric vehicle reliability and conve-

38

nience. These loans have resulted in a strong and
sustained interest within the agencies and several
purchased EVs for their fleets.

Kansas State University funding from DOE
supported the purchase of one G-van and one EVcort.
DOE funding also supported the operation and
maintenance of the vehicles as they were used within
the Kansas State fleet, by outside organizations, and
for demonstration. This site has been involved in EV
demonstrations for groups including Federal and lo-
cal government representatives, senior corporate
executives, and students. Organizations are given
the opportunity to examine the latest EV prototypes
under actual operating conditions. Kansas State has
purchased a G-Van built by Conceptor Industries,
Toronto, Canada, procured an order to purchase two
Ford EVcort station wagons built by Soleq Corpora-
tion of Chicago, Illinois, and presently owns a Renault
“Mars II” EV used by the Kansas State campus police.
The G-Van has logged an average of 18 m/day while
maintaining a full schedule of public relation tours;
this site has been contacted by companies in Nebraska
and Iowa requesting information and involvement in
the program. Also, Kansas State will provide design
support and testing for a consortium that includes
McKee Corporation, Grumman Aircraft, and others
to design a state-of-the-art electric vehicle for the
US. Postal Service.

Los Angeles Department of Water & Power
participated in the DOE Site Operators Program in
FY 1992 at no cost to DOE. The Electric Transpor-
tation Program established by the Los Angeles site
works with local, state, and Federal agencies, along
with the private sector, to further the City of Los
Angeles’ low emission goals. The first Clean Air
Transport LA 301 vehicle, a four-passenger parallel


Table 1. Major Participants in the Electric and Hybrid Vehicles Program

Automotive Companies Cost Share of Contract*
Ford Motor Company 20%
General Motors/Allison 20%
United States Advanced Battery Consortium 50%

Component and Propulsion System Companies

Delco/GM 50%
General Electric 20%
H-Power 25%
Battery Companies
Beta Power, Inc. 30%
Chloride Silent Power 19%
Saft America, Inc. 20%
Westinghouse Electric Corporation 22%
Universities
Georgetown University 14%
Fleet Testing Site Operators 1/
Arizona Public Service 93%
United States Navy 100%
Southern California Edison 96%
Los Angeles Dept. of Power & Water 100%
Kansas State University 78%
Orcas Power & Light 50%
Platte River 58%
Pacific Gas & Electric 97%
Potomac Electric Power Co. 86%
Public Service Gas & Electric 87%
Texas A&M 88%
University of South Florida 84%
York Technical College 68%

1/ The variance in the cost-share percentage by site operators is due to the different activities and
Contractual arrangements with the site operators.
* All contracted efforts are with fee waiver.



1.0 INTRODUCTION

The transportation sector is the single largest
user of petroleum in the United States; not only did it
consume about 64 percent of all petroleum used last
year, but more significantly, it used 38 percent more
oil than the country produced. This heavy reliance
on petroleum fuels has also made transportation a
major contributor to air pollution. In comparison,
only 5 percent of electricity was generated from pe-
troleum; the balance was generated using other en-
ergy resources including renewables. Electric ve-
hicles (EV) offer a way for the transportation sector
to meet a portion of its energy demand with electric-
ity, thereby reducing the sector’s heavy dependence
on petroleum fuels.

The Department of Energy (DOE) Electric and
Hybrid Vehicles (EHV) Program, in cooperation with
industry, is conducting research, development, test-
ing, and evaluation activities to encourage the use of
electricity as an alternative fuel for transportation.
The program’s goals are the development of the
technology that will lead to the production and intro-
duction of low- and zero-emission electric and hybrid
vehicles into the Nation’s transportation fleet and
substitute domestic sources of energy for petroleum-
based fuels.

Public Law 94-413, the Electric and Hybrid Ve-
hicle Research, Development, and Demonstration Act
of 1976, authorizes the Department of Energy to,
inter alia, “encourage and support accelerated re-
search into, and development of electric and hybrid
vehicle technologies” 15 U.S.C. §2501(b) (1). Con-
gress provided an appropriation of $43.0 million for
the EHV Program in Fiscal Year (FY) 1992.

The Program is managed by the Electric and
Hybrid Propulsion Division within the DOE Office of
Propulsion Systems. The current program structure
and principal responsibilities of the organizational
units are shown in Figure 1. The participants in EHV
research and development, listed in Table 1, include
major automotive companies, battery companies,
component and propulsion system companies, uni-
versities, and electric vehicle users from the public
and private sectors. Table 1 also provides the cost-
sharing commitment of the participants.

In FY 1992, the Electric and Hybrid Vehicles
Program continued to emphasize battery, fuel cell,
and propulsion systems development. The program
also supports the testing and evaluation of vehicles
and components in laboratory and fleet operations.
The battery program concentrates on those tech-
nologies that could satisfy the mid- and long-term
goals of the automobile manufacturers as determined
by the United States Advanced Battery Consortium
(USABC).

This report describes the progress achieved in
developing electric and hybrid vehicle technologies,
beginning with highlights of recent accomplishments
in FY 1992. Detailed descriptions are provided of
program activities during FY 1992 in the areas of
battery, fuel cell, and propulsion system development,
and testing and evaluation of new technology in fleet
site operations and in laboratories. This Annual Re-
port also contains a status report on incentives and
use of foreign components, as well as a list of publi-
cations resulting from the DOE program.


8.0

USE OF FOREIGN COMPONENTS

Section 14(2) of Public Law 94-413, 15 U.S.C.
§2513(2), requires the Department to examine “the
extent to which imported automobile chassis or
components are being used, or are desirable, for the
production of vehicles [under Section 7]... , and of
the extent to which restrictions imposed by law or
regulation upon the importation or use of such chassis

or components are impeding the achievement of the
purpose of this chapter.”

No further vehicle purchases are being made
under the provisions of Section 7 of the Act. Activities
following the development progress of foreign-made
batteries, drivetrain components, and vehicle sys-
tems are continuing.

9.0 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR INITIATIVES
EE

The Department of Energy has no recommenda-
tions for new legislative initiatives at this time.

51


Phase II of the Range Extender Hybrid Vehicle
(REV) study that was initiated in FY 1991 was com-
pleted in FY 1992. The near-term approach utilized
in Phase I (FY 1991) was based upon off-the-shelf
components and existing vehicle platforms. A per-
formance requirement of 25 mph operation under
generator-only power allowed use of small (6 to 10
kW-) generator sets. The Phase II (FY 1992) analysis
evaluated higher performance REV conceptual de-
signs. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
standards for electric vehicles as well as development
requirements for the Ford ETX-II and Modular Elec-
tric Vehicle Programs were used to provide the basis
for comparison. These included acceleration, speed
at grade, and minimum top speed requirements.
Analysis indicated that significantly larger generator
sets would be required, pointing to use of more ad-
vanced engine technologies. A number of engine
types and sizes were examined for application to the
REV, including advanced four-stroke, two-stroke, gas
turbine, rotary, Stirling, and compression ignition
engines. The engines selected for analysis ranged
from 24 kW, to nearly 63 kWe. Overall, the Phase II
analysis demonstrated that higher-performance REVs
could be developed, using more advanced heat en-
gine/generator configurations. This higher perfor-
mance should appeal to a broader range of potential
users (compared to the Phase I design), increasing
the REV’s potential market penetration.

5.2 Modular Electric Vehicle
Program

The objective of the Modular Electric Vehicle
Program (MEVP) is to bring electric vehicle propul-
sion system technology closer to commercialization
by developing subsystem components of a common
design that are applicable to a wide range of vehicles,
ie., to modularize the components. This concept
would allow early market introduction of electric ve-
hicles because the economies of mass production
could be realized across a variety of models and
sizes. Modularization would reduce design and capital
investment costs and/or shorten the time required
to realize a return on the investment, and conse-
quently, reduce consumer cost. The technical effort
is contracted by DOE to Ford Motor Company with
General Electric Company as a major subcontractor
for the development of the electric subsystem. This
is the third and final generation of the ac single shaft

34

propulsion system development that began with
ETX-I in the mid 1980s.

To the extent possible, components and technol-
ogy developed in the First and Second Generation
Single-Shaft Electric Propulsion System Programs
have been employed in developing a family of com-
ponents that would satisfy small passenger vehicles,
compact vans, and full-size vans in both front-wheel
and rear-wheel drive applications. Three targets for
component designs were chosen: a 50-hp two-pas-
senger commuter-type vehicle or micro-van, a 75-hp
small van (mini-van), and a 100-hp full-size van.

Preliminary System Studies (Phase I) completed
in FY 1991 concluded that a modular powertrain is a
viable concept and provided a well-documented,
quantitative definition of the electric vehicle sub-
systems that have determined the subsystem designs
for the whole project. Specific objectives which were
achieved include: evaluation of fundamental concepts;
factoring of multi-power capability into the component
designs; determination of performance specifications
for each of the target vehicles; and trade-off analyses
which were used in formulating the designs of the
components and subsystems. Preliminary specifica-
tions for all components and subsystems were com-
pleted during this Phase.

The Phase II, Component Design, Build, Integra-
tion, and Test, is currently in progress and focuses
on detailed designs of all components that make up
the complete deliverable electric vehicle. Final
specifications have been written and component de-
signs for the 75-hp powertrain have been implemented
in hardware and bench tested. The fully developed
components have been integrated into about 10 test
bed vehicles for testing as the program progresses.

The Vehicle Control Subsystem task concentrated
on the debugging and fine-tuning of the control sys-
tem during integration in the prototype test bed ve-
hicle. Based on the integration efforts, major revi-
sions to the Vehicle System Controller specification
were made. Development efforts also concentrated
on the Diagnostic Data Logger Module (DDLM),
including hardware and software design and identifi-
cation of a supplier for the module. In addition,
communication between the OffBoard Diagnostic
System and the DDLM was tested and successfully
demonstrated.

The Electric Subsystem task concentrated on
testing invertors and controls with redesigned contrel-
printed wiring boards and transferring the design


operating temperature of all the cells is 350°C. Eight
cells have been tested to failure, and four cells remain
on test. A gradual decline in capacity or failure has
been observed on several cells after they have been at
temperature for more than 50 weeks. Two cells
presently on test have accumulated more than 1,500
cycles and still retain 80 percent of their capacity.
Idaho National Engineering Laboratory also per-
formed a series of tests on the CSPL sodium-sulfur
battery (see Figure 12) consisting of constant-current
and constant-power discharges and simulated driving
cycle discharges based on the Federal Urban Driving
Schedule (FUDS) and the SFUDS. A total of 38
charge/discharge cycles were run on the battery over
a6-month time period. The battery (24 8-V banks) has
anominal voltage of 200 V and arated energy capacity
of60kW-h. The battery consists of 2,880 Mark III cells
which were manufactured in 1989. The tests indicated
an energy density, based on the actual battery weight
of 750 kg, is 55 to 60 W-h/kg and 110 to 120 W-h/kg
based on the cell weight of 337 kg. The measured
battery A-h capacity (230 to 250 A-h) was significantly
less than the nominal 300-A-h rated capacity due to the
inoperative 4-cell string in the 24 banks, which caused

the test to be terminated by the weakest bank before
the remaining banks were completely discharged.
The CSPL battery exhibited a calendar life, at a tem-
perature above 300°C, of at least 18 months after 2-1/
2 freeze/thaw cycles. The CSPLsodium-sulfur battery
tested at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory
was assembled in late 1989 and, therefore, represents
the state of cell development, packaging, and enclosure
technology of that stage of development.

Lithium/Iron Sulfide

Two 200-Ah Li/Fe cells built by SAFT America,
Inc., were delivered to Argonne National Laboratory
for baseline performance testing. The first cell was
placed ontestin May 1991. Atan operating temperature
of 470°C, this cell achieved a capacity of 182.5 A-h.
The operating temperature was raised in 5°C steps to
485°C to observe the effect on cell capacity. The
results showed that cell capacity (as well as internal
resistance, IR-free voltage, and peak power) was sen-
sitive to temperature. Even though the cell retained
98 percent ofits original capacity after 30 cycles, itwas
removed from the test to conduct a post-test analysis

Figure 12. Chloride Silent Power Limited sodium-sulfur battery.

22


hybrid electric/internal combustion engine (ICE)
sedan has already been received, but is classified as a
prototype and cannot be operated on public roads so
is limited to the Los Angeles site operator facilities.
The ICE drives one side of the transmission and the
electric motor the other side. Initial impressions are
that the vehicle is well designed and built and provides
very satisfactory performance and comfort. Increased
public awareness regarding electric transportation
issues is continuing through media advisories and
press conferences. The Los Angeles Department of
Water & Power acts as the CALSTART Infrastructure
Program Manager, and, under this program, a public
awareness plan is being structured to advise and
educate the public that early supporting EV infra-
structure will be available.

Orcas Power and Light Company is a rural
electric coop in northwest Washington State serving
9,000 customers on the 20 San Juan islands. DOE
funding was used to purchase two EVs (one G-Van
and one Solectria GEO) for mail and bank runs,
errands, and engineering field work, to install charg-
ing facilities at four locations in the anticipated driving
area, and for operation, maintenance, and data col-
lection on the vehicles. In addition to testing and
evaluation of the two vehicles, Orcas Power seeks to
encourage EV use among San Juan County residents
through public exposure. The vehicles are taken to
public presentations and demonstrations and are be-
ing incorporated into the local school energy program.

Pacific Gas and Electric Company activities are
concentrated in two primary areas; namely, testing
and evaluating pre-commercial and limited-production
commercially available EVs and advanced EV com-
ponents and development and evaluation of mecha-
nisms to safely and efficiently supply electricity for
EVs while minimizing the impact on the transmission
and distribution system. DOE funding during the
first year of participation in the Site Operator Program
was used to support establishing the program, op-
eration and maintenance of the Pacific Gas EV fleet,
and collection of data on the EVs. The Pacific Gas
site has been actively involved in EV development
and commercialization through national and statewide
organizations and in public and private demonstra-
tions that showcase electric G-vans, a public charging
station at a local mass transit station, and an electric
battery-powered transit bus on an actual transit route.
Pacific Gas & Electric also continues to assess
emerging electric transportation technologies such
as magnetic levitation, superconducting magnetic

energy storage, station or neighborhood vehicles,
advanced chargers and advanced battery technolo-
gies, and flywheel energy storage.

Platte River Power Authority’s evaluates the
year-round performance, operational costs, reliability,
and life-cycle costs of EVs in the front range region of
northern Colorado. They also evaluate an EV usability
and acceptability, and test EV component design im-
provements and/or technological improvements.
With DOE support, the Platte River site is purchasing
two EVcorts, which it will operate and maintain and
from which it will collect performance data. Platte
River Power will also operate and maintain, at no cost
to DOE, a DOE-owned 1984 Griffon van for a 12-
month period. Idaho National Engineering Labora-
tory personnel have visited this site to provide in-
structions on the vehicle use.

Potomac Electric Power Company’s objective
is to showcase and demonstrate emerging electric
vehicle technology to the greater Washington, DC,
community. Washington, DC, has been designated
by the EPA asa serious non-attainment area for ozone
and carbon monoxide. Preliminary analysis indicates
that the DC area will see an improvement in air
quality if significant numbers of ICE automobiles are
replaced with EVs. DOE funding has been provided
to support this site in operating, maintaining, and
making available for DOE use in the DC area the
DOE-owned G-Van.

Public Service Electric & Gas Company op-
erates a fleet of eight G-Vans in an area extending
from Philadelphia to New York City. DOE funding
was used for operation, maintenance, and data col-
lection, and G-Vans were purchased with site opera-
tor funds. During cold weather last winter, use of the
vehicles was limited due to a severe reduction in
range. The problem was investigated and opportunity
charging was implemented to resolve some of the
low-mileage range. This site operator is working
with the manufacturer and EPRI to find a long-term
solution and is assessing the possibility of using a
nickel-cadmium battery in one G-Van pending tests
underway by EPRI.

The Public Service Electric & Gas Company ini-
tially assigned six of the eight G-Vans to various
operating departments throughout the State based
on overall usage and need. The G-Vans are used
primarily for work orders, transporting material, tools,
electrical equipment, and meters. The seventh
G-Van is on loan to the New Jersey Department of
Environmental Protection and Energy for an inde-

39


Table 4. Summary of FY 1992 Argonne National Laboratory Battery Testing Results

Initial Module | Specific | Energy’ Peak Efficiency Van
Weight | Capacity] Energy@ | Density | PowerD
kg Ah W-h/kg W-h/L, W/kg | Coulombic] Energy Lifee | Rangef
% % cycles} mi(km)
Sodium/Sulfur 29.2 292 79 123g 90 100 88 795 |150(240)
CSPL PB-MK3
Lithium/Monosulfide
SAFT of America
Prismatic 2.94 203 66 133g 64 95 81 163d 93(149)
Nickel/Metal Hydride 0.081 3.6 54 186 158 92 80 333 97(155)
Ovonics C-cell
Nickel/Metal Hydride
Ovonics Ext.C-cell 0.093 45 57 209 105 90 74 108 -——
Ovonics H-cell 0.628 28.0 55 152 175 90 80 380d 97(155)
Nickel/Zinc
Electrochemica R&D
Cell 1.69 69 67 142 105 a1 7 114d = |108(173)

Determined for 3-h rate Cl discharges.

a
b Determined from driving profile discharge data at 80% DOD.
¢ Determined with SFUDS discharges to 100% DOD unless otherwise indicated. Ongoing life tests are indicated with the “>”

sign.
d Determined with 80% DOD discharges.
e Determined with J227aC discharges.

f Determined for the IDSEP Van with a 695 kg battery on an SFUDS driving schedule.

Sodium/Sulfur

An 8&-V Na/S module from Chloride Silent Power
Ltd. in England was under test from June 1990 to
March 1992. This module contained 120 cells (10-A-h
each) configured into 30 parallel-connected strings of
four series-connected cells. Life testing with SFUDS
discharges to 100-percent DOD was started after
completion of the performance tests (approximately
120 cycles). There was a significant drop in module
capacity between 450 and 550 cycles, which reflected
the loss of four 4-cell strings (approximately 40-A-h
loss). End-of-life (<80 percent of initial 2084-W-h
SFUDS discharge energy) occurred at cycle 795, but
testing was continued to acquire additional statistics
for cell failure analyses. Testing was halted after 973
cycles when the SFUDS discharge energy decreased
to <75 percent of its initial level. At that time, module

peak power had declined to 68 W/kg from an initial 94
W/kg (50-percent DOD), and capacity was approxi-
mately 79 percent of its initial 292 A-h. The module
was returned to CSPL for post-test analyses.

In addition, twelve Mk-3SF PB cells from CSPL
have been under test since October 1990 at Sandia.
The intent of this effort is to characterize the effect of
different cycling regimes on service life. The 12 cells
were divided into 4 groups, and a different EV-related
test regime is being followed for each group. The first
group of cells is being continuously life-cycled using
baseline parameters, while the second group of cells
is evaluated using a modified driving schedule. The
third group of cells completed a proposed general test
plan developed by the EHP Battery Test Working
Task Force and is presently performing a limited
depth-of-discharge test regime. The fourth group is
performing an open-circuit stand test to determine if
cell life could be related to time at temperature. The

21


Wilson, M.S., T.E. Springer, T.A. Zawodzinski and S.
Gottesfeld, “Recent Achievements in Polymer Elec-
trolyte Fuel Cell (PEFC) Research at Los Alamos
National Laboratory,” Proceedings of the 26th
Intersociety Energy Conversion Engineering Con-
ference, August 4-9, 1991, Boston, MA, 3: 636.

Zawodzinski, T.A., M. Neeman, L.O. Sillerud and S.
Gottesfeld, “Determination of Water Diffusion Coef-
ficients in Perfluorosulfonate lonomeric Membranes,”
Journal of Physical Chemistry, 95: 6040. (1991)

Zawodzinski, T., T.E. Springer, J. Davey, J. Valerio
and S. Gottesfeld, “Water Transport Properties of
Fuel Cell lonomers”, Proceedings of the Symposium
on Modeling of Batteries and Fuel Cells, The Elec-
trochemical Society, 91 (10): 187. (1991)

NATIONAL RENEWABLE
ENERGY LABORATORY

Hammel, Carol J., “Environmental, Health, and Safety
Issues of Sodium-Sulfur Batteries for Electric and
Hybrid Vehicles, Volume III: Transport of Sodium-
Sulfur and Sodium-Metal-Chloride Batteries,” NREL/
TP-463-4951. (September 1992)

Ohi, James M., “Environmental, Health, and Safety
Issues of Sodium-Sulfur Batteries for Electric and
Hybrid Vehicles, Volume I: Cell and Battery Safety,”
NREL/TP-262-4678. (September 1992)

SANDIA NATIONAL LABORATORY

Butler, P. C., “Battery System Technologies-Ad-
vanced/Future & Fuel Cells” Electric & Hybrid Vehicle
Technology TOPTEC, Dearborn, MI, September 1992.

DOE CONTRACTORS

FORD MOTOR COMPANY AND
GENERAL ELECTRIC

Ford Motor Company and the General Electric
Company, “Modular Electric Vehicle Program
(MEVP) - Phase I Technical Report”, March 1991
(Final version published during FY 1992).

58

Ford Motor Company and the General Electric Com-
pany, “Modular Electric Vehicle Program (MEVP) -
Annual Report I”, June 1992.

GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION

Creveling, H.F., “Research and Development of a
Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) Fuel Cell System
for Transportation Applications,” Proceedings of the
Annual Automotive Technology Development Con-
tractors’ Meeting, Dearborn, MI, October 28-31, 1991,
Society of Automotive Engineers, P-256: 201-211. June
1992)

Vanderborgh, N.E., and R.D. Sutton, “Advanced
Methanol Fuel Processing,” in the Proceedings of the
Annual Automotive Technology Development Con-
tractors’ Meeting, Dearborn, MI, October 28-31, 1991,
Society of Automotive Engineers, P-256; 219-227. June
1992)

Verbrugge, M., “Modeling Polymer-Electrolyte Fuel
Cells,” Proceedings of the International Energy As-
sociation IEA) Workshop on PEM Fuel Cells, Ottawa,
Canada, September 14-15, 1992.

GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY

Romano, S., “Fuel Cell Bus Program,” Proceedings of
the SAE Topical Technical Conference (TOPTEC) on
Fuel Cells for Transportation, Arlington, VA, No-
vember 4-5, 1991.

H-POWER CORPORATION

Kaufman, A., “Phosphoric Acid Fuel Cell Power
System for TBB,” Proceedings of the Annual Auto-
motive Technology Development Contractors’ Meet-
ing, Dearborn, MI, October 28-31, 1991, Society of
Automotive Engineers, P-256: 199-200. (June 1992)

Kevala, R.J., “Fuel Cell/Battery Powered Bus Systems
R&D,” Proceedings of the Annual Automotive Tech-
nology Development Contractors’ Meeting, Dearborn,
MI, October 28-31, 1991, Society of Automotive En-
gineers, P-256: 191-192. June 1992)




The USABC development program calls for ex-
tensive testing of prototype cell, modules, and batter-
ies from the development contractors, To assure that
the program for battery testing is comprehensive and
uniform, the USABC has set up a working group to
address testing issues. The Battery Test Procedures
Working Group consists of USABC and National
Laboratory staff members. Ithas reviewed the existing
testing methodologies developed by the National
Laboratories, including methods for characterizing
cells, modules, and batteries, as well as methods of
subjecting them to realistic driving cycle discharges.
The group has utilized the existing testing methods as
a starting point and has proceeded to identify new
testing methods to address calendar life and the high
power peaks imposed on battery systems by the new

generation of electric vehicle drive trains.

The USABC has also reviewed its own develop-
ment criteria for mid-term batteries. Reassessment of
the criteria originally defined in early 1991 resulted in
no significant changes. The USABC remains con-
cerned about the potential for advanced batteries to
meet the high power requirements demanded by the
automotive customer. There is also concern about the
ability of batteries to rapidly recharge. These factors
are both reflected in the revised goals set in Tables 2
and 3.

Finally, the USABC continues to consider the
operational safety and reclamation of advanced bat-
teries of significant importance. USABC members
participate in DOE Electric Vehicle Battery Readiness
Working Groups.

Table 2. USABC Advanced Battery Technology Primary Criteria

(80% DOD)

Primary Criteria Mid-Term Goals Comments
Power Density W/| 250
Specific Power (Charge) W/kg 150*
(80% DOD/30 sec) (*200 desired)
Specific Power (Recharge) W/kg 75
(20% DOD/10 sec)
Energy Density W-h/| 135 Eventually measure
on SFUDS
Specific Energy W-h/kg 80* Eventually measure
(*100 desired) on SFUDS
Power/Energy Ratio 1.5-2.5 Eventually tailor to
OEM Vehicle
Life (Years) 5 Pack life
Cycle Life (Cycles) 600 Pack level cycles

(Implies higher cycle life
for cells)

(% of rated spec)

Power & Capacity Degradation 20%

Defines end of cycle
or calendar life

(10,000 units @ 40 kW-h)

Ultimate Price ($/kW-h) <$150

Includes recycling and
warranty cost. Needs further
platform review

(No Failure)

(of rated energy capacity)

Operating Environment -30 to 65°C.

Normal Recharge Time <6 hours

Fast Recharge Time 50% of capacity New market driven requirement.
in<30 minutes Will need new test procedures

Continuous Discharge in 1 hour 75% Needs to be harmonized with fast

recharge requirement.
Impacts on thermal management.

12



7.0 INCENTIVES

The major incentives-related activities of the
Electric and Hybrid Vehicles Program include the
Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) and Loan
Guarantee activities. In addition to these activities,
the recently enacted Energy Policy Act of 1992
(EPAct) offers new incentives for electric and alter-
native fuel vehicle commercialization and develop-
ment.

CAFE Regulations

Section 13(c) (1), 15 U.S.C. §2512(¢) (1), of Public
Law 94-413 directed the Secretary of Energy “to con-
duct a seven-year evaluation program of the inclusion
of electric vehicles. . . in the calculation of average
fuel economy . . . to determine the value and impli-
cations of such inclusion as an incentive for the early
initiation of industrial engineering development and
initial commercialization of electric vehicles in the
United States.”

This 7-year evaluation program was conducted
by DOE, and a final assessment report on this activ-
ity was completed in February 1987. DOE’s final
recommendation was that the EV CAFE provision be
continued, to the extent that the CAFE regulation
remains intact, in the average fuel economy calcula-
tions under the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost
Savings Act.

DOE has initiated action to revise 10 CFR 474
(Equivalent Petroleum-Based Fuel Economy Calcu-
lation) dated April 21, 1981, to provide a means of
calculating the CAFE- equivalent fuel economy for
electric vehicles, including those equipped with range
extender devices. The action was temporarily post-
poned to review the existing conversion method

against those for natural gas and alcohol fuels pro-
vided in the Alternative Motor Fuels Act of 1988. A
new method for calculating the electric-vehicle, CAFE-
equivalent fuel economy will be ready for proposed
rulemaking in the spring of 1993.

Energy Policy Act of 1992 (EPAct)

The Energy Policy Act of 1992 (P.L. 102-486),
enacted on October 24, 1992, includes both tax in-
centives and research, development and demonstra-
tion authorizations for electric vehicles. Section 1913
of EPAct provides a 10 percent tax credit (up to
$4,000) for electric vehicles. Title VI of EPAct autho-
rizes up to $50 million for electric and electric hybrid
vehicle demonstrations between 1993 and 2002, as
well as $40 million for electric vehicle infrastructure
development between 1993 and 1997. Section 2025
of EPAct authorizes up to $485 million for electric
vehicle and equipment research and development
between 1993 and 1998.

Planning Grants

There was no activity in this incentive program
during FY 1992.

Loan Guarantees

DOE authority for making principal and interest
assistance contracts under the Electric and Hybrid
Vehicle Loan Guaranty Program expired on Septem-
ber 17, 1983, as provided for by the notice of final
rulemaking published in the Federal Register on May
31, 1979 (44 FR 31510).

49


Evans, J.W., G. Savaskan and T. Huh, “Further Stud-
ies ofa Zinc-Air Cell Employed in Packed Bed Anodes.
Part II: Regeneration of Zinc Particles and Electrolyte
by Fluidized Bed Electrodeposition,” LBL-31680.
(1991)

Fuller, T.F., and J. Newman, “Experimental Determi-
nation of the Transport Number of Water in Nafion
117 Membrane,” LBL-31421, (1991)

Guay, D., G. Tourillon, E. Dartyge, A. Fontaine, J.
McBreen, K.I. Pandya and W.E. O’Grady, “ In Situ
Time-Resolved EXAFS Study of the Structural Modi-
fications Occurring in Nickel Oxide Electrodes Be-
tween Their Fully Oxidized and Reduced State,”
Journal of Electroanalytical Chemistry, 305: 83. (1991)

Gupta, S., C. Fierro and E. Yeager, “The Effects of
Cyanide on the Electrochemical Properties of Tran-
sition Metal Macrocycles for Oxygen Reduction in
Alkaline Solutions,” Journal of Electroanalytical
Chemistry, 306: 239. (1991)

Gupta, S., H. Huang and E. Yeager, “Studies on the
Adsorption of Tetrasulfonated Phthalocyanines on
Graphite Substrate,” Electrochimica Acta, 36: 2165.
(1991)

Haas, O., J. Rudnicki, F.R. McLarnon and E.J. Cairns,
“Mechanistic Investigations of Redox Polymer-Coated
Electrodes Using Probe-Beam Deflection and Cyclic
Voltammetry,” Journal of the Chemical Society
Faraday Transactions, 87: 939. (1991)

Haner, A., and P. Ross, “The Electrochemical Oxida-
tion of Methanol on Tin-Modified Pt Single Crystal
Surfaces,” Journal of Physical Chemistry, 95: 3740.
(1991)

Haner, A., P. Ross and U. Bardi, “The Surface Struc-
ture and Composition of the <111>and<100> Oriented
Single Crystals of the Ordered Alloy Pt,Sn,” Surface
Science, 249: 15. (1991)

Kim, S., LT. Bae, M. Sandifer, P. Ross, R. Carr, J.
Woicik, M. Antonio and D. Scherson, “In-Situ XANES
of an Iron Porphyrin Irreversibly Adsorbed on an
Electrode Surface,” Journal of the American Chemi-
cal Society, 113: 9063. (1991)

56

Lerner, M.,S.J. Visco, M. Ue, M.M. Doeffand L.C. De
Jonghe, “Preparation and Discharge Characteristics
of Solid Redox Polymerization Electrodes Employing
Disulfide Polymers and Copolymers,” Materials Re-
search Society Symposium Proceedings, 210: 81.
(1991)

Liu, M., S.J. Visco and L.C. De Jonghe, “Novel Solid
Redox Polymerization Electrodes: All-Solid-State,
Thin-Film, Rechargeable Lithium Batteries,” Journal
ofthe Electrochemical Society, 138: 1891,1896. (1991)

Mayer, S.T., and R.H. Muller, “An In-Situ Raman
Spectroscopy Study of the Anodic Oxidation of Cop-
per in Alkaline Media,” LBL-30299. (1991)

McBreen, J., W.E. O’Grady, G. Tourillon, E. Dartyge
and A. Fontaine, “XANES Study of Underpotential
Deposited Copper on Carbon-Supported Platinum,”
Journal of Electroanalytical Chemistry, 307: 229. (1991)

McVay, L., “Studies of the Development of Mossy
Zinc Electrodeposits from Flowing Alkaline Electro-
lytes,” Ph.D. Thesis, LBL-30843. (1991)

Newman, J., “Cathodic Protection with Parallel Cyl-
inders,” Journal of the Electrochemical Society, 138:
3554. (1991)

Newman, J., “Electrochemical System,” 2nd edition,
Prentice-Hall Inc., Englewood Cliffs, NJ. (1991)

Ross, P.N., “Characterization of Alloy Catalysts forthe
Direct Oxidation of Methanol: A Critical Review,”
Electrochimica Acta, 36: 2053. (1991)

Schwartz, D.T., and R.H. Muller, “Oxidation Films on
Copper in Alkaline Media: Intensity-Modulated
Photoelectrochemical and Raman Spectroscopy
Studies,” Surf. Sci., 248: 349. (1991)

Schwartz, D.T., and R.H. Muller,
“Photoelectrochemical Evidence for Saturated Opti-
cal Absorption in Electrolytic Cuprous Oxide,” Applied
Physics Letter, 55: 1739. (1991)

Shifler, D.A., P.J. Moran and J. Kruger, “The Passivity
of Iron and Carbon Steel in Anhydrous Propylene
Carbonate Solution”, Corrosion Science, 32: 475. (1991)


General Motors Corporation (Allison Gas Tur-
bine Division) completed the second year of a 32-
month, 20 percent cost-shared R&D contract for de-
velopment of the PEM fuel cell as a complete trans-
portation power source system. As the prime con-
tractor for Phase I, Allison is responsible for overall
system integration. Support subcontractors are Los
Alamos National Laboratory for reformer develop-
ment and fuel cell testing, Dow Chemical Company
for membrane fabrication and testing, Ballard Power
Systems for fuel cell stack fabrication, GM Research
Laboratories for electrode and catalyst studies, and
GM Advanced Engineering Staff for vehicle system
engineering. During FY 1992, membranes and elec-
trodes were improved, state-of-the-art 5-kW PEM fuel
cell stacks were built and tested, and significant
progress was attained in methanol fuel processing
and control technologies needed to bring this to a
complete system. The Phase I effort will culminate
in FY 1993 with the integration and testing of a com-
plete 10-kW PEM fuel cell system, which is expected
to provide a demonstration of the feasibility of PEM
fuel cells for transportation, thereby laying the
groundwork for a potential future engineering scale-
up and integration of a PEM fuel cell propulsion
system into a vehicle.

The PEM fuel cell uses a fluorocarbon polymer
membrane as the electrolyte. Because the membrane
contains terminal sulfuric acid groups, it acts as an
acidic electrolyte and does not absorb carbon dioxide
and thus can be used with reformed hydrocarbon
fuels. An advantage of a solid polymer electrolyte is
that an immobilized electrolyte simplifies sealing in
the production process, reduces corrosion, and may
provide for a long cell life. The cell operates at about
80°C, and useful electric power can be drawn from
the cell at room temperature. The lower operating
temperature allows much faster and easier start-up
than the PAFC system which operates at about 200°C.

Two areas of concern for the PEM fuel cell are
carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning of the
electrocatalyst and the need for humidification of the
fuel stream. Fuel cells, such as the PEM, which
operate at low temperatures use platinum to catalyze
reactions at both the anode and cathode. The ad-
sorption of CO, which is inversely related to tem-
perature, blocks access of hydrogen to the surface of
the catalyst. At the 80°C operating temperature of
the PEM fuel cell, the allowable concentration of CO
in the fuel is only a few parts per million. Water
content in the fuel stream must also be maintained at

a minimum partial pressure of 400 millimeters of
mercury to prevent dehydration of the polymer
membrane and a catastrophic increase in electrical
resistance. To maintain adequate hydration of the
membrane, the system must be pressurized and sur-
plus water must be constantly supplied at the anode.

For best performance, PEM fuel cells require an
oxidizer unit between the reformer and the fuel cell
to remove CO, a turbocompressor to pressurize the
system, and a water management system to maintain
hydration of the membrane and removal of the prod-
uct water. The preferential oxidizer reduces the
concentration of CO in the fuel stream coming from
the reformer from one percent to a few parts per
million. The turbocompressor raises the air pressure
at the cathode to about 3 atmospheres (0.3 MPa). A
water removal system is required because more wa-
ter than is needed for reforming must be injected
into the fuel stream to maintain hydration of the
membrane. A humidification section is included in
the design of the cell stack to supply water to the
membrane.

Ongoing supporting exploratory and core tech-
nology development activities are discussed in section
4.4. The results of these research efforts will be
integrated into the PEM system development pro-
gram.

4.3 Multifuel Reformers and
Hydrogen Storage for Fuel
Flexibility

Fuel cells operate by electrochemically combin-
ing hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity and
water. For transportation applications of fuel cells,
oxygen can be obtained from the air, and hydrogen
can either be carried on-board the vehicle or derived
from hydrocarbon fuels by means of a fuel reformer.

With existing state-of-the-art technology, hydro-
gen can be stored either as a compressed gas in
heavy tanks at high pressure, as a metal hydride, as
an adsorbed gas on activated carbon, or as liquid
hydrogen at extremely low temperatures. These
storage mechanisms all have a large weight and vol-
ume per unit of hydrogen stored. As a result, the

amount of hydrogen that can be carried on board a

vehicle is restricted, and the driving range for the

vehicle is limited.

Fuel reformers, as an alternative to hydrogen
storage, can extract hydrogen from more plentiful

29


carbon-based fuels such as methanol, ethanol, and
natural gas that have a high hydrogen content. For
transportation applications, methanol has been the
fuel of choice to date since it can be derived from
nonpetroleum sources, is easy to transport, and can
be converted to hydrogen at relatively low tempera-
tures. With reformers, liquid fuels for fuel cells can
be stored in a manner similar to gasoline in internal
combustion engine vehicles.

Steam reforming methanol to produce hydrogen
involves a reaction of gaseous methanol and steam
on catalysts according to the following reaction:

CH,OH + H,O > CO, +3H,

The reaction proceeds in two steps: the first be-
ing decomposition of methanol to hydrogen and car-
bon monoxide and the second a “shift reaction” of
carbon monoxide and water to carbon dioxide and
hydrogen. The overall net reaction is endothermic,
and the required energy can be supplied from waste
heat generated by other components of the fuel cell
system. Most reformers developed to date have
been designed for stationary applications; they are
large, heavy, and lack the fast start-up and dynamic
response capabilities necessary for use with fuel cell
power systems in automotive applications.

Development of advanced reformer and hydro-
gen storage technologies will not only provide fuel
flexibility for fuel-cell-powered vehicles, but will also
reduce system size and cost, reduce start-up time,
and increase transient response capability. DOE
initiated research on advanced reformer and hydro-
gen storage technologies to improve the competi-
tiveness of fuel cell vehicles. To this end, DOE
awarded a 30-month cost-shared R&D contract in
May 1992 to Arthur D. Little, Inc., of Cambridge,
MA. One objective of the project is to develop ad-
vanced fuel processing systems to reform methanol,
ethanol, natural gas, and other hydrocarbons into
hydrogen for use in transportation fuel cell systems;
a second objective is to develop better systems for
on-board hydrogen storage. The work is divided
into two phases: the first phase consists of a feasibility
study, and the second phase will include fabrication
and test of proof-of-concept reformer and hydrogen
storage systems. The Phase I Feasibility Study is
directed at examining the system tradeoffs (e., re-
former size, weight, efficiency, quality of reformat,
life, cost, transient response capability, start-up time)
in the design of hydrogen storage systems and re-

30

formers for hydrocarbon fuels. Steam reforming,
partial oxidation, or combinations of these processes
are being investigated. The outcome of the Phase I
Feasibility Study will be specifications for the reformer
and hydrogen storage systems to be developed in
Phase II, where a 10-kW reformer and a 1-kg hydro-
gen storage proof-of-concept systems will be built
and tested. The project is expected to be completed
by November 1994,

Research has been initiated at Argonne National
Laboratory to identify and develop suitable catalysts
for the steam reforming of ethanol. Ethanol is an
attractive fuel for fuel cell propulsion since it has
about a 30 percent higher energy content than an
equivalent amount of methanol. Further, for fuel cell
use, the water remaining in ethanol after the fer-
mentation process does not have to be removed,
eliminating the expensive distillation process required
for ethanol use in internal combustion engines. Re-
search conducted at Argonne in FY 1992 identified a
family of catalysts that can potentially be used to
reform ethanol. Although these catalysts can produce
acceptably high concentrations of hydrogen in the
product gas, these catalysts are not very selective
and the hydrogen yield is not as great as is desirable.
Work is continuing to develop catalysts that have
good activity and high selectivity for the production
of hydrogen by the steam reforming of ethanol.

The reforming of alcohols and other fuels to hy-
drogen by partial oxidation has been identified as a
potentially attractive alternative to the steam reform-
ing of the fuel for use in fuel cell propulsion systems.
The partial oxidation process can yield reformers
that are compact, lightweight, and offer rapid start-up
and fast response to varying loads on the system.
Experimental investigations were initiated at Argonne
in FY 1992 to develop catalysts and processes for
partial oxidation of methanol, ethanol, and other fuels.
Research thus far has identified some highly prom-
ising catalyst formulations, prepared at Argonne and
available commercially, that have very good activity
and selectivity for the production of hydrogen from
methanol. Additional work is continuing to establish
the thermal, chemical, and mechanical stability of
these catalysts. Catalysts for the partial oxidation
reforming of ethanol are also being developed.


6.0 sruDIES AND ASSESSMENTS

6.1 Battery Test Task Force

The Electric and Hybrid Program (EHP) Battery
Test Working Task Force (BTWTF) was formed in
1983 to coordinate the battery evaluation work at the
DOE- and EPRI-funded laboratories. During FY 1992,
the mission of the Task Force was expanded to include
coordination of testing activities with the USABC.
Present members of the Task Force include the fol-
lowing National Laboratories:

¢ Idaho National Engineering Laboratory

¢ Sandia National Laboratory

¢ Argonne National Laboratory

© Los Alamos National Laboratory

and the USABC.

The major accomplishment of the BTWTF in FY
1992 was the development of a generic test plan for
battery testing. From this plan, a set of generic tests
were written to assure that the results obtained from
the battery tests at one laboratory would be generally
comparable to data from the other member laborato-
ries.

6.2 Database Development

In FY 1992, Idaho continued to develop and main-
tain an electric and hybrid vehicles technology data-
base consisting of electric vehicle simulation pro-
grams, battery test and evaluation data, site opera-
tors data, and an electric vehicles technical library.

Idaho has implemented a computer software
configuration management (SCM) database system
in order to manage the software for which Idaho is
cognizant. The purpose of this system is to provide a
means of providing network access to these software
packages by the electric and hybrid vehicle commu-
nity. Electric and hybrid vehicle simulation codes in
the database system include:

* ELVEC, a general purpose electric and hybrid

vehicle computer simulation program.

e HEAVY, the Hybrid and Electric Advanced
Vehicle Systems computer simulation pro-
gram.

¢ SIMPLEV, Simple Electric Vehicle computer
simulation program.

The Idaho database programs and electric ve-
hicle data acquisition programs are also managed
utilizing the SCM system database.

Idaho completed the development of Version 1.0
of the Personal Computer (PC) -based electric vehicle
simulation program, SIMPLEV. During FY 1992,
SIMPLEV Version 1.0 was licensed to 6 industrial
companies and 14 colleges and universities partici-
pating in the Ford/DOE Hybrid Challenge and was
distributed for use by 6 other Government institutions
including the Environmental Protection Agency,
Argonne National Laboratory, and Sandia National
Laboratory.

SIMPLEV was enhanced to include the capability
of simulating series hybrid vehicles, giving estima-
tions of fuel consumption, and regulated emissions.
Additional enhancements include simulation of the
effects of anti-lock braking, various keyboard controls
of the simulation while running, as well as many
enhancements which will make the simulation easier
to use. These enhancements were completed in FY
1992 and will be available for release as Version 2.0 in
early FY 1993.

Idaho continued the development of a PC-based
database for storing battery physical characteristics,
manufacturer information, and charge/discharge test
data for the various batteries that have been tested
for EV applications at DOE laboratories. The Electric
Vehicle Battery Test Database, Version 1.0, was re-
leased to DOE for review and comment in April 1991.
This version of the database was designed to run ona
stand alone PC and contained complete test data
summary tables, but did not include any detailed test
data because the data files were too large to be in-
cluded on floppy disks. Early in FY 1992, Version 1.1
of the Idaho Electric Vehicle Battery Test Database
was implemented on the Idaho Energy Programs
NOVELL computer network for use by the Idaho
EHV Program. It included 1,323 test data summaries
and 297 detailed test data files. Over 1,323 files of
detailed test data remain to be loaded but await
completion of a large-capacity optical disk installation.
Neither telephone nor off-site network access was
provided for in this version.

In January 1992, Version 2.0 of the Idaho Electric
Vehicle Battery Test Database was completed and

45


235

225

EMF (Volts)

24 en

2.05

18

a7

1.6 :

e-o-0.Aoo5 oA
°

Sk
°

aA

oP

0.0 0.1

0.2

0.3 0.4

Mole Fraction No

Figure 9. Plots of cell potential vs. Na mole fraction in P-S melt in a Na/P-S cell.

ERIM to duplicate the quality of the coatings obtained
at Ford and to evaluate the corrosion-resistant proper-
ties of TiN for extended periods in polysulfide melts.

Sodium/nickel chloride batteries offer the poten-
tial for a safe battery system with excellent reliability
to serve as a power source for both electric vans and
passenger vehicles. DOE supports research at
Argonne to generate the scientific and technical base
required to develop advanced sodium/nickel chlo-
ride batteries that meet the USABC long-term objec-
tives (200 W-h/kg and 400 W/kg). During FY 1992,
efforts have been focused on optimizing the perfor-
mance of the nickel chloride electrode through the
use of appropriate chemical additives and pore form-
ing materials, as well as characterizing the nickel
chloride electrode under EV SFUDS or power dy-
namic operating conditions. These studies indicate
that the Argonne-developed chemical additives pro-
duce the following results: enhance the specific energy
of the cell by 40 percent and the power by over 200
percent; permit the sodium/nickel chloride cell op-
erating temperature to be varied from 160° C to 370° C;

18

reduce cell recharge time from 5 hours to 1 hour; and
significantly improve the sodium/nickel chloride cell
life by reducing the solubility of the nickel chloride
cathode material in the electrolyte.

In FY 1992, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory dem-
onstrated that for Zn/KOH/NiOOH cells a moder-
ately alkaline electrolyte is very effective for extend-
ing the cycle life of the cells. A 1.35-A-h sealed,
starved-electrolyte cell containing alkaline-fluoride-
carbonate electrolyte (3.2 M KOH - 1.8 M KF-1.8M
K2COs) retained 80 percent of its original charge after
approximately 400 deep-discharge cycles and reached
570 cycles before its capacity fell below 60 percent.
The cell is shown in Figure 10. A pressure transducer
is attached to the cell, and the electrodes and current-
collecting tabs are visible inside the cell. Lawrence
Berkeley received a 1992 R&D-100 Award for the
development of this promising technology. Scale up
of Zn/KOH/NiOOH cells to 20 A-h (electrodes of
approximately 15 x 15 cm) is underway, and the new
electrolytes are being evaluated in these larger cells.
Lawrence Berkeley issued an RFP to transfer the


mentindustry cooperation on regulatory issues af-
fecting advanced batteries and EVs.

Environmental and Economic Studies on
Fuel Cell Vehicles (FCVs)

An environmental assessment to identify critical
environmental, safety and health issues involved in
the use of fuel cells for transportation applications
was continued by the National Renewable Energy
Laboratory in FY 1992. In addition, two other small
studies were completed: an independent comparative
assessment of the environmental impacts of fuel cell
vs. internal combustion engine vehicles was devel-
oped; and a life-cycle cost analysis was performed to
provide quantitative economic comparisons between
conventional vehicles and fuel-cell-powered vehicles.
Comparisons were developed for cars, vans, and
buses using phosphoric acid or proton-exchange-
membrane fuel cells where applicable.

The environmental benefits of using FCVs in
place of conventional vehicles were estimated in
terms of “avoided emissions”—regulated pollutants
affecting local air quality and carbon dioxide affecting
global climate change that would have been emitted
by the conventional vehicles displaced by FCVs. The
estimated cumulative benefits for the period 1990 to
2030 resulting from avoided emissions due to FCVs
comprising 24 percent of the total light-duty vehicle
miles travelled were about $5 billion for FCVs using
methanol reformed on-board and about $5.8 billion
for FCVs using on-board hydrogen. These avoided
emissions were calculated using a total fuel-cycle
approach that tries to capture the emissions from
fuel production as well as those from use of the fuel
in vehicles.

The successful commercialization of FCVs will
have significant economic and energy security ben-
efits in the years after 2000, as FCVs begin to displace
conventional vehicles that consume petroleum-de-

48

rived fuels. In FY 1992, as part of the national pro-

gram to develop FCVs, the National Renewable En-
ergy Laboratory estimated the energy, economic,
and environmental benefits resulting from the use of
FCVs as future light-duty passenger vehicles. These
estimates are based on analyses supporting the Na-
tional Energy Strategy. Estimates of energy, eco-
nomic, and environmental benefits are based on as-
sumptions about the number of FCVs in the total
vehicle fleet, which in turn depend on assumptions
about the performance and economic competitiveness
of both FCVs and conventional and alternative vehicle
systems that will be available at the same time. The
estimates of benefits assume that FCVs will constitute
24 percent of the light-duty vehicle miles travelled by
the year 2030.

The cumulative energy, economic, and environ-
mental benefits of FCVs were calculated for the period
1990 to 2030 under two scenarios: one for FCVs
fueled by methanol and the other for FCVs powered
directly by hydrogen. Energy benefits calculated for
both scenarios showed a net savings of 2 million to 4
million barrels of oil per day by 2030 after energy
required to produce fuel for these FCVs was sub-
tracted. Methanol for the methanol-fueled FCV was
assumed to be produced from a mixture of domestic
and foreign natural gas. For the hydrogen-powered
FCV scenario, hydrogen was assumed to be produced
only from domestic natural gas. Total economic ben-
efits were approximately $38.5 billion (in 1990 dollars
with a 4.6 percent discount rate),

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory in-
tends to conduct additional analyses to provide in-
formation on system benefits and costs related to
future FCVs. Both absolute and incremental benefits
and costs need to be determined for a range of tech-
nologies, fuels, and infrastructure alternatives. Ad-
ditionally, benefits and costs of FCVs will be analyzed
and compared with other promising alternative sys-
tems in order to assess the cost-effectiveness of FCVs.


Shifler, D.A., P.J. Moran and J. Kruger, “The Passivity
of 304 Stainless Steel in Propylene Carbonate Solu-
tions,” Journal of the Electrochemical Society, 139:
54. (1992)

Sutija, D.P., “Micro Scale Mass Transfer Variations
During Electrodeposition,” Ph.D. Thesis, LBL-30825.
(1991)

Tobias, C.W., and K.G. Jordan, “The Effect of Inhibi-
tor Transport on Leveling in Electrodeposition,”
Journal of the Electrochemical Society, 138: 1251.
(1991)

Tobias, C.W., and K.G. Jordan, “Simulation of the
Influence of Corrosive Agents in Electrodeposition on
Microprofiles,” Journal of the Electrochemical Soci-
ety, 138: 3581. (1991)

Tobias, C.W., and K.G. Jordan, “Simulation ofthe Role
of Convection in Electrodeposition into Microscopic
Trenches,” Journal of the Electrochemical Society,
138: 1933. (1991)

Visco, S.J., M.M. Doeff and L.C. De Jonghe, “Current
Status of Solid-State Lithium Batteries Employing
Solid Redox Polymerization Cathodes,” Symposium
Proceedings of the Fifth International Seminar on
Lithium Battery Technology and Applications,
Deerfield Beach, Florida, LBL-30696. (1991)

Visco, S.J., M.M. Doeff and L.C. De Jonghe, “Thin-
Film Technology for Solid-State Lithium Batteries
Employing Solid Redox Polymerization Cathodes,”
Symposium Proceedings of the 34th Annual Techni-
cal Conference of the Society of Vacuum Coaters,
Philadelphia, PA, 89. (1991)

Weaver, J., F.R. McLarnon and EJ. Cairns, “Experi-
mental and Theoretical Study of Concentration Dis-
tributions in a Model Pore Electrode. I. Measurement
of Two-Dimensional Concentration Gradients in a
Zinc Model Pore,” Journal of the Electrochemical
Society, 138: 2572. (1991)

Weaver, J., F.R. McLarnon and EJ. Cairns, “Experi-
mental and Theoretical Study of Concentration Dis-
tributions ina Model Pore Electrode. II. Mathematical
Models and Comparison to Experiment,” Journal of
the Electrochemical Society, 138: 2579-2585. (1991)

West, A.C., andJ. Newman, “Current Distributions on
Recessed Electrodes,” Journal of the Electrochemi-
cal Society, 138: 1620. (1991)

Zeng, Z.Y., S.L. Gupta, H. Huang and E.B. Yeager,
“Oxygen Reduction on Poly (4-vinylpyridine)-Modified
Ordinary Pyrolytic Graphite Electrodes with Adsorbed
Cobalt Tetrasulfonated Phthalocyanines in Acid So-
lutions,” Journal of Applied Electrochemistry, 21: 973.
(1991)

LOS ALAMOS NATIONAL
LABORATORY

Allen, P., S. Conradson, I. Raistrick, S. Gottesfeld, J.
Mustre de Leon, M. Lovato and P. Stonehart, “Struc-
ture and Reactivity of the Metal Sites in Platinum-
Based Electrocatalyst Clusters,” Proceedings of the
Workshop on X-ray Methods in Corrosion and Inter-
facial Electrochemistry, The Electrochemical Society,
92 (1): 636, (1992)

Gottesfeld, S., G. Maia, J.B. Floriano, G. Tremiliosi-
Filho, E. Ticianelli and E.R. Gonzalez, “Study of Thick
Anodic Oxide Films On Pt By Spectroscopic
Ellipsometry,” Journal of the Electrochemical Society,
138: 3219. (1991)

Paffett, M.T., W. Hutchinson, J.D. Farr, P. Pappin, J.G.
Beery, S. Gottesfeld and J. Feret, “The Physical and
Chemical State of Phosphoric Acid Fuel Cell Assem-
blies After Long Term Operation: Surface and Near
Surface Analysis,” Journal of Power Sources, 36: 137.
(1991)

Springer, T.E., T. Zawodzinski and S. Gottesfeld, “
Modeling Water Content Effects in Polymer Electro-
lyte Fuel Cells,” Proceedings of the Symposium on
Modeling of Batteries and Fuel Cells, The Electro-
chemical Society, 91 (10): 209. (1991)

Springer, T.E., T.A. Zawodzinski and S. Gottesfeld,
“Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell Model,” Journal of the
Electrochemical Society, 138: 2334. (1991)

Springer, T.E., and Ss. Gottesfeld,
“Pseudohomogeneous Catalyst Layer Model for
Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell,” Proceedings of the
Symposium on Modeling of Batteries and Fuel Cells,
The Electrochemical Society, 91 (10): 197. (1991)

57




Idaho National Engineering Laboratory contin-
ued its role of Program Management and expanded
efforts to establish and coordinate inter-organizational
activities through participation in conferences, work-
shops, task forces, and committees. Efforts have
increased the cooperation between the Site Operator
Program, the Electric Power Research Institute
(EPRI), the Electric Vehicle Association of the
Americas (EVAA), and the American automobile
manufacturers. Information on the program and the
EV industry has been provided to a large number of
interested individuals and organizations including the
Swedish Office of Science and Technology and the
Northern States Power Company. All Site Operators
are seeking to improve public awareness and interest
in EVs through various activities including public
displays, presentations and “ride and drive” events.
Audiences include the general public, organizations,
companies, and government officials.

Approximately half of the vehicles in the Site
Operator Fleets are G-Vans (see Figure 18). The

G-Van is the first mass-produced EV in the country
and the first EV to be certified as meeting the Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standards crash test criteria.
The G-Van has proven to be a reliable workhorse for
the participating organizations and has provided
practical EV operating experience. Early identifica-
tion and resolution of problems in operating these
vehicles will result in better public reception of EVs.
When some of the G-Vans experienced a reduction in
range per charge from 60 to less than 40 miles, ad-
justments were made. Most of the vehicles did expe-
rience an increase in range, but only for a short
period of time. Conceptor, along with EPRI, has
engaged in a full-scale investigation to identify the
source of the problem. This example shows the
value of field testing performed by the Site Operator
Program. A summary of EV performance data col-
lected by the Site Operators Program is given in
Table 7. As shown, the EVs appear to be cheaper to
operate than comparable size internal combustion
engine vehicles.

Figure 18. Photograph of a G-Van used in the Site Operator Program.

37


from engineering to manufacturing for pilot produc-
tion. A chassis dynamometer facility at GE-Drive
Systems (GEDS) was completed and is being used
for evaluating MEVP propulsion systems performance
tests in vehicles. The first engineering prototype test
bed vehicle for the MEVP program to be tested at
this test facility was shipped to GEDS during FY
1992. Initial tests which were performed evaluated
the interaction between the electric drive and the
vehicle’s mechanical systems.

The Battery Subsystem task included discussions
with sodium-sulfur battery suppliers in anticipation
of delivery of prototype units for testing in the proto-
type test bed vehicle. A prototype ABB sodium-
sulfur battery was received and was used for pre-
liminary battery controller work and testing in this
vehicle. The battery controller software for sodium-
sulfur batteries was tested using this vehicle con-
nected via an umbilical cord to the sodium-sulfur
battery. The battery controller specification was up-
dated using data accumulated through this testing
and subsequent discussions between the vehicle
system controller engineers and the battery control-
ler engineers.

The Transaxle task concentrated on speed sensor
and electrical connector development and lubrication
and cooling issues, including build of a special rig to
determine how the oil for lubrication and cooling is
distributed among the gears, bearings and motor.
Extensive transaxle development testing began dur-
ing FY 1992.

The Test Vehicles task concentrated on integra-
tion of the electrical system and powertrain compo-
nents in the prototype test bed vehicle. Ride and
drive demonstrations of this vehicle were provided to
several members of Ford Motor Company’s Senior
Management and Board of Directors.

The status of Phase II at the end of FY 1992 is as
follows:

¢ Initial efforts concentrating on 75 hp design;

© Specifications issued for all major components
and designs complete;

* Electrical/electronic system specification
drafted;

* Motor/transaxle assembly designed and pro-
totype hardware built;

¢ Invertor designed and prototype hardware
built;

¢ Brassboard invertor/motor controls built;

* Vehicle system controller designed and proto-
type hardware built;

© 75-hp prototype hardware being tested in about
10 prototype test bed vehicles;
© Diagnostic module operational requirements
specification drafted;
¢ European Escort Van chosen as 75-hp deliver-
able test bed vehicle;
* Battery controls development underway
— DC power subsystem configured;
— Battery control functions and algorithms in
process;
— Sodium-sulfur battery cooling system
specified;
— Specifications written for 50-, 75-, and 100-
hp powertrains;
- High voltage selected for all power levels.

Phase II efforts will continue during FY 1993,
with delivery of the 75-hp test bed vehicle (see Fig-
ure 17). Component design studies will continue for
the 50-hp system, as well as packaging studies for the
test bed vehicle.

5.3 Site Operator Program

During FY 1992, interest in EVs and the Site
Operator Program increased because of several fac-
tors, including concerns with urban air quality, the
California Air Resources Board regulations requiring
that a percentage of California new vehicle sales be
zero emission vehicles beginning in 1998, and a con-
tinuing interest in reducing oil imports. The Site
Operator Program currently includes 13 participants,
representing a wide diversity of operating environ-
ments that includes weather conditions, geography,
the urban, suburban, and semi-rural nature of the
organization’s location and program emphasis. The
Program has an active presence in 10 of the 25 largest
Metropolitan Statistical Areas in the country, includ-
ing 5 of the 10 largest cities. The Program provides
good financial leverage for DOE funds, with the Site
Operators providing about $2.50 from their own and
other sources, not including large “in kind” contribu-
tions, for each $1 of DOE support. Collectively, the
participants represent over a million miles of EV
operations and over a hundred person-years of EV
operating experience. These sites and the DOE are
the interface between the marketplace and auto
manufacturers. Table 6 shows the participants in the
Program as of the beginning of FY 1993.

35




2.0 Fy 1992 ACCOMPLISHMENTS
eed

The highlights of significant FY 1992 accom-
plishments in each of the Electric and Hybrid Propul-
sion Systems Program areas are as follows:

© The USABC announced several battery devel-
opment subcontracts during FY 1992 (and early FY
1993). These include the Ovonic Battery Company
for development of nickel metal hydride battery; the
W.R. Grace Consortium for development of lithium
polymer battery; and SAFT America, Inc., for devel-
opment of lithium iron disulfide battery. Cooperative
Research and Development Agreements (CRADA)
were signed with two National Laboratories, National
Renewable Energy Laboratory and Lawrence Berke-
ley Laboratory. Three other CRADAs, with Argonne
National Laboratory, Idaho National Engineering
Laboratory, and Sandia National Laboratory have been
announced,

* Chloride Silent Power Limited completed the
design and development of a second-generation so-
dium/sulfur battery in a DOE contract that was on-
going prior to the formation of the USABC. This
battery will have a reduced weight compared to an
earlier first-generation battery and will be suitable for
underfloor mounting in the Ford/DOE ETX-II ve-
hicles. Although the intent of the contract was to
perform the evaluation in the vehicle, adequate funds
were not available to fabricate a full voltage battery.
Instead, a 100-volt, 24-kW-h (90 W-h/kg) battery will
be delivered to Argonne National Laboratory for
performance and life characterization. Final assembly
and commissioning are scheduled for November
1992.

* During FY 1992, Beta Power completed an
ongoing DOE contract for the conceptual designs of
high-performance, sodium/sulfur batteries for four
US. electric vans. A battery using the common van
cell would have nearly 3 times the energy capacity,
yet weigh 40 percent less. In addition, a similar cell
and battery design effort was completed for an ad-
vanced passenger car application. A battery using a
cell specifically designed for the passenger car would
provide 50 percent more energy in a package 2.4-feet
shorter and 50 percent lighter. If there is further
development of this technology, it will be conducted
through the USABC.

© The Idaho National Engineering Laboratory
tested several lead-acid batteries to provide Site Op-
erators with data on batteries available for their cur-
rent electric vehicle fleets. Life cycle testing of two
Sonnenschein sealed lead-acid batteries and two
flooded lead-acid batteries were completed. The
batteries tested completed 382 charge/discharge
cycles under simulated vehicle driving conditions
before the battery energy degraded to the end-of-life
criteria of 80 percent of the pre-test measurement.
Post-test analysis of the batteries included physical
and chemical analyses in order to determine the
mechanisms involved which contributed to the battery
failure.

¢ Acontract was placed with Dreisbach Electro-
motive, Inc., for the fabrication of zinc-air battery
technology in 12 volt, 240-A-h modules, to be tested
by the USABC. Phase I of this effort, completed in
FY 1992, resulted in the development of a subsystem
for managing several functions, such as controlling
the ancillary systems, necessary to operate this battery
system.

© The development of high-specific energy ca-
pacitors for load leveling electric vehicles continues
to show significant progress. Tests performed at the
Idaho National Engineering Laboratory on available
capacitors indicated that spiral-wound, carbon based
devices are capable of an energy density of 2 W-h/kg
and 500,000 charge/discharge cycles, A Sandia-fab-
ricated double-layer capacitor the size of a common
“D” cell exhibits a total capacitance in excess of 1000
Farads (F). The carbon electrode exhibits a volu-
metric capacitance in excess of approximately 130 F/
cm’, and the energy density of the laboratory device
is approximately 1.4 W-h/kg. A contract was placed
with Maxwell Laboratories and Auburn University to
develop bipolar, carbon based ultracapacitors with
an energy density of at least 5 W-h/kg by 1995 which
could be configured in a 100 kg unit to store 500 W-h
of energy.

¢ H-Power Corporation completed the first year
of a three-year contract to design and build three
fuel-cell-powered urban transit buses. At the end of
FY 1992, H-Power had completed the major sub-
system designs and had begun fabrication of the bus


tends to publish an annual report on regulatory de-
velopments pertaining to EV batteries, such as pro-
posed modifications to the Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standards (FMVSS) affecting EVs.

EV Battery Readiness Working Group

The Ad Hoc EV Battery Readiness Working
Group was formed by DOE/EHP in May 1990 as part
of a government-industry effort to identify regulatory
issues associated with the safe shipment, in-vehicle
use, and recycling-reclamation of advanced batteries.
The original mission of the Working Group was to
assist in the development of Federal regulations to
address EH&S issues in these three areas. In FY
1992, the Working Group objectives were updated to
include developing action plans to remove regulatory
barriers, identify requirements for the commercial-
ization of EVs, and to act as an advisory body for
EH&S programs relating to hybrid and electric ve-
hicles. The Working Group consists primarily of
representatives from battery developers, automobile
manufacturers, Federal agencies, and National
Laboratories.

The sub-working groups originally assembled in
May 1990 to address the most important regulatory
issues on shipping, in-vehicle safety, and recycling-
reclamation have been maintained for subsequent
meetings. The Shipping Sub-working Group provides
organizational and technical support as needed to
facilitate collection of needed information for regula-
tory applications, facilitates the preparation and sub-
mission of regulatory applications for general ex-
emptions and for international and DOT regulations,
establishes the scope of ruling(s) sought, and over-
sees the development of a database at the National
Renewable Energy Laboratory to track the shipment
of sodium/beta batteries. The In-vehicle Safety Sub-
working Group works with industry to analyze haz-
ards associated with batteries in EV propulsion and
reviews and comments on FMVSS-proposed rules.
The Recycling/Reclamation Sub-working Group
works with battery developers, industry representa-
tives, and the EPA to share information pertaining to
reclamation/recycle processes for advanced EV bat-
teries and to work on the development of regulations
that will facilitate the recycle/reclamation of these
batteries.

In FY 1992, two meetings of the Working Group
were held in Washington, D.C. During the first
meeting, held on January 14-15, 1992, the Shipping

Sub-working Group formulated a time schedule and
a preliminary assessment of content for a proposed
submittal to the United Nations to obtain an entry for
international shipment. It also determined the data
items to be included in a Na/beta shipping database.
The In-Vehicle Safety Sub-working Group reviewed
the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA) Advance Notice for Proposed Rulemaking
(ANPR) on EVs and formulated a collective response
by the group to NHTSA. It also proposed that a risk
assessment, which would define safety testing needs
and requirements for Na/beta batteries, be con-
ducted. The Reclamation/Recycle Sub-working Group
discussed regulations needed to facilitate the collec-
tion and storage of EV batteries prior to reclamation/
recycle. With respect to legislation, the Sub-working
Group agreed that it would take an active role in
reviewing proposed rulemaking on consumer batter-
ies that might apply to EV batteries, as well as in the
RCRA reauthorization process.

At the second Working Group meeting held on
September 24-25, 1992, the Shipping Sub-working
Group decided on the content of a general exemption
for the domestic shipment of “hot” and “cold” Na/
beta batteries and on the time schedule for submittal
to DOT. It also discussed recent developments in an
application for revision to an existing exemption. The
In-Vehicle Safety Sub-working Group determined that
it would submit a coordinated response on NHTSA
Notice of Proposed Rules on EVs as a follow-up to its
response to the ANPR. It also decided to work on
defining areas in which standards should be devel-
oped for EVs and to initiate contact with the Society
of Automotive Engineers’ Standards Forum con-
cerning potential EV standards. The Recycling Sub-
working Group agreed that it would obtain more
information about the proposed EPA rule exempting
the collection phase of battery recycling from RCRA
regulatory requirements. The Sub-working Group
will assemble comments and submit a coordinated
reply. It will also review information about RCRA
reauthorization legislation.

The accomplishments of the Working Group in
FY 1992 include obtaining a United Nations entry for
the international shipment of sodium/beta batteries,
developing and submitting applicable international
and domestic regulations pertaining to the shipment
of sodium/beta batteries, reviewing several recycling/
reclamation processes for sodium/beta batteries,
providing comments to the NHTSA on the ANPR for
EVs, and maintaining a national forum for govern-

47


10.0 Fy 1992 PUBLICATIONS

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Barber, K.F., and R.B. Abarcar, “A U.S. Government/
Industry Program to Develop and Commercialize
Electric Vehicles,” Proceedings of the 11th Interna-
tional Electric Vehicle Symposium, Florence, Italy,
September 1992.

Barber, K.F., and R.B. Abarcar, “Electric Vehicles:
Energy Conservation and Urban Air Quality Issues,”
Proceedings of the Air and Waste Management
Association’s 85th Annual Meeting and Exhibition,
Kansas City, MO, June 1992.

Brogan, J.J.,andS.R. Venkateswaran, “Diverse Choices
for Electric and Hybrid Motor Vehicles: Implications
for National Planners,” Proceedings of the Interna-
tional Conference on the Urban Electric Vehicle,
Stockholm, Sweden, May 1992.

Brogan, J.J., “U.S. Department of Energy Fuel Cell
Program for Transportation Applications,” Proceed-
ings of the International Conference on Next Gen-
eration Technologies for Fuel Efficient End Uses and
Fuel Switching, Dortmund, Germany, April 7-9, 1992.

Czanderna, A.W., and A.R. Landgrebe, “Research
Needs and Opportunities in Applications of Surface
Processing to Transportation and Utilities,” Proceed-
ings of a December 1991 Workshop, NREL/CP-412-
5007, September 1992.

Landgrebe, A.R., “Battery for Transportation,” Basic
Energy Sciences Workshop on Battery Technologies,
June 16-17, 1992, Argonne, IL, proceedings in press.

Landgrebe, A.R., “Energy Technology General Ses-
sion,” Proceedings of the Electrochemical Society, 91-
2, The Electrochemical Society Pennington, NJ, Oc-
tober 1991.

Landgrebe, A.R., “Surface Processing in Energy
Technologies,” Proceedings of the Electrochemical
Society, 92-1, The Electrochemical Society, May 1992.

Landgrebe, A.R., and E. Cairns, “Symposium on High
Temperature Batteries,” Proceedings of the Electro-
chemical Society, 92-2, The Electrochemical Society,
Pennington, NJ, October 1992.

Landgrebe, A.R., R.J. Sem, D.J. Wheeler, Proceedings
of the Workshop on Direct Methanol-Air Fuel Cells,
92-14, The Electrochemical Society, Inc., Pennington,
NJ, November 1992.

Lloyd, A.C., and P.G. Patil, “Impact of Fuel Cells on the
Transportation Sector,” Proceedings of the Interna-
tional Fuel Cell Conference, Makuhari, Japan, Feb-
ruary 3-6, 1992, pp.13-16.

Patil, P.G., “Development of Low-Emission, Fuel-Cell-
Based Propulsion Systems,” Automotive Design En-
gineering, U.K., February 1992.

Patil, P.G., “DOE’s Vehicular Fuel Cell R&D Program,”
Proceedings of the Fourth Annual Fuel Cell Contrac-
tors Review Meeting, Morgantown, WV, July 14-15,
1992.

Patil, P.G., “Fuel Cells Systems R&D Program
Overview,” Proceedings of the Annual Automotive
Technology Development Contractors’ Meeting,
Dearborn, MI, October 28-31, 1991, Society of Auto-
motive Engineers, P-256: 185-189. (June 1992)

Patil, P.G., “The U.S. Department of Energy Program
on Fuel Cells for Transportation Applications,” Jour-
nal of Power Sources, 37: 171-179. (1992)

ARGONNE NATIONAL
LABORATORY

Bloom, I.,and M.C. Hash, “Ceramic/Glass Electrolytes
for Sodium-Ion-Conducting Applications,” Journal of
Electrochemistry Chemical Society, 139 (4): 1115-
1118. (1992)

53


Over the years since the beginning of the Elec-
tric and Hybrid Vehicle Program, various electric
vehicles have been designed and tested by DOE.
Further use of these test vehicles has been the focus
of a DOE outreach program. The ETV-1 (electric
car) and the ETX-II (electric van) have been trans-
ferred as surplus to the DOE American Museum of
Science and Energy at Oak Ridge, TN. These ve-
hicles are now on display and will soon be part of a
museum futuristic home theme (Figure 2). The ETV-
1-2 (the second electric test car) has been surplused
to the York Technical College in Rockhill, SC, for the

Figure 2. ETV-1 and ETX-II electric
vehicles at the DOE American
Museum of Science and Energy at
Oak Ridge, TN.

purpose of student activity to refurbish the car for
training and demonstration (Figure 3). The ETV-2
(electric and flywheel) test vehicle is housed at Wayne
State University in Detroit, MI, where it will be used
for engineering design classes (Figure 4). The HTV-
1 (hybrid test vehicle) has been surplused to the
University of Maryland in College Park, MD, where
students will be studying the theory and operation of
the hybrid vehicle. If feasible, the vehicle would be
brought back to operational condition and improve-
ments would be made to the subsystems (Figure 5).



PREFACE

This sixteenth annual report informs the U.S.
Congress of the progress and plans of the Depart-
ment of Energy Electric and Hybrid Vehicles Re-
search and Development Program. This document
complies with the reporting requirements established
in section 14 of the Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Re-
search, Development, and Demonstration Act of 1976
(Public Law 94-413 as amended by Public Law 95-238
and Public Law 96-185), 15 U.S.C. §§2501 ef seg. In
addition, this report is intended to serve as acommu-
nication link between the Department and all of the
public and private interests involved in making the
program a success.

During Fiscal Year 1992, significant progress was
made toward fulfilling the intent of Congress in pass-
ing the Act. Underway are research and develop-
ment of advanced batteries for the near-term
introduction of electric vehicles in the U.S. transpor-
tation sector under a Cooperative Agreement between
the Department of Energy (DOE) and the United
States Advanced Battery Consortium (USABC). The
USABC is a partnership formed in January 1991 by
the three major domestic automobile manufacturers.

It was later joined by the electric utility industry as
represented by the Electric Power Research Insti-
tute. The Cooperative Agreement between DOE
and USABC is for a 50/50 cost-shared program to
support research and development efforts of ad-
vanced battery developers and companies. This
agreement represents a major milestone in Govern-
ment/industry cooperation to develop technologies
for public use in commercial products.

Research and development efforts continue to
show steady progress as well in advancing technolo-
gies for electric vehicles, fuel cells, and propulsion
systems. Site operators are successfully demon-
strating the practicability of electric vehicles and
providing valuable technical feedback. The results
of the ongoing activities will provide industry with
technology options for vehicles that will be more
economically competitive and more likely to gain
public and environmental acceptance. With the pas-
sage of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (Public Law
102-486), it is expected that the DOE Electric and
Hybrid Vehicle Program activities may be expanded.


fuel cell and 43-kW lead-acid battery. Energy Re-
search Corporation built and tested a 62-kW power
source consisting of a 32-kW fuel cell and 30-kW
nickel/cadmium battery. In both systems, the test
results verified the performance and confirmed the
feasibility of the fuel cell bus concept.

Through a competitive procurement process,
DOE awarded a 30-month, 25 percent cost-shared
contract in 1991 to H-Power Corporation of Belleville,
NJ, for Phase II of this project, which includes the
fabrication and delivery of three 29-ft, 25-passenger
urban buses and the design for a full-size 40-ft urban
bus. H-Power will assemble and test the fuel cell/
battery systems in its New Jersey laboratories before
they are installed on the buses. Key subcontractors
on the H-Power team are Transportation Manufac-
turing Corp. (the largest U.S. bus manufacturer),
Bus Manufacturing USA Inc., Booz-Allen & Hamilton,
Fuji Electric, and Soleq Corporation. The involvement
of major bus manufacturers and their willingness to
share in the development costs are evidence of in-
dustry support for this project. At the end of FY 1992,
H-Power had completed the major subsystem designs
and had begun fabrication of the bus structure and
the 50-kW phosphoric acid fuel cell system.

In support of the Fuel Cell Bus Project, Argonne
carried out evaluation and endurance testing during

FY 1992 on several lead-acid and nickel/cadmium
batteries selected as potential candidates for the fuel
cell bus application. Georgetown University also
conducted studies in support of the Fuel Cell Bus
Project during FY 1992 under a cost-shared contract
with DOE. Georgetown developed a bus performance
simulation model and used this model to analyze bus
requirements for actual transit routes. Georgetown
also carried out a bus industry market study to support
the development of a fuel cell bus commercialization
strategy. The PAFC battery-powered test bed bus
concept is shown in Figure 15.

4.2 Proton Exchange Membrane
Fuel Cell Research

The Department of Energy is sponsoring both
fundamental and applied research on PEM fuel cells
for transportation applications. The PEM fuel cell,
when fully developed, will offer significant advantages
over the phosphoric acid fuel cell. These advantages
include reduced size and weight, faster start-up, and
potentially lower cost. When the PEM fuel cell has
been developed into an integrated system, it will
have the potential for meeting the size and weight
requirements for use in automobiles, vans, and light
trucks.

Figure 15. PAFC battery-powered test bed bus.

28


Bipolar
Plate

Bipolar

Ring
Ceramic-to-Metal _~
Seal L
Metal-to-Metal

Peripheral Weld

Figure 7. Exploded view of four-cell bipolar
lithium-aluminum/iron sulfide stack.

Na/S, and Li/FeS,, (all of which are of current interest
to the USABC) and zinc batteries.

In FY 1992, the Argonne facility for studying
micro-reference electrodes for lithium/polymer cells
was completed, and a facility for the fabrication of
polymer electrolyte and positive electrode materials
is nearing completion. Reference electrodes are in-
valuable tools for battery R&D because they provide
a means for performance analysis of electrodes in
working cells and batteries, thereby suggesting effec-
tive ways to improve the overall performance of the
battery system. The ultra-thin cell components of
advanced lithium/polymer electrolyte cells places
stringent requirements on the dimensions of the ref-
erence electrode. Also, the special assembly configu-
rations of the lithium/polymer battery will require
investigation of the placement of the reference elec-
trode to ensure that it is functioning properly for the
electrode and cell performance evaluations. Work on
lithium and lithium-aluminum alloy reference elec-
trodes was initiated and results indicate that they are
very stable in this system. A nickel/nickel salt refer-
ence electrode of the second kind was examined and

16

found to be unstable, which is likely the result of the
nickel salt being soluble in the electrolyte. Further
work needs to be done to examine the effect of minia-
turization on the lithium and lithium-aluminum refer-
ence electrodes, as well as to examine other types of
reference electrodes.

The University of Pennsylvania was funded
through the DOE Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory to
investigate polymeric electrolytes formed by radia-
tion-polymerization of various oligomers that contain
different compositions of plasticizer (ethylene car-
bonate, EC, and propylene carbonate, PC) and 1 M
LiAsF. Polymeric electrolytes with > 50 percent
weight PC in mixtures with EC appear to exhibit
acceptable electrochemical (reversible Li redox pro-
cess) and physicochemical properties (ionic conduc-
tivity >8 x 10“ at room temperature, glass-transition
temperature of -94°C, amorphous structure from
~90°C to 150°C) for use in rechargeable Li cells. SRI
International has developed a Li-ion conducting PEO-
type polymer in which oxygen is replaced by sulfur.
The best-performing polymer electrolyte, obtained
from sulfur-substituted PEO (16.7 percent S) and
tetraethylorthosilicate with a plasticizer, exhibited a
conductivity of 7.5 x 10+ ohm cm~! ina Li/Li cell.
Case Western Reserve University has used ¢ situ
spectroscopic techniquesand thermal analysis to study
the Li/organic electrolyte and Li/ poly (ethyleneoxide)
interfaces. Interactions between Li and tetrahydrofu-
ran, and the formation of Li-O and Li-CO3 species, were
detected. Preliminary cyclic voltammetry studies of
Au in contact with LiClO4-poly (ethylene oxide) elec-
trolyte at 55°C showed evidence for underpotential
deposition of Li.

Lawrence Berkeley also funded work at Johns
Hopkins University and Jackson State University to
investigate electrochemical phenomena in
nonaqueous electrolytes of interest for rechargeable
Licells. Hopkins observed that iron and 1018 carbon
steel display an extensive and stable passive region in
LiAsF¢/dimethoxyethane (DME). Inanominally dry
LiAsF¢/DME solution (<100-ppm H20), the break-
down potentials of iron and carbon steel are 1300 mV
(vs. saturated calomel electrode, SCE) and 1050 mV,
respectively. The adsorption of DME and the forma-
tion of carbon-based polymer film are believed to be
responsible for passivation. Jackson State evaluated
the electrochemical properties of Cg fullerene as an
electrode material that may be useful in rechargeable
Licells. The cyclic voltammograms of C¢o in LiCl04/
polyethylene glycol 400 dimethyl ether (PEG400DME)


This report has been reproduced directly from the best available copy

Available to DOE and DOE contractors from the Office of Scientific and Technical Informa-
tion, P.O. Box 62, Oak Ridge, TN 37831; prices available from (615) 576-8401,
FTS 626-8401.

Available to the public from the Naiional Technical Information Service, U.S. Department of
Commerce, 5285 Port Royal Rd., Springfield, VA 22161


pendent assessment. The eighth van is dedicated to
the site operator's main corporate headquarters in
Newark. Pending a 1-year performance review, the
site operator may expand its usage to other purposes
including commuting its employees. The site op-
erator is reviewing an on-board data collection system
that will automatically collect and record energy use
(kW-h), mileage, and temperature data while greatly
simplifying the collection of test data from operating
fleets.

Southern California Edison seeks to ensure
its readiness and capability to provide the “fuel” to
power electric transportation within its service terri-
tory. The Southern California site EV fleet includes
17 G-Vans, 2 Solectria Forces, a Shuttle Bus, a con-
verted sedan, and a converted pick-up truck. The
vehicles are used in company operations (e.g., mail
runs and employee van pools) and to conduct re-
search on how others might use EVs within their
service territory. All the EVs in the Southern Cali-
fornia site fleet have been purchased with corporate
funds. DOE funds are used to support operation,
maintenance, and data collection. This site operator
is active in the research and testing of EVs and
vehicle components. Most of its activities are joint
efforts with local colleges and universities, the Cali-
fornia Air Resources Board, the South Coast Air
Quality Management District, and others.

110 TM
7 MD) tdagy

Texas A&M University started and remains the
headquarters of the South Central Electric Vehicle
Consortium whose membership includes seven utili-
ties, a university, Conceptor Industries, and EVAA.
The consortium was formed to facilitate the com-
mercialization of EVs through education and dem-
onstration in Texas and adjoining states. The Texas
A&M site provides data on 13 G-Vans and 2 older Jet
Industries vehicles to the Site Operator database.
These vehicles are located and operated at six loca-
tions ranging from Amarillo to Houston. DOE fund-
ing supported the purchase, operation, and mainte-
nance of 3 G-Vans and the data collection on the 13
G-Van fleet operated by the Consortium.

University of South Florida, in collaboration
with Tampa Electric Company and other organiza-
tions, is determining the efficiency of EVs under
commuter and fleet conditions within the metropoli-
tan area of Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Clearwater.
DOE funding supported the purchase of three EVs
as well as their operation and maintenance. DOE
also supported data collection on these three EVs,
one sedan operated by the City of Tampa, and two
vans operated by Florida Power Company. Another
feature of the program is the development of a utility
interconnected photovoltaic system for charging EVs
(see Figure 19). This system consists of a 12-bay
parking facility equipped with roof-mounted photo-

Figure 19. University of South Florida interconnected photovoltaic charging system.

40


percent DOD partial discharge test. Various condi-
tioning cycles were tried to improve the charge ac-
ceptance of this cell but were not successful.

During performance testing of the second 60-A-h
cell, the initial capacity of 52.3 A-h (110.6 W-h) in-
creased with cycling to 70 A-h. Excellent specific
energy (66.7 W-h/kg at 3-h rate) and peak power (185
W/kg at 50-percent DOD) were achieved. Life testing
with 80-percent DOD SFUDS discharges and 110-
percent return CI/CV charges was started after 95
cycles. The cell completed only 20 SFUDS cycles,
when the 100-percent DOD termination condition
(maximum power capacity <50 W/kg) was reached
before the 80-percent DOD energy could be removed
(end-of-life). At that time, the capacity was <50 A-h,
and a thermal runaway condition was starting during
the CV portion of the CI/CV charges. All three Ni/Zn
cells were returned to Electrochemica.

Near-Term Battery Tests

Idaho National Engineering Laboratory conducted
laboratory experimental evaluations and post-test ex-
aminations of currently available lead-acid batteries of
sealed and flooded designs to assess their suitability
for electric vehicle propulsion. This information will
be of use to DOE’s Site Operators in selecting batter-
ies for their electricvehicle fleets. Battery performance
and life evaluations were performed under uniform
test conditions that simulate driving cycle load pro-
files as well as conditions standard to the battery
industry. Post test analysis of cycle life tests included
physical and chemical analyses from which the deg-
radation and failure mechanismsare determined, thus
identifying areas requiring further research and de-
velopment. A summary of the near term battery test
results is given in Table 5.

Table 5. Summary of Idaho National Engineering Laboratory Near-Term Battery Test Results

Japan Storage Sonnenschein East Penn
GS E75A GS E150H DF6V160 8D8G

Module Wt. (kg) 25 47 33 74
Module Capacity (A-h)

@ C/3 rate 69 130 139 155

@ C/2 rate 63 115 130 141

@ C/I rate 53 93 115 122
Ragone Characteristics (W-h/kg)

@ 7Whkg 38.6 36.7 27.0 26.8

@ 21 Wikg 26.3 23.4 20.5 19.4

@ 42 Wikg 20.6 17.6 N/A 15.8

@ 60 Wikg 18.2 15.2 N/A 14.2
Volumetric Energy Density (W-h/I)

@ 7 Wihkg 89.2 84.4 775 59.9

@ 21 Wikg 60.7 53.8 58.8 43.4

@ 42 Wikg 47.7 40.5 N/A 35.4

@ 60 Wikg 42.1 35.0 N/A 31.8
Specific Energy

@ C/3 rate (W-h/kg) 24.9 32.2 25.0 29.9
Battery Coulombic Efficiency

@ C/3 rate 80% 79% 93% 97%
Battery Energy Efficiency

@ Cf rate 67% 64% 81% 86%
IDSEP Van SFUDS Range (km) 34 83 132 119

24


5.0 VEHICLE SYSTEMS R&D

5.1 Hybrid Propulsion Systems

In August 1992, DOE initiated planning for a 5-
year Hybrid Propulsion System Development Pro-
gram. The program will officially begin in FY 1993.
The objective of the program is to support industry in
developing alternative fuel hybrid propulsion systems
for passenger vehicles and accelerate the commer-
cialization of hybrid vehicles. Throughout the plan-
ning process, industry was consulted through nu-
merous individual meetings as well as a program
planning workshop that was held in Dearborn, MI,
on September 22 and 23, 1992. By involving industry
as well as the Environmental Protection Agency and
the Department of Transportation in the planning
process, the hybrid systems to be developed will be
compatible with industry’s marketing and production
plans as well as the regulatory environment and
transportation infrastructure.

Adraft program plan was outlined using language
from the FY 1993 appropriations bill. The approach
taken calls for competing industry teams to develop
and demonstrate, within 5 years, hybrid propulsion

20

systems that are feasible for mass production.
Though minimum technical performance standards
will be set, wide discretion will be given as to the
choice of energy storage and conversion components,
as well as system configuration.

The Idaho National Engineering Laboratory per-
formed a study to develop test procedures for evalu-
ating the energy consumption (electricity and liquid
fuel) and emissions from hybrid vehicles when they
are driven on the Federal Urban and Highway cycles.
The study indicated that, when testing hybrid vehicles
in the hybrid operating mode, the test should be
started and stopped with the battery in the same
state-of charge rather than at fixed distances (at the
end of the Federal cycles) as is customary with con-
ventional engine-powered vehicles. This procedure
permits the determination of the fuel economy and
emissions of the hybrid vehicle in the hybrid operat-
ing mode and the calculation of the average annual
emissions of the hybrid vehicle if the all-electric range
and use-pattern of the vehicle are known. Average
emissions of a hybrid/electric minivan as a function
of the all-electric range of the vehicle are shown in
Figure 16 for 12,000 km of urban travel.

ULEV Standards
HC 0.04 gmimi
CO 1.7 gmimi

15 4 NOx 0.2 gmimi

Minivan
7500 miles annual
urban travel

85% percentile owner
10 +

gmimi

NOx
Hybrid Emissions

HC
co
NOx

08 gmimi
72, gmimi
64 gmimi

05 ~

Figure 16. Annual average
emissions of the hybrid
minivan in urban driving.

50

All-Electric range - mi

33


Jai

aN Sa

?

Figure 10. Sealed zinc/nickel oxide cell
which has attained 575 deep-discharge cycles
using novel alkaline-fluoride-carbonate
electrolytes.

technology to an industrial battery developer, which
is expected to develop Zn/NiOOH cells using the new
electrolyte and electrode formulations.

Exploratory development of zinc/air batteries
continued in FY 1992. A new 22 percent cost-shared
contract was placed with Westinghouse Electric
Corporation to advance the zinc/air technology by
developing a prototype design of an EV battery and
fabricating battery modules for proof-of-concept
evaluations. The goal is to develop the technology to
the level that the USABC mid-term vehicle require-
ments are met. The period of performance is 26
months. Total DOE funding for this contractis$1.466M
with initial FY 1992 funding of $400K. FY 1993
deliverables will include four state-of-the-art cells and
oneimproved cell or module. In FY 1994, submodules
and modules will be delivered. All deliverables will be
evaluated using USABC test procedures.

In concert with the United States Advanced Bat-
tery Consortium, a contract for the development of
zinc-air batteries for electric vehicle propulsion was
let with Dreisbach Electromotive, Inc., (DEMI). Un-
der this effort, DEMI will develop a number of 12-V,
240-A-h, rated battery modules for test and evaluation
at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory Battery

Test Laboratory. Approximately half of the delivered
batteries will be of a hybrid battery configuration,
utilizing nickel-cadmium batteries to increase the
electrical power which can be delivered by the system.
During FY 1992, efforts concentrated in developing a
suitable battery manager for the zinc-air cells which
performs several functions such as scrubbing CO2
from the air going into the battery and controlling the
ancillary battery systems. This battery manager has
been successfully demonstrated during Phase I of the
program. Phase II commenced in FY 1992 to build the
deliverable battery modules. It is anticipated that
these batteries will be completed and tested in FY
1993.

Department of Energy projects are underway at
Case Western Reserve University and Eltech Research
Corporation to develop more stable oxygen electrodes
for rechargeable Zn/air cells. Case Western has
observed that the catalytic activity for the reduction of
Ozat cobalt tetrasulfonated phthalocyanine (CoTsPc)
adsorbed on ordinary pyrolytic graphite (OPG) in
alkaline solution is enhanced by approximately 60 mV
in the presence of alcohols. Further, the presence of
methanol has no short-term deleterious effect on the
kinetics for O2 reduction on CoTsPc/OPG, which also
exhibits negligible catalytic activity for methanol
oxidation. Eltech is investigating the viability of
graphitized carbon blacks and metal oxides as
electrocatalyst supports in bifunctional air electrodes
for electrically rechargeable Zn/air cells. Graphitized
carbon blacks of Monarch 120 and Shawinigan
acetylene black, and the metal oxides of NiCo204,
C0304, PbeRugO7 and Pbylr207, have been pre-
pared.

Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory is investigating
various configurations of Zn/air cells and their per-
formance under standardized cycling regimes. Ex-
periments were initiated to adapt the mechanically
rechargeable Zn/air cell invented at Lawrence Ber-
keley, which employed a reticulated Zn electrode
structure to operate under natural convection, for
electrically rechargeable cell configurations. A laser-
Doppler velocimeter was modified to measure the
electrolyte velocity and the expected signal was ob-
tained. An algorithm was developed to model the
convective diffusion of the electrolyte in the porous
electrode structure. Lawrence Berkeley is evaluating
commercial bifunctional air electrodes in Zn/air cells,
as well as developing improved bifunctional air elec-
trodes from metal oxide electrocatalysts. A bifunc-
tional air electrode (BF-8) from Electromedia, Inc.,

19


Assistant Secretary for Conservation
and Renewable Energy
I
Deputy Assistant Secretary for
Transportation Technologies
I
Office of Propulsion Systems
I
Electric and Hybrid Propulsion Division
+
I _I I iT
Advanced Battery Systems Fuel Cell Systems Exploratory Technology Vehicle Systems
USABC Phosphoric Acid Electrochemical Research Hybrid Propulsion Systems
Advanced Batteries Proton Exchange Membrane Direct Oxidation Reformation Modular Electric Vehicle Propulsion System
Ultracapacitors Reformer Development ‘Site Operations
Environment, Health, and Safety Assessments Environment, Healith, and Safety Assessments:
Headquarters
Field Centers and Offices
Lawrence Brookhaven | | Los Alamos Argonne Sandia Idaho National National Midwest
Berkeley National National National National Engineering Renewable Research
Laboratory Laboratory Laboratory Laboratory Laboratory Laboratory Energy Institute
Labor
Technical Base Electrochemical Fuel Cell Aqueous Battery Sodium Sulfur Vehicle System and bo! atory Hybrid Propuision
Research eh rch Development Battery ‘Component Dynamom- Environment, Systems
Exploratory PEM Fuel Col Battery Verification Development eter Testing Health, and Safety
Technology Utracapacitor Testing Uttracapacitor Instrumentation Suppor Assessments
Research Development Fuel CelvBattery Development ‘Advanced Powertrain
Integration Development
PEM Fue! Ceil ‘Simulation and
Phosphoric Acid Modeling
Fuel Cell ‘Site Operations
Reformer Ultracapacitor Testing
Development
Engineering Analysis
‘and Modeling

Figure 1. EHP Program Structure.


Redey, L., C. Rose, and R. Lowrey, “Solubility of NiCl,
in Sodium-Chloroaluminate Melts,” Extended Ab-
stracts, Electrochemical Society Meeting, Toronto,
Canada, October 11-16, 1992, The Electrochemical
Society, Pennington, NJ, 92 (2): 116. (1992)

IDAHO NATIONAL ENGINEERING
LABORATORY

Bentley, J.M., P. Teagan, D. Walls, E. Balles, and T.
Parish, “The Impact of Electric Vehicles on CO,
Emissions,” EGG-EP-10296, May 1992.

Burke, A.F., “Development of Test Procedures for
Hybrid/Electric Vehicles,” DOE/ID-10385, July 1992.

Burke, A.F., “Laboratory Testing of High Energy
Density Capacitors for Electric Vehicles,” EGG-EP-
9885, October 1991.

Burke, A.F., “Ultracapacitor Technology for Electric
Vehicles”, in Proceedings of the Annual Automotive
Technology Development Contractors’ Coordination
Meeting, Dearborn, Michigan, 1991.

Cole, G.H., and G.P. Stokes, “Modular Electric Vehicle
(MEVP)”, in Proceedings of the Annual Automotive
Technology Development Contractors’ Coordination
Meeting, Dearborn, Michigan, 1991.

EG&G Idaho, Inc., “Dual-Shaft Electric Propulsion
(DSEP) Technology Development Program,” DOE/
NV/10366-21, August 1992.

EG&G Idaho, Inc., Ford Motor Company, and General
Electric Company, “Single-Shaft Electric Propulsion
System Technology Development Program - ETX-II,
Final Technical Report,” August 1992.

Hardin, J.E., “Key Battery Test Results at the Idaho
National Engineering Laboratory,” in Proceedings of
the Annual Automotive Technology Development
Contractors’ Coordination Meeting, Dearborn,
Michigan, 1991.

MacDowall, R.D., “System Evaluation and Perfor-
mance Testing of the Eaton Dual-Shaft Electric Pro-
pulsion System,” in Proceedings of the Annual Auto-

motive Technology Development Contractors’ Coor-
dination Meeting, Dearborn, Michigan, 1991.

Warren, J.F., “Electric & Hybrid Vehicle Program -
Site Operator Program, Quarterly Progress Report
for October through December 1991,” EGG-EP-10152,
March 1992.

Warren, J.F., “Electric & Hybrid Vehicle Program -
Site Operator Program, Quarterly Progress Report
for January through March 1992,” EGG-EP-10295,
January 1992.

Warren, J.F., “Site Operator Program,” in Proceedings
of the Annual Automotive Technology Development
Contractors’ Coordination Meeting, Dearborn,
Michigan, 1991.

LAWRENCE BERKELEY
LABORATORY

Adler, T.C., F.R. McLarnon and E.J. Cairns, “Re-
chargeable Zinc Cell with Alkaline Electrolyte Which
Inhibits Shape Change in Zinc Electrode,” U.S, Patent
Application. (1991)

Bae, L.T., H. Huang, E.B. Yeager and D.A. Scherson,
“In-Situ Infrared Spectroscopic Studies of Redox Ac-
tive SeltAssembled Monolayers on Gold Electrode
Surfaces,” Langmuir, 7: 1558. (1991)

Baker, D.R., M.W. Verbrugge and J. Newman, “A
Transformation for the Treatment of Diffusion and
Migration. Application to Stationary Disk and Hemi-
sphere Electrodes,” Journal of Electroanalytical
Chemistry, 314: 23. (1991)

Doeff, M.M., S.J. Visco and L.C. De Jonghe, “The Use
of Redox Polymerization in Lithium Batteries with
Liquid Electrolytes,” LBL-30466. (1991)

Evans, J.W., and G. Savaskan, “Battery Using a Metal
Particle Bed Electrode”, U.S. Patent 5,006,424, April
1991.

Evans, J.W., G. Savaskan and T. Huh, “Further Stud-
ies ofa Zinc-Air Cell Employed in Packed Bed Anodes.
Part I: Discharge,” LBL-31679. (1991)


voltaic panels. These panels will provide charging
power and, through connection to the power grid,
will allow energy generated during the day to be
routed to the power company and “stored” while the
vehicles are absent. At night when the vehicles return,
the energy “stored” in the grid can be recovered for
charging. This system design will provide a 20-kW
peak.

The U.S. Navy has one of the largest fleets of
electric vehicles which are in daily use and can be
found on bases from Alaska to Bermuda. The Navy
is the advisor to the Department of Defense on EV
applications and is a major force in conversion from
older EV technology to current technology. The
Navy participated in the Site Operators Program in
FY 1992 at no cost to DOE. The Navy EV database
has provided significant information on EV use.

York Technical College can be described as a
bridge from “pure research and development to ap-
plied technology.” Much of York’s practical know-
how is coming through its fleet of 18 electric ve-
hicles. These vehicles are being operated in several
locations, including two that are operated by Duke
Power Company out of its Second Street Garage in
Charlotte, NC. DOE funding was used to support the
purchase of newer EVs and operation, maintenance,
and data collection of the entire fleet. York has
converted one nickel-iron battery-powered pickup

truck to a lead-acid battery pack. They have also
installed in this vehicle a battery charger powered at
a 110-V conventional household outlet. The same
type battery charger has been installed in a
Volkswagen pickup truck which utilizes nickeliron
battery technology. York received the early test
vehicle (ETV-1) from the Idaho National Engineering
Laboratory. This vehicle is on display at the Science
Nature Museum, Discovery Place, in Charlotte, NC.
(see Figure 20). The display was viewed by over
10,000 people during the first month.

The development of a curriculum outline for EV
maintenance training at York continues. From this
curriculum, technicians of the future will learn how
to service batteries, traction motors, chargers, con-
trollers, converters, and other items not now familiar
to most automobile mechanics and drivers. The
course promises to be the first of its kind in the
world, and already the list for enrollment is growing.

5.4 Engineering Evaluation
Testing

Dynamometer and laboratory tests on electric
vehicle systems and components are conducted to
evaluate their performance under repeatable and well-
defined operating conditions that duplicate or simu-

Figure 20. ETV-1 vehicle on display at the Science Nature Museum in Charlotte, NC.

41


Figure 21. ETX-II test bed vehicle on chassis dynamometer at Idaho National
Engineering Laboratory.

43


structure and the 50-kW phosphoric acid fuel cell
system. The first test bed bus will be delivered in FY
1993.

© General Motors Corporation (Allison Gas
Turbine Division) completed the second year of a 32-
month R&D contract (20 percent cost-shared) to
develop the proton-exchange-membrane (PEM) fuel
cell as a complete power source system for transpor-
tation applications. Improvements in membranes and
electrodes were developed, state-of-the-art 5-kW PEM
fuel cell stacks were built and tested, and significant
progress was attained in the methanol fuel process-
ing and control technologies required for a complete
system.

¢ The Department of Energy initiated a30-month
contract (11.5 percent cost-shared) in May 1992 with
Arthur D. Little, Inc., to develop the capability for
reforming methanol, ethanol, or natural gas into hy-
drogen for use in transportation fuel cell systems
and to develop advanced systems for on-board hy-
drogen storage. This project will not only provide
fuel flexibility for fuel-cell-powered vehicles, but will
also reduce system size and cost, reduce start-up
time, and increase transient response capability.

* Catalyst development work at Argonne Na-
tional Laboratory has identified a highly promising
catalyst formulation for the partial oxidation reform-
ing of methanol and another potential catalyst for-
mulation for the steam reforming of ethanol. Fur-
ther work to characterize the stability and perfor-
mance of these and other suitable catalysts is con-
tinuing.

* The Second Generation Single-Shaft Electric
Propulsion (ETX-ID System test bed vehicle devel-
oped under contract with Ford Motor Company and
General Electric Company was tested at the Idaho
National Engineering Laboratory. The vehicle sys-
tem included a sodium-sulfur battery and yielded a
range of more than 180 km at 88 km/h.

© The Ford Modular Electric Vehicle Program
(MEVP) has successfully fabricated nearly a dozen
75-hp electric vehicle drivetrains. These systems
are being used in various phases of the program’s
engineering evaluation effort. The 75-hp drivetrain
will be utilized in Ford’s Ecostar electric vehicle field
demonstration program. The MEVPis the final phase
of the DOE/Ford/GE cost-shared electric powertrain
development program that began with the ETX-I
contract in 1984.

e The Idaho National Engineering Laboratory
has developed test procedures for evaluating the

energy consumption (electricity and liquid fuel) of,
and emissions from, hybrid vehicles when they are
driven on the Federal Urban and Highway driving
cycles.
© The electric vehicle computer simulation pro-
gram, SIMPLEV, developed by the Idaho National
Engineering Laboratory, was distributed for use in
six government-sponsored programs and licensed to
the following 20 organizations:
- Jordan College Energy Institute
- University of California, Department of Infor-
mation and Computer Science
— Cornell University, School of Mechanical and
Aerospace Engineering
- Seattle University, Department of Mechani-
cal Engineering
— Chrysler Corporation, Electric Vehicle Pro-
gram
- Cal Poly State University, Department of Me-
chanical Engineering
- Concordia University
— Wayne State University, Electrical and Com-
puter Engineering Department
- York Institute of Technology
~- New York Institute of Technology
- University of Alberta, Department of Me-
chanical Engineering
~- Texas Tech University, Mechanical Engi-
neering Department
— Regents of the University of California, Elec-
trical and Computer Engineering
- Pentastar Electronics, Inc.
~ General Electric Corporate Research and De-
velopment
- Electrochemical Systems and Hydrogen Re-
search
— NEVCOR, Inc.
- University of Ottawa, Electrochemical Science
and Technology Center
- Colorado School of Mines, Engineering De-
partment
— IMRA America
© The Idaho National Engineering Laboratory
expanded its efforts in the management of the Site
Operator Program to establish and coordinate inter-
organizational activities and increase public aware-
ness of electric vehicles. The Site Operator Program
currently includes 13 participants representing a wide
variety of operating environments in which over 3
million miles of electric vehicle operation have been
accumulated.