EDTA Conference: Q&A with Argonne Lab's Don Hillebrand
On Thursday, Don Hillebrand, director of the Center for Transportation Research at Argonne National Laboratory, will give a talk at the EDTA Conference about the path to commercialization for plug-in hybrids (PHEV). But why wait until then to hear what he's got to say? You can click here and hear him now (MP3 file, 4 MB). Hillebrand met with AutoblogGreen late on Tuesday at the conference and shared his insights on the rumor of GM's upcoming PHEV, the best combination of powertrains for fuel economy and performance, why it's bad that California is already writing standards for PHEVs, new ways to figure fuel economy for PHEVs and more. His coolest idea? A PHEV that knows where it is and where it is going and is able to conserve energy to run exclusively on the electric motor whenever possible.After you listen, you can read more about Argonne National Laboratory after the jump and check out these earlier AutoblogGreen posts about the lab and Hillebrand:
Related:
- Alternative Powertrain Research: Argonne's Mobile Automotive Technology Testbed
- Argonne National Lab develops materials that could drastically lower the cost of new fuels
- DOE verdict: Ethanol is net energy positive
EPRI, Argonne to assess commercial viability of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles
Analysis to detail advantages, challenges to mass production
ARGONNE, Ill. (Nov. 27, 2006) - The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and Argonne National Laboratory, two of the nation's premier research organizations, announced today a three-year collaborative agreement to conduct detailed analysis of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) aimed at assessing the commercial feasibility of this technology for the U.S. Department of Energy.
The EPRI and Argonne analysis will evaluate PHEVs, hybrids and conventional vehicles, assessing them from environmental, cost, design and marketing perspectives. The engineering and technical studies will be conducted at the two organization's respective research facilities in Palo Alto, Calif., and Argonne, Ill., and will involve the participation of some of the world's leading transportation experts.
The objective of the multi-year research project is to provide a balanced and authoritative study of both the advantages of and the challenges to the design and commercial production of PHEVs. An assessment of potential social benefits of PHEVs, including reductions in imported petroleum-based fuels, enhancement of American energy security and air quality improvement, will be key components of the study.
The research project, which is funded by the Department of Energy's Office of FreedomCAR and Vehicle Technologies, is the latest in ongoing formative research that began in 2001 with the EPRI study, "Comparing the Benefits and Impacts of Hybrid Electric Vehicle Options," and the Argonne study "Hybrid Electric Vehicle Technology Assessment." The new project will look carefully at the effect of PHEVs on the nation's economy, and their viability from an industrial and manufacturing perspective.
About the Electric Power Research Institute
The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), with major locations in Palo Alto, California, and Charlotte, North Carolina, was established in 1973 as an independent, nonprofit center for public interest energy and environmental research. EPRI brings together members, participants, the Institute's scientists and engineers, and other leading experts to work collaboratively on solutions to the challenges of electric power. These solutions span nearly every area of electricity generation, delivery, and use, including health, safety, and environment. EPRI's members represent over 90 percent of the electricity generated in the United States. International participation represents nearly 15 percent of EPRI's total research, development, and demonstration program.
About Argonne National Laboratory
Argonne National Laboratory, the nation's first national laboratory, is one of the U.S. Department of Energy's largest testing and evaluating research facilities. As such, Argonne has been designated by the Department of Energy's Office of FreedomCAR and Vehicle Technologies as the lead national laboratory for the simulation, validation, and laboratory evaluation of Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles and the advanced technologies required for these vehicles. Research at Argonne falls into a wide spectrum of disciplines including, but not limited to, Advanced Vehicle Technology where engineers work closely with the transportation industry to improve processes and products, evaluate markets, and provide cost-effective transportation solutions; Energy Resource programs help ensure a reliable supply of efficient and clean energy for the future; Environmental Management includes work on managing and solving the nation's environmental problems and promoting environmental stewardship; and Scientific Facilities, such as the Advanced Photon Source, help advance America's scientific leadership and prepare the nation for the future. Argonne is managed by the University of Chicago Argonne, LLC for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Tim 1:45PM (11/29/2006)
Very Promising with one caveat… I listened to the mpeg and noticed that Don Hillebrand kind of downplayed VegOil or Bio-diesel (we can make that locally or even at home) and seemed to favor Ethanol (only big processing plants can make this). I hope this is because Ethanol has fewer particulate emissions than VegOil or Bio-diesel and not because Argonne National Laboratory is funded by those who wish to maintain monopolies.
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Nathaniel 2:13PM (12/02/2006)
If you stick your refrigerator out the window to cool the outside, the heat coming from the its back exceeds the energy taken from the wall! If you have no feeling for energy then maybe this extended statement will help. If things were done right, the wall switch would only be needed to start, this device enlarged would create enough energy to run all by itself. It can be made to provide enough energy to heat, cool, and power your home. A car may be modified to run a Wankel or turbine engine running from super heated water. The refrigerator uses a coolant to be replaced by a blend of alcohols to design for the lowest temperature to be experienced. This has been built in Washington State by a Bob Lee and was run in Alaska producing 15 times the input power. This is not a joke, this IS science in its finest.
Just study the refrigerator and how it compresses the vapors back into a liquid, thus releasing heat into your kitchen. You need to sandwich aluminum tubing between either aluminum or copper sheet by using pop rivets to expand the surface. This large surface can collect much heat to cause a lot to be exhausted by the pump returning the vapors to a liquid. The water from this will be superheated to nearly seven hundred degrees and great pressure. Such water will break into steam upon contact to drive a turbine or Wankel engine for power creation or driving a modified auto.
The heat may be stored in an aluminum box with internal baffles separated with sand.
Several billion British Thermal Units may be stored here to drive an auto by controlling rate of heat leak out. Bob Lee drove his modified auto across the US and only used a glass of water through evaporation! It will take you a while for the research you need for construction. This can provide independent power and energy for complete poor areas and elderly. Then expand to all users and stop the polluting of earth!
Nathaniel, Second Son of God
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Any Engineer (from accredited university) 8:06PM (12/06/2006)
Nathaniel,
I am issuing a warrent out for your arrest. No one breaks the first and second laws of thermodynamics and gets away with it. Not on my watch!
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