Summer Internship Report

Electric vehicles typically combine an energy storage device, a power plant (only for hybrid and plug in hybrid), and an electric propulsion system. Energy storage devices are most often batteries, but other possibilities include ultracapacitors and fly-wheels. Power plant options include internal combustion engines, gas turbines, and fuel cells. The efficiency of a hybrid system depends on a number of factors, such as the combination of subsystems, how the subsystems are integrated, and the control strategy employed.

Electric propulsion systems are being developed for a wide range of medium- and heavy-duty vehicle sizes and applications, including transit buses. Electric propulsion systems offer several advantages to transit agencies:

• Increased efficiency, potentially lowering fuel cost

• Better acceleration, allowing quick merging into heavy traffic

• Decreased emissions

• Quieter operation.

Sources of Efficiency and Emissions Reductions

Whenever a power system transfers energy from one form to another – such as a hybrid’s conversion of mechanical energy into electricity and then back again – the system will experience a decrease in energy efficiency. Hybrid electric vehicles offset those losses in a number of ways which, when combined, produce a significant net gain in efficiency and related emissions reductions.

These aspects of the EV system are able to save so much energy that the vehicle as a whole overcomes these initial conversion losses. There are four primary sources of efficiency and emissions reduction found in hybrids:

• Smaller Engine Size: Most traditionally “direct drive” vehicle engines are sized to provide enough power for relatively infrequent, fast accelerations. In the more frequent cruising mode, these engines are much larger than they need to be. By adding an electric motor to deliver partial or complete power during accelerations, an EV can be equipped with a smaller, more efficient combustion engine while providing acceleration performance equal to its conventional counterpart.

• Regenerative Braking: Regenerative braking recovers energy normally lost as heat during braking, and stores it in the batteries for later use by the electric motor. Therefore, the engine-powered generator is used to produce electric energy only when regenerative braking does not provide a full charge.

• Power-On-Demand: EVs can temporarily shut off the combustion engine during idle or coasting modes, when the electric motor alone can provide sufficient power to keep the vehicle’s systems running without burning petroleum fuel.

• Constant Engine Speeds and Power Output: In a hybrid application, the diesel engine can be designed to operate more consistently at its optimum engine speed, power output and operating temperature to increase fuel efficiency and reduce emissions. In a series hybrid this is done by providing power only to the electric generator rather than to the wheels directly. In a parallel hybrid, the diesel engine only powers the wheels directly when it is operating and optimum speeds. This at relatively constant, optimum performance level also improves the performance of emissions control technologies.

3.7 Govt Policies and Market Prospects

Electric Vehicles are considerably costly upfront as compared to conventional vehicles. This has meant that they have had very low market penetration even though they have existed for a few decades now. But govt incentives and policies are now favoring the use of Electric Vehicles the world over thus changing the market scenario.

The fleet of plug-in electric vehicles in the United States is the largest in the world. Since 2008 over 1,16,000 plug-in electric cars have been sold in the United States which are highway capable. The U.S. was the world's leader in plug-in electric car sales in 2012, with a 46% share of global sales.

Under the American Federal Government, The Energy Improvement and Extension Act of 2008, and the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (ACES) granted tax credits for new qualified plug-in electric drive motor vehicles as an incentive to boost the sales of such vehicles.  The tax credit offered for a new plug-in electric vehicles is worth $2,500. In addition to that, $417 is offered for each kilowatt-hour of battery capacity over 4 kwh (the portion of the credit determined by battery capacity cannot exceed $5,000). Therefore, the total amount of the credit allowed for a new PEV is $7,500 in USA.

In accordance to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act 2009, the U.S. Department of Energy announced the release of up to $2 billion in federal funding for two competitive solicitations that would be competitively awarded and would be cost-shared agreements for the manufacture of batteries based on advanced technologies and related drive train components. It also announced $400 million of funding for ‘transportation electrification demonstration and deployment projects’.

The American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES), calls for all electric utilities to, “develop a plan to support the use of plug-in electric drive vehicles, including heavy-duty hybrid electric vehicles”. It also provides for “smart grid integration,” allowing for efficient, effective delivery of electricity which not only accommodates the additional demands of plug-in electric vehicles but also offers grid support services like ancillary services when needed using funding from department of energy in developing appropriate smart grids.

The new qualified plug-in electric vehicle credit phases out for a PEV manufacturer over the one-year period beginning with the second calendar quarter after the calendar quarter in which at least 200,000 qualifying vehicles (cumulative sales after December 31, 2009) from that manufacturer have been sold for use in the United States. Qualifying PEVs are eligible for 50% of the credit if acquired in the first two quarters of the phase-out period, and 25% of the credit if bought in the third or fourth quarter of the phase-out period.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 also offered a tax credit for plug-in electric drive conversion kits. The credit given was worth 10% of the cost of converting a vehicle to a qualified plug-in electric vehicle and in service after February 17, 2009. The maximum amount of the credit is $4,000. This availability of credit was withdrawn on all conversions taking place post December 31, 2011.

The American government also pledged US$2.4 billion in the form of federal grants in order to support the development of next-generation of electric cars and advanced batteries. It also pledged another US$115 million for the installation of charging infrastructure for electric vehicles in 16 different metropolitan areas throughout the country. United States had 5,678 charging stations across the country with 16,256 public charging points as of March 2013. In his State of the Union address in 2011, President Barack Obama set a target for the U.S. to have 1 million electric vehicles on the road by 2015.

A very large volume of funding for fleet buses is provided under the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act which is a part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. It offers grants and loans for changing conventional diesel buses to an alternative less polluting fuel type of modify them to comply with stringent emission standards. The Environmental Protection Agency submitted a report on the success of DERA implementation in August 2009, where it credits DERA program of reducing emission of 46,000 tons of nitrogen oxide and 2,200 tons of fine respirable particulate matter. This emission reduction translated into a public health benefit up to $1.4 billion and saved almost 3.2 million US gallons of fuel in 2008 which meant a saving of $8 million. The report said that more than of 14,000 diesel engine powered fleet vehicles were made cleaner under DERA.

Government Incentives for EV/PHEV in UK

The British Government actively supports plug in electric vehicles as a mechanism for reducing emissions in cities. The support for these vehicles comes under different schemes. The first is in the form of purchase incentives whereby it offers grants under plug-in car grants for passenger vehicles and plug-in van grants for vans and similar vehicles in commercial operations.

The Plug-in Car Grant program was initiated on 1 January 2011 and is applicable throughout the U.K. The programme is aimed at reducing the up-front cost of eligible plug-in electric cars. This is done by providing a 25% grant of the cost of new plug-in electric cars. The funding per car is capped at GB£5,000. Private as well as business fleet buyers can avail this grant. The grant programme allows consumers to buy an eligible plug-in electric car discounted at the point of purchase and the subsidy is claimed by the manufacturer afterwards.

The Plug-In Van Grant was created by extending the Plug-In Car Grant in February 2012. Plug-In Electric Van buyers can receive 20% grant on the value of their purchase. The grant per vehicle is capped at GB£8,000. To be eligible for the grant, vans have to meet certain performance based criteria to ensure safety, range, and ultra-low tailpipe emissions. Business and private customers both can receive the discount at the point of purchase.

In November 2009, a new scheme called "Plugged-in-Places" was announced. It dedicated a sum of £30 million to investigate the viability of providing electric supply for plug-in vehicles. The programme funding is between six cities and it aims at encouraging local government and private businesses to participate and bid for funds. The programme aims to install vehicle recharging points across the UK. The programme offers match-funding to the investments by a consortium of businesses and public sector partners to undertake the installation of plug-in electric vehicle recharging infrastructure in prime locations across the UK. As of now 8 Plugged-In Places have been created in UK.

The London Congestion Charge is completely waived for Plug-In Battery Electric Vehicle and a discount is given to Plug-In Hybrid Electric vehicles. The original Greener Vehicle Discount was replaced by the Ultra Low Emission Discount (ULED) scheme that came into force on 1 July 2013. The ULED enforces more stringent emission standards that limited the free access to the congestion charge zone and currently there are no internal combustion-only vehicles that meet the new stringent emission criteria. The measure is designed to limit the growing number of diesel vehicles on London's roads. This encourages the sale and use of Plug-In Electric Vehicles.

Norway has the highest number of per capita plug-in electric vehicles in the world. The government of Norway has made very significant contribution in ensuring this. All electric cars in Norway are exempted from all non-recurring vehicle fees. The plug-in electric vehicles are also exempted from paying sales tax, annual road tax, all public parking fees, and toll payments. Electric vehicles are also free to use the bus lanes. These incentives are to stay in effect till 2018 or until the 50,000 EV target is achieved.

Norwegian tax system levies higher taxes to heavier vehicles, that is why heavier plug-in hybrids are more expensive than similar conventional cars due to the extra weight of the battery pack and its additional electric components. But from 1 July 2013, the existing weight allowance for conventional hybrids and plug-in hybrids of 10% has been increased to 15% for PHEVs to make them competitively priced even on being heavier.

Mere tax exemptions for electric vehicles in Norway amount to almost USD $11,000. This is almost equal to a USD $1,400 exemption every year over the car’s eight year life span. Along with this, the cars in Oslo also toll exemption worth another USD $1,400 a year and free parking worth more than USD $5000. Coupled with this are other additional financial incentives worth USD $400. And other non financial incentives include the refight to drive in bus lanes. The overall benefit of owning and electric car in Oslo is almost to the tune of USD $8,200 per car per year.

The Japanese government initiated its incentive program for cleaner vehicles way back in 1996 under the Clean Vehicles Introduction Project. The project continued up till 2003 and provided a purchase subsidy of up to 50% of the incremental cost of the clean energy vehicle over the conventional vehicle. In 2009, the Green Vehicle Purchasing Promotion Measure was introduced that implemented tax deductions and exemptions for efficient and environmentally friendly vehicles defined by a given set of criterion.

The new next generation vehicles, such as electric and fuel cell vehicles, plug-in hybrids etc. are exempted from acquisition tax as well as tonnage tax. Other fuel efficient and low emission passenger cars, are given tax exemptions from 50 to 75% depending on the compliance of the new vehicle as compared to established fuel efficiency standards. Acquisition tax on used vehicle is reduced by 1.6% to 2.7% which amounts to almost 150,000 yen to 300,000 yen. Electric and fuel cell vehicles receive a 2.7% reduction while plug-in hybrids get a 2.4% reduction. The next generation electric vehicles including fuel cell vehicles are also given a 50% exemption from the annual automobile tax.

Subsidies given for the purchase of new environmentally friendly vehicles without scrapping of a used car are 50,000 yen to 1,00,000yen. But if the consumer is scrapping a vehicle that is 13 year old or more, the subsidies are raised to 1,25,000 yen to 2,50,000 yen. The subsidy for larger vehicles like buses and trucks which meet emission criteria ranges between 2,00,000 yen to 9,00,000 yen, but just like cars, if the customer scraps a 13 years or older similar vehicle, then the subsidies are raised to 4,00,000 yen to 18,00,000 yen.

The government of India in 2012 launched the National Electric Mobility Mission Plan 2020. It aims to ‘encourage reliable, affordable and efficient EVs that meet consumer performance and price expectations through government-industry collaboration for promotion and development of indigenous manufacturing capabilities, required infrastructure, consumer awareness and technology; thereby helping India to emerge as a leader in EV 2&4 wheeler market in the world by 2020, with total EV sales of 6-7 million units thus enabling Indian automotive industry to achieve global EV manufacturing leadership and contributing towards national fuel security.’