Auto Channel

GM's E-Flex system moves the automobile toward new electric age

General Motors Corp. will introduce multiple propulsion systems that fit into a common chassis, using electric drive to help the world diversify energy sources and establish electricity from the grid as one of those sources.

GM refers to this family of propulsion systems as the “E-flex System.â€Â'

“The DNA of the automobile has not changed in more than 100 years,â€Â' said Larry Burns, GM vice president of research and development and strategic planning. “Vehicles still operate in pretty much the same fashion as when Karl Benz introduced the ‘horseless carriage’ in 1886.

“While mechanical propulsion will be with us for many decades to come, GM sees a market for various forms of electric vehicles, including fuel cells and electric vehicles using gas and diesel engines to extend the range. With our new E-flex concept, we can produce electricity from gasoline, ethanol, bio-diesel or hydrogen.

“We can tailor the propulsion to meet the specific needs and infrastructure of a given market. For example, somebody in Brazil might use 100-percent ethanol to power an engine generator and battery. A customer in Shanghai might get hydrogen from the sun and create electricity in a fuel cell. Meanwhile, a customer in Sweden might use wood to create bio-diesel.â€Â'

The Chevrolet Volt, introduced at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit , is just the first variant of the E-flex System. The Volt uses a large battery and a small, 1L turbo gasoline engine to produce enough electricity to go up to 640 miles and provide triple-digit fuel economy. GM will show other variations of the propulsion systems at future auto shows.

• “GM is building a fuel cell variant that mirrors the propulsion system in the Chevrolet Sequel (fuel cell vehicle),â€Â' Burns said. “Instead of a big battery and a small engine generator used in the Volt, we would use a fuel cell propulsion system with a small battery to capture energy when the vehicle brakes. Because the Volt is so small and lightweight, we would need only about half of the hydrogen storage as the Sequel to get 300 miles of range.â€Â'

Future concepts might incorporate diesel generators, bio-diesel and pure ethanol (E-100).

Electric vehicle concept vehicle could nearly eliminate trips to the gas station

General Motors Corp. unveiled a new electric vehicle concept that could nearly eliminate going to the gas station altogether.

The concept car, called the Chevrolet Volt, is a battery-powered electric vehicle that uses a gas engine to create additional electricity, thereby extending its range. The Chevy Volt draws from GM’s previous experience in starting the modern electric vehicle market when it launched the EV1 in 1996, according to GM Vice Chairman Robert A. Lutz.

“The EV1 ‘died’ because it had limited range, limited room for passengers or luggage, couldn’t climb a hill or run the air conditioning without depleting the battery and no device to get you home when your battery charge ran low,â€Â' Lutz said. “The Chevrolet Volt is a new type of electric vehicle. It addresses the range problem and has room for four to five passengers and their stuff. You can climb a hill or turn on the air conditioning and not worry about it.â€Â'

The Chevrolet Volt can be fully charged by plugging it into a 110-volt outlet for approximately six hours each day. When the lithium-ion battery is fully charged, the Volt can deliver 40 city miles of pure electric vehicle range. When the battery is depleted, a 1-liter, three-cylinder turbocharged engine spins at a constant speed, or revolutions per minute (rpm), to create electricity and replenish the battery. According to Lutz, this increases the fuel economy and range.

“If you lived within 30 miles from work (60 miles round trip) and charged your vehicle every night when you came home or during the day at work, you would get 150 miles per gallon,â€Â' Lutz said. “More than half of all Americans live within 20 miles of where they work (40 miles round trip). In that case, you might never burn a drop of gas in the life of the car.â€Â'

To further underscore the point, the Chevy Volt is designed to run on E85, a blend of 15 percent gas and 85 percent ethanol. With E85, fuel economy of 150 mpg using gasoline would translate into more than 525 miles per petroleum gallon.

In the event a driver forgets to charge the vehicle or goes on a vacation far from home, the Volt would still get 50 mpg by using the engine to convert gasoline into electricity and extend its range up to 640 miles, more than double that of today’s conventional vehicles.

One technological breakthrough required to make this concept a reality is a large lithium-ion battery. This type of electric car, which the technical community calls an “EV range-extender,â€Â' would require a battery pack that weighs nearly 400 pounds. Some experts predict that such a battery – or a similar battery – could be production-ready by 2010 to 2012.

Jon Lauckner, GM vice president of Global Program Management, said the Volt is uniquely built to accommodate a number of advanced technology propulsion solutions that can give GM a competitive advantage (Please see accompanying release on the GM E-flex System).

"Today's vehicles were designed around mechanical propulsion systems that use petroleum as their primary source of fuel." Lauckner said. Tomorrow's vehicles need to be developed around a new propulsion architecture with electricity in mind. The Volt is the first vehicle designed around GM's E-flex System.

“That’s why we are also showing a variant of the Chevrolet Volt with a hydrogen-powered fuel cell, instead of a gasoline engine EV range-extender,â€Â' said Lauckner. “Or, you might have a diesel engine driving the generator to create electricity, using bio-diesel. Finally, a gasoline engine using 100-percent ethanol might be factored into the mix. The point is, all of these alternatives are possible with the E-flex System.â€Â'

The Volt concept is built on a modified future architecture, Lauckner said, similar to the one GM uses for current small cars, such as the Chevrolet Cobalt and HHR.

According to Larry Burns, GM vice president for research and development and strategic planning, the world’s growing demand for energy and its dependence on oil for transportation is the common theme behind today’s headlines.

“Whether your concern is energy security, global climate change, natural disasters, the high price of gas or the volatile pricing of a barrel of oil and the effect that unpredictability has on Wall Street – all these issues point to a need for energy diversity,â€Â' Burns said.

“Today, there are more than 800 million cars and trucks in the world. In 15 years, that will grow to 1.1 billion vehicles. We can’t continue to be 98-percent dependent on oil to meet our transportation needs. Something has to give. We think the Chevy Volt helps bring about the diversity that is needed. If electricity met only 10 percent of the world’s transportation needs, the impact would be huge.â€Â'

GE Ecomagination Technology to Help Drivers Skip the Pump

It’s been nearly 100 years, but Thomas Edison’s belief in electricity as a viable propulsion system for automobiles is one step closer to reality due to the efforts of General Motors and General Electric. Today, GE participated in General Motors’ unveiling of its newest concept vehicle, the Chevrolet Volt, at the North American International Auto Show, in Detroit. The Volt’s E-Flex flexible propulsion system offers a global blended range of transportation energy solutions to regional energy issues and driving behavior.

GE Plastics played the role of a strategic partner in enabling the design and development of the Chevrolet Volt, by contributing the key materials technology and design engineering support to help position the vehicle as a way to help the world diversify its energy sources and to reduce the dependence on petroleum.

In the United States alone, almost half the households have a daily mileage of less than 30 miles per day. The Chevrolet Volt concept vehicle is capable of 40 miles of pure electrical vehicle driving, which according to the Environmental Protection Agency means that for most drivers in the city, the Chevrolet Volt will use little or no gasoline. In the spirit of ecomagination*, GE Plastics’ differentiated technologies helped reduce the Volt weight and optimize its fuel efficiency so that drivers can now skip the pump to extend their mileage and increase savings.

“GM’s commitment to improving fuel economy, reducing vehicle emissions, and developing electrically-driven vehicles is facilitated with GE Plastics’ weight-reduction technologies on the Chevrolet Volt concept car. We were able to take mass out of the Volt in order to optimize its overall efficiency,â€Â' said General Motors’ vice president of Global Program Management, Jon Lauckner. “Through the independent auditor, GreenOrder, we were also able to see clear positive environmental results from working with GE Plastics,â€Â' said Lauckner.

“GE’s history and leadership in technology innovation led to this great opportunity to collaborate together with GM on the Voltâ€Â' said Gregory A. Adams, vice president for the Automotive business at GE Plastics. “We were able to help GM in developing this environmentally-responsible vehicle with outstanding performance, strength and style. Together with GM, we assembled a joint project team to drive forward the development of this monumental new electric vehicle.â€Â'

GE fuel saving technologies showcased on the Chevy Volt include:

• Roof made with Lexan* GLX resins and Exatecâ„¢ Coating Technology
• Rear Deck Lid and Fixed Side Glazing made with Lexan* GLX resins and Exatecâ„¢ Coating Technology
• Doors and Hood made with Xenoy* iQ High Performance ThermoPlastic Composites (HPPC)
• Global energy absorber and hybrid rear energy absorbers with Xenoy iQ resins
• Steering Wheel and Instrument Panel with integrated airbag chute made with Lexan* EXL resins
• Front Fenders made with Noryl GTX* resins
• Wire Coating made with Flexible Noryl* resins

“GE is driving the next generation of materials: greener, lighter, with aesthetically better properties that enable customers, such as GM to create vehicles with a reduced environmental impact,â€Â' said Greg Adams. "This effort builds upon each company’s long-standing commitment to help improve the environment and we are pleased to be working on such an visionary project.