Who will play the lead character in Who Revived the Electric Car?, the sequel that is bound to be made to the famous documentary, Who Killed the Electric Car? Many are vying for the role: car manufacturers, battery producers, scientists and now the Obama Administration.

The White House issued a report on July 14th that credits federal stimulus money for the rapid drop in costs for electric cars. Once written off as a technological mishap, the electric car now appears nearly road ready for American consumers. The price tag is dropping rapidly, in part because of the $12 billion the federal government has pumped into alternative vehicles, according to the report. Of that $5 billion went to electrifying the US transportation fleet.

Electric cars will cost between $25,000 and $35,000, after tax credits, by the end of this year, says the White House. That’s down from $100,000 before passage of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Electric cars are dropping in price because stimulus-funded manufacturers are producing batteries more cheaply.

Not long ago, it cost $33,000 for the battery of an electric vehicle with a 100-mile range. The Department of Energy expects the cost to drop by half between 2009 and 2013. By the end of 2015 some batteries should cost $10,000. The price of batteries for plug-in hybrid vehicles, or PHEVs, is falling quickly too. PHEVs can travel 40 miles on electricity and then automatically shift to gasoline. Priced at about $13,000 in 2009, the PHEV batteries are expected to cost only $6,700 in 2013 and $4,000 in 2015, according to the DOE.

The new electric car is seen as a way to reduce reliance on oil, which now supplies 95% of our transportation fuel. But the electric car has several interesting side stories as well.

Electricity is cheaper than gasoline. So, consumers should find themselves paying the equivalent of only $1/gallon to fuel electric cars, according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. In coming up with that figure, NREL assumed it will take 9-10 kWh per gallon to operate a typical mid-size car, with vehicle efficiency of 2.9 mile/kWh. Researchers also assumed an electricity cost of 9.4 cents/kWh as the cost of electricity. While that is a fair average, the truth is that the price of electricity varies significantly nationally, and the cost of driving an electric car will vary accordingly. For example, in North Dakota electric rates run about 7 cents/kWh, while in Connecticut they are 19 cents/kWh.

Keeping operating costs low will depend on wide-spread implementation by utilities of time-of-use pricing, and of consumer willingness to take advantage of electricity at bargain times. Prices for electricity fall at night when demand diminishes. Electric grid planners are hoping consumers will charge their cars at night. Otherwise we may have to build more power plants to accommodate the cars, and that will negate some of their environmental and cost savings. Time-of-use pricing, which reflects lower night-time costs, should help encourage consumers to plug in at night. But consumer behavior is hard to predict.

Another side story is that the electric vehicle gives consumers a chance to act as power producers. The car batteries can store power which consumers can sell back to their local utility, possibly at high prices if done when the grid is in short supply.

And finally, it looks like the electric car will help the US create manufacturing jobs. The White House report says that in 2009, we had only two factories manufacturing advanced vehicle batteries. Those factories produced less than two percent of the world’s advanced vehicle batteries. By 2012, the US should have 30 factories with a 20 percent market share and by 2015 a 40 percent market share.

Should all this come to be, it is hard to say who will get the credit. What’s clear is that the story offers lots of happy endings to today’s energy woes. Here’s hoping it is a tale told true.

Elisa Wood is a long-time energy writer whose work appears in many of the industry’s top magazines and newsletters. She is publisher of the Energy Efficiency Markets podcast and newsletter.

photo: futureatlas.com

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Fisker Automotive, the Irvine, California based start-up auto company is certainly creating waves these days, even though it has been reported that full production of the Karma will not occur until February 2011, later than expected. Fisker recently announced that they have secured an additional $189 million in capital. In addition, the company secured a $529 million loan in April from the Department of Energy to support its first vehicle, the Karma, an extended range plug-in hybrid (PHEV) and the development of a more family oriented model codenamed Project NINA.

Those of you who have seen a glimpse of the Karma know that it is a gorgeous vehicle. The car is wrapped in an aluminum space frame. According to Russell Datz, the Director of Public Relations at Fisker, the Karma is a car that “evokes passion for performance and style that made us fall in love with cars.” The Karma is targeted at buyers of the Aston Martin Rapide, the Maserati Quattroporte, and the BMW 7-Series. I have viewed the Karma up close at recent auto shows, but have yet to take one out for a test drive. For now, I’ll have to reserve Ferris Bueller’s statement, “It is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up” for after the test drive.

Production of the Karma has been outsourced to Valmet Automotive in Finland to lower overhead costs. Production of the Project NINA car will take place at a former GM plant in Wilmington, Delaware. It is anticipated that the plant will employ 2,000 assembly workers.

It looks like the EV and PHEV market is growing. The price points of the cars available or soon to be available provide something for everyone, much like 31 flavors at Baskin Robbins.

photo: nicholasputz

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Ford is driving closer to its goal of producing an all-electric car with the announcement of an electric van for North America for 2010. The Ford Transit Connect BEV will incorporate a drivetrain from Azure Dynamics and lithium ion batteries from Johnson Controls-Saft.

The van will get 80 miles before needing to be charged and will be sold into fleets, according to Ford Manager of corporate news Jennifer Moore. She said Ford will produce the van in low volumes and has not announced any customers so far.

Azure Dynamics, which Ford had worked with before, was brought in to replace Smith Electric Vehicles as the drivetrain partner. Moore said that Smith has decided to focus on medium duty trucks. Today Smith Electric Vehicles announced it was working on a prototype electric postal delivery vehicle with AM General for the US Postal Service.

Ford hasn’t committed to Azure Dynamics — or anyone else — as a long term partner for it other EVs in development. Moore said Azure Dynamics’ extensive experience in building components for electrified vehicles made them an attractive partner.

Johnson-Controls-Saft will be the company’s battery partner moving forward. In development are a Ford Focus EV for 2011, as well as an unnamed PHEV vehicle for 2012.

Ford is moving quickly in turning its successful Transit Connect, which only debuted this year, into an EV.

Delivery van fleets that operate on shorter routes are likely applications for EVs and PHEVs since they can be charged centrally overnight and provide sufficient driving range to complete a day’s work.

Article appearing courtesy of Matter Network

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Converting hybrid vehicles — particularly the Prius and Ford Escape — into plug-in hybrids has become a profitable niche industry for a few specialty companies. But the net impact of this new mini-industry has been much greater by influencing consumer and industry opinions.

Promoting the technical feasibility of PHEVs has been a significant factor in the auto manufacturers’ decision to develop the dozens of plug-in and all-electric vehicles now scheduled for delivery in the next five years.

But the earliest and strongest voice promoting PHEVs isn’t happy with that limited success. Felix Kramer, the founder of CalCars.org, says that getting to a million electrified vehicles by 2015 won’t do nearly enough to address climate change and energy independence, and now he’s setting his sights on electrifying internal combustion engine vehicles. He’s clearly on to something.

CalCar’s new “Big Fix” initiative wants to electrify some of the biggest emitters and gas-wasters — pickup trucks, SUVs and vans (PSVs). When used in delivery routes that are often well under 40 miles per day, they spend much of their time starting, stopping, and idling, and get among the worst MPG ratings around. Converting one of these vehicles to a PHEV or EV will reduce fuel consumption and emissions to a much greater degree than trading in a Sebring for a Prius.

SPVs, most notably the Ford F-150, have been among the top sellers for more than a decade, creating an inventory of millions of vehicles that could be converted. They also have much more space for battery packs, which makes for a simpler conversion than a compact car. Former Intel CEO Andy Grove and electric vehicle guru Andy Frank are fully on board, lending their considerable credibility to the idea.

The Japanese postal service has already begun converting its fleet of vehicles to EVs, and the U.S. Postal Service wants to do the same with more than 140,000 of its delivery vehicles. The cash-starved agency could save millions per year if the federal government decides to provide assistance, which would be more sustainable than a bailout.

The biggest impediments are the cost and potential resistance from the auto industry. The battery cost can be upwards of $20,000, making for a slow payback period if gasoline stays around $3 a gallon. The economics will improve over time, especially if conversion kits are produced in volume and battery manufacturing ramps up as the technology evolves.

But the harder sell will be convincing the auto industry that keeping vehicles on the road instead of buying new vehicles is a good thing, and that they should be a part of that business. Upgrading existing SPVs could be a multi-billion dollar business, extending the life of vehicles and preserving the energy cost sunk into building them. While Ford, GM and Chrylsler are best-suited to engineer conversions, this mass rethinking of the company would be an even bigger shift than the current change to becoming manufacturers of PHEVs and EVs.

Convincing fleet operators to convert will likely be easier than the consumers, legislators and car companies needed to make it happen. It’s not impossible, but it will take an extensive and well-orchestrated effort.

Appearing courtesy of Matter Network.

[photo credit: Flickr]

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While San Francisco and Portland are each publicly claiming they’ll have the best electric vehicle networks in place in their cities, San Jose may be have made the most progress.

The city of San Jose has installed 7 charging stations so far, including spots at City Hall and a public parking garage. At the charging locations vehicle owners don’t pay for the power; instead they are charged based on the time in the parking spot. To simplify payment, EV owners get a keychain fob that’s connected to their credit card.

Nanci Klein, the manager of corporate outreach for the city, says vehicle chargers are being added to light poles in “key neighborhoods.” The city will take advantage of its control of the right of way on light poles (which will be upgraded as they are repaired) and in parking garage to create a network that will incentivize residents to purchase plug-in and battery-electric vehicles. San Jose’s redevelopment agency, as well as the Commerce Department’s Economic Development Administration, have contributed funding to the project.

Klein’s office is also working with Fortune 100 companies to persuade them to install EV charging stations at employer sites. She is also in discussions with officials involved in building code enforcement and public works to streamline the permitting process for installing charging station equipment.

The city also wants the electricity to power the vehicles to be clean. The city recently announced an organic waste to energy plant, the first of its kind. As part of San Jose’s 15-year “Green Vision” plan, the city is moving to all renewable power.

San Jose benefits from the proximity of major players in the EV and charging world including Coulomb Technologies (which installed the charging stations), Tesla Motors, and Better Place.

With its large population of engineers, software developers and other higher-income residents, San Jose is likely to see one of the highest per capita rates of PHEVs in the coming years. The city already sees strong sales of hybrid vehicles and the micro Smart cars.

This article originally appeared on Matter Network.

[photo credit: Gas 2.0]

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