[new_royalslider id=”55″]At t a building at University of Delaware STAR campus, a potential revolution in electric vehicles is taking place.
University of Delaware professor Willett Kempton offered insights into electric car and vehicle to grid technology rea at the university during a presentation at the Delaware Technology Forum at the Chase Center on the Riverfront in Wilmington.
UD is testing a fleet of electric BMW mini vehicles from manufacturer and refitted by Wilmington-based Autoport. The vehicles have a range of about 100 miles, but that is only part of the story.
Kempton and team of about 20 are looking at ways to get wider use of electric vehicles including a way to better use recharging stations, while bringing faster charging systems for batteries to more locations.
Kempton’s work on vehicle to grid has been under way for many years at UD and has picked up funding.
“It’s not easy to take long trips,” Kempton says of the electric vehicle recharging system. He does not blame the limited range, at least on the East Coast. Instead, he sees a scattered group of low-voltage charging stations as a big drawback. This comes despite a $100 million federal investment in the stations.
The UD team sees a small number of higher-powered charging stations as a solution that would allow motorists to take a longer trips with charging times of less than hour. The UD team is now working with the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control on sites for the high-powered charging stations.
Also investing in charging stations in electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla, which has one of its few stations on the East Coast at the Delaware Welcome Center on Interstate 95 south of Newark.
However, Kempton noted that the Tesla stations use a plug that is not compatible with other vehicles.
Meanwhile in Newark, Minis, housed outside a building on the STAR Campus provides clues to what may be the most intriguing part of the research effort. Kempton’s team is also looking at using the large battery capacity to feed power from the back into the grid.
“This is not gerbils on treadmills,” Kempton says, adding that as the number of electric vehicles increases, the potential for vehicle to grid increases.
One technology that is being explored is the use of an “aggregation server” that would be used to distribute power from vehicles to the grid. The owners are compensated for moving that power into the grid.
The UD vehicles are currently getting $150 a month in payments for moving power to the PJM grid. PJM, the operator of the regional electric grid, is a partner in the project along with NRG, one of the nation’s largest power suppliers.
John Colarusso offered a look at Motech Americas, the Newark-based unit of a company based in Taiwan. Colarusso is Senior Director, Technology and Development for Motech.
The plant had its roots in AstroPower, a pioneer in the industry that used technology from the University of Delaware.
In 2004, GE purchased some assets of AstroPower, which ran into financial problems. GE operated the plant until 2010, with Motech acquiring assets.
Colarusso said Motech focuses on quality and durability. It also operates a center for excellence at the Newark-area site that looks for ways to improve that reliability and increase efficiency. Motech offers a 25-year warranty.
Technology Forum member Rebecca Faber also announced the forum will have an ideas competition on Jan. 15th. The ideas competition will look for solutions to challenges facing the community.
