Partnership for a new generation of vehicles program

These concept cars have been used to validate simulation models, develop control systems, run performance tests, and evaluate driving characteristics. This activity generates knowledge from which components can be modified and a production-ready design can be developed.

Because of its proprietary nature, most of this activity is carried out as a part of the PNGV but is not a partnership activity. The next step called for in the PNGV Program Plan is the design, development, manufacture, and assembly of a production prototype by A production prototype is a car with components that have been validated as production ready, meaning that, at a minimum, a production process has been identified that is capable of manufacturing all the car's components in volume and with the required quality.

This prototype car should also demonstrate all the characteristics required in order to make it an attractive, salable product. There should be a well-defined path to resolve any deficiencies from this standard. At the time of the committee review the car companies were not ready to discuss their plans for moving from the concept-car stage into a production prototype.

In proprietary discussions with the committee each company reviewed its plans to move major portions of the technology developed in the PNGV program into a variety of production vehicle programs.

None of these vehicle programs was a simple extension of the power-train and vehicle design aspects of the concept cars.

The cost and complexity of such vehicles, and the changed market environment since the program began, call into question the wisdom of following this original plan. Each of the companies is considering how to deal with this issue. The logical business decision is to apply derivative forms of the technology developed in the PNGV program to types of vehicles in which the increased costs may be better supported by market forces.

This activity is exactly what was envisioned under Goal 2, but it leaves open the question of what course should be pursued under Goal 3. The committee recommends that the parties involved redefine this goal along the lines suggested in Chapter 4. Unlike previous reports, the Seventh Report comments on the goals of the program, since the automotive market and U. Based on feedback from you, our users, we've made some improvements that make it easier than ever to read thousands of publications on our website.

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Experiments, indeed entire particle accelerators, in Europe, the U. Yet far from concluding that they were chasing a moonbeam, most physicists remained confident of the existence of this fundamental particle of matter. They were so certain of their quarry because of their confidence in the model they had built to describe the way the universe works.

The model describes the structure of matter at its ultimate level, inside the protons and neutrons of the atomic nucleus. Finding direct evidence for this last undiscovered quark would provide critical support for this model, a theory known as the Standard Model of Particle Interactions, or the Standard Model for short.

The top quark eluded discovery for so long because of its large mass in comparison to other subatomic particles--more than 30 times greater than the next-heaviest quark, the bottom. Of all the particle accelerators now operating anywhere on earth, only Fermilab's Tevatron particle accelerator has enough energy to produce top quarks in collisions between protons and antiprotons, their antimatter counterparts. When proton and antiproton collide at nearly the speed of light, they create a tiny fireball of pure energy.

Huge particle detectors have the job of sorting through trillions of such collisions to find the half-dozen that show evidence for the top quark. Why the top quark is so heavy remains a mystery that may, in fact, open a new frontier of particle physics. No one expected to find the tiny particle weighs more than an entire atom of gold.

Because the top quark is so massive, it may shed light on the origin of mass, one of the most urgent unanswered questions confronting physics today. We reaped great rewards from this position of leadership. From intriguing questions about the magnetic resonance properties of individual atoms, chemists developed tools for analyzing the chemical structure of a material. That led, in combination with fundamental advances in electronics and mathematics, to such forefront medical diagnostic tools as magnetic resonance imaging and positron-electron tomography.

From basic research on genetics, came the forensic applications of DNA fingerprinting. Relying on the tools of molecular biology, the polymerase chain reaction and recombinant DNA techniques, new statistical methods, and the application theories of population genetics, DNA fingerprinting is a means to identify DNA from crime scenes. These are but two examples of the consistently high return the federal investment in fundamental science yields for the American public.

As a nation, however, we find it increasingly difficult to underwrite research at the forefront in all areas of science. As research facilities grow more sophisticated and expensive, in some cases our best option is to internationalize the construction and operation of the required research tools.

As an example, we are actively discussing greater U. World leadership in fundamental science must, in the near term, be accomplished for the most part by realigning the existing investment.

We have strengthened the federal investment in fundamental science by emphasizing research conducted in academic institutions and merit reviewed research. When research is conducted in an educational setting -- universities, medical schools, and other educational institutions -- it has a multiplier effect.

New knowledge is created, and new scientists and engineers are trained. Experience has also taught us that merit reviewed research -- research where scientific peers evaluate competing proposals -- improves the quality of the scientific enterprise. The Administration is committed to a federal-university partnership that enhances the continued health of our major research institutions.

This includes continuing to maintain the Nation's research infrastructure. The federal government currently participates by financing a share of this infrastructure through direct grants to universities for construction, and reimbursement to universities for research costs associated with renovation, construction, operation, and maintenance of research facilities.

The basis for the calculation of the reimbursement of these costs has been a matter of public misunderstanding, congressional inquiry, and continuing friction between universities and federal agencies. In the spirit of the National Performance Review, the Administration, working in concert with the private sector, announced several important changes in how government pays for research and development.

These changes will simplify administrative and accounting procedures; promote predictability, stability, equity and consistency in federal payments for research; and make the federal investment in research more understandable to Congress and the public.

In the long run, the changes will also generate cost savings since the new system will be more efficient and uniform. The savings will be invested in high priority research and development. Box: Mouse Model Leads to Discovery of Obesity Gene In perhaps the greatest discovery in obesity research to date, researchers have isolated a defective mouse gene that results in profound obesity and non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. The scientists located the gene by studying a strain of mouse that can weigh up to five times more than normal.

Their studies suggest a mechanism for how the obesity gene controls the amount of fat deposition. The normal mouse gene appears to be switched on in fat tissue, where it generates a protein that is secreted into the bloodstream and, once it reaches the appetite-controlling area of the brain, acts to regulate food intake.

A defective obesity gene may produce little or no protein, and so the brain would not receive the proper message about the status of body fat stores, and appetite control would be lost. Investigators used their knowledge of the mouse gene to pinpoint a nearly identical obesity gene in human DNA.

Because of the close similarity between the human and mouse genes, it is likely that they perform similar functions. Scientists are now investigating whether the gene is mutated in obese humans. It is likely that human obesity will be much more complicated than obesity in the mouse, possibly involving multiple genes and proteins. As noted, significant progress continues to be made by the research being performed in the PNGV partnership and in the many proprietary programs being carried out by the individual partners in USCAR.

Nevertheless, the committee believes it is unlikely that all of the elements of Goal 3, including three-times fuel economy, will be met in production-prototype vehicles in While the bulk of the requirements e.

In addition, the recently promulgated Environmental Protection Agency EPA Tier 2 emission requirements will require radically better emission control technology. It also appears that the required after-treatment devices may significantly degrade the efficiency of the CIDI engine and increase its cost. Fuel issues also. High prospective cost is a serious problem in almost every area of the PNGV program.

Lightweight body construction, CIDI engines, batteries, and electronic control systems all represent increases in vehicle cost. Needed emission exhaust-gas after-treatment devices are not well defined at this point, but they will most certainly be more expensive than systems currently employed. The major effort to date has been to achieve the technical targets for these components, and the concept cars demonstrate the significant progress made; however, none of these cars in their present forms represents an affordable set of components compatible with similar mission vehicles.

Cost targets have always been in place for the major components, but it has not been clear to the committee that even if these targets were achieved an affordable vehicle would result. This year a new cost-modeling effort has been started to address this vital subject. The committee compliments the PNGV for getting this effort under way.

As noted earlier, affordability is the linchpin of the PNGV program. For the benefits PNGV intended to be realized, the economics must favor large-scale purchases of these vehicles.

Although, as detailed later in this report, significant progress is being made in developing exhaust after-treatment systems for CIDI engines, these devices make this power plant less attractive by increasing its fuel consumption and cost. Alternative power plants that can meet the Tier 2 emission standards will, in all likelihood, have substantially higher fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. This raises the obvious policy question of the relative importance to the nation of decreasing fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions compared with the need to tighten the NO x and PM standards at this time.

This trade-off was noted in the last committee report, but. Its resolution has obvious implications for the PNGV production-prototype planning process that is now under way. Historically, major improvements in automobile power-plant efficiency and exhaust emissions have required changes in the fuels they use. Notable examples are the high-octane fuel that was required by high-compression-ratio engines and the unleaded fuel required by catalytic converters.

Successful introduction of either new power plant will be critically dependent on widespread availability of suitable fuels. The large capital expenditures and long lead time required to manufacture and distribute a significantly modified fuel means that the petroleum industry must be fully aware of the needs well in advance of the production of the first automobile that requires such a fuel.

Furthermore, the change must make economic sense for the petroleum companies or be mandated by regulation. In early , the EPA published a regulation requiring refiners to produce highway diesel fuel with a maximum sulfur content of 15 ppm by June 1, Federal Register, This regulation gives the PNGV CIDI development program the challenge of finding an exhaust after-treatment system that will perform and endure with such a fuel, since it is unlikely that fuel with any lower sulfur level will be available in this time frame.

Automotive fuel cell power plants present a much more complicated problem because of the early development stage of these systems. The most efficient and lowest-emission system involves direct hydrogen storage on the vehicle, which requires major infrastructure changes by the energy industry. With a reformer onboard the car, a liquid fuel can be used, and it is hoped that one similar to gasoline will be satisfactory. In the long term, reformers probably will require a fuel tailored for this application to achieve optimum efficiency and minimum emissions.

From this discussion it is clear that a strong, objective, cooperative program between the PNGV participants and the petroleum industry is needed to ensure that the lack of appropriate fuels does not become a major barrier to realizing the goals of the program. It appears that additional priority will be required to advance this goal, as there has been little apparent progress in this area since the committee made a similar recommendation last year.

From the inception of PNGV, practical automotive fuel cell power plants have been considered to be well beyond the time limit of the program. Nevertheless, because of their potential for high energy efficiency and no onboard emissions of any regulated pollutants when using hydrogen as a fuel, the development of these systems has remained a major part of PNGV.

As noted above, progress has been steady, and some important milestones have been met. Nevertheless, the original targets for for the fuel cell system were not met. At present, it appears that the dates for meeting these targets should be extended substantially. Size and weight need to be reduced by at least a factor of two to meet the targets, and cost is roughly six times above the target value for a PNGV-type vehicle. Even with these formidable challenges, based on projections from the major auto manufacturers it appears that some limited-application fuel-cell-powered vehicles may be produced in the — time frame.

Even ignoring cost, these vehicles will likely not be suitable for sale to the general public. It is expected that they will operate with onboard hydrogen storage systems and therefore be restricted to fleet use, where limited range and complex refueling issues can be managed. Large investments are being made in the commercial development of fuel cell power plants for stationary and nonpropulsion mobile applications.

These applications are likely to become successful well before the more stringent cost, size, and weight requirements for an automobile power plant can be met. The PNGV program and extensive proprietary work in the car companies are meeting this need. Goals 1 and 2 are stated in qualitative terms, and, as noted previously, mpg production prototypes meeting Goal 3 requirements are not likely to be realized in The last committee report NRC, contained an extensive discussion of this subject, including at least three definitions of success that the existing goals allow:.

The committee believes that no reasonable amount of funding would ensure achievement of all aspects of Goal 3, including 80 mpg, the first definition of. Breakthrough ideas and talented people are more stringent constraints than money to achieving this goal. Current activities appear to be directed toward the latter two definitions of success; however, no clearly stated objectives have been enunciated by the PNGV. This deficiency needs to be corrected before a meaningful external assessment of the adequacy and balance of the program can be made.

Government funding for the program comes primarily from the U. Department of Energy DOE advanced automotive technology budget.

Of these latter amounts about three-quarters are only indirectly associated with the program, not directly coordinated with the efforts of the technical teams.