GM-VOLT : Chevy Volt Electric Car Site

I recently had the chance to interview Ian Clifford who is the CEO of Zenn Motors (ZNN.V).  His company has an agreement to market the breakthrough energy storage units (EESU) being developed by the stealth Texas company EEStor.  Although no-one has ever publicly confirmed seeing an EESU in operation, these devices have the potential to disruptively leapfrog lithium-ion batteries for electric cars.  They are orders of magnitude lighter and energy dense, can be recharged in minutes, do not appreciably degrade and cost a fraction of what lithium-ion batteries do to produce.  The ZENNCity electric car which would be the first vehicle to use these batteries has a 52kwh 250 mile range EESU that would only weigh 280 pounds.

So what’s been going on lately with ZMC and EEStor?
The first event was when EEStor demonstrated their permittivity milestone and then we went through our own independent verification of that particular scientific milestone. And that triggered a couple of things. It triggered our $700,000 payment to make on our technology agreement with EEStor, but it also triggered an option to further extend our equity position with EEStor which we did.

We moved our ownership stake from around 3.8% to around 10.7% and at the same time we also just concluded a 9.3 million dollar equity raise in Zenn Motor Companies. So a lot of different financial and predominantly EEStor-related transactions (occurred) over the last couple of months.

Did the permittivity milestone increase your confidence in EEStor?
Absolutely. According to EEStor it was really the last scientific hurdle achieved and now they’re just flat out working towards commercial product. Absolutely a very very significant step.

As an owner and investor, do you go to EEStor’s facilities and see prototypes?
We are in their facility frequently. We see their progress on a regular basis. We had our own independent third party verification of the permittivity result. We retested all the materials, re-calibrated all the equipment, did a very exhaustive re-verification as it was a significant trigger for us. And a few weeks ago EEStor made the public statement that they anticipate having at-voltage components verified independently by September of this year and deliver of production prototype EESU to us by then end of 2009. That’s directly from EEStor. They made that statement very recently, so it’s very very exciting progress.

EEStor has said that before, even once by the end of 2007, so is this really any different than the last 2 years?
Absolutely. They started their commercial build-out in 2006 and have continued to dramatically ramp up their production capability. Their choice of announcing permittivity was entirely up to them so they made the decision when they felt ready to do that. In terms of progress, the unique thing than Zenn other than Lockheed Martin has is access to the facility and very demonstrative indication of their progress. And we see very clearly where they are at and how they’re progressing. So it’s a somewhat unique visibility that we have on their technology.

Are you seeing an actual assembly line now being constructed?
Absolutely. This is a full production facility here. Often people are saying there is no facility or assembly line, etc this is simply not the case. They’re building a state of the art pilot production plant that is very significant. Lots of people have seen it, it’s not just us.

Is permittivity a value that suggests the material can hold the energy density they claim it can, is that true?
That’s a pretty fair statement. It’s a measurement of capacitance of the material. Once again one of the very significant breakthroughs here is that as a dielectric material there are other materials that have high levels of capacitance but they tend to have very very narrow temperature range, and we had these materials certified from -20 to 65 degrees Celsius. So they’ve created a unique dielectric material and that’s a very very important distinction. It’s a brand new material and it needs to be to meet the energy density and performance characteristics and specifications of their energy storage. They have created a breakthrough unique dielectric material.

You talked about at-voltage testing, in vehicle application are you talking about 300 to 400V?
Actually likely higher than that. EEStor stores their energy at around 3500V. We would step that down to operating voltages likely in the 600 V range. Very very high efficiency drive system operating at much higher voltages than any other current EV drive system. That does a number of things. It increases the drive efficiency, it makes the components somewhat smaller, and ultimately less expensive and obviously for mass commercialization that’s a very important consideration.

So the testing you did was at a low voltage?
It’s a standard permittivity capacitance test on a powder in a matrix. It’s not a high voltage test it is a low voltage test, but EEStor achieved many other important milestones over the past 18 months. Especially directed towards a high voltage energy storage device.
If you read our press release related to permittivity, were very very clear on the other key elements of development that EEStor has achieved in order to commercialize a high voltage capacitor with high energy density.

And as I said before, this September EEStor has stated that they will be certifying at-voltage components which actually are build capacitors off their production facility.

So they’re going to actually demonstrate true truly functioning capacitors, not just a powder?
Exactly. Which has always been their next logical step towards a final commercial product.

In your vehicle you might have a bunch of those capacitors in serial or parallel?
They’ll build up their energy storage devices in parallel, because each component, or building block is very very tiny, it’s a very tiny footprint. It is a 3500 volt capacitor and they will build them up in parallel to create the energy storage requirement that the application calls for.
We can go anywhere. We’ve talked about our cityZenn vehicle with a 52 kwh energy storage device, but we can do anything depending on the market and the application.

Have you actually seen one of the devices functioning?
That gets into the point of non disclosure. Just to be clear, there have not been any production EESUs delivered to us, that’s a very specific milestone, our last milestone is delivery of production equipment. EEStor originally did all of this, their original lab prototyping and everything else a number of years ago. We did our original due diligence back in 2002 and 2003. We were exposed to the original technology then. Right now, we like everyone else are waiting for at voltage components off their production line. And that’s as specific as I will get. And really that’s all that matters.
And right now EEStor has indicated a very very short window of delivery and are working towards that aggressively.

So you said prototypes by the end of the year, but production units not?
No this is a production prototype off of the production line. Once they deliver a production prototype it is a production unit that is production ready.

With all the Recovery Act green grant money, and A123, for example, asking for $1 billion for a battery plant, if this thing is so certain why haven’t you gone out and asked for money to build out a giant EESU plant?
First of all that’s up to EEStor to decide, because we don’t build the EESU. Quite frankly their engineering and deployment costs compared to lithium ion production is so much less, their production facility and ramp up costs are a fraction of lithium-ion. Lithium ion is a very very expensive technology to produce, especially large format. Nobody has really done mass production of large format lithium ion cells yet. Some of the individual pieces of equipment in a lithium ion battery plant cost more than an entire EESU production line. It is much more economical technology to manufacture.

So they can do it with the money they have now?
This initial production facility is fully financed based on the money they got which is great.

What kind of volume in vehicle sper year of EESUs can this plant produce?
In terms of disclosure on that it depends on the size of the EESU obviously.

For the ZENNCity?
We spec’d that at 52 kwh. We may not go to that full size depending on the application as I mentioned. Depending on the market that gives us a250 mile range on a single charge. That’s a lot more than a lot of jurisdictions require. You’ll see. I’m not going to comment on volume right now I know there is a number of analysts who will be covering this story and they will very likely talk about capacity at EEStor. I do not want that information coming from us I’d rather that information come from EEStor directly.

Its very very scalable. Their model which they’ve talked about is they build a relatively small production line which is what is being built now in Austin. They then replicate that line. So they don’t build massive amounts of line. They basically take a small model line and they replicate it over and over and over again to increase volume. And that’s very typical in hard disk manufacturing and other high technology manufacturing which is where Dick Weir and Carl Nelson come from. They’ve been working in that world for decades and they know everything about scalable mass production. Not a big worry from our perspective. They know how to do it, and they’ve got Lockheed Martin involved. They’ve got some really sophisticated people involved in the scaling of the technology, so its not a huge concern for us.

It sounds like the future of your company rides on what they’re doing?
It always has. When I started this company it was all about the significance of energy storage as it related to mass production. It became a matter of choosing the most exciting and viable energy storage possibilities that were out there. We looked at lots of different technologies at the time, and EEStor was by far the most compelling and certainly undoubtedly the most disruptive.

If they start delivering production-grade EESUs by the end of 09, how long will it take for the first ZENN Cities to roll of the line to commercial availability?
Commercial availability is one thing. We’ll have the car powered and demonstrated, and it will probably be a number of different platforms, and applications that well be demonstrating at that time. Our exclusivity covers a broad range of applications including retrofitting any existing 4wheel vehicle. So our intention is to truly demonstrate the breadth of opportunities that the technology represents. We have been for the last 18 months engineering ZEENergy drives and we’ll have a drop in application for what EEStor delivers to us because we’ve been working with them for the same amount of time to make sure what they deliver we can utilize immediately.

Its not going to take 2 minutes, but it will take days as opposed to months to get the demonstrations on line.

So the socket in your car is perfectly configured for the EESU when it arrives?
Exactly. Were building to accept it and their building to fit, that’s always been the intent.

So in 2010 certainly we should be able to see some of this?
Yes, absolutely. It will be clearly be demonstrated around the world in 2010 and commercialization is really jus ta question of how quickly EEStor ramps. We believe well be able to sell everything they can produce. There’s no question there.

How confident are you that this is going to happen?
I made that clear on how I voted with my own money my company’s supportiveness and the amount of support we’ve gotten from the financial community. We’re very confident.

I interviewed GM vice chairman Bob Lutz at the Detroit Auto Show in January of this year.  It was at that event that the Voltec-powered Cadillac Converj was first unveiled and was the same time GM was first surviving on government bailout money.

When I asked Mr. Lutz at the time whether GM would build the Converj, he replied if it were up to him they would, but due to GM’s “extreme financial stringency” at the time, they “would have to ask the federal government if the car would qualify for loan for extremely energy efficient new vehicle programs.”  Yes, I detected a bit of despondency in his tone.  By the end of that month he announced his retirement.

Now of course with the newborn GM, Maximum Bob is re-energized and staying to take over product development, marketing, and communications.

In a new interview with USA Today Lutz admitted his prior despair and the reason for his change of heart.

“When I made the decision to retire, I thought we’d be in bankruptcy for a long time. I thought we’d lose our freedom to design and build the products the public wants as opposed to the products the government wants to see on the road,” said the 77 year old Lutz. “I thought all of the fun is gone from the business. … But lo, and behold, the government task force were not a bunch of ogres. They were extremely helpful, and their only agenda was to make GM the best company it could be.”

Yet despite his fathering of the Volt and the clear path GM is taking to greener cars, including a new dedicated hybrid, Lutz still appears skeptical about how successful such vehicles can be.

“Other than in the media, there is not a groundswell toward green vehicles in the United States,” said Lutz. “In fact, they’re a very hard sell.”

(USA Today)

It is being reported that General Motors has chosen the site where it will assemble Chevy Volt battery packs. They have not officially announced this but sources indicate a press event is expected within a month.

The Chevy Volt is dependent on its state-of-the-art lithium-ion battery packs for propulsion. The 16 kwh packs are composed of lithium-ion manganese large format cells that are being supplied by LG Chem in Korea. GM had previously announced that it was using its special learning from Volt development to achieve in-house core competency for pack assembly. Besides the cells, the packs are composed of thermal management systems, electronic controls, and proprietary software

GM had previously stated it would eventually choose a location in Michigan within which the packs will be assembled.

According to anonymous GM sources the facility has been chosen. It is an existing building that will be converted into a battery pack factory for $43 million. The facility is the 370-acre Brownstown Business Center industrial park, which is between Sibley and King roads east of Interstate 75 in Brownstown Township Michigan, about 15 miles south of Detroit (see map).

The plant will produce 100 jobs. Most of the pack assembly process will be automated.

LG Chem’s CEO has previously announced it was his company’s intention to eventually build a battery cell production factory in Michigan as well.

And the launch of the Volt moves one step closer.

Source (Detroit News )

On Wednesday Ontario Canada’s Premier Dalton McGuinty announced that the Ontario government would provide buyers of plug-in hybrid vehicles a rebate of $4000 to $10,000 dollars for cars purchased after July 1, 2010.  A $7500 tax credit exists for the Volt in the US.

McGuinty said “we want to make it easier to buy green cars,” and pledged a goal of 1 in 20 cars to be electric on Canada’s roads by 2020.

The Premier actually made the announcement at a Chevrolet dealership while stepping in and out of a Volt show car.  Buyers of the Volt could expect the full $10,000.

He did not state the program’s cost.  Other incentives mentioned were special green license plates and preferred parking spots in places like Wal-Mart.

Toyota had not been notified of this decision and was caught off guard. In return for $3.16 billion in funding the Canadian governemnt is a 12% owner of the new GM, and as such the Japanese automaker expressed concerns of favoritism.

“How long does this continue?” said Stephen Beatty, managing director of Toyota Canada Inc. “We can’t set up a situation where the future of the industry depends on constant subsidies.”

“This suggests that (the government) is prepared to be interventionist beyond their aim to help the industry recover,” he said. “The question is: Is this a well thought-out industry strategy? Or is it sort of the next stage in advancing a particular product and helping a particular company?”

Toyota will only be producing a limited test fleet of 500 global plug-in Priuses by the end of 2010, and have hesitated to publicly embrace the technology which could make their hybrid synergy drive obsolete.  “We’re not entirely convinced that the technology is a winning proposition for consumers today,” said Beatty.

Source (Windsor Star) and (LeaderPost)

On July 16th GM launched a dedicated Chevy Volt social media portal called ChevroletVoltAge.com.

I have some mixed feelings about this. GM made me aware it was coming, and I actually was briefed on the project in person at a meeting at GM’s headquarters which included people from GM communications, social media, and Chevrolet marketing.

As anyone reading this is likely aware, being a Chevy Volt social media portal is actually, well, the exact purpose of GM-Volt.com. For two and 1/2 years I have tirelessly built this site to be what it is today and with much thanks to all the wonderful readers like you.

When GM-Volt.com began, I saw myself as the ambassador to GM, working to bring the details and news of Volt and EV development out into the public eye, and to compel GM to move the car from concept to production. That line has been crossed long ago, and now we are only slightly more than a year away from launch.

GM has seen the value of this site, its readership, and what it represents and they have decided they want to “tell their own story.” Such is the birth of ChevroletVoltAge.com.

I of course shall carry on here, doing my best to interpret the news, developments, and discussion as it happens. We here have the tremendous advantage of unfiltered and uncensored information and discussion, without corporate cleansing.

It is my hope that both sites can coexist and bring value to one another. You will notice GM-Volt.com is linked out from the Chevy site and considered a friend. Content from here will also appear in their news feeds.

And the reality is my and our hope and dream for a world less dependent on oil has come one step closer.

Feel free to let me know what you think about this development, and any ideas you have for our future direction. I greatly value your opinions. While you’re at it, enjoy the Volt IVer production video GM has put up to launch the site:

I had the chance to ask Andrew Farah who is the Chevy Volt’s chief engineer, and former engineer on the EV-1 program about whether GM may spread the Voltec range-extended electric powetrain into other vehicles like trucks.

Are you configuring new battery pack designs for use in other vehicles such as people movers?
We call this portfolio planning. We look at our whole list of vehicles and try to figure out what should be next for the Voltec powertrain. We announced the Ampera which is a re-styling of the same architecture. The Converj is a little different approach. It’s a global compact delta, with a different interior and probably a little different battery pack structure, although it’ll have most of the same guts.

What about building trucks on the Voltec platform?
Yeah, but there is an issue generally speaking. You have to remember part of what enables this to work is an extremely efficient vehicle in a sense of its road load. What that means is lower, lighter, more aerodynamic and smaller.

So you wont get 40 miles of range in a truck, but can you supplement a truck with the battery?
You can, but if you’re not hitting the sweet spot of 78% of the driving American public, how many will you sell? Everyone of these things in the portfolio has to be viable.

So you don’t see it going to pickup trucks?
Me personally, I don’t, but I don’t get to set the portfolio. Now if they call me tomorrow and say Andrew you’re the chief engineer of the new Voltec pickup truck, guess what? By golly, I’m making one.

What if the cells get cheap enough?
To give you an example let me go back to my old days with the EV-1. We had the EV1 it was beautifully efficient small, and we also did a pickup truck. As a matter of fact there are still a few in captivity in the public’s hands. This was an interesting case, they’re out there and they’re still running around driving, but they didn’t go very far on a charge. They didn’t because they’re heavy and non-aerodynamic. They went about 40 miles total range. They were set up for light duty fleet usage in an extremely limited area. You could say isn’t there a market for these things?, but that market is very sensitive to cost.

If cells were ¼ of their current price couldn’t you theoretically use a larger battery pack?
I could throw in more modules, but right now my focus is the Volt. From a Volt prospective there are no major plans for changing the battery pack in size or energy in the next generations.

Though he says, "future product plans beyond what we’ve talked about publicly I cannot comment on," Bob Kruse who is Andrew Farah’s boss, and GM Director of Hybrids and EVs also admits, "In this business you can never say never."