GM Volt Battery Plant to Cost $30 Million, … in 2010, and … be Converted From Existing Facility

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://gm-volt.com/2009/01/21/gm-volt-battery-plant-to-cost-30-million-will-open-in-2010-and-will-be-converted-from-existing-facility/

GM Volt Battery Plant to Cost $30 Million, Will Open in 2010, and Will be Converted From Existing Facility

January 21st, 2009

At the Detroit Auto Show GM finally announced that they awarded the Chevy Volt lithium-ion battery contract to LG Chem of Korea. They also shocked us with the revelation that GM itself would assume the role of pack-maker.

In so doing, they would have to build a free-standing advanced automotive battery pack plant, the first in the United States. The plant is intended to be in southeast Michigan.

GM’s Executive Director of Global Vehicle Engineering Hybrids, Electric Vehicles and Batteries, Robert Kruse told me that the plant will not be a new building, nor will it piggyback the Hamtramck Volt assembly plant as the CEO of Compact Power Inc. had previously suggested.

Instead, Kruse said there are “plenty of facilities in southeastern Michigan that we can make into battery pack facilities. I do not envision that this will be a new plant.”

…

[Idealism]

1. That is remarkably cheap for a fully functioning plant

[jedr]

5. I would guess it's less than what was spent on private jets and;

golf outings in the past year. It seems to be showing how easily all of this could have taken place years ago, but I guess Hummers were a better investment.

[OKIsItJustMe]

6. "I guess Hummers were a better investment." — Yeah, they were (unfortunately)

http://rumors.automobilemag.com/6449943/green/2008-us-hybrid-sales-drop-99-percent/index.html

2008 U.S. Hybrid Sales Drop 9.9 Percent

andrew.peterson
Posted Today 09:50 AM by Andrew Peterson
Category: Green, Hybrid

Hybrid sales dropped 9.9 percent in 2008 as the auto market collapsed and fuel prices dipped below $2.00 a gallon in the second half of 2008.

At the 2009 Detroit auto show, GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz said “at $1.50 a gallon, the American public is not willing to pay for fuel-saving technology.” Hybrid sales from 2008 seem to support his statement. Chrysler and GM were the only two companies to increase hybrid sales, but that wasn’t hard for Chrysler as it didn’t offer any hybrids in 2007. Chrysler sold a total of 81 hybrids in 2008 and GM sold 14,439 versus 5175 in 2007. GM released the Malibu, Tahoe, Escalade, and Yukon hybrids for 2008.

Toyota has always been number one in hybrid sales followed by Honda, and each company’s hybrid sales fell 12.5 percent in 2008. Even the segment-leading Toyota Prius reflected the decline with sales dropping nearly 30 percent in the second half of 2008. Toyota sold 91,440 Prius hybrids in the first half of 2008 and only 67,444 units in the second half when fuel prices and the economy started to decline.

While there are cars offered in Europe that offer astounding fuel economy figures, there are only a few offered in the U.S. “North American is catching up with the rest of the world- particularly the North American consumer- on the importance of these things,” said Harold Krivan, president of the consulting firm Sawgrass Solution LLC. Mike Jackson, CEO of AutoNation Inc., said that cheap gasoline and government mandated fuel economy is a disaster. Jackson went on to say that if the government is going to mandate fuel-efficiency, it needs to use a gas tax to encourage consumers to buy the more fuel efficient vehicles.

…

http://www.istockanalyst.com/article/viewiStockNews/articleid/2976630

GM Exec Says Consumer Desires at Odds With Government Regulations

Friday, January 23, 2009 7:52 AM

Detroit

…

Auto manufacturers scrambled to meet demand as consumers abandoned large SUVs and trucks, Detroit's stronghold, for small cars as fuel prices reached $4 a gallon over the summer.

Congress responded with new fuel-economy standards that demanded automakers meet a 35-mpg standard by 2020. Automakers, in turn, changed product plans and began investing in expensive new technology to meet those standards.

Then, a funny thing happened. Demand for small cars and fuel- efficient gas-electric hybrids bottomed out in the face of a slumping economy, tightening credit and gas prices that dropped as low as $1.50 a gallon.

…

"A lot of the media and pundits are maintaining the fiction that we're in a new world and that Americans want small, fuel-efficient cars. But at a buck-fifty a gallon, they don't. I'm sorry, but they just don't."

…

[OKIsItJustMe]

2. Q&A with GM’s hybrid chief Robert Kruse

http://features.csmonitor.com/innovation/2009/01/22/qa-with-gms-hybrid-chief-robert-kruse/

Q&A with GM’s hybrid chief Robert Kruse

By Mark Clayton | 01.22.09

General Motors was the first major auto maker to announce it would build a plug-in hybrid vehicle. The Chevrolet Volt will be a new-type of car that goes 40 miles on a single charge before a gasoline engine kicks in to recharge batteries. President Obama has said such vehicles are key to unhooking the nation from foreign oil dependence.

Yet finding battery technology with the right cost, safety, durability, and performance is critical. Robert Kruse, GM’s executive director of global vehicle engineering for hybrids, electric vehicles, and batteries, explained his thoughts on emerging plug-in hybrid vehicle battery technology in an interview with the Monitor. For the full story on http://features.csmonitor.com/innovation/2009/01/22/worldwide-race-to-make-better-batteries/">the worldwide race for better batteries, click here.

On how far lithium-ion battery technology has come on safety, cost, durability, and performance – and whether it is ready for prime time:

RK: When we introduced this concept not long ago, it seemed to resonate. So we said, ‘Hey we’ve got to figure out how to do this. The battery didn’t exist. We went through a very elaborate search of cell chemistry and construction. I want to say we looked at hundreds in the early days of the volt. And in that process, we developed what I would describe as probably one of the most rigorous cell assessment processes in the industry…. That enabled me a year ago to pick A123 and one of their cells, and LG Chem and one of their cells, coupled with a couple of pack suppliers…. We selected LG as the cell source for Gen-one Volt; and we are also very intrigued and attracted to some of what A123 has to offer and are continuing to do advanced development with A123 for future applications – just not Gen-one Volt.

…

[oldnslo]

3. Has anybody thought about the impact of all these plug-ins?

If everybody switches to plug-in cars, our electrical system won't be able to handle it, and there will be massive problems. I haven't seen a word about this anywhere, and it should be a topic for discussion at some level. The cost of rebuilding all our electrical grids would be staggering.

[kristopher]

4. Yes they've thought about it, our system can handle it,

There won't be massive problems, and I suppose you haven't looked in the right places.

Start here: http://knol.google.com/k/-/-/15x31uzlqeo5n/1#
see table 1 and if you want more, follow the references and links.

[OKIsItJustMe]

9. If I may offer a slightly more nuanced answer

Yes, "they've" thought about it a great deal. In short, generating capacity will probably need to be increased. Electricity prices will probably go up.

Here's a recent, very thorough study:

http://www.ornl.gov/info/ornlreview/v41_1_08/regional_phev_analysis.pdf

Potential Impacts of Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles on Regional Power Generation

Stanton W. Hadley
Alexandra Tsvetkova

January 2008

OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORY
Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831
managed by
UT-BATTELLE, LLC
for the
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
under contract No. DE-AC05-00OR22725

…

5. Summary

In aggregate, the model predicts an increase in demand, generation, electricity prices, and emissions from the utilities created by the introduction of PHEVs. It also suggests that by 2030 almost all regions (10 out of 13) will need to add capacity to provide for charging PHEVs, mostly in the scenario where PHEVs are charged at 6 kW in the evenings. In all likelihood, to avoid these problems the utilities in the regions would expand their capacity, increase their imports, or establish demand response programs beyond the level that NEMS had calculated, but these factors were not modeled in the scenarios.

The specific results differ from region to region and are to varying extent sensitive to the alterations of the scenario considered. Some of the indicators are less sensitive to the charging rate, others to time of charging. Predicted changes in the Western Electricity Coordinating Council – Northwest Power Pool Area are all the same regardless of the analysis setting. Overall, increase in generation is least responsive to the set up, while price is the most sensitive. The changes in emissions levels do not follow any constant patterns; in some regions they are higher with night recharging, in some with evening recharging, depending on the predicted generation mix and capacity available to satisfy increased demand.

Electricity price is the most sensitive indicator estimated by the model. Depending on the scenario, price may increase by only 1.2% - 2.7% (in WECC – RMP/ANM) or, for evening recharging at 6 kW, by as much as 141% (in FRCC), 196% (in WECC-CA) and 297% (in SERC). In contrast to what was suggested by other research (Kinter-Meyer, Schneider and Pratt, 2007), the model predicts increases in electricity prices for almost all regions. The most likely explanation for this is the competitive electricity market assumption incorporated into the model. Increased demand, which has to be met by the capacity planned without consideration of possible effects of PHEVs, drives prices up. The only region that, under certain circumstances, may experience price drops is FRCC. If the hybrids’ owners prefer to recharge their vehicles at night and less powerful batteries are utilized for hybrid production (1.4 kW or 2 kW), this will exert downward pressure on prices, which may decrease by 3.2% and 2.2% respectively. This result is contingent on time of recharging. If the owners plug in their PHEVs earlier, electricity prices may increase by 41 to 141%.

The generation mix varies substantially from region to region, as well as regions’ means of satisfying the increased demand associated with PHEV market penetration. The majority of regions are likely to use their coal and gas technologies. Some of the regions may increase their oil based electricity generation (e.g., MAAC and NPCC – NY), which may diminish the positive effects of PHEVs. Other regions are expected to increase their renewable electricity generation as a response to the increased demand (e.g., WECC – NW). The evening charging scenario is more likely to increase oil-based generation, while later charging is more conductive to adding renewable generation. Coal plays a role mainly in the Midwest and South, and generally during night charging periods, as in the VACAR region described earlier. A few regions show renewables, mainly biomass, as a marginal fuel. New England has the largest amount, with power coming from wood-fired power plants. The NPCC/New York region shows a large component of oil-fired generation, despite oil representing less than 7% of generation in the region. There are a number of plants that can operate with either natural gas or residual fuel oil, and ORCED modeled them as running on oil because of the lower cost of fuel.

…

[madokie]

7. For the most part the charging would be during the off peak times such as at night

when we have plenty of unused capacity and few users.

[OKIsItJustMe]

8. Supposedly, GM's Volt™ will have a timer

so you can plug it in when you get home, but it won't start charging until off-peak.

Of course, I can get one of those from RadioShack for $http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2102613">10. ;-)