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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2010. Review of the Research Program of the FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership: Third Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12939.
×

REVIEW OF THE RESEARCH PROGRAM OF THE FreedomCAR AND Fuel Partnership

THIRD REPORT

Committee on Review of the FreedomCAR and Fuel Research Program, Phase 3

Board on Energy and Environmental Systems

Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences

NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL
OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS

Washington, D.C.
www.nap.edu

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2010. Review of the Research Program of the FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership: Third Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12939.
×

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
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NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.

This study was supported by Contract/Grant No. DE-AC26-08NT06206 between the National Academy of Sciences and the U.S. Department of Energy. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project.

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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2010. Review of the Research Program of the FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership: Third Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12939.
×

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES

Advisers to the Nation on Science, Engineering, and Medicine


The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone is president of the National Academy of Sciences.


The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Charles M. Vest is president of the National Academy of Engineering.


The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg is president of the Institute of Medicine.


The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone and Dr. Charles M. Vest are chair and vice chair, respectively, of the National Research Council.


www.national-academies.org

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COMMITTEE ON REVIEW OF THE FREEDOMCAR AND FUEL RESEARCH PROGRAM, PHASE 3

VERNON P. ROAN, Chair,

University of Florida (professor emeritus), Gainesville

DEBORAH LYNN BLEVISS, Independent Consultant,

Falls Church, Virginia

DAVID L. BODDE,

Clemson University, South Carolina

KATHRYN BULLOCK,

Coolohm, Inc., Blue Bell, Pennsylvania

HARRY E. COOK, NAE,1 

University of Illinois (professor emeritus)

GLENN A. EISMAN,

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York

W. ROBERT EPPERLY, Consultant,

Mountain View, California

WILLIAM D. ERNST,

EnerSysCon, Troy, New York

DAVID E. FOSTER,

University of Wisconsin, Madison

GERALD GABRIELSE,

NAS,2 Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts

LINOS JACOVIDES,

Delphi Research Labs (retired), Grosse Pointe, Michigan

HAROLD H. KUNG,

Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois

CHRISTOPHER L. MAGEE,

NAE, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge

CRAIG MARKS, NAE,3

Altarum, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan

GENE NEMANICH,

Chevron Hydrogen Systems (retired), Scottsdale, Arizona

BERNARD ROBERTSON,

NAE, DaimlerChrysler Corporation (retired), Bloomfield Hills, Michigan

R. RHOADS STEPHENSON,

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (retired),

Consultant,

La Cañada, California

KATHLEEN C. TAYLOR,

NAE, General Motors Corporation (retired), Falmouth, Massachusetts

BRIJESH VYAS,

LGS Bell Labs Innovations, Florham Park, New Jersey

ERIC WILLIAMS,

Arizona State University, Tempe

1

National Academy of Engineering.

2

National Academy of Sciences.

3

Deceased.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2010. Review of the Research Program of the FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership: Third Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12939.
×

Subgroup on Systems Analysis and Simulation

Bernard Robertson, Lead

David L. Bodde

Harry E. Cook

David E. Foster

Harold H. Kung

Christopher L. Magee

Eric Williams

Subgroup on Advanced Combustion Engines and Emissions Control

David E. Foster, Lead

Deborah Lynn Bleviss

Harold H. Kung

Bernard Robertson

Kathleen C. Taylor

Subgroup on Electrochemical Energy Storage

Brijesh Vyas, Lead

Kathryn Bullock

Gerald Gabrielse

Linos Jacovides

Christopher L. Magee

Subgroup on Fuel Cells

Glenn A. Eisman, Lead

William D. Ernst

Gene Nemanich

Kathleen C. Taylor

Brijesh Vyas

Subgroup on Electric Propulsion, Electrical ystems and Power Electronics

Linos Jacovides, Lead

Kathryn Bullock

Harry E. Cook

William D. Ernst

Brijesh Vyas

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2010. Review of the Research Program of the FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership: Third Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12939.
×

Subgroup on Materials and Supplier Issues

Harry E. Cook, Lead

Deborah Lynn Bleviss

Glenn A. Eisman

W. Robert Epperly

Christopher L. Magee

Subgroup on Hydrogen Production and Delivery (including Off-Board Storage)

W. Robert Epperly, Lead

David L. Bodde

Glenn A. Eisman

Harold H. Kung

Gene Nemanich

R. Rhoads Stephenson

Eric Williams

Subgroup on Onboard Hydrogen Storage

Kathleen C. Taylor, Lead

William D. Ernst

Gene Nemanich

Christopher L. Magee

R. Rhoads Stephenson

Subgroup on Safety

R. Rhoads Stephenson, Lead

David L. Bodde

Harry E. Cook

W. Robert Epperly

Christopher L. Magee

Subgroup on Biofuels

Gene Nemanich, Lead

Deborah Lynn Bleviss

David L. Bodde

David E. Foster

Gerald Gabrielse

Gene Nemanich

Eric Williams

Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2010. Review of the Research Program of the FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership: Third Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12939.
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Subgroup on Electric Grid/Vehicle Charging Issues

David Bodde and Kathryn Bullock, Leads

Linos Jacovides

Brijesh Vyas

Project Staff

JAMES ZUCCHETTO, Director,

Board on Energy and Environmental Systems

LaNITA JONES, Administrative Coordinator

DANA CAINES, Financial Associate

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2010. Review of the Research Program of the FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership: Third Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12939.
×

BOARD ON ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEMS

DOUGLAS M. CHAPIN, Chair,

NAE,1 MPR Associates, Inc., Alexandria, Virginia

RAKESH AGRAWAL,

NAE, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana

WILLIAM F. BANHOLZER,

NAE, Dow Chemical Company, Midland, Michigan

ANDREW BROWN, JR.,

NAE, Delphi Corporation, Troy, Michigan

MARILYN BROWN,

Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta

MICHAEL L. CORRADINI,

NAE, University of Wisconsin, Madison

PAUL DeCOTIS,

Long Island Power Authority, Albany, New York

E. LINN DRAPER, JR.,

NAE, American Electric Power, Inc. (emeritus), Austin, Texas

CHRISTINE EHLIG-ECONOMIDES,

NAE, Texas A&M University, College Station

WILLIAM FRIEND,

NAE, Bechtel Group, Inc. (retired), McLean, Virginia

SHERRI GOODMAN,

CNA, Alexandria, Virginia

NARAIN HINGORANI,

NAE,

Consultant,

Los Altos Hills, California

DANIEL NOCERA,

NAS, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge

MICHAEL OPPENHEIMER,

Princeton University, New Jersey

MICHAEL P. RAMAGE,

NAE, ExxonMobil Research & Engineering Company (retired), Moorestown, New Jersey

DAN REICHER,

Google, Inc., Warren, Vermont

BERNARD ROBERTSON,

NAE, DaimlerChrysler Corporation (retired), Bloomfield Hills, Michigan

MAXINE SAVITZ,

NAE, Honeywell, Inc. (retired), Los Angeles, California

MARK H. THIEMENS,

NAS,2 University of California, San Diego

RICHARD WHITE,

Oppenheimer & Company, New York City

Staff

JAMES ZUCCHETTO, Director

DUNCAN BROWN, Senior Program Officer (until June 2010)

DANA CAINES, Financial Associate

ALAN CRANE, Senior Program Officer

JOHN HOLMES, Senior Program Officer

LaNITA JONES, Administrative Coordinator

MADELINE WOODRUFF, Senior Program Officer

JONATHAN YANGER, Senior Project Assistant

1

National Academy of Engineering.

2

National Academy of Sciences.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2010. Review of the Research Program of the FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership: Third Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12939.
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Preface

The FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership has undergone several changes since its formation in January 2002. Initially, the Partnership was between the U.S. government (primarily the U.S. Department of Energy [DOE]) and the U.S. Council for Automotive Research (USCAR), whose members are Chrysler LLC, the Ford Motor Company, and General Motors Company. Soon after its inception, in September 2003 five energy companies were added as members: BP America, Chevron Corporation, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil Corporation, and Shell Hydrogen (U.S.). More recently, in 2008, two major power companies, DTE Energy (Detroit) and Southern California Edison, were added as members.

The Partnership developed a roadmap including many individual milestones and technical targets to pursue the original goal of “a full spectrum of vehicles that can operate free of petroleum and harmful emissions while sustaining the driving public’s freedom of mobility and freedom of vehicle choice.”1 The long-term emphasis was on hydrogen fuel cell vehicles with hydrogen as the primary transportation fuel, but the Partnership envisioned utilizing transition technologies of advanced internal combustion engine vehicles and advanced hybrid electric vehicles en route to hydrogen/fuel cell vehicles.

With the change from the Bush to the Obama administration, there was an increase in emphasis on nearer-term technologies, especially those involving more electrification of the vehicles, such as plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. However, the charge to the Committee on Review of the FreedomCAR and Fuel Research Program, as well as presentations to the committee, involved performing an evaluation of activities between Phases 2 and 3, which included few activities

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2010. Review of the Research Program of the FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership: Third Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12939.
×

involving all-electric (battery electric vehicle or plug-in hybrid electric vehicle) technologies, or biofuels.

This report is the final full report, following a shorter letter report issued in July 2009,2 for Phase 3 of the study of the Committee on Review of the FreedomCAR and Fuel Research Program as chartered by the National Research Council in the fall of 2008. It provides an overview of the structure and management of the Partnership as well as a discussion of the Partnership’s adequacy, progress, and technical problem areas. Recommendations are also included in areas where the committee believes that improvements can be made.


Vernon P. Roan, Chair

Committee on Review of the FreedomCAR and Fuel Research Program

2

See Appendix B in this report.

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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2010. Review of the Research Program of the FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership: Third Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12939.
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Acknowledgments

The committee wishes to thank the members of the FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership, all of whom contributed a significant amount of their time and effort to this National Research Council (NRC) study by giving presentations at meetings, responding to requests for information, or providing valuable information. The chair also recognizes the committee members and the staff of the Board on Energy and Environmental Systems for their hard work in organizing and planning committee meetings and their individual efforts in gathering information and writing sections of the report.

This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the NRC’s Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their review of this report:

Paul Blumberg, NAE, Independent Consultant, and Ford Motor Company (retired),

Jay Hakes, Director, Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum,

Trevor Jones, NAE, ElectroSonics Medical, Inc.,

Fritz Kalhammer, Electric Power Research Institute (retired),

John Kassakian, NAE, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,

Jerome Milgram, NAE, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2010. Review of the Research Program of the FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership: Third Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12939.
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John Scott Newman, NAE, University of California, Berkeley,

William F. Powers, NAE, Ford Motor Company (retired),

Michael P. Ramage, NAE, ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company (retired),

Daniel Sperling, University of California, Davis, and

Richard Teets, Delphi Research Laboratories (retired).

Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations, nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Stephen Berry, NAS, University of Chicago. Appointed by the National Research Council, he was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the institution.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2010. Review of the Research Program of the FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership: Third Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12939.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2010. Review of the Research Program of the FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership: Third Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12939.
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Tables, Figures, and Boxes

TABLES

2-1

 

DOE Safety, Codes, and Standards Funding from FY 2006 Through FY 2010,

 

37

3-1

 

Selected Fuel Cell Stack Targets and Progress,

 

67

3-2

 

Centers of Excellence (COEs) Project Focus and Participating Organizations,

 

74

3-3

 

Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Budget Appropriations for Hydrogen Storage, FY 2007 through FY 2010,

 

76

3-4

 

Target Characteristics for Hybrid Electric Vehicle Batteries for 2010,

 

88

3-5

 

Target Characteristics for 2012 and 2014 for Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle Batteries,

 

89

3A-1

 

Technical System Targets: Onboard Hydrogen Storage for Light-Duty Vehicles,

 

111

4-1

 

DOE Cost Status and Targets for Distributed Hydrogen Generation from Water Electrolysis, 2006, 2012, 2017,

 

125

4-2

 

Cost Targets for Hydrogen Delivery and Dispensing,

 

129

5-1

 

Fuel Cell Technology and Related DOE Hydrogen Funding, FY 2009 and FY 2010,

 

147

Page xviii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2010. Review of the Research Program of the FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership: Third Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12939.
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5-2

 

Vehicle Technologies Program Funding, FY 2009 Appropriation and FY 2010 Estimate,

 

149

5-3

 

Estimate of DOE’s Congressional Budget Request for FY 2011 FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership Activities,

 

151

FIGURES

1-1

 

FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership organizational structure,

 

18

2-1

 

DOE safety, codes, and standards budget allocation, FY 2009 and FY 2010,

 

37

3-1

 

DOE advanced combustion engine research and development funding, FY 2009,

 

63

3-2

 

Fuel cell budget, FY 2007 through FY 2009,

 

66

3-3

 

Structure of the National Hydrogen Storage Project,

 

75

3-4

 

Current hydrogen storage system status versus revised targets,

 

79

3-5

 

Hybrid vehicle traction drive performance targets,

 

95

3-6

 

Schematic of parallel drive configuration for a hybrid vehicle,

 

95

3-7

 

Schematic of series drive configuration for a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle,

 

95

3-8

 

Schematic of series drive configuration, typical fuel cell vehicle configurations,

 

96

3-9

 

Schematic of series drive configuration, battery electric vehicle,

 

96

3-10

 

Schematic of typical power-split hybrid or plug-in hybrid electric vehicle powertrain configuration,

 

97

5-1

 

Distribution of funding from the Hydrogen Program for FY 2009,

 

148

5-2

 

Distribution of funding from the Vehicle Technologies program for FY 2009,

 

150

C-1

 

Organizational chart for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy,

 

192

BOXES

3-1

 

Fiscal Year 2009 Participating Organizations: Independent Projects in Hydrogen Storage,

 

75

3-2

 

Current Candidate Hydrogen Storage Materials Under Investigation,

 

80

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2010. Review of the Research Program of the FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership: Third Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12939.
×

DEDICATION

This report is dedicated to our dear friend and colleague Dr. Craig Marks (1929-2009), who served on all three National Research Council (NRC) committee reviews of the FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership, chairing the first two. Craig devoted most of his working career to advancing automotive technologies and generously volunteered his considerable knowledge and skills to work not only with this committee but also with all seven phases of its predecessor, the NRC committee that reviewed the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV) program. His many contributions, friendly manner, and thoughtful insights will be greatly missed.

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The public-private partnership to develop vehicles that require less petroleum-based fuel and emit fewer greenhouse gases should continue to include fuel cells and other hydrogen technologies in its research and development portfolio. The third volume in the FreedomCAR series states that, although the partnership's recent shift of focus toward technologies that could be ready for use in the nearer term--such as advanced combustion engines and plug-in electric vehicles--is warranted, R&D on hydrogen and fuel cells is also needed given the high costs and challenges that many of the technologies must overcome before widespread use.

The FreedomCAR (Cooperative Automotive Research) and Fuel Partnership is a research collaboration among the U.S. Department of Energy, the United States Council for Automotive Research - whose members are the Detroit automakers--five major energy companies, and two electric utility companies. The partnership seeks to advance the technologies essential for components and infrastructure for a full range of affordable, clean, energy efficient cars and light trucks. Until recently, the program primarily focused on developing technologies that would allow U.S. automakers to make production and marketing decisions by 2015 on hydrogen fuel cell-powered vehicles. These vehicles have the potential to be much more energy-efficient than conventional gasoline-powered vehicles, produce no harmful tailpipe emissions, and significantly reduce petroleum use. In 2009, the partnership changed direction and stepped up efforts to advance, in the shorter term, technologies for reducing petroleum use in combustion engines, including those using biofuels, as well as batteries that could be used in plug-in hybrid-electric or all electric vehicles.

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