Panelists Predict Smart Grid Cars in Five Years

By Fredrik Wass

Soon electric cars will be connected to the smart grid, managing and monitoring our energy consumption.

“We want cold beer and hot showers, please let’s have cars talking to each other.” Those were the words of Sven Thesen from electric car battery network company Better Place, during a panel debate about the networked car at Green:Net 09 conference in San Francisco.

The range and the prices of batteries are two main hurdles introducing the electric car according to the panel.

“We need to make a charging infrastructure. It starts with the interface. We want the ability to do roaming. The primary goal is a simple system for the driver” said Richard Lowenthal CEO, Coulomb Technologies.

As in almost any panel debate today, the need for standards was also addressed.

“It’s boring, but it has to be done. But the good news is that the technology is there, we just need to do it,” said Thesen.

The panel also discussed what sort of incentive structures could be put in place so that people would want to take part in the program in order to take the networked car and connect it to the grid. Incentive bills from the utility companies to make the transition from gas to electric power in consumer economy was one of the suggestions. And of course charging stations is a big issue.

“You want to be able to choose an electric car next time you buy a car, without being worried about where to charge it,” said Richard Lowenthal.

“We need federal guarantees and loans for batteries. Batteries are expensive,” said Sven Thesen, stressing the importance of policies and governmental interference with the market.

In just a few years we’re going to see much more smart technology in our electric cars, suggested Rolf Schreiber, RechargeIT Engineer, Google.

“In five years we’re going to have vehicles pretty well connected to the grid. The user will be able to pick a charger profile. The cars will also be smart about how we manage the energy. What you will see is much more user choices and interactivity in the car.” he said.

Comments

[31October]

I was on committees like this for a while and learned one thing: There is nothing dumber than professors with too many letters behind their names.

These are the same people who said we would be eating protein cubes while riding in self-driving pod cars by 1980.

Technology that cannot use existing infrastructure is useless:
The smart grid on a household scale requires that every single item in your household be brand-new, with networked chips and connections. Better hope Microsoft doesn't do the programming.

The "incentives" these geniuses want would be tax subsidies for their private companies, an agency to oversee them, and IRS agents to interpret them. Subsidies would be paid for by taxpayers who cannot afford a million dollar smart house.

If government focus was on storage technologies (batteries, ultracapacitors, flywheels) and the smart macro-scale grid, then maybe the USA could have more efficiency.

But instead we just paid for airheads to come up with daydreams. Great...

2009 Mar 25 11:48 AM

[Mister Jimmy]

GM is already working with 30 utility companies and consumer groups to develop a strategy for how the Chevy Volt will work in the real world (a fact that will never be a headline feature on this thread).....

jalopnik.com/399052/gm...

2009 Mar 25 11:59 AM

[Buho1945]

Yep, the smart cars will go together with the smart people. Sure, no problem.

Agree with 31October, neither the professors or the journalist that lack enough science education to push back on mor-onic concepts, know what the heck they speak of.

Next time I need a high school dropout to get me an answer to a scientific question, I'll check with a Hollywood star or a baseball player.

2009 Mar 25 12:06 PM

[2222]

There is a clear misconception that batteries will save the world. I don't know about you but my Lithium Ion Battery for my cell phone dies in about 8 months and its expensive to replace ($30). The automotive duty cycle is hard enough just hauling our butts around. Now lets think about smart grids that transfer power in and out of our car battery more frequently, factor in the charge time as well as the fact that if the battery is too hot or too cold (like in my driverway this winter) you get butkis for storage and you have a no-go in my mind. I like the Volt concept for a commuter car but all these jokers that see the car plugged in and use it to sell power to the grid are wacked, that means we are using gasoline to make electricity to put on the grid. A million small power plants can't be as effecient as one big electric power plant. Then what about our desire to get off of imported oil and the emissions from all those cars idling all day? I just don't see it as viable. We need to switch to natural gas and then to hydrogen and we better do it soon.....

2009 Mar 25 02:17 PM

[Mister Jimmy]

2222, there are electrical power outlets in nearly every garage in America. Conceivably, compressed natural gas (CNG) could also be procured from household sources, but not so with hydrogen. Plus, the infrastructure would need to be created (not cheap). Lastly, if people think the $40K required to purchase a Volt will be out of reach, the technology cost per vehicle for CNG and hydrogen will be even less attractive to them.

2009 Mar 25 02:56 PM

[babyray]

As long as these vehicles are manufactured in the US. I am all for it.Be American!! Buy American!! Drive American!!

2009 Mar 25 05:06 PM

[THofler]

I am a big fan of the plan that GM has laid out for the Chevy Volt, assuming GM survives. Though I would encourage GM to consider a 10 or 15 mile range battery option for lower purchase prices, with options for 40 & 60 mile batteries. I think the series hybrid system has big efficiency gains while burning gasoline compared to parallel or Prius. Even better with diesel!

I agree with some of the other comments. Stick with simple nighttime charging in the garage. If you want to experiment with a few charging stations, fine.

But when it comes to the longevity limits of even the best batteries, it is insane to use electric car batteries to store energy for the grid. And I hope that the futuristic planners aren't dumb enough to think that the bad economics of it can be fixed with tax or utility incentives.

2009 Mar 25 07:23 PM