Automated Electronic Transportation Transforming America's Transportation Future

Oak Ridge National Laboratory Utah State University Texas A&M University National Renewable Energy Laboratory California Energy Commission Energy Intersection Inc. Argonne National Laboratory Austin Energy University of California PATH Program John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) AET Collaboration Contributing Organizations

AET Vision We envision a systematic transition to a national automated electric transportation system that dramatically improves America’s mobility and energy security. The system will: a) provide energy directly to vehicles from electrified highways— dramatically reducing their use of petroleum and the emission of CO2, and b) automate control of the vehicles while on the highways, reducing congestion, improving safety, freeing the driver’s time, and providing new in-vehicle services. The system will extend, not replace, our current highway system—vehicles capable of traveling on electrified automated highways will also be able to drive as conventional vehicles on conventional roadways.

Oil dependence –2/3 oil consumed for transportation –60% of oil is imported Vehicle emissions –66% of all Carbon Monoxide –38% of all Nitrogen Oxides –26% of all Volatile Organic Compounds –30% of all Carbon Dioxide Safety –Over 40,000 traffic fatalities per year –Over 3 million injured –Annual cost more than $200 billion Congestion – estimated annual cost of $64 billion

Possible Transition Path to AET

Implementation Plan Development of consensus roadmap ( ) First seed funding for architecture definition and enabling research (2010) National commitment of substantial research funding to: Resolve key technical obstacles Address institutional and political challenges Define staged deployment strategy Design system and national network Implement first specialized, limited-scale applications (goods movement) National decision on large-scale deployment

Identified Challenges Technical feasibility Wireless power transfer to moving vehicles Automated driving technology (fault handling) Public and private sector roles in funding, development and operation of system Public and industry acceptance of such a large change and its associated up-front costs Network effects (large scale needed to gain large benefits) Liability Electric utility questions: How will they serve and price the new loads? Dynamics of power flows (bidirectional)

Roadmap Outline Goals Critical System Requirements Major Challenges RDD&D Pathways Financial, Policy, and Organizational Pathways Timeline Resource Needs

Desired Roadmap Outcomes Concise, cohesive report Describing vision and pathways to get there Consensus-oriented Inclusive of technology, deployment, regional options Delineating initial technology, financial, policy, and organizational paths forward Aggressive but realistic goals / timeline Industry / Government / University Participation National RDD&D program plan

Potential Stakeholders Industry (must eventually adopt ownership role) Utilities Infrastructure providers System Integrators Component and technology providers including vehicle OEM’s Investors Government DOE EERE; DOT FHWA; EPA; DOC; DOI; DOD; DHS State Agencies National Labs (DOE; DOT; DOD; etc.) Research Universities Transportation and environmental interest groups

For More Information See our report at:

Next Steps Contact: Jeff Muhs Ted Fox Christine Ehlig-Economides

The Federal Transportation Landscape Interdependent, but jurisdictionally-separated policies and R&D pathways R&D pathways stove-piped No current pathway attempts to address all challenges simultaneously…..AET does DOT DOE EPA Safety & Congestion Energy Efficiency Air Quality & other environ- mental residuals Federal Government DOD DHS DOI DOC DOA

The fundamental paradigm hasn’t changed appreciably for a century. Paradigm: Self-propelled vehicles driven on conventional roadways by humans will be the primary method of land transportation for the next 50 years. Question: Is this “systems-level” paradigm, from which all major transportation R&D pathways are derived, still valid?

Electrification problematic in self-propelled vehicles Batteries Limited range and excessive weight may be looking for “unobtainium” because it requires less institutional risk than transformational systems-level change Hydrogen Losses incurred during catalytic cracking of hydrocarbons are not offset by efficiency of H 2 fuel cells Electrolysis, distribution, storage and conversion of H 2 incurs heavy energy losses relative to using electricity directly On-board storage highly problematic (-423ºF liquid; 90,000 psi gas; 100 kilos/gal equivalent w/ metal hydride Does not leverage electricity’s value as energy carrier Electricity 100 X more efficient as energy carrier than vehicles Revisiting in-motion energy transfer a viable option

The technical challenges are considerable but dramatic advancements have been made in recent years: Electricity distribution / delivery - smart grid Safe and reliable power transfer - near-field inductive, resonance, & direct Vehicle power electronics Control systems & automation

Example: Preliminary Results of ORNL Evanescent Power Transfer Initial examination of evanescent wave power transfer (loosely coupled magnetic resonance) funded by lab “seed money” Demonstrated 300W power transfer with 82% efficiency Analysis indicates efficiencies in low to mid-90% range at distances of 1 ft. Efficiency is fairly constant over frequency; power transfer very peaked