1. Center for Advanced Vehicle Technologies

2. Origin of the CAVT UA’s CAVT was established in fall 1998 through the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) The U.S. Department of Transportation and the Alabama Department of Transportation provide funding to UA for advanced vehicle research Current DOT funding is $800K/yr less “tax”

3. Vision of the CAVT Promote the development of efficient, safe, secure, economical, durable, comfortable, user-friendly and environmentally-conscious vehicles for meeting the transportation needs of America through discovery, research and education.

4. CAVT Goals Develop a new generation of innovative vehicles Conceive and apply computer-based tools Discover new knowledge through research and development Educate engineering and science professionals for the vehicle industry

5. CAVT Achievements CAVT is now in its 5 th year. CAVT sponsored 24 studies in first four years; 12 are currently underway To date, 74 fractional FTE faculty-years, 10 post-doc- years, 58 GRA-years, 10 speakers, and many undergraduates funded Projects in all departments in the College of Engineering and the Dept. of Chemistry in Arts & Sciences Estimated $2.3 million in research funding provided from CAVT/DOT, plus $1.4 million UA and other cost share Spin-offs and initiation: over $5 million For each DOT dollar spent, $2 is added from UA, partner, spin-off and research initiation

6. Future Activities CAVT reauthorization funds for next 5-6 years will be requested in 2003 (?) from Federal Transit Authority rather than from FHA, the current funding source Request is aimed primarily at fuel cells and hybrid-electric vehicles

7. Future Technical Thrusts Fuel cells NVH and controls Materials and manufacturing processes for vehicles Hybrid electrics (IC engine + electric motor) Award winning Ballard/UA/ Freightliner APU project

8. Partnering & Research Initiation Alabama and SE region offer good opportunities for fuel cell and hybrid electric research- CAVT will go find them! Note that Mercedes and Hyundai both build fuel cell & hybrid electric vehicles, and make buses. Mercedes M-Class, Hyundai Santa Fe, Honda Odyssey- made in Alabama!

9. Leveraging Major CAVT proposals require partnering Leveraging with partners adds about 30% to the value of CAVT funded research Partners have included major companies, e.g. and government agencies– strong relation- ship is developing with Argonne National Lab

10. UA Fuel Cells Research The University of Alabama has made tremendous strides in fuel cells research over the past 5 years Fuel cell research began with seed funding from the Center for Advanced Vehicle Technologies Funding levels exceed $1M/yr on our campus, and involve 14 faculty in 4 departments

11. UA Hybrid Vehicles Research Strong foundation for hybrid vehicles research: Longstanding IC engine program focusing on alternative fuels and diesel engines (~$500K/yr) Electromechanical Systems Lab (EMSyL) is very successful in power electronics and large electric motor research (~$500K/yr)

12. Electromechanical Systems Lab UA produced electric vehicle testbed:

13. Structural Acoustic Lab Ballard/UA/Freightliner award-winning fuel cell APU project Detailed spatial vibration measurements Vibration isolation, structural damping Source location, directivity, and other acoustic characterizations Active control analysis, implementation Structural vibration and acoustic radiation modeling

14. $1M Earmark Research Program with Argonne Nat’l Lab Four research areas plus education component for upcoming year: Nanoscale design of autothermal reforming catalysts (~$225K) Design and integration of fuel cells (~$225K) Dynamic and acoustic studies (~$125K) Hybrid electric vehicle research (~$325K) Student education and training activities (~$100K)

15. Growing Hyundai relationship Hyundai Plant, Asan, South Korea 300,000 cars/yr Hyundai is building a plant near Montgomery to manufacture 300,000 Santa Fe SUVs and Sonata sedans per year

16. Growing Honda and Mercedes relationships Honda now doubling Odyssey plant near Lincoln Mercedes-Benz revamping M-Class, building new assembly plant for new vehicle near Tuscaloosa

17. Build Toyota Relationship Toyota is expanding its engine manufacturing facility near Hunt Toyota builds V-8 engines for Tacoma and Tundra pickups Annual production of 250,000 engines per year

18. Questions?