By Marilyn Odendahl, Truth Staff
modendahl@etruth.com
When drivers take an inaugural spin in an all-electric vehicle, Chris Schafer knows the fear will come at the first stop light.
Schafer, program manager of electric transportation for American Electric Power, routinely test drives hybrid-electric and all-electric cars. The autos provide a "cool sensation," he said, because the all-electric engines do not rumble and roar like their internal combustion cousins.
Which is why that first red traffic light gives first timers a scare. With an engine so quiet, many mistakenly think the car has died, leaving them stranded at an intersection.
"What I've seen so far, I'm really impressed with the technology," Schafer said of all-electric vehicles. "To me, it's going to work."
Others share Schafer's optimism that powering cars and trucks with the same energy used to power light bulbs is the wave of the future. The technology received a big push earlier this month when the Obama administration appropriated $2.4 billion to develop the next generation of electric vehicles. Indiana reaped more than $414 million for seven projects, a level of funding second only to Michigan, which received money for 11 projects.
A check for $39.2 million was handed over to Navistar International Corp. to develop, test and manufacture advanced battery electric delivery trucks in Elkhart County.
Since a number of Hoosier companies and organizations are working with lithium ion batteries as well as hybrid-electric and all-electric vehicles and components, Indiana has an opportunity to take a leadership position in this emerging field, said James Caruthers, professor of chemical engineering at Purdue University.
"This is not an easy playing field," Caruthers said of electric vehicle technology. "Indiana is competing with both coasts (of the United States) and the Far East. They are very good. There are no guarantees we will win."
Making batteries
Standing on the production floor of the Monaco RV plant in Wakarusa, President Barack Obama outlined his administration's plan to promote electric vehicles. He visited the plant in August and spoke to a crowd of mostly recreational vehicle workers.
"See, I don't want to just reduce our dependence on foreign oil and then end up being dependent on their foreign innovations," he said. "I don't want to have to import a hybrid car -- I want to be able to build a hybrid car here."
EnerDel Inc. in Indianapolis received $118.5 million -- the largest appropriation to any Indiana business -- to produce lithium-ion cells and packs for hybrid and electric vehicles. The funding is going to a key part of the new technology, Caruthers and Schafer said.
Batteries are the most expensive component of the electric vehicles and are mostly developed and manufactured in Asian countries, Caruthers explained. Schafer elaborated saying, funding battery companies in America will not only bring manufacturing jobs back but also reduce the cost which can hinder purchases of the vehicles.
"I think everything is there," he said. "It's just overcoming the cost hurdle in a way for consumers."
Navistar's entrance
During Obama's Wakarusa address, Navistar had two prototypes of its all-electric trucks parked behind the podium. Company officials committed to using the federal grant to build 400 all-electric vehicles in 2010 in Elkhart County which, they said, would bring hundreds of jobs.
While the creation of new jobs was welcomed in the county, analysts who follow Navistar were less enthusiastic.
The Illinois-based company makes trucks, school buses chassis and engines and recently entered into the hybrid-electric market. As for the move to all-electric vehicles production, Ben Elias said, "This is just a natural progression and a natural evolution for anyone making any sort of vehicle."
Elias is a research analyst with Sterne, Agee & Leach Inc. Navistar's strategy to target the delivery truck market is "very good," he said, because businesses will most likely adopt to electric and hybrid-electric trucks faster than consumers will buy the new electric passenger cars.
However, Brian Rayle, analyst with Northcoast Research, doubts the all-electric trucks could gain much traction in the marketplace. Companies such as FedEx, Coca-Cola and UPS probably will purchase a couple but only to be able to say they are going green, he said.
"It's not a commercially-viable product yet," Rayle said of Navistar's all-electric truck.
Elias and Rayle agreed the cost of the vehicle is a major factor. A half a cent savings per mile on fuel can sway a company's decision on which brand to purchase, Elias said. So even with a high price tag, if the alternative fuel vehicles provide a savings and increase profitability, businesses may choose hybrids.
As for all-electric, Elias was not sure, saying those types of vehicles were "far away" while hybrids were already available.
Since the appeal all-electric trucks is currently limited and the cost could keep them on Navistar's lot, Rayle drew a conclusion county residents may not want to hear.
"I just don't see it generating a lot of jobs for quite a while," he said.