Challenge Bibendum - Driving GM Builds Commitment for Gas-Friendly and Gas-Free Driving

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Home DISCOVERING THE SOLUTIONS Energies & vehicles Driving GM Builds Commitment for Gas-Friendly and Gas-Free Driving

Driving GM Builds Commitment for Gas-Friendly and Gas-Free Driving

06-8-2010 by Challenge Bibendum

Resume:
GM is committed to addressing the issue of petroleum dependence by improving the efficiency of ICEs, reducing tailpipe emissions to zero, developing advanced hybrid and Voltec electric propulsion technologies.

Working towards a more sustainable energy model

Petroleum has been the primary fuel for the automotive industry for more than 100 years. However, there are some big challenges to its continued predominance. Globally, more than 35 percent of today’s energy needs are met with petroleum. Meanwhile, overall energy demand is steadily increasing by about 2 percent per year. As a result, oil consumption is rapidly outstripping supply – largely because 96 percent of today’s vehicles remain dependent on petroleum.

For the automotive industry, this means there is still not a sustainable energy model. The industry requires a solution for reducing greenhouse gases and its dependence on oil. GM recognizes these issues and is working to dramatically improve the efficiency of conventional internal combustion engines and transmissions while ultimately reducing tailpipe emissions to zero. But that’s not enough. GM also recognizes the need to displace petroleum by diversifying energy sources used to fuel vehicles.

Diversifying energy sources with GM’s hybrid technology

For the past several years, GM has been a leader in developing solutions that build on these ideas, such as the GM-Allison Hybrid system in transit buses introduced in 2003, the GM Hybrid system that premiered in 2006 and the GM 2-Mode Hybrid system launched in 2007. Today, GM offers seven hybrids equipped with 2-Mode Hybrid technology, which improves city fuel economy by 40 percent in the Chevrolet Tahoe and Silverado, GMC Yukon/Yukon Denali and Sierra, and Cadillac Escalade/Escalade Platinum.

A technological leap with GM’s Voltec electric propulsion system

GM also has made significant investments in developing advanced lithium-ion battery and electric motor technologies. Later this year in the U.S., GM’s Chevrolet brand will make a major technological leap in the race to gas-free driving with the introduction of the revolutionary Chevrolet Volt. The Volt is an electric vehicle with extended-range capability. It debuts GM’s Voltec electric propulsion technology, which combines a 16-kWh lithium-ion battery, an electric drive unit and an engine generator. The Chevrolet Volt provides up to 60 kilometers of gas-free and emission-free electric driving. Once the Volt’s battery is depleted, the 1.4-liter engine generator provides power directly to the electric motors, for hundreds of additional kilometers of extended range.

What’s unique about the Voltec propulsion system is that its modular design enables the technology to be used in a number of vehicle configurations, from family sedans to multi-purpose vehicles – expanding the use of electric drive to even more drivers in the future. GM is already hard at work developing future battery technologies that will further improve affordability and efficiency.

Lithium-ion batteries to the fore

The Chevrolet Volt’s lithium-ion battery pack is comprised of more than 200 individual lithium-ion cells. The lithium-ion manganese-based chemistry developed specifically for the Volt’s battery pack provides nearly two to three times the power of a traditional nickel-metal hydride battery. The use of lithium-ion provides superior power, extended life, high efficiency, durability (the Volt’s battery will have a life expectancy of 10 years/240,000 kilometers), and a higher energy-to-weight ratio than traditional battery technologies.

An additional environmental benefit is the ease of recyclability of lithium-ion batteries, which are commonly used in consumer electronics. GM is studying ways for the Chevrolet Volt’s batteries to be reused after their expected in-vehicle lifecycle for various applications, including stationary power generators for use in homes during power outages, reducing the need for inefficient diesel and gasoline-powered emergency power generators.

Committed to developing electric propulsion technologies

GM’s commitment to developing electric propulsion technologies is reshaping the company in many ways. In January, GM announced plans to develop and build its own electric motors in house. Electric motors are the “engines” that transform electric energy into mechanical energy to drive the wheels of motor vehicles. This will help GM gain intricate knowledge on how to make the next generation of hybrid and electric vehicles even more efficient. This will ultimately save customers money, while at the same time further reducing the motor vehicle’s impact on the environment.

Electricity is going to play a major role in the advancement of the automobile in the next several decades. GM plans to continue to lead the way through the development of solutions that will help improve the natural environment while lessening the world’s dependence on petroleum.

Read also in this section:

- "EcoMeter Connect": Supporting Green Driving, Facilitating a Greener Society
- The electric car becomes a reality
- Lithium-based Batteries for Electric and Hybrid-Electric Vehicles
- Recent development program for fuel cell technology in Japan
- Air Liquide and the Hydrogen issue
- Progress of Internal Combustion Engines
- Surpercharging automobile engines
- Batteries for Electric and Hybrid Electric Vehicles
- New homogeneous combustion processes
- Engines downsizing
- Fuel cell technology, an innovative powertrain solution

Categories: Battery - Fossil fuels - Synthetic fuels - Energy transformer or storage - Emissions - Energy - ICE vehicles - Vehicles - Electric vehicles - Hybrid vehicles

Keywords: battery - electric - greenhouse gas - hybrid -

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