Ford on Board for Fleet Electrification
Ford has been selected for two grants from the Department of Energy (DOE) under stimulus funding for the Fleet Electrification program. The program is designed to accelerate viable commercial volumes of electrified vehicles and vehicle to grid infrastructure development.
One grant, for $30 million dollars, will help fund Ford’s collaboration with utility partners across the nation – with an expansion of a vehicle demonstration and grid integration program.
In addition, Ford will receive a $62.7 million DOE grant for production of an electric-drive transaxle for its hybrid vehicles at the Ford Van Dyke transmission manufacturing facility in Sterling Heights, Mich. This grant will be matched by Ford.
Getting charged up
The DOE grants announced this week support Ford’s aggressive vehicle electrification strategy, which includes the introduction of battery electric vehicles (BEV), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) and next-generation hybrids (HEV).
The vehicles include:
- Ford Transit Connect BEV small commercial van in 2010
- Ford Focus BEV passenger car in 2011
- Next-generation hybrid in 2012
- Plug-in hybrid in 2012
DOE grant funds also will support production of electric drive system components at Ford partner Magna, for the Ford Focus BEV as well as Johnson Controls, Inc. which will supply batteries for Ford’s plug-in hybrid vehicle in 2012.
Power through partnerships
Commercialization of battery electric vehicles is a critical element for improving U.S. energy security and reducing greenhouse gas emissions with sustainable transportation. It requires collaboration between automakers as the vehicle providers, utilities as the fuel providers and the government in support of advanced technologies for the mass market.
Ford was the first automotive manufacturer to partner with the utility industry in a shared effort to understand all of the issues related to PHEV technology and its interconnectivity with the electric grid.
Ford’s key utility partners include:
- Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI)
- Southern California Edison
- New York Power Authority
- Consolidated Edison of New York
- American Electric Power of Columbus, Ohio
- Alabama Power of Birmingham, Ala.; and its parent, Atlanta-based Southern Company
- Progress Energy of Raleigh, N.C.
- DTE Energy of Detroit
- National Grid of Waltham, Mass.
- Pepco Holdings
- New York State Energy and Research Development Authority, a state agency
Ford also has announced key collaborations with:
- Smith Electric Vehicles, Europe’s leading battery electric commercial vehicle upfitter engaged by Ford to help bring the Transit Connect BEV, a small commercial van, to market in 2010
- Magna International, the supplier jointly developing the Ford Focus BEV passenger car for 2011
- Johnson Controls-Saft, the battery supplier for Ford’s first production PHEV coming to market in 2012
QUOTES
“Broad commercialization of electric transportation is not something a car company can achieve on its own. Producing the vehicles is not enough to create a viable market. For widespread adoption, the infrastructure to support the technology needs to be in place, we need to ensure that the national electric grid can support increased electric demand by the vehicles, and we need to ensure that electrified vehicles provide a real value for consumers.”
– Sue Cischke, Ford group vice president, Sustainability, Environment and Safety Engineering
