Pettit's positive electric potential
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John Darker interviews Sir Dan Pettit
ME National Freight Corpolotion under Sir Dan Pettit's ;hairmanship was interested n the future of electric rehicles before the world enargy crisis in 1974/5. An appendix to "Lorries and the NorId We Live In", published in 1973, stressed the environmental aspects of lorry use in towns. It speculated that marked battery improvement would be unlikely befor the late 1970s, with effective fuel cell devices some years later.
Sir Dan claimed that the NFC was prompted by environmental pressures initially, but that by 1975, the company was as quick as anyone to see the potential of electric vehicles from the energy side. "We could not claim to be pacemakers unless we helped the industry — with our techincal and marketing resources — to think and plan ahead."
In research and development in transport. outside the petroleum giants, operations such as the NFC and the SPD group made much of the running — understandable in view of the fragmented nature of the haulage industry The pace of development would be affected by the national economy which interacts with transport so intimately. Pressures for growing affluence would continue and require a focusing of effort, as fossilbased fuel supplies are predicted to outstrip resources in the 1985-1990 period.
Sir Dan foresees a period of improvisation with alternative medium-term solutions jostling for investment funds. As he says, the world does not lack energy sources; the big question is how to transform them into usable power for transport, and other necessities
-We in the NEC are backing the long-term, permanent, answer," he said "There is no question, in my view, that it will be electric power, however derived, for solar and wave power
will be converted into electric power for general usage. There are posibilities with 'syncrude' — a mix of coal and oil — and there is natural gas and log, but ultimately we must depend upon electric power as a motive force for vehicles."
Britain's annual consumption of oil products amounts to some 88m tons, of which motor spirit amounts to 17.3m tons and gas/diesel oil 13.9m tons. "There could be a run on the bank,'" said Sir Dan. "Our dilemma is that the affluent society depends on hydrocarbon oil."
The NFC, and Sir Dan himself, have clearly given considerable thought to the implications of the impending transport revolution. Living and working patterns for instance, may change. Some years ago Birds Eye developed a phone-selling system for shop-keepers designed to cut out weekly calls from salesmen, said Sir Dan. Five-weekly visits by salesmen were found to be adequate. with huge cost savings in time and transport.
The road /rail balance could be altered. We could see nuclear-powered engines on railways. Long-distance road trunking vehicles could use diminishing supplies of diesel fuel. Moving pavements could be installed in city centres.
Wally Batstone, the NFC's chief engineer, who was with Sir Dan, noted that when horseless carriages were introduced they were three times as costly as the horses they replaced. Apart from the higher first cost of an electric van today (1.9.1) there were already marked operational cost savings.
Sir Dan, talking of the suitability of today's electric vehicles for urban deliveries, suggested that so many London deliveries can be encompassed within a radius of 80km which compares with a minimum range on one charge of 80112km.
The NFC is concerned with the varying types of infrastruc ture support for the electric vehicle era. This means that there must be increased prudence in the location of de pots and transhipment faciltities in big cities. The analogy of horse relays — so often earlier transport experience is recapitulated in a modified form — was mentioned by Sir Dan. In prac tical terms the transport infrastructure would tie in with energy supply sources and vehicles needing battery replenishment would be based accordingly.
Wally Batstone said the NFC objective is to encourage the development of larger vehicles than the Silent Karrier, as used by National Carriers, with the likely development of a 7.5 tonne vehicle, giving a carrying capacity of 3-31/2 tonnes. It would use the projected sodium sulphur battery. Chrysler had yet to finalise the design configuration, but it seemed that the vehicle would be built around the battery package and the more compact motor, and associated drive-gear under development.
Mr Batstone said the first batteries installed on the KC40 weighed around 30cwt and provided 28-30 watts per kilo of battery weight. The life cycle was 650 duty cycles, equal to a three-year life. The "deep" cycle life was within the range of 300-400 cycles. Today, a battery would give, up to 37 watts per kilo weight and almost 1,000 deep cycles, equivalent to five years' life.
Sir Dan stressed that cost barriers could develop in a number of areas. The imponderables had yet to emerge; when would hydrocarbon fuel become scarce? What would be the effect of increasingly onerous vehicle constraints in towns?
As fossil fuels became more expensive the tendency for electric vehicle total costs to reduce could make for a crunch point between 1985 and 1990, and the momentum would ultimately be in geometric proportion.
There was some confirmation of the NFC diagnosis by the major oil producers, said Sir Dan. He understood from Exxon that much money was now going into energy transformation from open-cast coal sources. Exxon was worried about demand and supply problems with hydrocarbon oil and was re-defining the type of business it was in.
Sir Dan anticipates the likelihood that for a time the motor industry will have a foot in two or more camps. "I envisage a momentum being developed under the influence of cost factors which will lead to the era of electric propulsion."
However, the NEC is not blind to other alternatives in the short and medium term. Mr Batstone noted the successful development of lpg fuelled vehicles of 1 to 16 tons gross weight.
Sir Dan suggested that the NFC and others were pushing at the frontier of new technology. He quoted findings of a Department of Industry inquiry chaired by his old colleague, Harold Osborn, that 70 to 80 per cent of vehicles now powered by hydrocarbon fuels could be replaced by electric vehicles. All this added up to the approaching critical catalyst of change — even it might be a leap in the dark — to the era of electric propulsion. DEVELOPMENT of electric commercial vehicles and buses is progressing round the world and 250 people are expected at the Electric Vehicle Development Group's second international conference, at Sheffield, on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Besides papers from Britons there will be reports by an American, a German and a Belgian; a Russian delegation will be headed by Mr Nikanorov, Deputy Minister for the Automobile Industry.
The conference /demonstration programme has been called to examine the factors involved in using large numbers of high-performance vehicles. It is supported by the NEC (Sir Dan Pettit, chairman of the NFC, is president of the Electric Vehicle Development Group), NBC, South Yorkshire PTE, Greater Manchester PTE,. GLC, IRU, International Union' of Public Transport (UITP), Electrical Research Association, Lead Development Association, and Electronics 8t Power.
The Electric Vehicle Development Group, 59 Colebrook Row, London Ni 8AF, is now being constituted as a nonprofit-making company.
IN Esslingen, West Germany, a prototype Duo-bus, powered from electrical overhead lines, or off-wire from batteries, has been running successfully in public transport since December, 1976.
When driving on-wire the traction energy and capacity for recharging the battery is drawn from the overhead wires. This makes the bus more flexible than the conventional trolleybus. The relatively expensive overhead wires need be installed only on city-centre routes.
It is possible, through alternating the operation, as against a pure battery bus, to use the bus the whole day without battery change or recharging at outlying charging stations.
At Esslingen, with only one Duo-bus it is not possible to create a typical Duo-bus route with on and off-wire operation, says Mr K. Sahm, the city's director of transport, in his paper.
Therefore, for the purpose of testing, it drives along a trolleybus line 8.5km long. In one direction battery power is used, and in the other overhead wires — at the same time recharging.
The serviceability, performance and low noise level have proved excellent, he says.
The Duo-bus system has been developed by Robert Bosch (electric propulsion), Daimler-Benz (complete bus technique), Dornier (traffic hardware and energy transfer), and Varta (battery), and sponsored by the Ministry for Research and Technology.
The bus's energy consumption is almost the same as that of a trolleybus, and other points, for and against, are that
E The high weight of the vehicle necessitates a special registration for 18 tons admissible overall weight. 7 The maintenance of the battery, especially the topping up with distilled water, involves intensive work. E The life of the battery is a year or 31,250 miles (50,000km). E The total operating cost, including capital cost, is about 1.4 times higher thant that of a comparable diesel-bus operation.
The further development of the Duo-bus system will be carried on in two ways.
First, Duo-buses are being built with a more efficient battery. The improved battery has an automatic topping-up system (for distilled water), water cooler and, for replacement purposes, can be pulled out sideways like a drawer. Secondly, Duo-buses are being developed and built with alternating electro-diesel propulsion.
The expected total operating costs of this type of Duo-bus will be about 1 .1 times higher than those of diesel bus operation but lower than those of pure trolleybus operation.
Five Duo-buses — two with battery and three with electrodiesel propulsion — are being built.
The weight of the battery is relatively small and has a capacity of 230Ah by a rated voltage of 360. The battery weight comprises 15 per cent of the total vehicle weight. Thereby and through an increase in the permissible axle load it is possible to use the full carrying capacity of the bus.
The battery and the drive are parallel switched, so that on the one hand the energy for recharging the battery can be made available. Regenerative braking transmits the energy generated during vehicle braking into the battery, resulting in a saving more than 30 per cent.
The motor has a continuou output of 75kW and a shoe term output of 150kW. The to speed is restricted to 70km/ (44mph). The steepest gradier is 16 per cent.
A further key component i the automatic power collector For the effective use of the Duc bus it is essential that the powe collectors can be connected t. and disconnected from th, overhead wires without an' propulsion detraction.
To make this possible, Dor nier developed an automati, power collector device. Thi connection and disconnection i: initiated by the driver througl pressing a button.
THERE IS every reason to bE lieve that the age of electri vehicles is on the horizon, say Mr R. A. Purple, senior scientifi representative, United State Department of Energy, in hi paper.
Electric vehicles had seemei such an attractive option to th, inate that in 1976 it passed a Electric and Hybrid Vehicle search, Development, and )monstration Act, authorising 160m expenditure over five ars.
The Act was revised — and iproved — in February this ar, he said, and now requires e purchase of 200 to 400 actric vehicles in the current lancial year, 600 in 1979, 700 in 1980 and at least 500 in total during the suc• eding four years
In 1912 the USA made .000 electric commercial ihicles — probably the peak .oduction year.
Now there are only about 20 anufacturers of on-the-road attery-powered vehicles, )mpared with more than 100 the first two decades of the ntury.
The 1976 Act had mandated survey published this year, of lectric and hybrid vehicles.
Data collected on electric ahicles in use showed that the rpical operator can expect a iilure once every 300 miles, rhereas the typical internal ombustion-engined vehicle perator expects one failure very 3,000 miles.
However, where capabilities re matched to a suitable appliation, results have been found ery successful. Harbilt vans sed by the US postal serices were reported to have a allure rate of about one in ,000 miles — or to be about rvice as reliable as i/c engined ehicles.
The Act also requires perfor-lance standards for vehicles to e procured — initially a mini'turn range of 50km and cceleration of 0-50km / h in 12 econds for passenger vehicles, nd slightly lower standards in ome cases for commercial ehicles.
A near-term electric vehicle iroject initiated two years ago or vehicles that could be massgoduced in the early 1980s has nuch tougher performance .tandards a cruising speed of 55mph with a range of 140 niles at about 3bmph, and an icceleration rate of 0-30rnph in line seconds.
Further requirements require design life of 100,000 miles, maximum retail cost of (1975 lollars) $5,000, and ability to ;arry four passengers plus a 300Ib payload with a kerb rveight of only 3.0001b. The two hanufacturers selected, 3eneral Electric and the Garrett 2orporation, are making encou'aging progress.
The two manufacturers' 3pproaches have technical dif
ferences. For example, the Garrett design incorporates a lightweight high-speed flywheel, whereas General Electric emphasises lightweight, lowcost electronic controls.
A paper — on estimated supplies of transport fuels to the end of the century — will be given by Dr J. M. Barber, senior economic adviser, United Kingdom Department of Energy. He says that the predominant transport fuel at present is oil. Transport is a premium use of oil. If and when oil becomes more scarce and its price rises it will be the non-premium uses such as bulk heating which will be squeezed out first.
OPEC oil is currently the world's marginal fuel and is likely to remain so through to 1985. There will probably be sufficient oil available in 1985 to meet both premium and nonpremium demand at the current level of real oil prices though real oil prices could still rise, Availability of other transport fuels will be determined on a national rather than an international basis, says Mr Barber. Within the UK supplies of off-peak electricity should not constrain the market penetration of electric vehicles in 1985. At the end of the century there should be enough oil available for premium uses though real oil prices could be two to three times their present level. Electric vehicles could face strong competition within the United Kingdom for available supplies of off-peak electricity.
Among the other papers will be one by M. Bradford, engineering manager (power sources), Electricity Research Association, which will describe an outline feasibility study of a combined overhead mains and battery powered trolley-bus — the Combat bus. It is basically a double-decked 80 passenger electric bus which is powered from overhead lines for part of its route and is battery powered for the remainder of the route.
The paper concludes that the all-electric Combat bus could be introduced in most towns and cities at present using diesel buses, with negligible change in schedules.
"Operational requirements
and experience so far with battery busesis the title of a paper to be delivered by D. Scott Hellewell, controller of operations and planning, South Yorkshire PTE.
The paper will outline the type of services that have to be covered and requirements for psv and will describe the battery buses that the SYPTE has had under trial operation.
The paper will also identify those areas where, from an operator's point of view, progress must be made if battery vehicles are to fulfil the potential claimed for them.
From the Netherlands, from J. P. Grootes, manager, technical division, Van Gend en Soos NV, comes a paper on using electric vehicles between transhipment depots and the retailer.
Problems, he says, include consistency of the load regarding weight, dimensions and its ultimate destinations; specifications, dimensions, payload and legal restrictions; arid consistency of fleet and hierarchy of driving-staff.
Pedestrian areas, too are a problem as entry may be restricted part of the day; also there may be axle-load restrictions; which could practically bar electric vehicles with lead batteries..
Comparing his five electric vans with a low mileage and less working hours with a fleet of about 400 internal combustion engined vans with an average much higher mileage, the costs per km could be equal, he says.
Could this van be used a whole day compared with more ic powered vans during restricted hours, the advantage certainly would be in favour of the electric vehicle.
There is growing concern at the rising costs of purpose-built mobile libraries as there is no commercial vehicle suitable for our purpose without considerable adaptation, says R. Brown, Cambridgeshire county librarian, in his paper.
The operating schedules of a mobile library can be fairly tightly predicted. The pay-load is known and the vehicles travel a prescribed route with a low mileage and a specified number of stops. And this requirement makes them potentially ideal for electric vehicles.
The running and maintenance costs of an electric mobile would show considerable savings over the costs of our conventional fleet and although the initial cost of the vehicle would be higher, over the normal life cycle the savings are impressive.