Chapter 1

Environmental Impact and History of Modern Transportation 13

later. Thus, the best development strategy of next-generation transportation

would be to commercialize hybrid electric vehicles immediately and, at the
same time, do the best to commercialize nonpetroleum fuel cell vehicles as
soon as possible.

INTRODUCTION

1.6 History of Electric Vehicles

The first electric vehicle was built by Frenchman Gustave Trouvé in 1881. It
was a tricycle powered by a 0.1 hp DC motor fed by lead–acid batteries. The
whole vehicle and its driver weighed approximately 160 kg. A vehicle simi-
lar to this was built in 1883 by two British professors.11 These early realiza-
tions did not attract much attention from the public because the technology
was not mature enough to compete with horse carriages. Speeds of 15 km/h
and a range of 16 km were not exciting for potential customers. The 1864
Paris to Rouen race changed it all: the 1135 km were run in 48 h and 53 min
at an average speed of 23.3 km/h. This speed was by far superior to that pos-
sible with horse-drawn carriages. The general public became interested in
horseless carriages or automobiles, as these vehicles were now called.
The following 20 years were an era during which electric vehicles com-
peted with their gasoline counterparts. This was particularly true in
America, where there were not many paved roads outside a few cities. The
limited range of electric vehicles was not a problem. However, in Europe, the
rapidly increasing number of paved roads called for extended ranges, thus
favoring gasoline vehicles.11
The first commercial electric vehicle was Morris and Salom’s Electroboat.
This vehicle was operated as a taxi in New York City by a company created
by its inventors. The Electroboat proved to be more profitable than horse
cabs despite a higher purchase price (around $3000 vs. $1200). It could be
used for three shifts of 4 h with 90-min recharging periods in between. It was
powered by two 1.5 hp motors that allowed a maximum speed of 32 km/h
and a 40-km range.11
The most significant technical advance of that era was the invention of regen-
erative braking by Frenchman M.A. Darracq on his 1897 coupe. This method
allows recuperating the vehicle’s kinetic energy while braking and recharging
the batteries, which greatly enhances the driving range. It is one of the most sig-
nificant contributions to electric and hybrid electric vehicle technology as it
contributes to energy efficiency more than anything else in urban driving.
In addition, among the most significant electric vehicles of that era was the
first vehicle ever to reach 100 km/h. It was “La Jamais Contente” built by
Frenchman Camille Jenatzy. Note that Studebaker and Oldsmobile first
started in business by building electric vehicles.
As gasoline automobiles became more powerful, more flexible, and, above
all, easier to handle, electric vehicles started to disappear. Their high cost did
14 Modern Electric, Hybrid Electric, and Fuel Cell Vehicles

not help, but it is their limited driving range and performance that really
impaired them vs. their gasoline counterparts. The last commercially signif-
icant electric vehicles were released around 1905. During nearly 60 years, the
only electric vehicles sold were common golf carts and delivery vehicles.
In 1945, three researchers at Bell Laboratories invented a device that was
meant to revolutionize the world of electronics and electricity: the transistor.
It quickly replaced vacuum tubes for signal electronics and soon the thyris-
tor was invented, which allowed switching high currents at high voltages.
This made it possible to regulate the power fed to an electric motor without
the very inefficient rheostats, and allowed the running of AC motors at vari-
able frequency. In 1966, General Motors (GM) built the Electrovan, which
was propelled by induction motors that were fed by inverters built with
thyristors.
The most significant electric vehicle of that era was the Lunar Roving
Vehicle, which the Apollo astronauts used on the Moon. The vehicle itself
weighed 209 kg and could carry a payload of 490 kg. The range was around
65 km. The design of this extraterrestrial vehicle, however, has very little sig-
nificance down on Earth. The absence of air and the lower gravity on the
Moon, and the low speed made it easier for engineers to reach an extended
range with limited technology.
During the 1960s and 1970s, concerns about the environment triggered
some research on electric vehicles. However, despite advances in battery
technology and power electronics, their range and performance were still
obstacles.
The modern electric vehicle era culminated during the 1980s and early
1990s with the release of a few realistic vehicles by firms such as GM with
the EV1 and PSA with the 106 Electric. Although these vehicles represented
a real achievement, especially when compared with early realizations, it
became clear during the early 1990s that electric automobiles could never
compete with gasoline automobiles for range and performance. The reason
is that in batteries the energy is stored in the metal of electrodes, which
weigh far more than gasoline for the same energy content. The automotive
industry abandoned the electric vehicle to conduct research on hybrid elec-
tric vehicles. After a few years of development, these are far closer to the
assembly line for mass production than electric vehicles have ever been.
In the context of the development of the electric vehicle, it is battery tech-
nology that is the weakest, blocking the way of electric vehicles to market.
Great effort and investment have been put into battery research, with the
intention of improving performance to meet the electric vehicle’s require-
ment. Unfortunately, progress has been very limited. Performance is far
behind the requirement, especially energy storage capacity per unit weight
and volume. This poor energy storage capability of batteries limits electric
vehicles only to some specific applications, such as at airports and railroad
stations, on mail delivery routes, and on golfcourses, etc. In fact, basic
study12 shows that electric vehicles will never be able to challenge liquid-
fueled vehicles even with the optimistic value of battery energy capacity.
Environmental Impact and History of Modern Transportation 15

Thus, in recent years, advanced vehicle technology research has turned to

hybrid electric vehicles as well as fuel cell vehicles.

1.7 History of Hybrid Electric Vehicles

Surprisingly, the concept of a hybrid electric vehicle is almost as old as the
automobile itself. The primary purpose, however, was not so much to lower
the fuel consumption but rather to assist the ICE to provide an acceptable
level of performance. Indeed, in the early days, ICE engineering was less
advanced than electric motor engineering.
The first hybrid vehicles reported were shown at the Paris Salon of 1899.13
These were built by the Pieper establishments of Liège, Belgium and by the
Vendovelli and Priestly Electric Carriage Company, France. The Pieper vehi-
cle was a parallel hybrid with a small air-cooled gasoline engine assisted by
an electric motor and lead–acid batteries. It is reported that the batteries
were charged by the engine when the vehicle coasted or was at a standstill.
When the driving power required was greater than the engine rating, the
electric motor provided additional power. In addition to being one of the
two first hybrid vehicles, and being the first parallel hybrid vehicle, the
Pieper was undoubtedly the first electric starter.
The other hybrid vehicle introduced at the Paris Salon of 1899 was the first
series hybrid electric vehicle and was derived from a pure electric vehicle
commercially built by the French firm Vendovelli and Priestly [13]. This
vehicle was a tricycle, with the two rear wheels powered by independent
motors. An additional 3/4 hp gasoline engine coupled to a 1.1 kW generator
was mounted on a trailer and could be towed behind the vehicle to extend
its range by recharging the batteries. In the French case, the hybrid design
was used to extend the range of an electric vehicle, and not to supply addi-
tional power to a weak ICE.
Frenchman Camille Jenatzy presented a parallel hybrid vehicle at the Paris
Salon of 1903. This vehicle combined a 6 hp gasoline engine with a 14 hp
electric machine that could either charge the batteries from the engine or
assist them later. Another Frenchman, H. Krieger, built the second reported
series hybrid vehicle in 1902. His design used two independent DC motors
driving the front wheels. They drew their energy from 44 lead–acid cells that
were recharged by a 4.5 hp alcohol spark-ignited engine coupled to a shunt
DC generator.
Other hybrid vehicles, both of the parallel and series type, were built dur-
ing a period ranging from 1899 until 1914. Although electric braking has
been used in these early designs, there is no mention of regenerative brak-
ing. It is likely that most, possibly even all, designs used dynamic braking by
short circuiting or by placing a resistance in the armature of the traction
motors. The Lohner-Porsche vehicle of 1903 is a typical example of this
16 Modern Electric, Hybrid Electric, and Fuel Cell Vehicles

approach.13 The frequent use of magnetic clutches and magnetic couplings

should be noted.
Early hybrid vehicles were built in order to assist the weak ICEs of that
time or to improve the range of electric vehicles. They made use of the basic
electric technologies that were then available. In spite of the great creativity
that presided in their design, these early hybrid vehicles could no longer
compete with the greatly improved gasoline engines that came into use after
World War I. The gasoline engine made tremendous improvements in terms
of power density, the engines became smaller and more efficient, and there
was no longer a need to assist them with electric motors. The supplementary
cost of having an electric motor and the hazards associated with the –acid
batteries were key factors in the disappearance of hybrid vehicles from the
market after World War I.
However, the greatest problem that these early designs had to cope with
was the difficulty of controlling the electric machine. Power electronics did
not become available until the mid-1960s and early electric motors were con-
trolled by mechanical switches and resistors. They had a limited operating
range that was incompatible with efficient operation. Only with great diffi-
culty could they be made compatible with the operation of a hybrid vehicle.
Dr. Victor Wouk is recognized as the modern investigator of the hybrid
electric vehicle movement.13 In 1975, along with his colleagues, he built a
parallel hybrid version of a Buick Skylark.13 The engine was a Mazda rotary
engine, coupled to a manual transmission. It was assisted by a 15 hp sepa-
rately excited DC machine, located in front of the transmission. Eight 12 V
automotive batteries were used for energy storage. A top speed of 80 mph
(129 km/h) was achieved with acceleration from 0 to 60 mph in 16 sec.
The series hybrid design was revived by Dr. Ernest H. Wakefield in 1967,
when working for Linear Alpha Inc. A small engine-AC generator, with an
output of 3 kW, was used to keep a battery pack charged. However, the
experiments were quickly stopped because of technical problems. Other
approaches studied during the 1970s and early 1980s used range extenders,
similar in concept to the French Vendovelli and Priestly 1899 design. These
range extenders were intended to improve a range of electric vehicles that
never reached the market. Other prototypes of hybrid vehicles were built by
the Electric Auto Corporation in 1982 and by the Briggs & Stratton
Corporation in 1980. Both of these were parallel hybrid vehicles.
Despite the two oil crises of 1973 and 1977, and despite growing environ-
mental concerns, no hybrid electric vehicle made it to the market. The
researchers’ focus was drawn by the electric vehicle, of which many proto-
types were built during the 1980s. The lack of interest in hybrid electric vehi-
cles during this period may be attributed to the lack of practical power
electronics, modern electric motors, and battery technologies. The 1980s wit-
nessed a reduction in conventional ICE-powered vehicle sizes, the introduc-
tion of catalytic converters, and the generalization of fuel injection.
The hybrid electric vehicle concept drew great interest during the 1990s
when it became clear that electric vehicles would never achieve the objective
Environmental Impact and History of Modern Transportation 17

of saving energy. The Ford Motor Corporation initiated the Ford Hybrid
Electric Vehicle Challenge, which drew efforts from universities to develop
hybrid versions of production automobiles.
Automobile manufacturers around the world built prototypes that
achieved tremendous improvements in fuel economy over their ICE-pow-
ered counterparts. In the U.S., Dodge built the Intrepid ESX 1, 2, and 3. The
ESX-1 was a series hybrid vehicle, powered by a small turbocharged three-
cylinder diesel engine and a battery pack. Two 100 hp electric motors were
located in the rear wheels. The U.S. government launched the Partnership
for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV), which included the goal of a mid-
size sedan that could achieve 80 mpg. The Ford Prodigy and GM Precept
resulted from this effort. The Prodigy and Precept vehicles were parallel
hybrid electric vehicles powered by small turbocharged diesel engines cou-
pled to dry clutch manual transmissions. Both of them achieved the objec-
tive but production did not follow.
Efforts in Europe are represented by the French Renault Next, a small par-
allel hybrid vehicle using a 750 cc spark-ignited engine and two electric
motors. This prototype achieved 29.4 km/l (70 mpg) with maximum speed
and acceleration performance comparable to conventional vehicles.
Volkswagen also built a prototype, the Chico. The base was a small electric
vehicle, with a nickel–metal hydride battery pack and a three-phase induc-
tion motor. A small two-cylinder gasoline engine was used to recharge the
batteries and provide additional power for high-speed cruising.
The most significant effort in the development and commercialization of
hybrid electric vehicles was made by Japanese manufacturers. In 1997,
Toyota released the Prius sedan in Japan. Honda also released its Insight and
Civic Hybrid. These vehicles are now available throughout the world. They
achieve excellent figures of fuel consumption. Toyota Prius and Honda
Insight vehicles have a historical value in that they are the first hybrid vehi-
cles commercialized in the modern era to respond to the problem of personal
vehicle fuel consumption.

1.8 History of Fuel Cell Vehicles

As early as 1839, Sir William Grove (often referred to as the “Father of the
Fuel Cell”) discovered that it might be possible to generate electricity by
reversing the electrolysis of water. It was not until 1889 that two
researchers, Charles Langer and Ludwig Mond, coined the term “fuel cell”
as they were trying to engineer the first practical fuel cell using air and coal
gas. While further attempts were made in the early 1900s to develop fuel
cells that could convert coal or carbon into electricity, the advent of the ICE
temporarily quashed any hopes of further development of the fledgling
technology.
18 Modern Electric, Hybrid Electric, and Fuel Cell Vehicles

Francis Bacon developed what was perhaps the first successful fuel cell
device in 1932, with a hydrogen–oxygen cell using alkaline electrolytes and
nickel electrodes — inexpensive alternatives to the catalysts used by Mond
and Langer. Due to a substantial number of technical hurdles, it was not
until 1959 that Bacon and company first demonstrated a practical 5-kW fuel
cell system. Harry Karl Ihrig presented his now-famous 20-hp fuel cell-pow-
ered tractor that same year.
NASA also began building compact electric generators for use on space
missions in the late 1950s. NASA soon came to fund hundreds of research
contracts involving fuel cell technology. Fuel cells now have a proven role in
space programs, after supplying electricity to several space missions.
In more recent decades, a number of manufacturers — including major
automakers — and various federal agencies have supported ongoing
research into the development of fuel cell technology for use in fuel cell vehi-
cles and other applications.14 Hydrogen production, storage, and distribu-
tion are the biggest challenges. Truly, fuel cell-powered vehicles still have a
long way to go before they can be introduced in the market.

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