Movement Toward Electrification
Posted September 26, 2008 at 1:15 pm 
Filed in: This week, Securing America’s Future Energy released A National Strategy for Energy Security: Recommendations to the Nation on Reducing U.S. Oil Dependence, a comprehensive new plan that offers the public and policymakers specific solutions to our nation’s energy security challenges. The National Strategy lays out a bold pathway toward a long-term goal of an electrified transportation system that is no longer dependent on oil.
Interestingly, at the same time SAFE released its report calling for electrification of the transportation system, The New York Times reported that Iceland has announced plans to focus on the deployment of electric cars, shifting from an earlier focus on hydrogen due to the difficulty in obtaining hydrogen-powered vehicles. As part of the initiative, Mitsubishi Motors signed a Memorandum of Understanding pursuant to which it will test a fleet of its zero-emissions iMiEV electric vehicles with Iceland’s Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism. Given that Iceland is an island in which the distance drivers can travel is limited, and that most drivers live close to the capital of Reykjavik, Iceland is well suited to electric cars, whose principal drawback is limited range.
It is also interesting to note that the day before SAFE released its report, Chrysler announced that it plans to introduce one electric vehicle and two plug-in electric hybrids by 2010. The electric vehicle will be a two-passenger, all-electric sports car that combines a lithium-ion battery pack with a 200-kilowatt motor, capable of generating 268 horsepower and 480 foot-pounds of torque. The vehicle is expected to have a range of 150-200 miles and can be recharged in 4 or 8 hours with a 220 or 110 volt connection. The plug-in vehicles will be plug-in hybrid versions of the Jeep Wrangler and the Chrysler Town & Country minivans. About 100 of the new vehicles will be tested in government and business fleets next year.
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