Recent events have reinforced the stature of ºÙºÙÊÓƵ' Institute of Transportation Studies as one of the world's leading academic institutions in the study of fuel cell vehicle (FCV) technologies.
Tomorrow (Feb. 6), a fuel-cell SUV under study at ITS-Davis will be featured in a fuel-cell-vehicle demonstration in Washington, D.C., for U.S. President George Bush, Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham and other Cabinet members.
On Jan. 28, in his State of the Union Address, Bush announced that would provide $1.7 billion over five years to develop fuel cell vehicles and hydrogen infrastructure.
ITS-Davis director Daniel Sperling proposed just such a hydrogen-fuel initiative in remarks he made in February 2002 to the U.S. House Committee on Science.
"Lack of a hydrogen fuel infrastructure is perhaps the most important factor slowing the commercialization of fuel-cell vehicles," Sperling told the congressional committee. "Government needs to play a central role in solving this chicken-and-egg syndrome." Subsequently in a journal of the national academies of science and of engineering, Sperling called this infrastructure initiative "FreedomFUEL," after the federal FreedomCAR fuel-cell program.
administers more than $8 million in research contracts and grants and specializes in advanced transportation technologies, energy and environmental impacts, and travel behavior.
is a leading international expert on transportation technology assessment, energy and environmental aspects of transportation, and transportation policy.
On Jan. 22, Sperling repeated his 2002 call for a hydrogen-fuel initiative, this time in a paper written for the . The federal FreedomCAR fuel-cell program, Sperling said, "must do more than support research to build a better fuel cell vehicle. ... In particular, FreedomCAR should promote efforts to supply and to distribute hydrogen."
ITS-Davis has already begun studies of the crucial fuel cell vehicle infrastructure issues. In October 2002, the institute launched its new "" initiative. It is a partnership with research centers around the world and has sponsorship from major automotive and energy companies, associated technology companies and key government agencies.
The primary research focus will be the manufacture, storage and distribution of hydrogen for use in fuel cell vehicles. "Overcoming these immediate challenges will be critical to laying the foundation for a successful hydrogen-based economy of the future," Sperling said.
In another milestone on the fuel-cell pathway, on Dec. 2, 2002, Toyota Motor Sales USA committed the in the United States to ITS-Davis for the first public evaluation of American consumer reaction to the new automotive technology. ºÙºÙÊÓƵ and its sister campus, UC Irvine, will share six Toyota fuel cell vehicles and research funding of more than $4 million over three years.
Tomorrow (Feb. 6), a ºÙºÙÊÓƵ Toyota FCV will be featured in the fuel-cell-vehicle demonstration for the president and Cabinet members.
Other advanced-technology research programs underway at ITS-Davis include:
: ITS-Davis and Unitrans (the student-sponsored bus system serving the city of Davis and ºÙºÙÊÓƵ) will evaluate a mixture of compressed natural gas and hydrogen in a transit bus application.
: A $3 million project is developing and testing fuel cell auxiliary power units (APUs) that power truck-trailer refrigeration and other auxiliary systems. The new APUs could eliminate the need for idling big-rig diesel engines, which is inefficient and polluting.
Advanced Vehicle Modeling: ITS-Davis researchers conduct extensive computer modeling of vehicle and heavy-duty truck emissions, fuel economy and performance. ITS-Davis recently completed a five-year, $3 million with 20 companies and three government agencies.
Advanced Vehicle Powersystem Evaluations: Researchers at ITS-Davis study energy storage and conversion technologies for electric, hybrid-electric and fuel cell vehicle applications.
Hybrid Vehicle Prototypes and Component Evaluations: The ºÙºÙÊÓƵ Hybrid Vehicle Driveline Research and Design Center designs and builds vehicles that demonstrate improved overall efficiency, high fuel economy and low emissions. The HEV Center's current efforts focus on plug-in hybrid-electric vehicles (HEVs) and continuously variable transmissions (CVTs).
New Advanced Environmental Vehicle Laboratories: The ºÙºÙÊÓƵ College of Engineering and ITS-Davis are planning to build a new advanced environmental vehicle facility. This project would create large synergies by clustering ºÙºÙÊÓƵ clean-vehicle research and education programs. The facility would include high-bay vehicle laboratory space, a distributed computing facility and a hydrogen refueling station. The preliminary cost estimate is $8 million to $10 million.
The excellence of ºÙºÙÊÓƵ' vehicle-technology teaching programs keeps pace with that of its research activities. Some educational highlights include:
National Science Foundation (IGERT): This five-year, $2.6 million grant supports the Transportation Technology and Policy program for graduate students. ITS-Davis was the only transportation institute to be funded in the first cycle of this prestigious national teaching program.
U.S. Department of Energy Graduate Automotive Technology Education (GATE) Centers: ºÙºÙÊÓƵ is the only U.S. university to host two U.S. DOE GATE Centers -- the at ITS-Davis and the Hybrid Electric Vehicle Center in the Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering.
FutureCar and FutureTruck Victories: ºÙºÙÊÓƵ won the first two (1998 and 2001) FutureCar and sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and the USCAR program of the U.S. auto makers. The ºÙºÙÊÓƵ team placed third overall in the 2002 FutureTruck competition.