Bob Weed, Copper Development Association Vice President, OEM
By Bob Weed
Last week Coulomb Technologies held a ribbon-cutting ceremony of its first public curbside electric vehicle (EV) charging station in Washington D.C. That’s good news for the copper industry.
Richard Lowenthal and the Charging Station at the NextEnergy Press Conference
The new stations use copper as a conduit to charge the new EV’s, but even more significant is the amount of copper needed in the production of an average EV car – it’s triple the amount used in the production of traditional internal combustion automobiles. Copper provides the conductivity needed to promote energy efficiency which is something that Cathy Zoi, Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy at the U.S. Department of Energy, wrote about in the White House Blog. The blog features Coulomb Technologies President and Founder, Richard Lowenthal.
Zoi says that Coulomb Technologies is “making cutting edge stuff” with the manufacturing of its charging stations. Soon more than 20,000 stations will be in place across the nation.
Senator Debbie Stabenow exploring the charging station
In October, I met with Richard Lowethal at the Center for Automotive Research Conference, “The Business of Plugging In.” We spoke about the essential role copper plays in the advancement of the EVs and the Coulomb Technologies charging stations. According to Richard, there will be about a million plug-in EVs on U.S. roads by 2015. Although this is a small percentage of the 250 million vehicles on the roads today Richard told me that “People who drive the EVs love them.” He also says that copper in the EV batteries contributes to the electric vehicles’ power and acceleration which is a selling point for consumers. According to Richard, “The most critical role for copper in our industry is that it makes high performance electric motors that in turn makes for a superior vehicle to drive.”
That’s exciting news for consumers and for the copper industry too.
Through our outreach at Coppertalk, we found the White House had taken notice of Coulomb Technologies’ EV innovation. Check out the White House Blog below and keep an eye out for our follow-up.
Posted by Cathy Zoi on November 18, 2010 at 10:16 AM EST
Earlier this week, I witnessed the next chapter of America’s love affair with the automobile here in the nation’s capital. I took part in a ribbon cutting at the first public curbside electric vehicle (EV) charging station, made possible by Coulomb Technologies. It looks like a parking meter that Steve Jobs might design. And plugging in for a charge is simple – easier than even pumping gas. Soon brand new EVs – like the Nissan Leaf and the Chevy Volt – will be able to power up at stations like this one whenever they need it.
As President Obama says, “The nation that leads the clean energy economy will be the nation that leads the global economy.” The Recovery Act is the largest clean energy investment in American history, supporting entrepreneurs and small businesses while creating hundreds of thousands of jobs.
Entrepreneurs, just like Richard Lowenthal and Praveen Mandal whose Coulomb Technologies manufactured the charging station in DC, are making the cutting edge stuff that will power the cars of tomorrow. Soon, more than 20,000 stations will be popping up nationally to charge new EVs. Coulomb Technologies’ $15 million Recovery Act award will deploy 4,600 charging stations as part of this effort. Read more…
Bob Weed, Copper Development Association Vice President, OEM
The copper industry is pleased to be represented at the SETAC North America 31st Annual Meeting in Portland, Oregon next week by Joe Gorsuch, Manager of Health & Environmental Sciences at the Copper Development Association (CDA) and Bob Dwyer, Associate Director of Health & Environment Program, at the International Copper Association(ICA). Bob and Joe address environmental regulations and work with environmental toxicologists, chemists and engineers to collect ecotox for the copper industry so the meetings and information sharing about scientific studies is very much up their alley.
Joe Gorsuch, Health and Environmental Sciences CDA
The Copper in Brake Pads Issue
One of our goals at the conference is to get the message out about our position on the recent brake pad issue. To give a little background, in the past year, the states of California and Washington passed laws that will ultimately limit the amount of copper used in brake pads. The legislation came after years of study, education and cooperation by the Brake Pad Partnership, which was made up of representatives from the auto industry, brake pad manufacturers, environmental groups, stormwater regulatory agencies and coastal cities. The group concluded that copper from brake pads was running off streets into waterways and possibly interfering with aquatic species.
We know that copper is an important, naturally occurring element in bays, streams and oceans. But too much of anything can be harmful, and what the CDA is concerned about is when human activity contributes levels of copper beyond what would be healthy in the aquatic environment. Bob and Joe are ideal representatives for the copper industry at this meeting because of their expertise, research background, and ongoing work in the field of science, specifically biology, environmental sciences, aquatic science and toxicology.
The Essentiality of Copper
Bob Dwyer, Associate Director of Health & Environment Program, International Copper Association
It’s important to understand that copper is not intrinsically harmful to the environment. In fact, it’s our goal to educate people about the copper in brake pads issue because typically, problems associated with copper in our environment prove that there are greater concerns about copperdeficiency. In fact, Bob Dwyer regularly attends meetings with other environmental experts around the world and is familiar with scientific studies demonstrating that there are massive deficiencies of copper in the feedstock of cattle and other livestock. In some areas outside the U.S., there’s enough of a copper deficiency in the soil that there is actually a livestock reduction problem. Additionally, Bob reports that the European Union loses about 14 billion Euros annually on account of reduced crop production because there isn’t enough copper in the soil in many European countries.
SETAC/Portland Conference
Both Bob and Joe are ideal representatives for the copper industry at this meeting because they can address these important global and domestic issues and are familiar with credible scientific
studies that substantiate copper deficiency claims and the positive effects of copper in the right dosage on aquatic and other wildlife.
If you will be attending the SETAC/Portland Conference, and have any questions about copper, the CDA or the brake pad issue, I encourage you to speak with Joe Gorsuch or Bob Dwyer. They are not only experts on many of these issues but they will also be sure you have solid information.
In addition to Bob Dwyer and Joe Gorsuch, Adam Estelle and Wayne Seale from the Copper Development Association, Michael Hennelly, and Nicole Witoslawski from the International Copper Association will be attending.
Finally, a word about SETAC. The organization’s website states that their mission is “to support the development of principles and practices for protection, enhancement and management of sustainable environmental quality and ecosystem integrity.” This mission resonates with us at the CDA, because we believe strongly in sustainable practices in the many uses of copper.
Bob Weed, Copper Development Association Vice President, OEM
By Bob Weed, Copper Development Association Vice President, OEM
The continuing push toward vehicle electrification represents an exciting time for many in the copper industry. Engineering services provider AVL has been a force behind some of the most exciting innovations used by automotive OEMs and suppliers alike, including power train systems, electric motors, batteries, and control systems, many of which make substantial use of copper wiring and other components. I recently spoke with Jerry Klarr, Director of Hybrid Programs at AVL, who says that copper will continue to play a substantial role.
“Copper still is one of the preferred elements to use in both the battery and the high voltage systems because of its conductivity capabilities, its resistance to oxidation and its lightweight materials and malleability, so it’s still a preferred solution,” he says. “There’s also quite a lot of copper coming into play in the high voltage wiring systems and in some of the batteries.”
In April, AVL displayed some of their innovative work with batteries at the SAE 2010 World Congress show.
Another area in which copper will likely play a role, says Klarr, is in charging systems that will be used to keep vehicles running. “Along with the hybrid and the electrification of vehicles is the infrastructure. There are going to be charging stations built that are almost certainly going to use copper.” It’s clear that anyone with an interest in exciting new developments in the copper industry will want to pay close attention to AVL.
The Copper Development Association is uniquely positioned to keep all stakeholders up-to-date on progress in this area. I urge anyone with a question about copper and vehicle electrification to contact us at www.copper.org.
Kris Palmer is a communications consultant for the CDA. She and her family toured the Quincy Mines and visited the Calumet Theatre in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula in July. She shares her adventures and insights about the copper industry in Coppertalk.
The Calumet Theatre, located in the city of Calumet in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula “Copper Country,” opened in March 1900 and was one of the first municipal theatres in the country. Taxes on Calumet’s numerous saloons helped make the project possible while theatre patrons enjoyed years of first-class entertainment by famous Broadway Actors. The Calumet Theatre has been restored to its former glory, and is now only missing its beautiful electric copper chandelier (which fell and broke years ago). The interior has been re-painted using rich colors to recapture the original proscenium murals. In 1900, there was a second-story ballroom built over the village offices for use as a dinner and dance venue. This space is still in active use today. Tourists come from across the country to not only see the beautifully restored theatre but to experience what life was like during the boom years of the early copper mining industry in northern Michigan. Although Calumet is no longer a bustling city as it once was, the copper mines from the turn of the century have left a legacy of elegance and beauty found in the historic Calumet Theatre. Read more…
Kris Palmer is a communications consultant for the CDA. She and her family toured the Quincy Mines and visited the Calumet Theatre in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula in July. She shares her adventures and insights about the copper industry in Coppertalk.
Ingenuity
Above the surface of the mine we met with tour guide Carol Dolata who showed us the “Nordberg Steam Hoist,” an engineering feat that took one year to re-assemble inside a building that was designed specifically for the massive hoisting drum, steam engine, and operations. The thick steel rope or cable on the drum can reach up to 10,000 feet on the incline. The new hoist and building which cost the Quincy Mine Company more than $370,000 in 1918 could move larger 10-ton ore capacity skips (total weight 13 tons) at a rate of 3,200 feet per minute or about 36 miles per hour. The hoist, which was reconstructed in a reinforced concrete building with brick veneer and Italian tiled walls, served the Quincy Mine for only eleven years – from 1920 to 1931 – but it ran 24 hours a day. Today the massive steam hoist remains an engineering marvel and is still known as the world’s largest steam mine hoist. The building now contains many exhibits including the train layout representing the activities of the Quincy and Torch Lake Railroad.
Our trip into the Quincy Copper Mine gave me and my family an appreciation for the hard work and sacrifices that were made both by the mine workers who risked their lives to provide a better future for their families and by the investors who risked a fortune to fund a copper mine. Read more…
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