coppertalk

By Bob Weed, Copper Development Association, Vice President OEM

Are you ready for an electric vehicle (EV)? According to Ford Motor Co., you are – especially if you live in one of the top 25 cities that are stepping up their EV preparations and infrastructure. But what you might not know is this: Nobody would be ready for EVs without copper – a key resource for both the electric car and the infrastructure that helps make them run. Read more…

The SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) Electric Vehicle Symposium (Feb. 9-11, 2011) addressed the latest technical innovation in electric drives, motors, energy storage, and system engineering from the innovators of hybrid and electric vehicle technology. Bob Weed, CDA Vice President, OEM, met with CDA friends at the symposium.

The SAE symposium featured speakers from a number of auto industry stakeholders who presented new ideas and technologies. I shared some information about the auto industry presentations in a previous “Coppertalk” blog. While attending the SAE Symposium, I also came across some other companies that are doing innovative work in the hybrid and electric vehicle industry.

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The SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) hosted an international symposium on hybrid and electric vehicle technology Feb 9-11, 2011. Bob Weed, CDA Vice President, OEM, gives his impressions.

Re-charging a Ford Fusion EV, quick and easy.

The recent SAE 2011 Hybrid Vehicle Technologies Symposium in Anaheim, Calif., brought out the leading OEMs in PHEV & EV, who gave their predictions on how electric vehicles technology is evolving and what’s needed to ensure its success. So what does this have to do with copper? Copper plays an important role in all electric vehicle technologies. It’s found in propulsion motors, regenerative braking systems and battery-pack conductors, as well as traditional applications such as electrical and electronic equipment, audio-visual accessories and wiring harnesses. Studies have shown that hybrids and EVs contain between 1 ½ -3 times the weight of copper as found in their internal combustion engine counterparts.  Read more…

The Future is Now for Electric Vehicles

By Bob Weed, CDA Vice President OEM, attended the SAE 2011 Hybrid Vehicle Technologies Symposium in Anaheim, Feb. 9-11, 2011. SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) International is a global association of more than 128,000 engineers and related technical experts in the aerospace, automotive and commercial vehicle industries.

I recently attended the SAE 2011 Hybrid Vehicle Technologies Symposium and came away with a renewed enthusiasm for the outlook of copper over the next five years, particularly when it comes to its use in electric vehicles. What will the automotive industry look like by 2020? Industry experts say that 5-10% of all vehicles will be extended-range or pure electric. That makes it vital for EV technologies to become more efficient and capable of producing mass quantities. Read more…

 

Auto Show attendees were wowed by spacious, high-tech exhibits

As anyone who attended the North American International Auto Show in Detroit this year can attest, the most exciting aspects of new automotive technology are no longer in the cool-but-not-coming-anytime-soon category.  A lot of what automakers have been dreaming about has arrived.  And not just in flashy concept cars OEMs have traditionally displayed to demonstrate to show-goers what is possible.  The overall atmosphere of this year’s show was authentically, well, electric.  Just about every automaker and supplier showed off their latest technology.  Auto fans responded enthusiastically, peering closely at motors encased in Lucite, watching the impressive action on huge video walls and getting behind the wheels of electric vehicles.  Show attendees got the chance to ride in all-electric cars at the Michigan Economic Development Corporation display on the venue’s lower level and at the Ford Motor Company exhibit, where they stood in line for as long as an hour to sit in a Focus EV or a Transit Connect that made laps around a raised track.  Other full-electric vehicles on-hand at the show included the Honda Fit EV, a Toyota Prius plug-in, the Mercedes SLS AMG E-Cell, the Tesla Model S, the BYD e6 all-electric crossover, the Venturi America and Li-Ion Motors’ Inizio.

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By Bob Weed, Copper Development Association Vice President, OEM

And in the best supporting role is… copper, the enviro-metal, indispensible in the production of electric vehicles.

And the winner is… the Chevy Volt.

Forty-nine U.S. and Canadian auto journalists – in what’s the auto equivalent of the Academy Awards – chose the Chevrolet Volt plug-in as the 2011 Car of the Year at the Detroit Auto Show Monday. It’s been a winning season for the Volt, also named Motor Trend’s Car of the Year and the 2011 Green Car of the Year.

If a car could give an acceptance speech, it likely would thank copper, the metal with the highest conductivity that can be practically used for conveying electricity. Copper is found in propulsion motors, regenerative braking systems and battery-pack conductors, as well as traditional applications such as electrical and electronic equipment, audio-visual accessories and wiring harnesses. Hybrids and electric vehicles contain between 2 ½ -3 times the weight of copper as found in their internal combustion engine counterparts.

So give a round of applause to the Chevy Volt – and to copper, the mighty metal that plays an important role in all electric vehicle technologies.