Automotive Engineers Take On Green Challenges

DETROIT, Michigan, April 16, 2009 (ENS) - After decades of focusing on automotive style and performance using fossil fuels, the Society of Automotive Engineers has placed environmental concerns front and center at their World Congress at Cobo Hall in Detroit next week.

SAE International is an association of more than 121,000 engineers and technical experts in the automotive, aerospace and commercial-vehicle industries. Delegates from more than 40 countries are expected to attend the event, which is organized around the theme Racing to Green Mobility.

A cleaner truck for transferring cargo containers developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and its industry partners will debut at the exhibition. The patented cargo mover is called a series hydraulic hybrid yard hostler.

Hostlers are large, off-road vehicles used to transfer cargo containers at marine ports, rail yards, warehouses and distribution centers. These specialized trucks spend about half of their time idling and contribute to air pollution generated in ports throughout the world.

This new type of hostler uses EPA's patented technology that was applied to the heavy-duty truck as part of the EPA National Clean Diesel Campaign's Clean Ports USA program.

EPA's series hydraulic hybrid yard hostler (Photo courtesy U.S. EPA)

EPA's unique series HHV power train recovers, stores and reuses braking power while reducing idling and optimizing engine operation to use less fuel and reduce air pollution, the agency said in a statement today.

HHV technology has been demonstrated and field tested in package delivery vehicles and refuse trucks. EPA believes this vehicle design can improve the efficiency of the yard hostler operation by 50 to 60 percent.

In addition to the National Clean Diesel Campaign, collaborators on the project include the EPA's Clean Ports USA, Clean Automotive Technology, Office of International Affairs, and EPA Region 2, which covers New York and New Jersey. Industry technical partners include APM Terminals and Parker-Hannifin.

After the exhibition, the new hybrid hostler will leave Michigan for more field testing in New Jersey.

SAE International's latest standards enabling plug-in hybrid electric vehicle systems to be manufactured for safe public use will be discussed by the Hybrid Standards Committee to resolve questions on battery electrochemistry, size, weight, life-cycle, optimal state of charge, and performance.

Another session will examine what David Schutt, executive vice president and chief operating officer of SAE International calls the “golden spike between plug-in hybrids and our energy infrastructure."

Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger both will be featured at the opening ceremonies on April 20.

“Governor Granholm is working on an aggressive strategy to make Michigan the advanced battery capital of the world and the home of the next generation of green vehicles powered by them," the Governor's Office said in a statement. "She has proposed and signed into law the most aggressive tax incentives in the nation to help companies secure a majority of the $2 billion in federal recovery funds that will enable the United States to build an advanced battery infrastructure in our country."

Governor Schwarzenegger will speak about why green mobility is essential to future mobility options, said Schutt, "how we no longer have a choice, but an obligation to act."

The California governor will talk about his state's Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 - a bipartisan agreement to combat global warming by reducing California's greenhouse gas emissions.

"When dealing with the environmental challenges faced, we can be sure of only one thing," said Schutt, "there is no silver bullet. But, that doesn't mean that there aren't answers; there are. Finding them is the hard part, especially in challenging economic times."

New York City Police choose a Toyota Prius hybrid for a traffic enforcement car. (Photo courtesy NYPD)

Times have been especially challenging for the U.S. automotive industry during the past year or two as consumer preferences have shifted from heavier gas-guzzlers to smaller, fuel-efficient cars, and the federal government has had to pump billions of dollars into the industry to keep General Motors and Chrysler afloat.

"We need to work together to find those answers," said Schutt. "State and federal governments must work in partnership with our industry, not against each other. Nations must reach out in collaboration to face these concerns, and not just stay within their borders, assuming that such issues don't concern or affect them."

"Recognition of the importance of such environmental issues is reflected in the theme of this year's SAE World Congress – Racing to Green Mobility," said Schutt.

"While competition helps to define success and can make companies stronger, collaboration is essential as we strive to make our industry – and our world – more environmentally stable and our industry more environmentally conscious," Schutt said, "while at the same time designing and producing products our customers will buy."

To help the automotive industry tool up for the greener vehicles of the future, President Barack Obama announced last week that the U.S. General Services Administration would order 17,600 fuel-efficient vehicles from GM, Ford, and Chrysler by June 1.

Scheduled during Earth Day, April 22, the SAE 2009 World Congress will be the most environmentally friendly SAE event to date. SAE International has collaborated with Cobo Center and Detroit-area hotels and vendors to reduce the environmental impact of the meeting.

All promotional materials for the meeting are printed on recycled paper; attendee badges will be printed on-site with wax-based inks and paper instead of plastic; a consolidated registration area will reduce electrical demand by 3,000 watts.

The Show Daily will be delivered electronically; technical papers will be printed on-demand or delivered electronically, eliminating four pallets of pre-printed papers; technical papers were reviewed online, using a new system that has saved more than 10 tons of paper; and only local food will be served at the annual banquet.

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