Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee holds hearing to discuss innovation, R&D of advanced vehicles
Assembling at the Washington Auto Show, the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources held a hearing this week to discuss innovation, research and development of advanced vehicle technology.
A key point in the hearing regarded how such technology relates to security and energy infrastructure. A number of experts were on hand to discuss the issue, with the day’s events chaired by U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK).
“This truly is an exciting time for the automotive sector, with a host of new technologies emerging in recent years,” Murkowski said. “Lightweight materials like carbon fiber, titanium, aluminum, and composites are increasing vehicle efficiency while boosting performance. And at the same time, advanced manufacturing technologies, such as 3D printing, are decreasing the time and cost of bringing new concepts to market. This has increased the productivity of our automotive suppliers, allowing U.S. manufacturers to thrive in a hyper-competitive global market.”
In the face of such change, discussion of the impact on current energy systems becomes critical.
“When we think about the burden that it’ll have on the grid, to reinforce it, microgrids are very essential, and we need to start trialing those in various areas,” Center for Automotive Research President and CEO Carla Bailo said. “We also need to look at grid balance and the appropriate positioning of where we put those charging stations.”
Others, like Oak Ridge National Laboratory Associate Lab Director Mohammed Khaleel pointed to the need for more charging stations and hydrogen progression. Yet even that assessment tied back into Bailo’s, acquiescing to a need to make sure the grid is resilient enough to handle microgrids and energy storage.
Current U.S. reliance on foreign countries for minerals to manufacture advanced technology vehicles was also a concern. For Britta Gross, General Motors director of Advanced Vehicle Commercialization, it was worth noting the cost of these materials, as well as the fact that they are used in batteries, electronics, laptops, and others–meaning there’s a lot of competition for the resources.
“And that’s a problem for the price that we can offer these vehicles to the consumer,” Gross said. “What we are doing is trying to streamline our use of those materials and in many cases trying to reduce the amount of lithium or the amount of cobalt in these systems so they still operate, they’re safe, they’re durable and dependable, but that we can reduce the cost by peeling out and improving either the engineering process, the architecture of the system, or also the manufacturing process itself in how we apply the materials. We get more and more effective and that’s part of a learning process of developing and innovating.”
