Document gEGOD7ykGEqjrJe6LD87LN3q

Lead Industries Association, Inc 292 Madison Avenue New York. N.Y. 10Q17 Telephone: (212) 578-4750 ABSTRACT JUNE 4, 1979, HEARING OF THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION OF THE SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS (CHAIRMAN: SENATOR JAMES A. McCLURE. R-IDAHO) Congressional testimony centered on four areas: 1. Beneficial social impact of Electric Vehicles; 2. Beneficial economic im pact; 3. Pending legislation meant to increase economic in centives to buyers and sellers of EV's; and 4. Effects of present anti-trust legislation on EV development plans by the major auto manufacturers. PANEL I ~ CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATIVES Senator Levin of Michigan read a statement favorable to the EV program and testified to the potential benefits to the Automotive Industry's plan to produce EV's by passage of CAFE standards modification and tax credit provisions. Congressman McCormack of Washington indicated Congressional in terest in EV development by pointing out the Science and Technology Committees' budget for fiscal year 1980 which earmarks $49 million for EV research (up from $37.5 million) and $8 million of that for battery research. Congressman Grassley of Iowa brought to the attention of the hearing two bills before the House of Representatives of great importance to EV development. 1. H. R. 4207 authored by Congress man Grassley which would allow purchasers of EV's to take an energy saving tax credit toward their income taxes of up to $300. 2, H. R. 3718 authored by Congressman Corcoran and co-sponsored by Congress man Grassley which would allow EV's to be included in the computa tion of corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards. Congressman Corcoran of Illinois (Member of the House Post Office Committee) testified that the Postal Service has been very pleased with LIA 0? 4'0 N 4017 -2- its experiment of substituting EV's for gas powered delivery vehi cles. To date, they have 383 vehicles in service and 750 on order. There was general agreement among the Congressional witnesses and Chairman McClure that widespread use of EV's is a desirable goal. (NOTE: Senator McClure has sponsored CAFE legislation in the Senate by amendment to the DOE Authorization Bill.) PANEL II - FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AGENCY REPRESENTATIVES Vince Esposito, Acting Director of the Office of Transportation Programs of the Department of Energy, pointed out their interest in EV development in the form of 200 special demonstration models being tested in eleven state and federal agencies for the purpose of battery research. An increase to 800 vehicles is scheduled for next year. Michael Walsh, Deputy Assistant Administrator for Mobile Source Pollution for the EPA, praised the potential effects of EV's on overall air quality. Important future considerations of the EPA include effective recycling of increased numbers of lead acid batteries. They are also researching possible equivalent mileage values which might be applied to EV's for inclusion in CAFE standards. - In response to questioning by Chairman McClure, all concurred that an EV should be able to maintain speeds of 45-55 raph with an effective range of 75-100 miles in order to be desirable to consumers and within the reach of current technology. The desira bility of faster charging, longer life lead acid batteries was highlighted. PANEL III ~ AUTOMOTIVE MANUFACTURERS Marvin W. Stucky, of American Motors, described a joint venture with Gould industries which has supplied the Postal Service with 383 EV's (750 more on order) and the good results in terms of service and reliability. Battery research has been and continues to be the major focus of their efforts. Chrysler Motors and General Motors have entered into a joint venture to develop a marketable EV. Chrysler is working on design and aerodynamics while the Delco division of General Motors has developed the power train. LI&034-1 Chrysler showed a short film featuring their new EV model which sports a sleek design and is powered by 1200 pounds of lead acid -3- batteries. The film showed speed crash tests made at 31 miles per hour - the only problem was that one battery out of the entire 1200 pound load cracked. Unanimous support of B. R. 4207 and H. R. 3718 was expressed by the auto representatives. They also concurred that large business vehicle fleets are the most desirable initial target markets. PANEL IV - ELECTRIC VEHICLE MANUFACTURERS Warren Harhay, of Electric Vehicle Associates, pointed out the exclusion of smaller business from the government's EV research plans, of 12 possible suppliers, only four are presently in cluded in present government sponsored testing programs. Harold Siegel, of South Coast Technology, singled out the cost of EV's relative to internal combustion vehicles as the major draw back in the consumer market. in response to questioning by Senator McClure, Mr. Harhay indi cated that the resources of the smaller companies could be best put to use in the form of joint ventures with other small compa nies or the large auto manufacturers, with this intent in mind, the EV manufacturers would support H. R. 3718 to amend CAFE standards to include EV's. PANEL V - BATTERY AND COMPONENT MANUFACTURERS This panel agreed that present technology, with continuing im provements, is sufficient to produce and power an EV that can meet or exceed present DOE test requirements. The existence of a well-established manufacturing, marketing and recycling infra-structure narrows the present cost and utility gap between EV and conventional powered vehicles as the cost of fossil fuels rises. This will continue to favor lead acid bat teries as power sources rise. This will continue to favor lead acid batteries as power sources for EV's for the next several years pending breakthroughs in "exotic" battery power sources. Werner T. Meyer, President of Lead Industries Association, called for an aggressive public education program to be implemented by Government and concerned industries. This program would alert the consuming public to the benefits of the EV for short-range use passenger requirements while not proposing the EV as a replace roent for ic powered vehicles. Fuel supply savings cost per mile benefits and environmental benefits should also be part of the LI *03452 -4- message to pave the way for consumer acceptance of an electric vehicle. An effective service network must also be present be fore a market for EV's can be developed. The EV is ready for commercialization now - within defined limits. PANEL VI - REPRESENTATIVE UTILITIES Widespread EV use is of concern to metropolitan utility companies in two ways: 1. As employers with large service fleets and 2. As energy suppliers. Representatives of TVA and LILCO indicated very promising re sults from increased use of electric vehicles in their service fleets from an economic viewpoint and expressed intent to in crease the use of EV's in the future. In terms of electrical supply, the utilities are enthusiastic about widespread use of EV's. Host would be recharged during what are now considered the off-peak hours (7:00 P.M. - 7:00 A.M.). As a result, no new production facilities would be required for even large numbers of new EV users. In fact, the increased "offpeak" use would tend to better spread the fixed production costs over a 24 hour period and result in lower electric costs for the "on-peak" users. PANEL VII - ELECTRIC VEHICLE USERS AND CONSUMER REPRESENTATIVES The most intensive in-use EV testing program is being undertaken by the Postal Service. Eugene Hagburg, Acting Assistant Post master General, Delivery Services Department, enthusiastically boosted the Postal program with 383 EV's now in service and 750 on order. Employees who actively participate in the program are very satisfied with the EV's and the Department, from the view point of expenses and performance, has already planned an addi tional purchase of "in the neighborhood" of 3,000 vehicles. The general mood of the users of EV's seemed to indicate that present speed and distance attainment are adequate and improve ments, while anticipated, are not anxiously awaited. Clarence Ditlow, of the center for Automotive Safety, expressed its concern about EV structural soundness and ability to protect passengers in a crash. Battery component integrity is also a major concern of the CAS. There is concern that acid leakage, especially from a crash, could be-a hazard to passengers. L 1*03*53 f WITNESS LIST SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS SUBCOMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION MONDAY. JUNE 4, 1979 HEARING ON ROLE OF ELECTRIC VEHICLES IN U.S. TRANSPORTATION PANEL I ~ CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATIVES 1. Senator Levin, Michigan 2. Congressman McCormack, Washington 3. Congressman Corcoran, Illinois 4. Congressman Grassley, Iowa (9:00 - 9:45) PANEL II - FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AGENCY REPRESENTATIVES (9:45 - 10:30) 1. Department of Energy? Vince Esposito, Acting Director, Office of Transportation Programs 2. Department of Transportatioh/National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; A. Malliaris, Office of Vehicle Safety Standards 3. Environmental Protection Agency; Michael Walsh, Deputy Assistant Administrator for Mobile Source Pollution PANEL III ~ AUTOMOTIVE MANUFACTURERS (10:30-11:15) 1. American Motors Corporation; Marvin W. Stucky, Vice President of Government Affairs and Corporate Planning 2. Chrysler Corporation; Sid Terry, Vice President, Public Responsibility and Consumer Affairs; Karl Schwarze, Manager Special Vehicles Research (10 minute film) 3. General Motors Corporation; James C. Holzwarth, Technical Director, General Motors Research Laboratories 4. Ford; will submit statement for Record PANEL IV ~ ELECTRIC VEHICLE MANUFACTURERS \ (11:15 - 12:00) 1. Electric Vehicle Associates; Warren Harhay, President 2. Jet industries; William Bales, President L IA03A?A f Witness List 2- - 3. South Coast Technology; Harold Siegel, President 4. Battronic; will submit statement for Record PANEL V - BATTERY AND COMPONENT MANUFACTURERS (1:30 - 2:15) 1. Gould; Robert Fedor, Manager, New Business Division 2. Globe-Union; Conrad E. Weinlein, Manager, Advanced Development Engineering 3. General Electric: James Lafferty, Manager, Power Electronics Laboratory 4. Lead Industries Association; Werner T. Meyer, President PANEL VI - UTILITIES (2:15 - 3:00) 1. Tennessee Valley Authority; James H. Barnett, Program Manager, Transportation Research, Development and Demonstration 2. Long Island Lighting Company; Edward Baumann, Director, Electric Vehicle Program 3. Consolidated Edison; Arnold Rosenthal, Director of Load Management 4. Edison Electric institute, Ed Campbell, Executive Secretary, Electric Vehicle Council 5. Southern California Edison; will submit statement for the Record PANEL VII - ELECTRIC VEHICLE USERS AND CONSUMER REPRESENTATIVES (3:00 - 3:45) 1. Center for Automotive Safety; Clarence Ditlow, Director 2. American Telephone & Telegraph; Hal McGee, Manager Automotive Operations 3. United States Postal Service; Eugene C. Hagburg, Acting Assistant Postmaster General, Delivery Services Department 4. E/HV, Inc.; Ray Heppenstall, President LI403^55