representatives of the auto industry, utilities, universities, regulators, and others to work in five
key areas: establishing standards for safe, efficient electrical connectors and charging stations;
addressing health and safety codes (e.g., for ventilation, and electro magnetic field exposure);
examining the impact of EVS on load management, power quality, transmission, and distribution
systems; educating customers about the EV infrastructure; and developing protocols for
communication between the EV and the electric utility during recharging. The Department of
Energy works closely with IWC.
In addition, the Electric Vehicle Association of the Americas, the Edison Electric Institute, the
Electric Transportation Coalition and the Electric Power Research Institute have jointly initiated
the “EV America” program, which seeks to place incrementally as many as 5,000 roadworthy EVS
in a controlled market demonstration.
European Union
Several countries in Europe have major programs underway to develop electric and hybrid
vehicles as well as their supporting technologies and infrastructure. These include France,
Germany, and Sweden. There is considerable cooperation in development activities across
national borders among auto manufacturers and suppliers.
The European Union (EU) supports these efforts through precompetitive research programs.
Funding is provided primarily through the Framework Program. The nature of precompetitive
research is such that the specific programs are of interest to several different industries, which
makes it difficult to determine a specific finding level for the auto industry. It is estimated that
EU support of technologies of interest to the auto industry was about ECU 100 million ($125
million) in 1994.^16 About 80 percent of the awards support R&D activities; the remaining 20
percent support demonstration projects to create the necessary standards and prove the
technologies ready for commercialization.
Auto manufacturers in the European Union have stepped up their collaborative R&D efforts in
advanced technology, at least in part as a competitive response to U.S. consortia under USCAR
and programs such as the PNGV In May 1994, the European car industry formed the European
Council for Automotive Research and Development (EUCAR), a consortium of nine European
automakers including Ford of Europe and Adam Opel AG, the German subsidiary of General
Motors. EUCAR will facilitate collaborative-research projects (especially on traction batteries)
17
and give the manufacturers a unified voice on matters relating to R&D In June, EUCAR released
a proposed “Automotive Research and Technological Development Master Plan” for
consideration under the Fourth Framework Program (1994 to 1998). The Master Plan proposes
to focus on three areas:
16~~g t. tie Europ UMW ~ ~i~lmt ~jon of these monies are spent on such areas as intelligent vehicle tdnologks and intelligent
highway systems.
17EUC~ w-g &oUp, Ttion I%tteries,W Second ROSKS5 RWR JuIY 1994.