Search Results

As energy storage system (ESS) technology advances, vehicle testing in both laboratory and on-road settings is needed to characterize the performance of state-of-the-art technology and also identify areas for future improvement. The Idaho National Laboratory (INL), through its support of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Advanced Vehicle Testing Activity (AVTA), is collaborating with ECOtality North America and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to conduct on-road testing of advanced ESSs for the Electric Drive Advanced Battery (EDAB) project. The project objective is to test a variety of advanced ESSs that are close to commercialization in a controlled environment that simulates usage within the intended application with the variability of on-road driving to quantify the ESS capabilities, limitations, and performance fade over cycling of the ESS.

Vehicles equipped with idle-stop (IS) systems are capable of engine shut-down when the vehicle is stopped, and rapid engine re-start for the vehicle launch. This capability reduces fuel consumption and emissions during periods where the engine is not being utilized to provide propulsion or to power accessories. IS sytems are a low-cost and fast-growing technology in the industry-wide pursuit of increased vehicle efficiency, possibly becoming standard features in European vehicles in the near future. In contrast, there are currently only three non-hybrid vehicle models for sale in North America with IS systems, and these are distinctly low-volume models. As part of the United States Department of Energy's Advanced Vehicle Testing Activity (AVTA), ECOtality North America has tested the real-world effect of IS systems on fuel consumption in three vehicle models imported from Europe.