The Washington, D.C. area’s bike share program – Capital Bikeshare – is frequently cited as one of the best in the country.  This is a minor claim to fame, considering that programs in Canada and Europe are far more developed than ones in the United States.  However, it’s refreshing for the nation’s capital to be cited as a leader in urban planning, since it’s frequently in the news for less desirable reasons.

Since Washington is actually a small city, the Bikeshare program has grown through partnerships with neighboring municipalities.  With a population of about 600,000 within the city limits, Capital Bikeshare would struggle without the participation of three neighboring jurisdictions: the city of Alexandria, Virginia’s Arlington County, and Montgomery County in Maryland.  Capital Bikeshare continues to work to enlarge the service area and broaden its appeal, which helps secure its position in D.C.’s transportation network – unlike SmartBike, a similar service in the District that finally failed in 2011.

Battery Powered

Capital Bikeshare doesn’t specify what type of battery is used in its stations, just that the stations need at least 4 hours of sunlight to charge each station’s “solar battery.”  These batteries, together with the solar PV at each station, are used to power the locking and release mechanisms that secure the bikes, as well as the computerized system that allows users to rent bikes.  In all likelihood, the battery in each station is something like the “solar” series of lead-acid batteries from East Penn.

Capital Bikeshare has over 175 stations in the D.C. metro area.  Bixi, the company that manufactures the bikes and the stations, also operates in Montreal (the original pilot project launched in 2008), Toronto, Boston, Pittsburgh, and New York.  All told, Bixi likely has between 1,100 and 1,400 stations in operation.  If all these follow the same formula as the stations in D.C., that’s up to 1,400 battery storage installations in urban centers across North America.

Other cities with successful bikesharing programs include Barcelona (420 stations), London (570+ stations), and Paris (estimates range between 1,200 and 1,450 stations).  Of the non-Bixi programs, it isn’t clear which use solar (and consequently batteries) to power stations.

This isn’t to say that integrating small solar PV for bikesharing stations will be the next big market for energy storage.  However, anything that helps consumers to understand what storage can do for solar PV (and vice versa) – even at bikesharing stations – will eventually help those same consumers understand the benefits of storage in their homes, businesses, and transportation networks.

It’s clear that fuel economy remains an important part of the purchase decision for a vehicle, but it doesn’t appear to be the greatest driver of innovation in this arena.  In 2011, about eight in ten people we have surveyed say that fuel economy is either “important” or “extremely important” in their purchase decision.  While this points to market demand today, the industry is focused on developing technology to meet new corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) requirements that won’t take effect until after model year 2017.

At the Automotive Megatrends conference in Dearborn, Michigan, the looming fuel economy and zero emission vehicle (ZEV) requirements dominated the powertrain discussions that I participated in.  For example, the panel on alternative drivetrains focused heavily on technology that can meet the CARB’s zero emission vehicle (ZEV) requirements.

ZEV Reality Check

Some argue that this sort of government intervention in the market is unrealistic, when ultimately the free market will decide.  This was made clear in Toyota’s presentation during the alternative drive panel, in which Tom Stricker, Vice President of Technical & Regulatory Affairs and Energy & Environmental Research, pointed out that hybrids have achieved 6% of the market in California in the past 13 years.  The question he essentially asked was: is it realistic to think that the market will reach 2.5 times that share for ZEVs within the next 13 years?

The answer is likely no, but the circumstances are certainly different than they were a decade ago.  Rising fuel prices are pushing greater interest in reduced petroleum fuel consumption.  There’s greater product support, with six ZEV models in showrooms (seven if you were to count CODA) only 2 years after introduction, compared to half that number of hybrids 2 years into their launch.  Not only are the vehicles available, but they are clearly cars customers want and customer satisfaction is high.

Of course, the challenges for ZEVs remain.  Public recharging infrastructure isn’t yet ubiquitous.  Our survey found a large disconnect between the expected and actual price of electric vehicles.  Finally, consistent range throughout the year remains a challenge.  Even so, 13,916 ZEVs sold nationwide last year.

To meet the upcoming mandates, I expect that we’ll see some additional experimentation in the coming years, in battery leasing, price reductions, and perhaps even different battery size options.  Of course, legal battles and delayed regulations aren’t off the table either.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced a proposal to lower tailpipe emissions levels from passenger cars and trucks.  To be phased in from 2017 to 2025, the proposed rule also calls for average sulfur content in gasoline to drop to 10 parts per million by 2017.  Meanwhile, the Obama Administration appears to be giving up on a carbon tax and there are warning signs that the EPA will retreat on its power plant greenhouse regulations.  This new announcement thus seems like a return to the EPA’s comfort zone – regulating criteria pollutant emissions from passenger cars.  

However, the proposed regulation does in fact support the EPA’s efforts to limit carbon emissions.  The timing for these proposed standards is clearly aligned with Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards, which will begin to ramp up from 35.5 mpg in 2017 to 54.5 mpg by 2025.  The automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are going for an “all of the above” approach to complying with the 2025 regulations.  They know they cannot get there just with alternative fuels, so they need to squeeze everything they can out of conventional gas cars.  Low-sulfur fuel allows them to do that by using technologies like direct injection engines.

Indeed, it is clear from the auto industry’s response to today’s announcement just how on board they are with the proposed regulation.  The Association of Global Automakers and Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers both expressed support, citing the benefits of a single, national low-sulfur fuel standard.  Automakers will not only be able to improve fuel economy, they will also be able to sell the same cars in all 50 states – since the EPA rule harmonizes with California’s more stringent standards.

It’s good that the Administration has Big Auto in its camp, because Big Oil is not happy with this proposal.  In fact, the rule will force major investments in refinery upgrades in the United States.  Petroleum refineries are already engaged in a battle with the EPA over its cellulosic ethanol blending mandates, so this new ruling will add more fuel to their argument that the EPA is placing an undue burden on the oil industry.  

Another aspect of the proposed requirements that may cause controversy is that the EPA is in favor of changing the emissions “test fuel” from gasoline with no ethanol to an E15 blend.  While most gasoline in the United States is close to an E10 blend (i.e., with 10% ethanol), the new test fuel will actually leapfrog over this level to the more aspirational E15 target.  As such, this proposal could face blowback from both automakers and refiners.

If I had to make a prediction, the broad rule on emissions and fuel sulfur will stand, though some details such as the E15 test fuel may be tweaked, since automakers can more easily meet stricter CAFE standards with the new rule in place.  If the proposal does stand, the White House would gain an early environmental victory in its second term.  Such a victory would also buttress the ambitious fuel economy goals set in the Obama Administration’s first term by giving OEMs more options for compliance and thus holding off potential challenges to the regulation.

You might have guessed that the United States, Germany, or even Israel would be the proving ground for the latest innovations in electric vehicles (EVs), but, in fact, France is where the technology is becoming part of everyday driving.

Carshare programs featuring EVs have expanded rapidly on the streets of Paris.  The Autolib program is now nearly 2,000 cars strong, as both locals and tourists are becoming comfortable with electric drive and short term vehicle borrowing.

Recently, Autolib auto provider Bollore Group announced that it will begin retail sales of its EVs.  Bollore is offering the innovative business model of selling the vehicles and leasing the batteries separately, becoming the second French company (after Renault) to do so.  Battery leasing is more of a psychological marketing tool that splits up the upfront cost of the vehicle and the monthly operational cost (i.e., the battery lease) to make it easier to compare EVs with conventional cars and their fuel costs, but if it continues to be popular with customers, other companies may adopt the strategy.

Think Small – Really Small

Renault offers battery leasing on the tiny Twizy, which has been hailed as the best-selling EV in Europe.  Getting consumers to buy into a smaller-than-smart-car are feats of both engineering and marketing.  Renault and ally Nissan have developed the strongest EV maker partnership, and the tandem recently crossed the 70,000 mark in EV sales.

Renault, Peugeot Citroën, Nissan, and other players from across Europe will be presenting at the eCarTec Paris conference and trade fair on April 16-18, where I’m looking forward to learning more about other upcoming developments in e-mobility.

Another EV car share program will launch next year in Grenoble, France, where Toyota is partnering with the City of Grenoble, Grenoble-Alpes Métropole, Cité Lib, and EDF.  The “last-mile” project looks to use shared emissions-free cars to close the gaps around public transport while reducing the overall use of personally-owned vehicles.  The project will feature 70 EVs, including Toyota’s COMS vehicle and a new model based on the i-ROAD concept that recently debuted with much fanfare at the Geneva Motor Show.

Thinking small – in vehicle size, cost of personal transit, and emissions footprint – is catching on rapidly in haute couture Paris, and this trend is not likely to go out of fashion anytime soon.  The lessons learned in the marketing and logistics of EVs in France are becoming the blueprint for sustainable transportation everywhere.