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OSU and Vanner Partner to Accelerate Electric Vehicle Industry in Ohio

Partnership to accelerate electric vehicle industry in Ohio

The Ohio State University and Vanner, Inc. are working with industry partners to accelerate the electric vehicle industry in Ohio. The university’s Center for Automotive Research (CAR) recently secured state approval for the first $500,000 of a $3 million Ohio Third Frontier Grant designed to help develop market-viable commercial electric vehicles, including buses and trucks that represent a potential growth rate of 17.1% annually.

Vanner, Inc. and American Electric Power, STMicroelectronics, and Fil-Mor Express, Inc. are collaborating with CAR and will use the new CAR testing facilities to research, develop and demonstrate new hybrid electric vehicle technologies. Advancement of this technology is projected to create more than 900 new jobs over the next five years.

“We will be able to measure everything onboard a hybrid vehicle, including fuel and energy efficiency,” said Giorgio Rizzoni, professor of mechanical engineering and director of CAR. “One particular goal of our research is to move auxiliary power systems in working trucks and buses off the diesel engine and onto rechargeable electric. These systems run air conditioning or external hydraulic parts and using them often results in long-term idling of the engine, which wastes fuel and pollutes the environment.”

Vanner has developed converters that allow a high-voltage battery in a commercial vehicle to power electrical accessories, thus eliminating use of the alternator. The new research will help engineers develop a modular DC-to-AC power converter to further the process, decoupling the air conditioning compressor, power steering pump, fans and water pump from the engine. The technology could be applied to commercial trucks and transit buses, school buses and construction and agriculture vehicles with a significant reduction in emissions and long-term fuel cost savings.

“These converters alone could reduce fuel consumption by as much as a 40 percent. A typical hybrid bus, for example, only provides a 15 percent fuel economy improvement,” said Rizzoni.

“Ohio is emerging as a major force in innovation in the hybrid electric niche,” said Steve Funk, president of Vanner, based in Hilliard, Ohio. “Pew Charitable Trust research ranked Ohio among the top five states with the most jobs in clean energy, environmentally-friendly production, and energy efficiency in 2007. We expect to work closely with suppliers and innovators across the state to further green-car technology and reinforce our state’s reputation as the up-and-coming Silicon Valley of vehicle electrification.”

OSU CAR is one of the nation’s oldest and most accomplished transportation research centers. The center focuses on discovering sustainable transportation systems and crafting more energy efficient automobiles and power plants. The grant will fund a new testing facility inside CAR with the goal of speeding up the conversion from gas to electric. The facility will be equipped with a heavy-duty chassis dynamometer to simulate real-world operating conditions including load and wind resistance, a large battery cycler system, an environmental chamber, and high-voltage power measurement technology.

Since 1977, Vanner, Inc., Hilliard, Ohio, delivers power conversion and power management systems that transform our increasingly mobile and technological lives. With years of market leadership with DC to DC conversion with equalization and sophisticated battery monitoring, DC to AC power inverters and other devices for various specialty vehicle markets, Vanner has an established tradition of innovation and engineering excellence.

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Vehicle Electrification:
Traditional vehicles do not produce the power for engine electrification. The power to run auxiliary loads comes from the internal combustion engine. With the new hybrid drives for specialty vehicles, all the power required is now available to electrify the vehicle.

Vanner started engine electrification several years ago when it developed the next generation of alternator-based inverters that provides AC power whether the vehicle is in idle or moving down the road. Although revolutionary, the power was limited by the output of the alternator.

Vanner is accelerating vehicle electrification for hybrid commercial vehicles by developing the next generation high voltage DC to DC converters and high voltage DC to AC inverters to allow exported power to run the less efficient and less reliable belt-driven loans. The Vanner inverter will allow the vehicle to tie into the grid and use the grid-tie technology for battery recharge, and for vehicle heat up and cool down -- all without emissions.