THE REAL ANSWER: ELECTRIC TRANSPORT

AC Propulsion – The Quiet Revolutionaries; Tom Gage talks about the role his company has played the rebirth of the modern electric car
Forbes Bagatelle-Black, October 27, 2009 (EV World)

[Note: Forbes Bagatelle-Black, NewEnergyNews’ ally-mentor-colleague and the force behind CycloCulture, released his engaging interview with electric car visionary Tom Gage for re-broadcast. Below are a few important excerpts. Click thru for the full text.]

"When most people think of the "big names" in the electric vehicle (EV) industry, they think of media darlings such as Tesla, Mini and GM. Most people do not realize that all of these companies rely on AC Propulsion (ACP), a small R&D and prototyping firm in San Dimas, California, for many of the core technologies which make their EVs great."

click to enlarge

"From the GM Impact, which evolved into the EV1, the first production electric vehicle available in the USA, to the Tesla Roadster supercar, ACP engineers and designs have provided the technological groundwork that made these vehicles possible. The company has quietly guided many or most of the technical innovations which have made EVs a reality today. Modern EV drivetrains, controls, battery packs and charging systems all rely on ideas and designs pioneered by ACP…Tom Gage [is] the company’s President and CEO…

"Q: Please list any electric vehicles or related projects which are currently using at least some technology licensed from or provided by AC Propulsion? …A: BMW MINI E and eBox are well known. Luxgen (Yulon Group in Taiwan) has been announced. Tesla are using their own technology but, of course, it evolved from what we licensed to them…"

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"Q: Please describe the links between ACP and the GM Impact. What current or past members of the ACP team were involved in the creation of the Impact? …A: The GM Impact program grew out of the successful collaboration between Aerovironment and GM on the SunRaycer solar EV racecar that won the big solar car race in Australia by a margin of something like two or three days. That was maybe 1987 or 1988. For that project, Alec Brooks of Aerovironment had recruited Alan Cocconi to do work on the power system…Based on the success of the Sun Raycer, Alec Brooks pitched an EV program to GM, GM bought it, and…eventually the EV1 was started…During the Impact development, Alan met Paul Carosa, a power electronics engineer at Hughes…Once GM committed…Alan left the project to continue working independently. By 1992 he had founded AC Propulsion with Wally Rippel, an Aerovironment engineer…[and] Alan soon recruited Paul Carosa and Dave Sivertsen, a friend from Caltech, and the core team of AC Propulsion was in place…

This guy gets it. Why don't the politicians? (click to enlarge)

"Q: What do you see as ACP's role in EV development now and in the future? …A: We have exciting and leading edge technology for a growing market, and we are profitable. Those things are what the EV business needs…We continue to develop our tzero(tm) technology. We are working on a smaller electronics package that will work with our new higher power motor (we've seen 300 hp on the dyno). We also are making good progress, working with cell suppliers in bringing down the cost of traction batteries for EVs. That's not super sexy, but it's really the most important thing for the market…Finally, we are really getting some traction with V2G. In the last month, I've had discussions about V2G projects in Beijing, Denmark, Saudi Arabia, Holland, and Singapore, not to mention Delaware, Texas, and Colorado. I am even seeing a glimmering of interest here in California…ACP has had a very encouraging response from all of our customers and other people who drive EVs…[P]eople just like EVs. They work, and they are a kick to drive. It's in the political arena where there seems to be a paralysis that is preventing effective action. For energy policy, we need to 1) agree that some alternative fuels are better than others, 2) dismiss the dreamers and corn growers and choose the right fuels for the future, and 3) get down to Electric Avenue."