South Coast Air Quality Management District

Execute Contract to Co-Sponsor Development and Demonstration of Automated En-route Charging System for Heavy-Duty Transit Electric Vehicles

SYNOPSIS:

One of the major objectives for the advancement of battery electric vehicles is increasing their range. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, on behalf of a public/private partnership with Caruso Affiliated Holdings, has proposed to demonstrate an automated, hands-off en-route charging system for the first time in an electric trolley. This will be the first demonstration of an automated, no-contact, drive-over charging system for a heavy-duty vehicle. The proposed electric trolley system is part of a $90 million development at the Los Angeles Farmer’s Market. The total cost of the electric trolley demonstration is approximately $1.8 million. The AQMD cost share for the automated charging system and vehicle components shall not exceed $310,000.

COMMITTEE:

Technology, March 23, 2000, Recommended for Approval

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Authorize the Chairman to execute a contract with Los Angeles Department of Water and Power for the development and demonstration of an automated en-route charging system for an electric trolley in an amount not to exceed $310,000 from the Clean Fuels Fund.

Barry R. Wallerstein, D.Env.
Executive Officer

Background

The AQMP calls for the accelerated introduction of both light- and heavy-duty zero-emission vehicles as an air quality attainment strategy. One of the major objectives for the advancement of battery electric vehicles is increasing their range. Several solutions have been explored to increase range including battery swapping, advanced batteries, regenerative braking, opportunity charging, and fast(er) charging. Battery swapping, often used in Europe and for industrial vehicles, requires multiple battery packs and installation technicians. On-board recharging can be accomplished for public transit off-duty as demonstrated by the Santa Barbara Municipal Transit District (SBMTD) for carefully planned routes on 25 passenger vehicles, but to expand their route and service, fast charging between shifts/routes is under development. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), on behalf of a public/private partnership with Caruso Affiliated Holdings, has proposed to demonstrate an automated, hands-off en-route charging system for the first time in an electric trolley. This will allow the vehicle to be recharged during its normal transit operation.

At present, there are no commercially available automatic electric vehicle charging systems. However, there are certain types of industrial equipment and many consumer products that use magnetically or inductively coupled systems for battery charging (no metal-to-metal contact). The basic technology proposed has been developed by Inductran Corporation and is currently being used in industrial equipment. In addition, ARB and AQMD co-funded a light-duty electric vehicle demonstration with a proof-of-concept drive-over charging system using Inductran technology. This demonstration successfully showed the potential of automated charging for light-duty vehicles, but identified key improvements needed prior to commercialization: noise reduction, avoidance of high frequency harmonics which resulted in thermal issues, and the need for proper vehicle alignment. This project will address these key issues and apply this technology to a heavy-duty vehicle.

Caruso Affiliated Holdings is planning to complete this electric trolley as part of a much larger renovation project at the Los Angeles Farmer’s Market. LADWP, through a public/private partnership with Caruso Affiliated Holdings, will assist in the demonstration of the electric trolley, pursue opportunities to increase energy efficiency throughout the development, and participate in public education on-site regarding alternative fuels, distributed generation, fuel cell development, photovoltaics, and related air quality benefits. LADWP’s Green Power for a Green LA Program will power the vehicles, thus they represent zero emissions attributed to power generation as well as the vehicle itself.

Proposal

The proposed electric trolley system has two vehicles and will travel a fixed route through the Los Angeles Farmer’s Market development. The round-trip route is approximately one half mile long with a 2% grade, running from Stanley Drive to the existing Farmer’s Market parking lot on Fairfax Avenue. The electric trolleys will be double-decker, open-air vehicles with a historic look and feel and will be capable of ten trips per hour, transporting up to 70 passengers at a time with an operating speed of 10 miles per hour. Regenerative braking is considered a proven technology and will be employed. The design and production teams for the Farmer’s Market project are comprised of many of the same members that were responsible for the development of Disneyland’s "People Mover System."

Three aspects of the project represent technological advances: 1) the en-route charging system, 2) the steerable railway trucks, and 3) the "smart" motor controllers. En-route charging will occur at charging pits installed in the three stations where passengers will load and unload. Magnetic coils on the trolley will automatically drop down to close proximity with identical coils in the charging pit to transfer power to recharge the trolley. This procedure is activated completely without human intervention, because a sensor on board the vehicle looks for a magnetic signal from the charging pit. When the vehicle is in proper position, the mechanisms are engaged and the inductive charge begins. This is proprietary technology from Inductrans. The normal axle for a trolley is stationary and creates dramatic frictional losses during turns. Steerable railway trucks will receive a constant signal from the track, which tells them the proper orientation for the next segment of the track. This is a proprietary technology owned by Resco. Smart motor controllers are similar to those used on cars and buses, but will be more complex since these trolleys will utilize multiple drivetrain motors. These motor controllers will impose a "cosine curve" acceleration profile under normal driving situations, which can be overridden by the operator braking. Because they regulate the power available to the electric motors, they will always dictate the acceleration capacity. Use of these controllers will eliminate power-draining "jack rabbit" starts and stops, increasing energy efficiency, passenger comfort, and reducing the impact of driver variation on power usage. AQMD will co-funding will be applied toward these advancements.

After notification to the major players in the electric mass transit industry, Caruso, in consultation with LADWP has narrowed the search to three possible vendors based on their ability to meet the design criterion, their responsiveness to design changes, and the most cost-effective proposals. LADWP will be contributing $500,000 from their "Public Benefits and Energy Efficiency Fund" plus additional in-kind consultation time, and Caruso Affiliated Holdings will be contributing the balance of funding to leverage SCAQMD funding of $310,000 by better than 4:1.

The system will be tested following well-established ASTM Committee F1159-94 "Test and Adjust" procedures for show-and-ride systems. System characteristics including sound level, charging efficiency, charging power, and harmonic distortion will be evaluated. Success of this project will result in a highly visible demonstration applicable to other public transit systems.

Benefits to AQMD

The proposed project is included in the March 2001 update of the Technology Advancement Plan under Project 2001CFM5-2, "Development and Demonstration of Fast and Innovative Charging Systems for Power Storage for Electric or Hybrid Electric Vehicles." The AQMP relies on the expedited implementation of advanced technologies and clean-burning fuels in Southern California to achieve air quality standards. This project will develop automated "hands-free" en-route charging technology to extend the range of heavy-duty electric vehicles. Local tTransits involved in the planning of future "Bus Rapid Transit" deployment may benefit from experience of this demonstration project for their inner-urban electric bus option consideration.

Compared to a typical diesel shuttle operating the same route, this electric trolley is estimated to avoid over 14 tons of air contaminant emissions per year.

Sole Source Justification

Section VIII.B.2. of the Procurement Policy and Procedure identifies four major provisions under which a sole source award may be justified. This request for a sole source award is made under provision B.2.d.: Other circumstances exist which in the determination of the Executive Officer require such waiver in the best interest of the AQMD. Specifically, these circumstances are B.2.d.(1): Projects involving cost sharing by multiple sponsors.

For the electric trolley, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power will provide $500,000 in monetary plus in-kind funding in partnership with the balance of funding from Caruso Affiliates Holding to result in better than 4:1 co-funding leverage.

Resource Impacts

The total cost for this project is approximately $1,814,000. The amount of AQMD funding shall not exceed $310,000.

Sufficient funds are available from the Clean Fuels Fund, established as a special revenue fund resulting from the state-mandated Clean Fuels Program. The Clean Fuels Program, under Health and Safety Code Sections 40448.5 and 40512 and Vehicle Code Section 9250.11, establishes mechanisms to collect revenues from mobile sources to support projects to increase the utilization of clean fuels, including the development of the necessary advanced enabling technologies. Funds collected from motor vehicles are restricted, by statute, to be used for projects and program activities related to mobile sources that support the objectives of the Clean Fuels Program.

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