Despite the Energy Department's latest rah-rah report embracing an " 'all of the above' energy strategy,' battery-electric cars will continue to dominate federal mandates curbing carbon emissions from the nation's vehicle fleet.
Automakers reading the department's "2014–2018 Strategic Plan" will note that nothing has really changed since President Obama announced the first wave of battery development funding and $7500 EV tax credits in 2009. As it announced in January 2013, the DOE wants to drive EV battery costs down from the current sub-$400/kWh average to $300/kWh in 2015 and eventually down to $125 in 2022, in which a theoretical 300-mile electric car would cost $35,000 including five years of electricity.
Diesel isn't mentioned—which makes Audi's TDI rally last fall in D.C. seem a bit limp—and nowhere is cheap, plentiful, and domestically produced natural gas cited as a vehicle fuel. Fuel cells get a passing mention to reduce costs by 25 percent and increase efficiency to 60 percent by 2020. Ethanol, continually promoted by the Environmental Protection Agency and mixed with regular gasoline, will see additional production from up to three refineries that make the alcohol fuel from switchgrass and plant waste. Federal incentives for hydrogen and natural gas in vehicle fuels have not been renewed.
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But despite the DOE's emphasis on EVs—including workplace charging—automakers won't need to rush away from fossil fuels. Earlier this month, Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz restarted the Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing loan program to fund automotive suppliers developing new tires, engines and lightweight materials. The program was halted shortly after Fisker defaulted on its $192 million loan last year and later went bankrupt. In March, a new Environmental Protection Agency rule will make California's stricter emission laws the national standard by 2017 along with lower-sulfur gasoline. And in 2017, the EPA will conduct a midterm evaluation of its stringent CAFE fuel economy standards which could lower requirements for future models.
from Car and Driver Blog http://ift.tt/nSHy27
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