Mohammed Ben Sulayem, vice president of the International Automobile Federation, takes a turn behind the wheel of the Luxgen EV+ at the 2009 Dubai International Motor Show as Hu Kai-chang, center, president of Luxgen Motor Co., Ltd., introduces the car’s features. (Courtesy of Toucher Integrated Marketing)
Taiwan is gearing up for the era of electric vehicles.
At the Dubai International Motor Show at the Dubai World Trade Center in December 2009, the Luxgen EV+ minivan was the only vehicle that organizers allowed to be driven onto the stage of the Enviro-Zone, which showcased green vehicles. The EV+ was allowed to make such a high-profile entrance because it was the sole electrically powered, zero-emissions vehicle to appear at the show. The world’s first and so far only seven-passenger electric vehicle, the EV+ is built by Taiwanese automaker Luxgen, a subsidiary of the Yulon Group, Taiwan’s largest automotive conglomerate.
In recent years, governments and corporations around the world have been jumping on the electric car bandwagon, spurred on by climate change and persistently high oil prices. With these tremendous threats comes the equally great opportunity of replacing gas-powered vehicles with a new generation of electricity-powered ones. Mainstream manufacturers such as BMW, Mitsubishi Motors and Nissan have recently unveiled a string of electric concept vehicles, but none is ready for mass production and many are no more than attention-grabbing concept vehicles.
In Taiwan, Luxgen is one of several manufacturers seeking to capture an early slice of this potentially huge market sector. Finished automobiles are just the most obvious part of the growing industry. Individual electronic components, for example, are likely to constitute more than 70 percent of the total number of parts of electric vehicles in the future, according to Chen Kuo-rong, general manager of Yulon Motor Co., Ltd., which is based in Miaoli County, northern Taiwan.
Through the first quarter of this year, the only carmaker with a substantial track record of manufacturing and selling electric vehicles was US-based Tesla Motors, Inc., which was established in 2003. The company’s debut effort, the Tesla Roadster, was officially unveiled to the public in 2006, with delivery to customers beginning in February 2008. Many of the key components of the Tesla, however, including its electric motors, battery-control units and motor controllers, are supplied by Taiwan-based companies.
Electric vehicles (EVs) such as the Tesla Roadster and Luxgen EV+ do not produce any emissions themselves, but they do draw power from the electrical grid, and that electricity, in Taiwan and around the world, is primarily generated by burning fossil fuels. Coal, natural gas and oil-burning power plants are a major source of carbon emissions. In the United States, for example, 41 percent of all carbon emissions come from power plants. Thus, when the electricity is traced back to its source, electric cars do leave a carbon footprint. In the Tesla Roadster’s case, however, the footprint is much smaller than that of the typical gasoline-powered vehicle. As Jason Cammisa wrote in the October 2009 issue of Automobile Magazine, “Pacific Gas and Electric—which generated power for the Tesla—released into the atmosphere the same amount of carbon dioxide as would a gasoline-powered car getting 99 mpg [42 kilometers per liter].” By comparison, the European Union has set a fuel efficiency goal for conventionally powered vehicles of 20 kilometers per liter or higher by 2012, while the United States has set a goal of reaching 14.9 kilometers per liter by 2016.
The Luxgen EV+ minivan, the world’s first—and so far only—seven-passenger electric vehicle (Photo by Jimmy Lin)
Among the most important metrics for electric vehicles are range and speed. One of the drawbacks associated with such vehicles in the past was the limited distance they could cover between battery charges. The Tesla Roadster puts such concerns to rest as it can cover nearly 400 kilometers on a single charge, which is similar to the range of gasoline-powered cars. Performance enthusiasts also find plenty to like in the Tesla, as it can accelerate from zero to 100 kilometers per hour in 3.9 seconds, faster than the renowned Porsche 911 Carrera’s 4.7 seconds. The Tesla Roadster’s neck-snapping acceleration comes from a 185-kilowatt (248-horsepower) electric motor powered by a 53-kilowatt-hour battery pack.
The tiny but powerful electric motors propelling the Tesla—as well as the Luxgen EV+—are produced by Fukuta Elec. & Mach. Co., Ltd., which is based in Taichung, central Taiwan. Since 2007, Tesla Motors has also purchased battery control units, motor controllers and testing equipment from Chroma Ate Inc., which is based in Taoyuan County, northern Taiwan, as well as additional motors from Gongin Precision Ind. Co., Ltd. of Kaohsiung County, southern Taiwan.
Batteries are a crucial component of electric vehicles, and global car manufacturers are increasingly sourcing them from Taiwan’s manufacturers. In 2009, for example, the E-One Moli Energy Corp., a subsidiary of the Taiwan Cement Group, began supplying lithium-ion, or Li-ion, batteries to Germany’s BMW Group, which uses them in the Mini E electric automobile. The Mini E is currently undergoing field tests in the United States and is expected to enter the market in 2012.
E-One Moli has so far provided around 5 million Li-ion battery cells for use in 1,000 Mini E electric cars, according to E-One Moli president Raymond Lee. Sales of EV-use power cells accounted for about 11 percent of E-One Moli’s overall revenue in 2009, while such cells accounted for only 2 percent before 2008.
Compared with other battery technologies, Li-ion cells are lighter, more durable, remain more efficient in cold temperatures and can be stored in any state of charge, thus leading to their adoption by most electric vehicle manufacturers. Li-ion battery manufacturing is nothing new for Taiwanese companies, as many have invested in research, development and production of the cells for use in laptops, communication devices and consumer electronic goods, points out Wang Han-ying, deputy director of the Mechanical and Systems Research Laboratories under the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI).
Safety Challenges
Safety concerns are the principal drawback associated with Li-ion cells, however, as a short circuit can cause a battery to ignite. The cells installed in electric vehicles face additional challenges such as high temperatures, intense shocks and current surges. In the worst-case scenario, batteries that overheat or are damaged in an accident could cause an electric vehicle to explode.
Taiwan-based Fukuta Elec. & Mach. Co. supplies the electric motors used in the Luxgen EV+ and the Tesla Roadster. (Photo by Jimmy Lin)
As the number of cells and amount of current passing through them increase, the need for precision manufacturing processes and control devices becomes more critical. While an average laptop uses four Li-ion battery cells, the Tesla Roadster battery pack, for example, is comprised of some 6,800 individual cells, Lee says. “That’s why we’ve been trying to make our cells safer and more reliable by cooperating with different organizations, including the state-sponsored ITRI,” he says.
One promising outcome of ITRI’s quest to develop safer Li-ion batteries is known as STOBA, an acronym for self-terminated oligomers with hyper-branched architecture. STOBA, which was invented by the institute in 2009, sits between a battery’s positive and negative nodes and works by reacting to temperature rises in the battery, effectively stopping further reactions and preventing overheating. E-One Moli, the largest Li-ion cell maker in Taiwan, recently began adding the material to its batteries.
Precisely controlling the current produced by Li-ion cells is also crucial for safety and reliability, which is why E-One Moli has joined ITRI in a two-year project aimed at advancing its battery management system (BMS) for electric vehicles. “The Mini E’s battery pack is composed of 48 battery modules, and we aim to improve our BMS so that vehicles like it can still function well, even if some of the modules aren’t functioning properly,” Lee says.
The chief problem facing Taiwan’s battery industry, however, is the relatively small scale of domestic manufacturers. “Companies with low production volumes have weak purchasing power, which makes their products more expensive than those from larger companies,” Lee explains, adding that this will be a challenge for local makers as they take on international battery companies such as the Samsung Group of South Korea and Panasonic Corp. of Japan. Both of those companies already produce huge volumes of Li-ion batteries for their own products like digital cameras and cellphones, and both are also producing batteries for electric cars.
Other components of electric vehicles besides batteries that require advanced electronic control technology include servomotors, which precisely position moving parts, and hybrid electronic/mechanical systems. Fortunately, this is another area where local manufacturers excel. “Taiwan has decades of experience in the electronic control industry,” says Lee Chun-chung, deputy general manager of Yulon Motor Co. “Electric vehicles utilize a lot of information technology (IT), and that’s been Taiwan’s leading-edge industry over the past few decades.” E-One Moli’s Raymond Lee concurs, saying that Taiwan’s wealth of experienced professionals in the IT and electronics industries gives the island an opportunity to outpace rivals in the global electric-car market.
Taiwan’s companies face the challenge, however, of competing against larger automakers, especially in research and development (R&D). The Renault-Nissan Alliance, one of the world’s leading automotive groups, has nearly 10,000 employees in its R&D department, while Hua-chuang Automobile Information Technical Center Co. Ltd., which carries out the same function at Yulon Motor Co., employs only around 800.
To boost Taiwan’s competitiveness in electric vehicle research, the government is increasing this year’s annual R&D budget for government institutes to nearly NT$400 million (US$12.5 million) from NT$200 million (US$6.25 million) in 2009, according to the Department of Industrial Technology under the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA).
To boost Taiwan’s R&D capacity further, Chiou Chyou-huey, director of the Metal and Mechanical Industries Division at the MOEA’s Industrial Development Bureau (IDB), suggests making the island a test bed for electric vehicles and their associated components and technologies. With a distance of around 400 kilometers between the island’s northern and southern extremities, Taiwan makes an ideal testing ground for the vehicles, he says, adding that the national power grid is capable of supplying sufficient electricity to install a large number of charging stations.
More government support is likely to come this year from the Executive Yuan, which plans to invest in excess of NT$15 billion (US$468.8 million) over six years for the development of four key emerging “intelligent industries.” One of those industries is the electric vehicle sector, which is scheduled to receive a NT$2 billion (US$62.5 million) to NT$3 billion (US$94 million) investment over three years. The other three industries are cloud computing, green architecture and the commercialization of patents.
Part of that funding will go toward a two-stage electric vehicle project. In the first stage, which will begin this year and run for three years, the government will subsidize 3,000 pilot vehicles in 10 selected municipalities around the island. Plans call for the subsidized automobiles to be buses, taxis and rental cars in scenic areas, as well as public-sector vehicles such as those operated by Taiwan Power Co. and Chunghwa Post Co., Ltd., according to Chiou.
Moreover, a reduction in commodity and licensing taxes for manufacturers will be implemented in the first stage of the project. “Currently, electric vehicles are much more expensive than gasoline-fueled automobiles,” Chiou says. “The exemption from commodity taxes will reduce the manufacturers’ price differential between the two types of vehicles and shorten the time it’ll take to shift from cars with petrol engines to battery-powered ones.”
In fact, the high cost of electric automobiles is one of the factors hindering their adoption around the world. The Tesla Roadster, for example, is priced at NT$3.25 million (US$101,500). Li-ion batteries account for nearly half of the cost, E-One Moli’s Raymond Lee says. “To make electric cars more popular, improving battery manufacturing techniques and lowering the cost of the cells are key factors,” he says.
To reduce the initial outlay for consumers, Luxgen plans to sell electric vehicles and batteries separately. The cars alone are expected to cost about as much as Luxgen’s gas-fueled vehicles, which start at NT$798,000 (US$24,940) for the company’s 7 MPV model. Luxgen will make the batteries available for rent or purchase under an installment plan. Yulon’s Lee Chun-chung says that the monthly cost of battery repayment and recharging will be roughly equivalent to the cost of operating a gasoline-powered car over a similar time period. “The idea is to limit the financial burdens for electric vehicles,” he says.
Li-ion battery cells supplied by E-One Moli Energy Corp. Electric cars such as the Tesla Roadster can require up to 6,800 individual cells. (Courtesy of E-One Moli Energy Corp.)
The second stage of the government’s project, scheduled to begin in 2013, will offer a subsidy package for buyers of electric vehicles, including a cash rebate applied to the purchase price. However, the amount of the subsidies has yet to be decided, as the state of the government’s finances will be a determining factor, the IDB’s Chiou Chyou-huey says.
For its part, Yulon Motor Co. has elected to work with the Taipei County Government to launch an electric shuttle bus service for tourists in Pinglin Township this year. Yulon will provide an estimated 30 of the buses that visitors will be able to board as they circle the scenic township. “Pinglin Township has promoted eco-tourism, which makes the zero-emission vehicles a perfect match,” Yulon’s Lee Chun-chung says.
Developing the infrastructure required to charge electric vehicles conveniently will be another critical factor for their market acceptance. “Consumers are likely to have concerns about whether it’ll be convenient to recharge and repair these cars,” E-One Moli’s Raymond Lee says. Yulon’s Lee agrees, saying that in the future, charging stations for electric cars should be widely available. The government will also play a role in this part of the industry by drawing up specifications for charging stations, while companies that build and operate the stations will be responsible for selecting appropriate locations, according to Chiou Chyou-huey.
The time required to charge the batteries of current electric vehicles can extend to several hours, although the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States is working on a technique to cut that to just 10 minutes. For the near future, however, charging stations will resemble parking lots and be located in residential areas, workplaces and commercial areas, Yulon’s Lee Chun-chung says. “If consumers have their own parking spaces, whether in their garages or in parking lots in buildings, cradles and meters could be installed so that they can use and pay for public electricity,” he says.
Closer Relationship
“The relationship among users, cars and the environment will be closer when electric vehicles become more popular,” Lee Chun-chung says, adding that consumers will need to know the locations of charging stations and whether the charging points are occupied by other vehicles. To address these concerns, Yulon Motor Co. plans to launch an online service center providing charging point location and occupancy information to Luxgen electric vehicle drivers, he says, making driving electric vehicles more convenient and boosting their popularity.
In the new automobile era, electricity has the potential to replace petrol as the primary fuel source, batteries might be seen instead of gas tanks, electric motors could take on the role of gasoline engines and battery control systems could serve the function of fuel injectors. The infrastructure associated with autos could also see major changes. “It’s likely to be an industrial revolution,” E-One Moli’s Raymond Lee says. “In the future, you could see charging points instead of gas stations, and traditional garages could change to repairing electrical instead of mechanical systems.”
Taiwan has a clear opportunity to become one of the major players in the global electric vehicle industry. One somewhat counterintuitive factor that could help is the relatively low volume of gasoline-powered cars manufactured on the island. Countries with long-established conventionally powered auto industries may be concerned that the emergence of electric vehicles could impact their sales, the IDB’s Chiou says, whereas “Taiwan has no such burden.”
The international race is on to make the futuristic vision of electric vehicles a reality, and Taiwan needs to move quickly. “If Taiwan can’t achieve popularization of electric cars on the island by 2012, its current competitive edge over other countries may disappear,” Yulon’s Lee Chun-chung says. It is still much too early to determine which countries and companies will be the eventual winners, but given Taiwan’s proven strength in the electronics sector and significant investments by the government, the island is in a good position to compete in a potentially lucrative, environmentally beneficial market.
Write to Vicky Huang at powery18@mail.gio.gov.tw