National critical technologies report.

  • Office of Science and Technology Policy
Date:
1995
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: National critical technologies report. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    essential to the success of the Partnership for the New Generation of Vehicles, an effort to build an advanced automobile for the next century. ae Japan and Europe are about even with the United States in electric vehicle (EV) technology. Japan has an aggressive battery development program and has demonstrated high performance in some EV prototypes. Japanese automakers are cautiously watching foreign market developments before risking production of EVs. European automakers, on the other hand, are moving forward with EV production despite the fact that their battery, motor, and battery charger infrastructure programs are not as far along as the Japanese. Like the U.S. government, Japanese and European governments are funding technology development and providing market incentives to promote EV use. Batteries are discussed elsewhere in this report. Foreign firms working on electric vehicles have had mixed results developing key associated technologies, United States but is probably ahead of that of the Europeans, who are still equipping EVs with heavy DC motors that are difficult to maintain. The Japanese lead U.S. and European firms in the development of off-board chargers for EVs. Because the limited number of home garages in Japan requires a charging infrastructure, Tokyo is establishing a network of high-power rechargers in some major cities that can reduce charge times from eight hours to less than one. European researchers are developing more convenient on-board chargers, which use ordinary household outlets, but no firm has been able to significantly reduce the weight of these systems. ENERGY STORAGE, CONDITIONING, DISTRIBUTION AND TRANSMISSION Electric energy storage, conditioning, distribution, and transmission technologies are enabling technologies for both economic prosperity and national security. These technologies will enable intermittent, renewable energy sources on the electric gird. Electric energy storage technologies are essential for electric cars and/or hybrid electric cars and, thus, enable a new generation of non-polluting, non-oil burning motor vehicles. Advanced technologies for electricity conditioning, distribution, and transmission increase the quality, reliability and efficiency of electric power for industrial, commercial, and residential applications. Energy storage, conditioning, transmission, and distribution technologies also have military applications. Power requirements for military equipment vary widely. A few watts may suffice for a wide variety of personnel communication units, but many kilowatts may be needed for surveillance radars and megawatts could be in demand for some potential weapon systems, such as directed energy. Efficient energy storage technologies will help bring power to run modern |