TransForum Vol. 4, No. 1

ADVANCED POWERTRAIN RESEARCH FACILITY OPENS FOR BUSINESS

U.S. Representative Judy Biggert (R-Ill.); Argonne Laboratory Director Hermann Grunder; DOE Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Richard Moorer; and Argonne Associate Laboratory Director Harvey Drucker dedicate Argonne's Advanced Powertrain Research Facility.

At Argonne's Advanced Powertrain Research Facility (APRF), staff test-drive hundreds of cutting-edge vehicles in grueling conditions without ever venturing on the road. Skillful transportation experts perform this feat by using a flexible systems approach that links accurate computer simulations with component and control development on the test stand (emulation) and vehicle testing (validation) in the facility. The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) key laboratory for powertrain testing and validation, the APRF can assess any powertrain technology — including engines, fuel cells, electric drives, and energy storage systems.

The facility was dedicated at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on November 15 and is now open for business. The dedication was attended by more than 100 representatives, including members of the U.S. Congress, officials and staff from DOE and Argonne, automobile manufacturers, and the media. U.S. Representative Judy Biggert (R-Ill.), DOE Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Richard Moorer, Argonne Laboratory Director Hermann Grunder, Argonne Associate Laboratory Director Harvey Drucker, and USCAR Executive Director Bob Culver gave opening remarks at the dedication. Others who attended the event included auto industry executives from Ford, General Motors, BMW, DaimlerChrysler, and Honda; DOE sponsors Bob Kost, Vehicle Systems Team Leader, Office of FreedomCAR Vehicle Technologies, and Lee Slezak, who is a member of the team.

"Besides being a cleaner place, America will be a safer place because of this facility - safer because of the environmental implications such as reduced vehicle emissions and our lessened dependency on foreign oil," commented Representative Biggert in her remarks.

Added DOE's Moorer, "This facility provides researchers with the tools needed to develop and evaluate vehicle components that will meet America's changing transportation needs. It will help industry enhance energy efficiency and productivity by bringing clean, reliable, and affordable energy technologies to the marketplace. This will make a difference in the everyday lives of Americans by enhancing their energy choices and their quality of life."

During the dedication, attendees toured the APRF. After a luncheon hosted by Affiliated Engineers, Inc., and Flad & Associates, the staff from Argonne's Center for Transportation Research (CTR) demonstrated the APRF's integrated research and development capabilities with three interactive sessions. The sessions showcased Argonne's vehicle modeling/simulation tools, hardware-in-the-loop capabilities, and four-wheel-drive testing capabilities, featuring a unique fuel cell emulator vehicle.

"Argonne is an ideal place for this R&D to occur," asserts Argonne's Grunder. "We have one of the largest EERE transportation R&D budgets in the national laboratory system, with 10 divisions actively participating in developing cutting-edge technologies in engines, fuel cells, batteries, advanced materials, heat exchangers, aerodynamic and thermal modeling, and fuel processing. We are centrally located near the automotive and truck industries, have unique scientific research facilities, and have excellent working relationships with many of the major industry players worldwide."

CTR Director Bob Larsen describes the newest tool in the APRF, a four-wheel-drive dynamometer system, to U.S. Representative Judy Biggert.

While similar instrumentation is in use at research facilities operated by vehicle manufacturers, the APRF is the only facility in North America that combines the best available emissions instrumentation with such a wide range of fuels — including gasoline, hydrogen, natural gas, and diesel fuel. In addition, the APRF's researchers possess extensive industry experience and provide unbiased R&D results. They have tested more advanced technology vehicles than any other public sector group, including over 100 different hybrid electric vehicles.

"This unique combination of analytical, development, and testing experience provides DOE with the latest techniques to evaluate new vehicle technologies in both emulated and real-vehicle environments," says CTR Director Bob Larsen. "Argonne's long history in modeling, developing, and testing advanced engines, hybrid-electric vehicle powertrains and control systems, traction batteries, fuel cells, and vehicles is a large part of making Argonne an important laboratory for vehicle technology development and validation."

The APRF is sponsored by DOE's Assistant Secretary of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Office of FreedomCAR and Vehicle Technologies.