TransForum Vol. 8, No. 2

Argonne Lends Transportation Research, Organizational Expertise to ALMS Green Challenge

General Motors and Porsche were the two winners of the Green Challenge at Road Atlanta on October 4, 2008. Photo courtesy of ALMS.

In a new twist on alternative fuel racing, two winners at Road Atlanta on October 4 were determined by their environmental footprint. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Argonne National Laboratory, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) International worked closely with the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) to establish the Green Challenge, a race-within-a-race.

The Green Challenge measured the energy efficiency and environmental impact of each competing car. In a nutshell, the “greenest car would be a winner of this “race.” However, with four different classes of cars, 14 manufacturers, and three alternative fuels used among the competitors, a comprehensive formula and scoring system had to be developed to determine the winner fairly.

Argonne, along with SAE’s Green Racing Work Group and ALMS, developed the formula to determine the winner. The result was a scoring system that ranked cars according to the amount of energy used, greenhouse gases emitted and petroleum consumed, setting a new standard for measuring environmental impacts and introducing a new dimension to motorsport racing.

Calculations for the formula included a distance- and speedcompensated energy efficiency component and a well-to-wheel analysis that accounts for all of the greenhouse gas emissions and petroleum energy required to extract, refine and use the various fuels. Race organizers calculated a principal component of each car’s score by using Argonne’s Greenhouse gas, Regulated Emissions, and Energy use in Transportation (GREET) model to accurately compare the environmental performance of each car.

The winners of the inaugural Green Challenge were a Porsche RS Spyder that finished third in the P2 Prototype class and sixth in the overall race, and a Chevrolet Corvette that finished first in the GT1 Grand Touring Class and tenth overall. The prototypes represent the cars of tomorrow, incorporating the most advanced technologies available in the ALMS. The GT class represents the cars of today, based on production cars from some of the world’s most storied marquees like Ferrari, Porsche, Corvette and the Ford GT.

ALMS also relied on Argonne’s 20 years’ experience in organizing collegiate vehicle competitions, such as last year’s Challenge X and this year’s EcoCAR Challenge. These competitions, which focus on developing and demonstrating advanced propulsion technologies and renewable fuels, have led to many innovations in today’s vehicles.

“The Green Challenge provides an outstanding opportunity to demonstrate green technologies and fuels that will soon appear in the vehicles that people will drive every day,” said Bob Larsen of Argonne’s Transportation Technology R&D Center. “The challenging conditions in ALMS’ endurance races, which can last up to 12 hours, put new technologies to the test in the real world to prove their effectiveness.”

Scott Atherton, President and CEO of the ALMS said, “Where the ALMS has set itself apart is that all the technology being developed in the series has a direct link back to the road car, back to the production car. And in the GT class, it’s the actual car.”

The American Le Mans Series is the only racing series in the world where all its cars race on street legal alternative fuels (clean sulfur-free diesel with a natural gas-to-liquids component, E10 and cellulosic E85). In this Series, automakers race to develop technologies for future consumer cars.

Spectators at the race also said the Green Racing Challenge encouraged innovations that could help to alleviate America’s energy crisis. “If they can transfer that technology to the general public, it’s something we can all benefit from,” said Mark Register of Jacksonville, Florida.

The Green Challenge will become a full-season feature in 2009, when all teams will compete for a season-long Green Challenge Championship.

Argonne’s transportation research is sponsored by DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Vehicle Technologies Program, which supports the development of more energy efficient and environmentally-friendly transportation technology that will enable America to use less petroleum.

More

• ALMS web site: www.americanlemans.com
• EPA web site: www.epa.gov/otaq/ld-hwy/420f08031.htm
• SAE web site: www.sae.org/servlets/pressRoom?OBJECT_TYPE=PressReleases&PAGE=showRelease&RELEASE_ID=882

November 2008