Earlier this year, two major automobile companies announced electric cars for the mass market. The alternative fuel vehicles – the Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Volt – and others could help reduce urban air pollution and cut our reliance on imported oil, says Monica Mazurek, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering and a member of the Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation (CAIT). For the second year, Mazurek is teaching a Byrne Seminar “Atmospheric Brown Clouds: the ABC’s of Global Air Pollution.” She spoke with Rutgers Today on the potential benefits and remaining challenges to jump-starting electric cars as a viable transportation option.

Rutgers Today: What are the immediate benefits of electric cars?

Mazurek: I could start with air pollution and global warming, but let’s talk about economics. In 2007, there were 80 billion vehicle miles traveled in New Jersey. Think of all the gasoline required to fuel those miles. Then think about how 70 percent of that gasoline was imported. That’s a lot of money going out of our state and country just to buy transportation fuel. If we can move some of our vehicle-miles from gasoline to electric, we could keep more of that money in the United States and even in New Jersey. Electric cars can also run on energy generated by renewable resources – solar, wind, and hydroelectric power, which do not add particulates or greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. Expanding domestic alternative fuels and transporation infrastructure also creates new jobs, strengthens fuel security, and supports small and large businesses’ bottom lines. Economies cannot grow without a secure and affordable energy supply.

public charging station for electric cars being demonstrated
Michael Paritee, right, a representative of ClipperCreek, Inc., demonstrates his company's public charging station for electric cars to Monica Mazurek and Byrne Seminar students Mathew Schimmenti and Anuj Patel.
Nick Romanenko

Rutgers Today: But renewable resources account for a small amount of the electricity we generate. Wouldn’t driving more electric cars merely shift the pollution source from car engines to power plants?

Mazurek: Historically, renewable energy resources have not been a top priority in this country. China, envisioning an economy based on renewable energy, is investing in renewables. We should invest more in research and promote public policies that make renewables more abundant and competitive. There are even benefits to using electricity from non-renewable resources for transportation. Coal is a domestic product. Nuclear power is carbon neutral. And it’s easier to manage particulate emissions from hundreds of fossil-fueled power plants than from millions of tailpipes.

Rutgers Today: It will take more than just marketing electric cars to convince people to drive them. What will it take to make them attractive?

Mazurek: Electric vehicles have a shorter range than gasoline vehicles, so there will have to be places to charge them where you live, work, shop, or go to school. The Society of Automotive Engineers has developed a standardized plug that lets you connect your vehicle to home and public chargers. While these chargers work on standard 120-volt circuits, they work faster on 240-volt circuits, so homeowners will likely want to wire their garages with the equivalent of an electric range or dryer outlet. Public chargers will need a convenient way to bill you for the electricity you consume. New smart phone apps could tell you where to find a quick charge if you are out running errands.

Rutgers Today: Do electric vehicles make sense for everyone?

Mazurek: Electric cars still make more sense for urban and suburban driving, where trips are shorter, opportunities to charge are more frequent, and air quality issues are critical. To make electric cars attractive for rural or long-distance travel, batteries will need longer ranges and faster recharging using proposed Level 3 480-volt chargers that can recharge most electric vehicle battery systems in much less than an hour. The Chevrolet Volt offers a new hybrid solution to the current scarcity of public chargers and limited battery range by incorporating a gasoline generator. When the battery system runs low, the gasoline generator converts chemical energy to electrical energy that powers the battery system. The battery system and gasoline-powered generator can propel the Volt about 340 miles on a full charge and an eight-gallon tank of gas – the equivalent of 42.5 miles per gallon. This increased mileage means less carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, organic vapors, and fine particle emissions per mile. Using carbon-based fuels more efficiently decreases air pollutants and greenhouse gases. This is a big step in the right direction.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=0MQE7v0nF9Y