Lithium-Ion Battery Simulation for Greener Ford Vehicles

AUTOMOTIVE
FORD MOTOR CO., DEARBORN, MICHIGAN
The 2011 Ford Fusion Hybrid, with
an estimated 41 mpg in the city.
Lithium-Ion Battery Simulation for Greener Ford Vehicles
BY CATHLEEN LAMBERTSON, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, TECH BRIEFS MEDIA GROUP
What does it mean to “go green”? For
some it is as simple as putting out
the recycling each week, while others
choose bigger actions such as converting
their entire homes to solar power. The
debate over the benefits and drawbacks
of environmental actions continues. For
example, on one side, proponents of wind
farms tout the benefits of alternative energy,
while the other calls them eyesores.
Consumers wonder if what they’re buying
at the grocery store is really organic.
When it comes to what’s truly environmentally
sound, the answers aren’t always
clear. But one area where progress
has unquestionably resulted in a “greener”
outcome is the advent of the hybrid
electric vehicle (HEV).
HEVs combine the benefits of gasoline
engines and electric motors, and can
be configured to obtain different objectives,
including improved fuel economy,
increased power, or additional auxiliary
power. Modern HEVs use efficiency-improving
technology such as regenerative
braking, which converts the vehicle’s
kinetic energy into battery-replenishing
electric energy, rather than wasting it
as conventional brakes do. According to
the U.S. Department of Energy, benefits
of HEVs include a reduction in CO 2 , reduced
dependence on fossil fuels, and increased
energy sustainability.
An increasing number of automakers
are now offering HEV models, with
leadership held by those who entered
the market early. In 2004, the world was
introduced to the Ford Escape Hybrid,
the first American-built hybrid and the
first hybrid SUV. The Environmental
Protection Agency noted that the firstgeneration
Escape Hybrid was 70% more
efficient than the regular Escape with its
full internal combustion engine. It won
the North American Truck of the Year
Award at the 2005 North American International
Auto Show in Detroit, MI.
A Hybrid History
After the introduction of the Escape
Hybrid in 2004, Ford followed with the
Mercury Mariner Hybrid in 2005 and the
Mazda Tribute Hybrid in 2007. In 2010,
the company launched hybrid versions of
the Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan. The
non-electrified version of the Ford Fusion
and the Fusion Hybrid, with an estimated
41 mpg in the city, won the 2010 MO-
TOR TREND Car of the Year ® , along with
a place on many “best green car” lists.
The 2011 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid joined the
North American lineup last fall and is the
most fuel-efficient luxury car in America.
All of the Ford hybrids are full hybrids,
meaning they can run exclusively on battery
power, exclusively on gas power, or
on a combination of both. In total, Ford
has sold 170,000 hybrids to date.
“With HEVs, it’s all about delivering
and receiving energy on short time
scales — high power capability — that
is, breaking and accelerating. The real
reason hybrids give you over 40 miles per
gallon is because you’re driving around
with a smaller combustion engine that
is assisted by the battery on acceleration
with energy from the last braking,”
stated Dawn Bernardi, Ph.D., a battery
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