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The Future Of Hybrid and Other Alternative Fuel Cars January 2005While no one can say for sure exactly what the future holds for the automotive industry, Gov. Jennifer Granholm wants to make sure Michigan continues to be a big part of it."What would you do if you were me? Is there something I can do as governor of Michigan to help," Granholm asked a panel of auto executives from Ford, General Motors, Chrysler Group, Toyota, Nissan and Hyundai during a Wednesday symposium at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The governor listened as the various speakers talked about changes in design, telematics and safety issues in vehicles, but it was changes happening now and looming in powertrain and vehicle fuels, specifically hydrogen fuel cells, that got the most attention. "With the fuel cell, given the rate of innovations, I would expect things to happen even faster than some of those in the industry think," Granholm said. Long known as the automotive capital of the world for the number of vehicles built in the state, Michigan has been evolving in recent years to become more of the brain center of the world's automotive industry. More than $10 billion is spent on automotive research and development annually at 173 facilities in the state. By comparison, California, which has the second-highest level of auto research and development spending in the nation, sees just over $2 billion spent there. "Don't be in a hurry to develop a lot of (hydrogen-related) infrastructure," said Dave Hermance, executive engineer for environmental engineering, at the Toyota Technical Center in Ann Arbor. "We don't know yet which method of hydrogen delivery is going to win out yet." What the state should be doing, Hermance said, is encouraging Michigan universities to focus research efforts on hydrogen storage and related issues. All of the panelists at the symposium envision a future in which hydrogen fuel cell powered vehicles eventually take a lion's share of the marketplace because hydrogen offers advantages in fuel economy, environmental friendliness, energy independence and other issues. Vance Zanardelli, manager of strategic powertrain technologies for Ford, told the governor that governments can play a large role by purchasing alternate fuel vehicles for part of their fleet. "When you get people driving these vehicles, all sorts of people come out of the woodwork with good ideas on how to solve problems that need to be worked out," Zanardelli said. Zanardelli was among the panelists who made the point that the "case for hydrogen is becoming more robust as times go on." Won Suk Cho, president of Hyundai's America Technical Center near Ann Arbor, said he sees the new round of gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles now coming on to the market as the bridge to a hydrogen fuel economy. Cho said Hyundai envisions gasoline and diesel powered engines combined making up less than 30 percent of the worldwide vehicle market by 2030. Hybrids of one sort or another, he said, should be close to 50 percent in 2030. Hydrogen-powered vehicles should start arriving on the scene in 2020 and grow in numbers through the middle part of the century. Hermance said he believes that hybrid engines, which take advantage of more than one fuel source, will become dominant in the industry and stay in dominance for a long time. One way that Michigan is working to support the automotive industry in the state with these high tech pushes is to increase the number of college educated people available to work in research and development centers, Granholm said. Her administration is pushing an initiative to at least double the number of people in the state who hold bachelor's degrees. The state also has a student loan repayment assistance program that it recently put in place to reward residents who earn engineering and related degrees -- and agree to stay and work in the state. "We need to explode the number of engineers in this state," she said. Asked after the symposium if Michigan should be working harder to diversify away from the auto industry, Granholm said no. "The automobile is the gold mine that we are sitting on," she said. "If anything, we want to have a bigger footprint in automotive." Granholm said she is also committed to working with Detroit and others to ensure that the North American International Auto Show remains in the city. Over the years, show organizers and exhibitors have complained that they have outgrown the space available at Cobo Center. Chicago and other cities have made comments that they would be willing to take on the show, leaving Detroit with a regional auto show, rather than the international industry event the NAIAS has become. "The auto show must stay in Detroit," Granholm said. "I am eager to help with that in any way I can." SOURCE: Macomb Daily | ||
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