Center for Automotive Research Receives Ohio Third Frontier Funding to Accelerate Electric Vehicle Industry in State

The OSU Center of Automotive Research (CAR) recently secured the first $500,000 of a $3 million Ohio Third Frontier grant in support of the center’s efforts to develop market-viable, commercial electric vehicles including buses and trucks – a market which represents a potential growth rate of 17.1 percent each year. 

The grant will fund a testing facility within CAR to accelerate the conversion of vehicles from gas to electric.  The state-of-the-art facility will be equipped with a heavy-duty chassis dynamometer to simulate real-world operating conditions, a large battery cycler system, an environmental chamber and high-voltage power measurement technology.

“We will be able to measure everything onboard a hybrid vehicle, including fuel and energy efficiency,” say Giorgio Rizzoni, professor of mechanical engineering and director of CAR. 

Industry partners in the initiative include Central Ohio’s Vanner, Inc. and AEP, along with Michigan-based STMicroelectronics and Fil-Mor Express of Minnesota. 

"Ohio is already emerging as a major force in innovation in the hybrid electric niche," said Steve Funk, president of Vanner. "Pew Charitable Trust research ranked Ohio among the top five states with the most jobs in clean energy, environmentally-friendly production and energy efficiency in 2007.”

The electric vehicle initiative is projected to create more than 900 new clean-energy jobs over the next five years. 

CAR is one of the nation’s oldest and most accomplished transportation research centers.  OSU dedicates more than 300 researchers to the quest for alternative and renewable energy solutions.  A team from the center recently won first place in the North American EcoCAR NeXt Challenge for designing an eco-friendly, fuel efficient hybrid vehicle capable of maintaining performance standards and consumer appeal.  

For more information, see the announcement from OSU. 

In a related story, Battelle spin-off Velocys Inc was approved for a $4 million Ohio Third Frontier grant to advance its microchannel hydroprocessing technology which converts waste to biofuels. 

See the story in Business First.