Thomas Davenport of the United States (Thomas Davenport) manufactured an electric car driven by a DC motor in 1834, and the world’s first electric car was born in the United States. The United States has always been at the forefront of the world in terms of new energy vehicle technology research and development and policy support.
The United States began the research and development of new energy vehicles in the 1970s. In 1976, the U.S. Congress passed the “Electric Vehicles and Hybrid Electric Vehicles Research and Development and Prototype Test Regulations”. At that time, the Ford government also formulated financial subsidies to encourage policies, in the form of legislation and government financial support policy measures to promote The development of new energy vehicles. In 1991, the three major automobile companies of the United States, General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler, negotiated and established the United States Advanced Battery Consortium (USABC) to jointly research and develop high-energy batteries for electric vehicles.
In October of the same year, the U.S. Department of Energy provided USABC with US$226 million in funding for this joint research and development. The Electric Power Research Institute (ERPI) also joined the alliance to participate in research on high-energy batteries and electric vehicles. . The high-energy batteries developed by this alliance mainly include high-energy batteries such as nickel-hydrogen, sodium-sulfur, lithium polymer and lithium ion. Among them, nickel-hydrogen, lithium polymer and lithium ion batteries have been put into commercial production in 1995.
General Motors has also built a total assembly line for pure electric cars in Detroit, producing 10 pure electric cars every day, using high-energy batteries jointly developed by USABC and ERPI.
Since the beginning of the 21st century, as international oil prices have continued to rise, the American people have begun to tend to purchase low-emission energy-saving vehicles, and the research and development of related technologies in Japan has been at the forefront of the world, especially the hybrid Prius developed and produced by Toyota. Automobiles continue to sell well in the United States, occupying a considerable market share of hybrid vehicles in the United States, which has attracted great attention from the U.S. Department of Energy and automakers. After analysis, the U.S. Department of Energy and the automotive industry have adjusted their research and development priorities, strengthened the research and development of new vehicles that have an impact on the environment and energy, and accelerated the research and development and application of fuel cells and hybrid electric technologies. To this end, the U.S. government has successively established and launched the “The Partnership fora New Generation of Vehicles” (PNGV), the “Freedom CAR”, and the “Advanced Technology Automobile Manufacturing Incentive Program” (Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Incentive Program, ATVMIP) three major technology projects in electric vehicles, and the implementation of the “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act” (ARRA), which provides financial support to the advanced automobile industry, through direct investment And low-interest loans to support US auto companies in accelerating the development and production of new generation electric vehicles and other low-energy vehicles.
Driven by the support of three major technological projects and investment bills, the research and development of electric vehicle technology by local American companies has made significant progress. GM, Ford, and Tesla have all launched advanced electric vehicle models and achieved great results.
In January 2007, General Motors developed the Chevrolet Volt concept car. In September 2008, it developed the world’s first production version of the Chevrolet Volt. In 2010, the Chevrolet Volt program electric car (Figure 1) began mass production. In 2016, Chevrolet Volt sold 24,739 vehicles in the United States, ranking second in the sales of new energy vehicles. In December 2011, the Focus pure electric car developed by Ford (Figure 2) went on sale in the United States. The Focus pure electric car is the company’s first electric car. The short charging time is its biggest advantage, 3~4h. The charging can be completed. The American Tesla (Tesla) Motor Company is the world’s most well-known pure electric vehicle manufacturer. The latest ModelS pure electric vehicle (Figure 3) is composed of 8000 battery cells and has a driving range of up to 483km. It also has a high-performance drive. The motor can accelerate from standstill to 96km/h in 5.6s, and brake from 96km/h to standstill in only 42m, showing excellent dynamic performance. In 2014, Tesla invested another 5 billion U.S. dollars to build the world’s largest super battery factory that can supply batteries for 500,000 electric vehicles. Tesla is currently recognized as the most superior pure electric vehicle in the world, and its development prospects are very optimistic.
In addition, the establishment of alliances has become one of the important ways for foreign countries to develop new energy industries. In 2009, all parties in the US electric vehicle industry chain jointly established the American Electric Vehicle Alliance, which includes Renault Motors, Johnson Controls, Pacific Gas and Electric Power. , A123 Battery Systems, FedEx and other companies. The American Electric Vehicle Alliance is mainly committed to promoting large-scale implementation of electric vehicle plans from policies and actions, and ultimately changing the US economy, environment, and the status quo of heavy dependence on fossil energy, and realizing a revolutionary change in the transportation of electric vehicles in the United States.
The main content of the electric vehicle development goals and action plans proposed by the American Electric Vehicle Alliance are as follows: ① The United States will have 250 million electric vehicles by 2040, of which 3/4 of the demand for light vehicles will be provided by electric vehicles. By then, the United States will consume light fuel. It will be reduced by 75%, and the United States will basically get rid of its dependence on imported oil; ②Strive to have 14 million electric vehicles in the United States by 2020, and nearly a quarter of light vehicle demand will be provided by pure electric vehicles or plug-in electric vehicles; ③Call on the federal government Allocate 130 billion U.S. dollars to fund the development and production of electric vehicle batteries and the transformation of traditional car manufacturers; ④ Call for the introduction of attractive tax incentives or financial subsidy policies that encourage people to use electric vehicles and build electric vehicle infrastructure, first in the United States 33 In 2018, a good electric vehicle ecosystem was initially formed in the United States.
