Large-scale electric vehicle test on Rügen

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The project testing of the latest generation of electric vehicles on the island of Rügen (also for short: Rügen test , project or trial ) was an investigation carried out by automotive companies and the Federal Ministry of Research from October 2, 1992 to June 1996 on the suitability of electric cars for everyday use Ruegen island .

Starting position

The car companies BMW , Mercedes-Benz , Opel , VW , Neoplan , Fiat and others decided in 1992 to carry out a test with electric cars. Christian Voy was chosen to lead the experiment . The cost of the experiment amounted to 60 million DM (approx. 30.7 million euros price as of 1996). The Federal Ministry of Research contributed 26 million DM (approx. 13.3 million euros price level 1996), the automobile companies 34 million DM of the costs (approx. 17.4 million euros price level 1996). On the part of the automobile companies, the Deutsche Automobil Gesellschaft supervised the experiment. The accompanying scientific study was carried out by the IFEU Institute . On the part of the energy storage manufacturers, a total of four companies were involved.

attempt

The experiment was officially started on October 2, 1992 by Federal Research Minister Heinz Riesenhuber and Federal Environment Minister Angela Merkel from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in Binz in October 1992.

Vehicles used

A total of between 36 and 60 electric vehicles of all classes were tested on the island of Rügen.

These goods:

These covered a total of 1.3 million km of driving distance. On average, the vehicles covered 25,000 km, occasionally up to 40,000 km. In addition to driving tests, crash tests were also carried out on the vehicles.

Energy storage technologies used

In terms of energy storage technologies, lead-gel , sodium-sulfur , zinc-air , nickel-metal hydride and lithium-ion energy storage systems were used. Various charging technologies were also tested.

Results

The final scientific report of the Ifeu Institute appeared one year after the end of the experiment in 1997.

Life cycle assessment

The life cycle assessment for carbon dioxide , sulfur dioxide and methane emissions was worse than for conventional drives due to the electricity mix , which contained a large part of the electricity produced by coal-fired power plants . The consumption of primary energy, at around 1 MJ per km, was also around 25% higher than for diesel or gasoline vehicles. The balance of noise emissions was mixed . Here, electric vehicles up to a speed of 50 km / h had an advantage due to the significantly lower engine noise. Above this speed, however, they had higher noise emissions than conventional motor vehicles due to the increased rolling noise due to the higher weight. In the case of other emission values ​​such as nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons , the balance was in favor of electric vehicles.

Energy storage technology

In particular, important knowledge was gained in energy storage technology. The batteries and accumulators proved their worth with the exception of the sodium-sulfur accumulators. Although these allowed ranges of up to 200 km, they were classified as too flammable for use in automobile traffic. Lead-acid batteries have proven to be the most reliable. Due to their specific weight, they could only achieve a range of 60 km. The charging times of 3 hours were also longer than average. Overall, the low charging capacity of the energy storage was noted. Although it was possible to achieve a five-fold improvement in the energy density through high-temperature storage, the calculated mass of an energy storage with a charge of 500 kWh , the comparable energy content of 60 liters of diesel, was 4 tons.

Charging times of 30 minutes could be achieved using fast charging techniques. The ranges of the vehicles were 80 to 100 km, sometimes up to 300 km.

reliability

The low operational capability of the vehicles was also criticized. Only between 1 and 14 of the total of 60 vehicles were in use at the same time. The Mercedes 190 used had downtimes, and the buses failed between 29 and 80 percent of the test period.

criticism

The information center of the electricity industry noted in the experiment that no special electric vehicles, but only conventional vehicles converted to electric drive, were in use. As a spokesman for the energy company RWE noted, secondary consumers such as battery heaters are also to blame for the high energy consumption. In some cases, these were significantly higher than for the actual drive function.

Effects

Due to the sobering results for the car manufacturers, the electric vehicle technology was no longer pursued with this intensity in Germany over the next few years. Only since around 2007 has there been more intensive research into electric vehicles under the heading of electromobility .

literature

  • BMBF-Rügen: Comparative ecological balance: electric vehicles and conventional vehicles - balance of emissions of air pollutants and noise as well as energy consumption within the framework of the BMBF project "Testing of the latest generation of electric vehicles on the island of Rügen"; 1992-1996
  • Eden, T., Herber C. et al .: Testing of the latest generation of electric vehicles on the island of Rügen . In Automobiltechnische Zeitschrift, issue 99, pp. 516-550, 1997

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Bild der Wissenschaft: “Better batteries are needed!” , Edition 7/1997, p. 24
  2. ↑ a b Berliner Zeitung: "Large-scale experiment with electric cars ended" June 29, 1996
  3. ↑ a b Wirtschaftswoche.de: “Deceptive packaging for electric cars” , November 26, 2008
  4. ↑ a b c Bild der Wissenschaft: “Electric car in crisis” , January 1, 1997
  5. ↑ a b c d e Spiegel Online: "Back to the future of electric cars" , December 21, 2008
  6. ↑ a b Energy Chronicle: "Electric Cars: Breakdowns on Rügen - New Batteries in Development" , by Udo Leuschner, with reference to Lübecker Nachrichten of July 25, 1993
  7. ^ A b Christian Voy: "Electromobility in Germany - A Status Report" , Federal Association of eMobility
  8. ↑ Eden, T., Herber C. et al .: "Testing of the latest generation of electric vehicles on the island of Rügen" in Automobiltechnische Zeitschrift, issue 99 pp. 516-550, 1997
  9. ^ A b c d Manfred Ronzheimer: "Eco scolding for current electric cars" in Welt.de, February 14, 1997
  10. ↑ Integrated Energy and Climate Program (IEKP) (PDF; 498 kB)