The California Air Resources Board has mandated that by 1998 2% of new vehicles sold in California must be zero emission, effectively, electric vehicles. This requirement is largely responsible for the electric vehicle development programs run by almost every global automobile manufacturer that does business in the United States. At present, no single electric vehicle technology, from battery type, to propulsion system, to vehicle design, represents a standard for a protoelectric vehicle industry. In this paper competing electric vehicle technologies are reviewed, leading public and private electric vehicle research programs worldwide are summarized, and the barriers faced by competing technological systems in terms of manufacturing and infrastructural requirements are examined.
Design considerations of a linear generator for a range extender application