My favorite scene in the film adaptation of Michael Lewis’ “Moneyball” took place in the shadowy Oakland A’s locker room in 2003, when Billy Beane, the team’s general manager, hesitantly pushed a folded piece of paper over a table to his math genius assistant Peter Brand.
Unfolding the paper, Brand looked at the figure written on it before telling Beane, after a little pause, that the offer from the Boston Red Sox would make Beane the highest-paid general manager in sports.
“So?” What’s the big deal? Beane responds irritably.
“You’re not in it for the money,” Brand points out. “You’re doing it for the money,” says the narrator.
Before the credits roll, we learn that Beane rejected a $12.5 million-a-year deal to manage a Red Sox team that would go on to win the World Series a year later, in 2004.
What, you may ask, does this have to do with electric infrastructure and the future of supply chains?
Perhaps nothing. But bear with me for a moment.
DOE distributes infrastructure funds
The Department of Energy is awarding a total of $12.7 million to two major auto suppliers and one university to construct fast-charging infrastructure for electric vehicles for just a few hundred thousand dollars more than Red Sox owner John Henry promised Beane.
Commercial electric vehicles, particularly heavy-duty trucks, must be able to charge quickly if they are to be viable. Otherwise, they may become a future supply chain stumbling block. The availability of low-cost, fast-charging infrastructure is critical for fleet electrification and wider EV adoption. It is costly to scale current charging technology.
I was unaware of the terms of these grants until late last year. And I was perplexed as to why BorgWarner Inc. only announced its $4.09 million awards on April 14. Eaton Corp, which received $4.9 million from the “Fiscal Year 2021 Low Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Vehicle Technologies Research, Development, Demonstration, and Deployment” initiative, published a press statement four months ago.
The University of North Carolina received $3.9 million. The DOE awarded more than $68 million in infrastructure grants, including $5 million to Achates Power, whose opposed-piston 2-stroke hybrid commercial vehicle system was highlighted in Truck Tech on Friday.
What the money tells us (and buys)
BorgWarner (NYSE: BWA) is leading a 36-month initiative to design and build a low-cost, high-performance direct current fast charger (DCFC).
It is working with suppliers and research partners in the United States, including Michigan State University, eTransEnergy, Cityfi, the State of Michigan, and the construction firm Barton Malow. Wolfspeed, Inc. provides component supplier support.
The goal is to produce the next-generation DCFC system at a cost that is 20-30% lower than present systems. The flexible and adaptive single-stage power conversion and power module design developed by BorgWarner will allow up to five vehicles to share 150 to 350 kilowatts of juice in 25kW modules. Five additional EVs can be plugged in and charged.
Initially, the charger will be ineffective because vehicles require more power due to the size of their battery packs. BorgWarner, on the other hand, is sure that it can get there.
Eaton (NYSE: ETN) is working on a compact and complete solution for DC fast-charging infrastructure. Improvements in power conversion, grid connector technologies, charger integration and flexibility, and installation time are predicted to lower prices by 65 percent.
A solid-state Eaton transformer design and modular chargers packaged on a small skid will expedite installation while reducing the quantity of equipment and space required, both of which should save costs. It will link directly to the medium-voltage distribution system of a utility, avoiding the need for extra power conversion devices.
Eaton is in charge of the project. The National Renewable Energy Lab, North Carolina State University, the University of Pittsburgh, ITC Holdings, and Calstart, a national charity focused on clean mobility, are among the partners.
Eaton, NCSU, and Pitt are working together to develop the solid-state transformer’s technology. The technology will be validated by NREL. ITC Holdings will offer a fleet charging demonstration site, while CALSTART will independently assess costs and performance.
Another coincidence
Oh, and there’s one more coincidence. Beane, who is still with the A’s as executive vice president nearly two decades after the Moneyball tale was published in Lewis’ 2003 blockbuster, will speak at the FreightWaves Future of Supply Chain event on May 9-10 in Northwest Arkansas.
