more important than the personal benefits, Sloane believed the government needs to support the long-term research (over 10 years in the automobile industry) required to achieve such efficiency. There is a conflict in the marketplace when purchasers decide whether to spend incremental dollars for a personal benefit (such as a tape deck) or for a societal benefit Because personal benefits have historically dominated purchase decisions, technology insertion is needed.

FreedomCAR is a government program in which industry is a partner. A key industry role is to set research targets that reflect the comprehensive requirements of the automotive marketplace and real-world driving so that fundamental technology developments from this research will take into account industry’s engineering challenges in technology insertion. The FreedomCAR partnership is focused on transforming the automotive sector’s nearly total dependence on petroleum by giving it the flexibility to use diverse fuels. The major research focus is therefore on energy-efficient systems powered by hydrogen fuel cells. Beyond the engineering performance of these systems, their affordability is key. Affordability can be seen as a technical challenge because it requires achievements such as material substitution, parts integration, and innovative manufacturing processes. Insertion of these technologies into the automobile industry marketplace will likely require market incentives to overcome customer hesitancy to adopt a new technology, infrastructure incentives to stimulate deployment of the new refueling system coincident with vehicle introduction, and the development of commercial codes and standards, none of which are required in the space industry.

Sloane mentioned several obstacles to the successful completion of a long-term program to develop the hydrogen fuel cell automotive technology that the space exploration program may not face. They included commitment to the long-term vision; retirement of existing infrastructure; codes and standards; public acceptance; and affordability. There are also difficulties associated with the introduction of a new automotive vehicle into the marketplace, including durability of the inserted technology, timescales for infrastructure development, market acceptance, and cost, especially for the small number of vehicles that will initially be sold. Trimble asked if the introduction of a new vehicle was feasible from an engineering standpoint. Sloane said that it was feasible and that the companies engaged in developing the technology are optimistic enough to continue to invest in the new technology and to operate demonstration vehicles. General Motors has six fuel cell cars being driven in the Washington, D.C., area that are performing very well. The key remaining challenges are to make them more affordable and durable. Macaulay asked about the time needed to develop the infrastructure. (For example, the current infrastructure for space exploration includes the space shuttles and the ISS.) How does the industry figure out how long it will take? Sloane responded that in the fuel/automotive marketplace, a key element will be the coincident development of opportunities for the energy and automotive industries to invest in that will bring a return on the investment. That will require not only technology readiness but it also requires that the government coordinate simultaneous deployment by energy and vehicle companies and that it encourage the vehicle-buying public to switch to the new technology. General Motors has spent over $1 billion on new technologies for these next-generation vehicles and expects to market them in the next decade. The technical issues surrounding fuel cells for automobiles are therefore expected to be solved by 2010. The energy industry, meanwhile, is preparing for the availability of the technology by exploring opportunities