Press Release

By: Mike Thomas | Ford Communications Network DEARBORN, June 13, 2007 (FCN) --

The first E85 Escape Hybrids have hit the nation's streets as Ford delivered three vehicles to the Department of Energy, the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) and the Governor's Ethanol Coalition (GEC).

A total of 20 E85 Escape Hybrids will be delivered to select fleet customers in six states.

E85 Escape Hybrids combine hybrid and flex-fuel vehicle (FFV) technology. An electric motor powers the vehicle at low speeds and a gasoline internal combustion capable of running on fuel blends up to 85 percent ethanol kicks in a higher speeds.

"As a leader in both hybrid vehicles and in vehicles capable of operating on ethanol-based fuels, Ford is the ideal company to bring both technologies together for the first time," said Sue Cischke, Ford's senior vice president, Sustainability, Environment and Safety Engineering.

"The Governors' Ethanol Coalition has worked cooperatively with Ford for more than two decades," said Nebraska Governor and Coalition Chair Dave Heineman. "As Ford has developed new transportation technologies, we have been among the first to volunteer to provide Ford with real world testing of their products. We are pleased to work with a storied American vehicle manufacturer as the nation reduces its need for imported oil."

While Ford is doing its part to make FFVs available, a major challenge remains in making the ethanol available. Less than 1 percent of the 170,000 retail gas stations in the country carry E85 ethanol.

"For ethanol to be a real player in the transportation sector and lessen America's dependence on foreign oil, we need a strong, long-term focus on policies that increase U.S. ethanol production and accelerate E85 infrastructure development," said Cischke.

"We also need key partners like the oil industry to invest in developing and marketing renewable fuels, like E85. Without the whole-hearted involvement of the oil industry, we cannot move forward far enough or fast enough."

Along with the imported oil issue, the E85 Escape Hybrid also produces about 25 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions than a gasoline-fueled Escape Hybrid.

On the technology side, tailpipe emissions of FFVs remain a challenge for engineers. Currently, no manufacturer's FFV has been certified as a partial zero-emissions vehicle (PZEV). A full-hybrid application presents even more evaporative challenges because the vehicle operates on electric power alone without actuating the evaporative vacuum system that operates when the gas engine is in use.

The E85 Escape Hybrid remains a research project for possible future vehicles.

"Although we currently do not have plans to produce the Escape Hybrid E85, the research from this technology could lead to breakthroughs in even more advanced technologies," said Cischke.

In developing the vehicle, Ford engineers have already learned some practical lessons in combining the two technologies.

Ethanol, for example, is more corrosive than traditional gas. As a result, the Escape Hybrid E85 was retrofitted with fuel and engine system components made of less corrosive materials and adhesives.

Ethanol also doesn't possess the same energy content or burn rate as gas, which requires the engine to flow more fuel to the injectors to keep performance levels comparable. To handle this increased fuel flow, the Escape Hybrid E85 has a larger fuel pump, fuel lines and injectors.

"An engine that is capable of running on straight gas to E85 has to learn what's in the tank and adjust accordingly," said Mike Varns, HEV PMT leader for Ford's Sustainable Mobility Technology Lab.

The vehicle learns through the engine control module (ECM) that monitors exhaust gas, the system's air-fuel ration and the float rod in the fuel tank. When the ECM senses a shift in the engine's air-fuel ratio to the lean side (more air than fuel), it deduces that the vehicle is filled with E85 and adjusts the fuel system accordingly.

"The vehicle learns while the engine is running," says Varns. "But, with the hybrid, the engine may be shut off for long periods of time while the vehicle runs on electric power, so we had to make some custom software and calibration changes within the ECM to make sure it could seamlessly remember or relearn the correct percent of ethanol after a shutdown."

The end result is a vehicle that reacts effortlessly and provides the same smooth ride and handling customers enjoy with the gas/electric Escape Hybrid. "We have the same drivability attributes as the conventional gas hybrid," says Varns, "from engine on/off transitions to acceleration and deceleration."

And as Varns pointed out, Ford was able to utilize its experience it's gained from making FFVs since 1995.