EVS-21 Sustainable Mobility Conference in Monaco

International (Electric Vehicle Symposium)

Report copyright Mark E. Hanson April 6, 2005 www.solectrol.com

Introduction and Executive Summary:

The conference in beautiful Monaco on the Mediterranean Sea brought together an eclectic (as well as electric) group of international engineers, dignitaries and businesspeople united in the cause of making EVs and hybrids successful in the marketplace.  A variety of technical viewpoints on EVs, hybrids and fuel cells were represented, with a healthy skepticism of fuel cells compared to when the symposium was held in the U.S.  There were four simultaneous tracks of seminars, so I hopped around, trying to pick the most useful in my request to look at the latest developments in EVs and hybrids. I also spent a fair amount of time investigating the latest technologies on the glass-enclosed Grimaldi Forum’s display floor.  For further and complete symposium information, see www.evs21.org. 

Opening Plenary:

Pietro Menga, President of AVERE, the European Association for Battery, Hybrid and Fuel Cell Vehicles, gave the opening speech for the conference.  He said that the role of the media is important to communicate sustainable mobility.  There were 116 journalists present, 822 delegates, 109 exhibitors and 587 exhibitor passes issued.  The three largest countries in attendance were France (146), the U.S. (99), and the United Kingdom (31).  Mr. Manga stated that it is important to preserve the environment and CO₂ must be reduced to meet the requirements of the Kyoto Accord.  The U.S. must reduce its 98% dependency on foreign oil, he said, and Europe has a clean political vision for sustainability.  Hydrogen may not be viable until 2020 to 2030 and something must be done sooner.  He noted that battery vehicles are more near-term but the end user does not see the advantage yet.  Battery vehicles and hybrids are ready to be implemented and plug-in hybrids especially result in increased fuel economy, he said, noting that pure electrics are good for delivery of goods and services.  Mr. Menga argued that we should convince politicians of the usefulness of EVs. 

What’s New:

Volkswagen has a new diesel hybrid available for next year, presently tested in the Golf, which will be used in the Beetle and Jetta for a 25% better fuel economy of about 75 mpg highway.  VW also has engines that work on “sun fuel” biodiesel or ethanol.  The diesel engine will work on biodiesel of course.  See www.volkswagen.com.

The Mercedes SMART car, a popular gas and diesel vehicle here in Europe, should be available in the U.S. next year and gets excellent fuel economy.  I was told that it is available on the “gray market” by doing a google search and importing through customs in New Jersey. (Note that due to the ballooning U.S. national debt, the dollar has weakened to $1US = $1.4 Euros, which must be taken into consideration during importation).  The SMART car will be available next year in electric using a Zebra battery (about 2,500 cycles) but the electric version was $30k Euros as compared to $10k Euros for the gas or diesel version.  The electric, using Zebra batteries NA/NiCL (heated @ 250C), is sold under the Zytek name.  See www.zytek.co.uk.

The India REVA car is now being sold as the G-Wiz in England.  About 1,000 vehicles have been sold there.  The car is not as attractive as the SMART, however.  See www.revaindia.com.

The remodeled KEWET rode nicely and the batteries are easy to replace.  This is an affordable vehicle at $10k Euros and should be available in the U.S. next year.  I spoke with Jo Espen Bjerk at espen@elbilnorge.no  (www.elbilnorge.no) in Oslo, Norway.

Vectrix had a new electric motorcycle for $8k Euro that goes up to 110 km per charge and up to 100km/hr on NiMh batteries.  See www.vectrixusa.com.

Electrovaya had some good Lithium Ion Super Polymer batteries with a claimed 230-mile range.  Gitanjeli DasGupta, the Electrovaya developer with whom I spoke, can be contacted at www.electrovaya.com or gdasgupta@electrovaya.com.  He said the batteries are ready to be installed in vehicles and are a prime contractor with NASA and Microsoft for laptops.  I considered putting some of these in my EV, and they will cost four times as much as my lead acid batteries, quite a bit less than last year.  (See further explanation in the section on Mr. Gupta’s presentation below.)

A more efficient permanent magnet motor was developed at Schiller GmbH for 48V 5kw and 120V 16kw with 98% efficient EV applications.  Email: schillergroup@t-online.de.

If interested in solar electric boats and electric car clubs in Europe, contact the German Association of Solar Mobility, email: bsm@solarmobil.org or www.solarmodil.org.  I spoke with Roland Reichel from Germany about City-Els and Twikes.

EDTA had a booth there with Jennifer Watts, with an invitation to join the EDTA.  They are having the Electric Drive Expo December 6-8, 2005, in beautiful Vancouver, Canada.  For more information, www.electricdrive.org or 202-408-0774 (Washington, DC).

EVS-22 will be in Yokohama, Japan October 23-28, 2006, in a scenic area. See www.evs22.org.

There is also a Renewable Energy Expo scheduled in Monaco March 30-April 2, 2006, at the Grimaldi Forum again.  The Expo will include wind and solar as well.  Email lhb@miti.mc.  (I’ll probably check out the Wind Expo in Denver in May 2005).

Actia is selling a sealed DC2DC converter 190-430Vdc in 1KW with output voltage 12-15V at 75A for about $1k.  Details are available from info@actia.se or www.actia.se.

Nesscap displayed their Ultracapacitors, which are good for acceleration when used with batteries of fuel cells.  See www.nesscap.com.

Honda displayed its hybrid Civic IMA vehicle and had a good explanatory article on hybrids.  They also had a hybrid scooter for sale and an electric moped.  See www.world.honda.com.

An interesting S-shaped Dolarius type windmill was displayed about 50W at 10mph but was a bit pricey at $3k. The motor was easy to service in this vertical windmill at the base.  Email: finland@windside.com or see www.windside.com.

There was a cute electric car called the Maranello, which was similar in appearance to the SMART, with a range of 75km with 8 gel cell batteries.  See www.effedi.it.

Iveco had a hybrid bus available with a passenger capacity of 40 and operated at 450V.  Contact: philippe.grand@irisbus.iveco.com, phone 33 472 96 04 38.

Intelligent Energy had a sport motorcycle that operated on a fuel cell that they claim is more efficient than others at 75% instead of 50% but I found out it is a standard PEM design.  The range is 100 miles 6kw, 48V with a 50mph top speed, and it will sell for $5k as soon as they can find a manufacturer to make their motorcycle, Harry Bradbury, CEO of Intelligent Energy, said.  He said they also have a portable H₂ generator that uses ammonia, biodiesel or ethanol for another $5k (when they can find a manufacturer).  He claims his process is 85% efficient instead of <70% efficient like other H₂ generators.  See www.intelligent-energy.com.

Saft had a new Lithium-Ion battery, the VLE 22-42 at 21.6V at 42ah, which weighs 8 kg.  The company said it still does not have indicating (water level) caps for its Ni-Cads.  See www.saftbatteries.com.

Toyota showed its new RX 400h SUV hybrid, but it was not as energy efficient as the Prius and did not have plug-in capability or a diesel option for improved fuel economy.  (Ford’s Escape hybrid was similar in this regard.)  The Prius is the best hybrid I have driven so far.  (I have not yet test-driven the VW diesel hybrid.) See www.toyota.fr.

Dana has started making fuel cell stacks and components.  See www.dana.com.

Resort Vehicles had a couple of electrics but they would only go about 30mph (good for golfing areas) within a claimed 75-mile range.  Email: erikap@resortvehicles.com.

Maxwell Capacitors had its usual offerings but at a reduced cost as this technology matures.  The company also had balancers, which keep individual caps in a series string from overvoltaging.  They are useful for batteries and fuel cells to take away current peaks, thus making batteries last longer.  See www.maxwell.com.

Ecova has some new electric solar boats available, which hold up to 65 passengers.  I rode in one and it operated well.  Email: ecova@wanadoo.fr.

The Green Car Company had some cool mini cars and trucks, the Bingo, Domino and Hola operating at 48V with 8 x 6V golf cart batteries.  Contact: info@greencompany.tv or www.greencompany.tv.

Chrysler had its GEM 25mph golf car now available in Europe.  See www.gemcar.com/europe.com.

You can get a Fetish (an electric racecar that goes 0-100km/hr in 4 seconds for about 350km) for $450k.  See www.venturi.fr.

Advance DC Motors exhibited its standard 7”, 8” and 9” motors for car and truck conversions.  I have been using them for about 30 years and I get about 100k miles on their brushes before needing maintenance.  Contact: 315-434-9303 (Syracuse, NY) or www.adcmotors.com.

Bitrode had some new battery chargers and faster chargers.  I spoke with Graham Peters.  Contact: gpeters@bitrode.co.uk or www.bitrode.com.

Technical Sessions:

Bernard Fautier, EVS-21 President, spoke about available clean vehicles.  He noted that there is a renewed interest in the international security implications of a reduction in dependence on foreign oil.  He said that plug-in hybrids were tested and could become more available.  Fuel cell vehicles could be in operation if efficiency and cost can be improved.  He said that the EDTA is doing a good job of educating the public on electric drives.  (I noticed a half-page on the second page of the local paper in Monte Carlo devoted to the symposium.)  This helped in increasing the public awareness as people came by the “Ride and Drive” to check out all the new EVs and hybrids.

Hisashi Ishitani, EVAAP President, talked about participation in the Kyoto Treaty and said to check out www.kyotocities.org as more European manufacturers are making products that meet the Treaty’s clean air and green house gas requirements.  (According to National Public Radio, the Kyoto Treaty was ratified by 140 nations, but the U.S. and Australia did not sign the treaty.  Under the pact, NPR said, large developing nations like China and India are not bound by emissions limits.  See http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4501636.)  He also noted that the EV industry has failed to actively involve women. 

Masatimi Takimoto, Director of Toyota Corporation, said that a responsible company must be proactive about heading off a fuel crisis.  He also noted that the Toyota Prius has done very well in the marketplace and Toyota also has a fuel cell prototype vehicle.  The RX400 Lexus hybrid achieved good driving performance and reduced CO₂ emissions compared to other vehicles in its class.  The RX400 electric motor has enough power to be used as the main power source.  The hybrid transmission has a CVT for seamless acceleration.  The FCHV was made in 2002 but needs an infrastructure to make it viable.  With fuel supplies down, he said, we need immediate action with hybrids, electrics & CNG vehicles.  Toyota would like to see more involvement from other carmakers, he said:  “We need action today for a better tomorrow.”

Walter Schmied, president of agricultural local and regional affairs, Council of Europe (translated with a French interpreter), called upon world politicians to empower their people to deal with environmental issues.  He thanked the principality of Monaco for bringing together everyone for such a good cause.  Europe is devoted to the Kyoto Treaty for the reduction of greenhouse gases, he said.  The European bill RE 243 will help to implement Europe’s commitment to sustainability.  Tax incentives, public awareness and environmental education will help further.  Particulate pollution causes health problems and could be reduced by EV use, he noted.  A focus on increasing mass transportation in the U.S. also would help immensely. 

Matthias Rabe, VW’s head of Corporate Research, noted that we must design for individual mobility that is sustainable.  CO₂, NoX, soot and HC must be reduced.  TDI hybrids (diesel) was demonstrated in the Golf to use less than 1L per 100km.  The diesel hybrid can be used with biodiesel at 1.4L for all VW production vehicles.  The golf has been used as a demo vehicle for a 25% increase in fuel economy over the stock diesel with better acceleration.  VW has also developed a combined gas-diesel engine, which operates on “sun fuel” biodiesel or ethanol, as noted above.  This reduces CO₂ emissions and replaces fossil fuels.  Hydrogen must be economical for introduction and it will be at least 20 years before this might be available, he said. 

Robert Durdilly, Director of EDEV (translated with a French interpreter), asserted a common future for energy.  Sustainable transportation is needed for economic growth and social progress.  “Act now” IS the best answer, he said.  EVs are used in the EDF (Electric de France).  Electric buses are used in 10 cities.  Zebra high-density batteries have been used.  Trolleys are well-adapted.  He prefers mass transit to individual use for clean vehicles and efficiency.  Poly-metal Lithium-ion batteries were liked.  We need to succeed with adaptive sales and we can only move ahead if we are working together, he said.

Kapil Sibal, India’s Minister of Science & Technology, called for “liberation” in the EV industry.  He noted that the bottom of the oil barrel is visible.  Shell and Conoco said that we must look for alternative fuels.  India and China’s oil demand is rising so we can’t wait 20 years to solve this problem.  He said he drove the electric car “REVA” from India and liked it very well. 

Select Technical Sessions:

Bertrand Heilbrown with EDF (Electric Transportation Division, France) talked about a new future for electric and hybrid vehicles.  France has reduced CO₂ to half from its peak in 1974 and is committed to the Kyoto agreement to decrease CO₂ in the transportation sector.  Lithium Ion, Zebra, and Lithium Polymer have a 150-200km range, which is needed.  PHEVs (plug-in hybrid vehicles) average 32km or 20 miles EV range, which is good for most in-town driving per day, he noted.  This covers 80% of people’s needs with the advantages of a full hybrid for trips, and improves full consumption.  CO₂ is reduced in ZEV operation.  Because new batteries are available, the PHEV can maintain all of the market (instead of having two vehicles) and operate on biofuel (biodiesel and ethanol).  We must put effort into available technology in order to reach the 2015 target, he argued, adding that Renault and Citroen do not appear to be pro-active in EVs and PHEVs.

Robert Harmsen conducted policy studies for the Netherlands and works for the Dutch Energy Research Center.  He noted that hydrogen must have an all-electric inclusive road map to be competitive.  The European government is funding European hydrogen research.  Air quality is a driver for electrics and not a driver for hydrogen only.  The U.S. and China have not entered the Kyoto Treaty, he noted, and are not very ambitious about reducing CO₂.  We should not only look at H₂ as a solution but also include more affordable technologies.  An attendee asked why we are looking at H₂ when the wells-to-wheel efficiency is worse than hybrids or EVs and it costs four times more.  There is a projected 20-year production and the inefficiencies due to the laws of physics will not change no matter how many billions of dollars we throw at it, Mr. Harmsen said, noting that we should not be narrow-minded on H₂ but be inclusive of several technologies and look at all the possibilities.  We should not fight against each other but work together toward a common goal of clean air and foreign oil reduction.  He said we should be supportive of each other’s opinions. 

Hishashi Tshitani of Keio University presented a paper on wells-to-wheel efficiency of fuel cells versus hybrids versus EVs.  He displayed numerous graphs and charts but did not appear to have any tangible answers.  He said in his conclusion that PHEVs and EVs are more efficient than fuel cell vehicles overall but did not say by how much. 

Rafael Ben mapped out a strategy for the transport industry in Spain for the consortium-funded hydrogen study.  The complete study is available at www.hysociety.net .  He said that H₂ can be generated from biodiesel or ethanol and can be created on site so it does not require a complicated infrastructure.  We need to increase energy density on board and research low-cost fuel cell vehicles, he said.  Fuel cells must be used with batteries for acceleration peak current requirements and the fuel cell puts out a low average charge rate.  Fuel cells first will be used in portable (laptops), residential, and industrial applications and ultimately in cars about 20 years down the road.  H₂ can also be made from coal instead of natural gas because there are greater supplies of coal.  Renewable energy is also a choice, Mr. Ben noted.

Rick Ruvalo, manager of the clean air program in San Francisco, had his EV-1 crushed as part of the uphill struggle with auto manufacturers.  He noted that we need more EVs but they are too pricey.  He has put in several hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of chargers only to see the manufacturers remove EVs from their owners and crush them.  He has spent $6 million annually on EVs, so there is a market here, he added.  The Honda fuel cell vehicle is nice but we need today’s solutions and don’t want to get distracted by a promise for something that might not occur. 

La Rochelle of France talked about electric 65-passenger pontoon boats he has in Monte Carlo using twin 16kw motors.  I rode on one and it moved along fairly quickly with 65 people on board but when it got out to sea and made a turn, it started pitching quite a bit so we returned to port. 

Salvatore Alfano from Rome, Italy, talked about his electric transit bus program (translated).  Rome bought electric taxis and 300 electric cars for transport and delivery services.  They also have electric battery buses.  30 tramways and 53 electric buses transport more than 2 million passengers annually.  Now we need more totally electric buses, he observed.  Rome has 400 natural gas and bio-boats (methane).  They are buying another 400 electric taxis by 2006.  They want electrics, not hybrids.  He has 69 fast-charging ports around Rome now for charging the electric taxis.  Because ICE taxis cost 1000 Euros per month and have pollution problems, the Rome government gives $700 Euros per month to each electric taxi driver as an incentive.  They typically recharge in 7 hours and carry 4 people.  They are looking at fuel cell buses by Ovonic-USA but those are fairly expensive.

Mendrisio, Switzerland, started a project to replace 800 of their city vehicles with EVs following the Kyoto accord, and it was a success.  Now a second phase has been completed; www.vel2.ch shows the data.  Road taxes support the incentives on ZEV vehicles with 100 charge stations. Pay and charge fee for reserved EV parking places is a helpful incentive.  They now have 2000 EVs in operation in Madrisio.

Yves Toussaint, of the Green Propulsion Center in Belgium, talked about passenger vehicles in Belgium and the need for plug-in hybrids.  In order to further the Kyoto goals, a combined diesel hybrid delivery van was used in a case study.  This reduced CO₂, CO, HC, NOX, smoke and noise.  In life cycle tests in well-to-wheels analysis, the plug-in diesel hybrid was the best when compared to gas, diesel, LPG and fuel cell vehicles.  They built a combined series/parallel hybrid with an AC induction 45kw motor with a 12kw generator vector control.  A 260V Li-Ion 40ah battery was used.  120kd/wh for Li-Ion and 200kg/wh for NiMh was noted.  He said that <50km/hr speed electric only mode was best and above that, full hybrid or diesel mode was best.  He said the parallel hybrid is preferred.  He said a 42% well-to-wheels reduction was realized and a 75% emissions reduction was realized over a standard diesel.  This meets the 2012 Kyoto requirements.  The VW Lupo is one-third the consumption of the Toyota Prius and Kangoo vehicle is half that of the Prius.  He noted that the vehicle had the same emissions as a fuel cell vehicle but at much less cost and that it can run on biodiesel. 

Rene H.E. Van Doorn from Audi talked about the A2H2 fuel cell car they produced.  He said it is important to add batteries to fuel cell cars for proper acceleration performance because the fuel cell slowly charges the vehicle.  The fuel cell is 60% efficient but what is not mentioned is the required air compressor to force the air through the cell, which drops the efficiency down to 50% overall.  By using a battery, Audi can get by with a smaller fuel cell.  Also there is a 10-second to 2-minute delay on start-up so this requires a battery.  A 63kw PEM fuel cell was used.  He said it was compressed to 250 bar (about 5000 psi) for a maximum speed of 175km/hour with a 220km range.  I asked him how much the car would cost when in production and he would not say. 

S. Das Gupta from Electrovaya in Mississauga, Canada, talked about his Lithium Polymer battery that is in production and for sale.  He noted that Prince Rainier, who passed away the morning of Mr. Gupta’s presentation, was an EV advocate.  He said that with his batteries, BEVs have a long range and are available, whereas “fuel cell vehicles are in the never-never land of the future which will always be in the future.”  He noted that hybrids are not as good as ZEVs.  He called his battery “Lion Super Polymer” with 200-300wh/kg and flexible trash bag like material that will not burn like straight Lithium Ion.  His company has 85 patents and also awards with 150 patents pending.  His modular process is low-cost, he said.  They are selling these batteries, which are used in PowerPad 160 laptops and can be purchased from Electrovaya, to Microsoft for a 16-hour run time.  The new laptop is to be called “The Scribbler,” which is a single pad instead of a fold out two-section laptop.  They are building power systems for NASA’s astronaut’s backpacks with a 10-year life required.  Electrovaya’s batteries were tested in a GM/Suzuki Cami and operated –40C – 60C for 1036 cycles with a 350km range with off-peak charging.  Today he has 220wh/kg and will go to 400wh/kg on the next generation.  He said his batteries are impossible to ignite and are 90% efficient and cited a Massachusetts Institute of Technology study showing that battery electrics are much better in cost and efficiency than fuel cell vehicles well-to-wheels.  He said that this simple solution is “disruptive technology” and upsets the present establishment.  His battery sells for $300 per Kwh in production quantities.

Engbert Spijker from Ford-Germany talked about the Escape Hybrid SUV vehicle.  He compared different levels (full, medium, mild, micro) of hybridization and their pros and cons.  For the European market, according to their marketing study, the diesel manual transmission version with its better fuel economy and particulate emission filter was desired.  He said Americans wanted the more fuel-using gas auto transmission version.  I disagreed with him, but he said I was an anomaly according to their marketing study.  Their diesel Escape hybrid has a 25% reduction in CO₂ levels from 1995 for the European market.  He noted that the Honda operates at 144V and the Escape (licensed Toyota technology) was 288V.  Both the Prius and Ford Escape are full parallel hybrids.  They also demonstrated a Ford Fiesta micro-hybrid with only stop-start capability for a 6-12% improvement in fuel economy.  Door-to-door delivery applications showed a 21% improvement whereas the urban driving cycle showed only a 7% improvement.

Keiji Kakizawa from Toyota showed the new 200kw hybrid transmission for their RX-400h SUV.  The Prius has an 82kw drive train/motor.  Toyota added a gear reduction for a higher speed smaller electric motor that turns at 12400 RPMs instead of the Prius 6000 RPMs.  I asked him if there was about half the MTBF with a double speed but he said reliability/longevity was the same because they use a higher temperature liquid cooled motor.  It also has a smaller stator and a fuel-efficient low loss design.  Presently, he said the Prius is operating at 500V (not 288V as Ford claimed using the older Toyota technology) and the new Toyota RX-400h is operating at 650V.  I asked him if the goal is fuel economy, is Toyota coming out with a diesel hybrid?  He said no.  They probably used a similar marketing study.

In the closing Plenary, Gaston Maggetto had a moment of silence for Prince Rainier for prayer.  The Pope also passed away this week, which put the EVS-21 on the second page of the local paper.  The outside Ride and Drive was a success, showing many different types of electric vehicles.  Pietro Menga, president of AVERE, noted that we need to “act now for sustainable mobility.”  He cited the city of La Rochelle, which was successful at introducing EVs.  Jacques Mollard, general manager of Tech Services of La Rochelle, showed electric deliveries being made by EVs.  Mass transit was very efficient with electric trains in widespread use.  There were 500 delivery vehicles and 2 solar-electric boats that shuttle 65 passengers per boat from 7 a.m. to midnight for the last 7 years.  He suggested that people visit his “clean electric city” as an example to see what they are doing about the “quality of life” in using EVs.

Hisashi Ishitami, professor of Keio University in Japan, and EVAAP president, invited everyone to EVS22 next year in Yokohama, Japan, in October 2006.  Shen Xiang said that Beijing, the capital of China, has set a goal to make it an electric city for the 2008 Olympics.  He said they would have all electric buses ready by 2008.  The center of EV technology is working hard to develop these buses as well as smaller electric vehicles.  He said they are developing 4 different types/sizes of electric buses and presently have 50k EVs running around in Beijing.  The buses are low-floor access design, which is also good for the disabled.  He expects to have 1,000 electric buses in operation by 2008.

Lawrence J. Oswald, CEO of GEM, LLC said that 57% of San Francisco’s EVs are GEMs for city use.  Rick Ruvulo, manager of the Clean Air Program for San Francisco, talked about the various EVs he purchases for the city.  He was upset when GM crushed his EV-1.  (Several auto companies, with the help of the current U.S. administration, sued California’s CARB to eliminate the EV requirement, which resulted in the manufacturers destroying all their manufactured EVs).  Rick said that partnership and perseverance with the auto companies and the public is important for successful implementation of EVs.  He wants to reduce our dependence on foreign oil (which helps to fund terrorism) and show that the U.S. can have clean sustainable mobility.  San Francisco partnered with the people of Nepal and Kathmandu for more than 600 EVs there running on hydro-generated renewable energy.  He said more information can be obtained from www.keia.org.np. 

Joon Chulpark from Hyundai-Kia Corporation mentioned the most promising EVs using Nimh or Li-Ion with Ultracaps for acceleration with a 300km range and a 150km/hr max speed.  He said there must be international partnerships for the hydrogen economy to come to fruition.  Theresa Martinet, a sustainable delegate with the PSA Group, talked about an EV or plug-in hybrid diesel having better fuel economy efficiency and being cheaper than fuel cell vehicles.  (This was a reoccurring theme in several presentations.)

I spoke with a Consumer Reports reporter in the lobby who said that Consumer Reports is coming out with a biodiesel issue in July showing how to strain used French fry oil to make fuel for diesel vehicles.  He used a VW Passat as an example.  He said that diesel vehicle versions are not mentioned as much due to a low <100-user sample that makes for noisy data.  (It is hoped that in the future people will embrace these efficient technologies as oil becomes more expensive and scarce and the desire to reduce pollution grows). 

A little bit about Monaco from a clueless American:  First, fast and food are two words that don’t go together in a French restaurant; enjoy your friends and time spent together.  I took a couple of extra days to see where James Bond ran his roadster.  I went up the Middle Corniche where I heard most road scenes were filmed (yes, there is a high Corniche road, which I tried) and a low Corniche road on this mountain cliff hugging the coast.  What’s really neat is that you can run for miles along the beach on “the promenade,” which is a concrete bike-run way.  You can get to most everything on foot, which is what I did because the roads are too squiggly-wiggly for me.  I also went over to Rome, Italy, where “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” was filmed many moons ago in 1967; similar scenery to the Colorado Rockies but warmer.  Anyway, Monaco is a gorgeous resort area along the Mediterranean ocean, but is a bit pricey.  I found if I added a “0” to what I thought something cost, I was fairly close.  The hiking, biking and swimming were great with crystal clear water (compared to the U.S. East coast anyway).  The climate was like California’s, about 300 sunny days a year and pleasant most of the time.

It was a great conference and I enjoyed meeting so many different people with a common goal of making this world a better and more sustainable place.  Many thanks to Eteel Lawson and Isabelle Riviere and the helpful EVS-21 staff for putting on this marvelous EV-ent.