GM’s new research director talks about the future

Physics Today : Earlier this week Alan Taub became the new vice president of Research and Development for General Motors. Despite going into and out of bankruptcy, GM is still one of the largest companies in the US that conducts industrial R&D. Taub (see left image) has run GM’s eight science labs for the last nine years and was a key player in building GM’s newest R&D lab in Shanghai that officially opened last month.In his new role, Taub will still coordinate all the advanced technical work within GM, but will be more closely involved in managing GM’s collaborative R&D ventures with academia, the Department of Energy, and other strategic partners.Physics Today Online was lucky enough to ask some questions in a public webcast held on Tuesday. An edited transcript is below. [Question]: What is the future of fuel cells within the new GM, do we have enough funds to run them? Taub: Fuel cells are still an important activity for General Motors. And part of the solution to diversifying the energy source for vehicles. We remain committed to developing the technology but as we approach early commercialization, the costs of development are increasing. [Question]: How do you envision the global R&D organizations work together? How will “who does what” be determined? Taub: Working with my leadership team, we select the competencies to be developed at each of the eight R&D labs’. Multidisciplinary teams then integrate the labs programs globally to gain the most effective results. The competency selection for each site is based on availability of talent. [Question]: Why do you believe globalization of GM’s R&D activities is necessary? Taub: Innovation and breakthrough research are enabled by diversity—diversity of education, the working environment and the local marketplace. We have been successful at having researchers located in different sites globally and bringing their ideas together so the team has more perspectives for new ideas. [Question]: The easiest way to improve fuel efficiency is to cut down on weight. The New York Times had an article on how 60% of the weight of a car is due to steel, and how new types of steel are going into cars to provide safety and lightness. What is GM doing in this area, do you do the basic R&D yourself or do you rely on your partners? Taub: In the past 15 years, we have dramatically changed the [steel] material mix on vehicles. For example, GM is increasing it’s usage of high-strength steels to the point that in the next 10 years we will see very little low-carbon steel in the structural bodies of GM vehicles.As well as changing the steel mix, GM is also increasing usage of aluminum and magnesium. This is accomplished by collaborations of GM and supplier engineers as well as precompetitive research with Ford and Chrysler in US. [Question]: Battery technology seems to have significant limitations. Is GM looking at ultra-capacitors as well? Taub: Yes, we are looking at batteries, fuel cells and ultracapacitors as energy storage devices. We see a role for each. [Question]Will you use the plugin technology from the canceled Saturn Vue “two-mode” hybrid in any other small SUVs in the future? Taub: All we said so far is that the technology will go into another GM product. Stay tuned. [Question]: To succeed, GM needs world class scientists. After bankruptcy, how does it propose to attract and retain them? Taub: We have been successful at attracting the best and the brightest from around the world to the various GM global laboratories. People are intrigued by the combination of deep technical assignments on products that make a difference to consumers everywhere. [Question]: We’ve seen impressive demos on Vehicle to Vehicle communications technology from GM. What are the remaining obstacles to introducing this technology into the marketplace? Taub: We are continuing “harden” the technology in order to enable commercialization. Because this is a safety-related technology, it must be robust. It also requires standards for all of GM’s suppliers since the vehicle parts needs to interact. There is progress being made on all fronts. [Question]: What do you see as the biggest challenge in transitioning to wide-spread electric vehicle use? Taub: Two things. Getting the cost down and the supply base ready. [Question]: What is your personal favorite research topic at the moment? Taub: Clearly, it is the electrification of the vehicle. Batteries, motors, hydrogen fuel cells are dominating the research portfolio. At the same time, the connected vehicle (e.g. navigation, OnStar, infotainment) is probably the most fun because we get to implement it at consumer electronics speed. [Question]: Do you envision GM R&D researchers doing fundamental researchers? Or do you see the researchers act as project managers, and the universities act as the actual researchers? Taub: The answer is both. Inside GM, we have the world’s best individual contributors performing leading edge research on critical automotive applications. They do their work inside our walls while collaborating with the best professors and engineers in universities and national labs. [Question]: Can you speak to GM’s R&D center in Honeoye Falls, New York, the role its played so far, and the type of role it might play moving forward? Taub: Honeoye Falls is the site of one of our eight global laboratories. It is our main site for fuel cell stack research and more recently battery system research. It will continue to be an important element of our research infrastructure. [Question]: How’s that shape-changing NiTinol material coming along. Any production plans on the horizon? Taub: Our first application is being deployed as we speak. I just can’t tell you at this time what that vehicle is. [Question]: I wonder what makes fuel cells expensive? It seems very affordable for a new technology. If a fuel cell car has 100 grams of platinum, which is about $3000-4000, the rest of the materials involved is not that much expensive. Taub: There are many elements that contribute to the cost of vehicle components. Raw material is only one aspect. On the fuel cell stack, our next-generation technology dramatically reduces the platinum loading, making it competitive with that on after-treatment for internal combustion engines. [Question]: What is the research focus of the science lab in China ? Taub: Glad you asked. I am just back from Shanghai and the jet lag is almost gone. The initial areas of attention are improving the efficiency of internal combustion engines, lightweight materials and the joining technology for those materials, emerging market safety, consumer research methodologies and batteries. [Question]: How far into the future do think it will be before we see automated cars driving on the expressway? Taub: I’m on the record for promising limited autonomy driving on highways by 2015. This is enabled by a combination of lane keeping and stop-and-go adaptive cruise control. [Question]: How does GM R&D foster a culture of innovation and creativity while simultaneously having researchers be accountable for their work and in tune with the overall cost of their projects? Taub: Welcome to the challenge of leading an industrial research laboratory. We pull on our researchers to solve the tough problems facing the industry while adding to the world’s scientific knowledge base. We lead the industry in patents—we filed more than 600 within R&D alone last year—and lead in technology implementation in the product. [Question]: In your introduction you talked about “mainstreaming R&D.” What does this mean and is GM allowing other employees to contribute ideas? Taub: R&D is now fully integrated into Product Development at GM. That is allowing us to get more streamlined in our technology development and implementation activities. We are always looking for good ideas from both inside and outside the company. Feel free to contact any of our group managers, lab directors or me if you don’t know who else to email. [Question]: The development of the next generation of fuel-efficient vehicles requires advancements and a deep understanding across a wide range of materials (electrode materials for batteries, catalysts for fuel cells). How do you draw the line between what GM can develop and what must be developed by others to make a particular technology successful? Basically how deep into basic research does GM want to go? Taub: The make-buy decision is different for every technology. For example, stamping of metals for the key components of the vehicle is a core technology within GM. The plastic parts are generally purchased from suppliers. The recent decision to vertically integrated into battery pack manufacturing does not mean we would be manufacturing our own battery cells. However, we are working internally on next-generation cell technology in collaboration with various suppliers.