Metalmite Supports Ford in the Electric Race

Photo of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford courtesy of Ford Motor Company

Metalmite Corporation has been a supporter of electric vehicle’s and of Hybrid Technology for years. Michael Gendich was one of the first owners of a Segway personal transporter, and Metalmite was one of the first machine shops to help make an electronic assist for a hybrid vehicle. CNC Machining has been a major player in the new technological advances made by Ford Motor Company and others recently. Metalmite has been approached by and helped several companies, such as Aptera Motors, Tesla Motors, and even FEV in the development of alternative energy vehicles as well.

The Vice President of Metalmite, Tom Gendich, was recently quoted as saying, “My grandfather retired from Ford Motor Company 30 years ago, so we have watched them closely in their fight to survive and find this new market. I feel they are very close to another breakthrough and I hope we can be there to help them with that!”

Greenmonk.net recently spoke with Greg Frenette, the manager of Ford’s Electric Vehicle program and he filled us in on just how long Ford has been working on electric vehicles and vehicle-to-grid technologies. Although not as long as may be indicated in the photo above, Ford’s Advanced Engineering Research group have been working on concepts with respect to plug-in hybrids since 2005.

Ford’s initial utility partners in their plug-in hybrid program were Southern California Edison but they soon expanded the program to include the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) as well as a grouping of 10 utilities and research organizations across North America.

This quarter Ford will complete the build-out and deployment to the partner organizations of their fleet of 20 plug-in hybrid Escape’s. These vehicles are demo’ing real world vehicle-to-grid interconnectivity. According to Greg they have a prototype communication control system on the vehicle which works with a Smart Meter, through the use of wireless Zigbee technology, to give the vehicle owner control and direction in how they access the charging point.

Ford appears to be on the right track with this project. Metalmite is excited to monitor their progress and will certianly jump in at any point if asked. Yet another way to deliver World Class Quality, Service, and Delivery at the Right Price!