EV training plugging into increasing U.S. purchases of electrically powered vehicles

March 12, 2018
Governmental and private-sector educators are expanding the amount of available industry EV training to meet the demand for knowledgeable parts and repair personnel.

Mindful of a steadily growing influx of hybrid and plug-in electric vehicles, governmental and private-sector educators are expanding the amount of available industry EV training to meet the demand for knowledgeable parts and repair personnel.

Numerous courses already are available, and new programs continue to be developed as EVs become more prevalent and previously new cars come off warranty.

Backed by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s OPEN+ Platform (Open Professionals Education Network) and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College & Career Training (TAACCCT) program, the National STEM Consortium (NSC) is a collaborative effort among 10 colleges in nine states to create a series of curriculum offerings that include comprehensive EV training.

With funding from the National Science Foundation, the Center for Advanced Automotive Technology (CAAT) – a partnership between Michigan’s Macomb Community College and Wayne State University – is among more than 40 Advanced Technological Education Centers located throughout the country.

In California, where EVs currently comprise about 5 percent of the state’s car parc (No. 1 in the U.S. with ambitious future growth goals promulgated by the governor’s office), the Cleanetch Institute’s 16-week Certified Electric Vehicle Technician Training Program (CEVT) consists of instruction covering:

  • Introduction to Advanced Vehicle Technologies
  • Development of Electric Vehicles
  • High Voltage Electrical Safety
  • High Voltage Vehicle Safety Systems
  • Hybrid engines
  • AC Induction Electrical Machines
  • Permanent Magnet Electrical Machines
  • Power Inverter Systems
  • Electric Circuit systems
  • Electric Propulsion Sensing Systems
  • DC-DC Converter Systems
  • Transaxles, Gears and Cooling Systems
  • Energy Management Hardware Systems
  • Battery Construction and Technologies
  • Latest Development in Battery Technologies
  • Nickel-Metal Hydride Technologies
  • Lithium Ion Battery
  • Battery Management Systems
  • Hybrid Vehicle Regenerative Braking Systems
  • Electric Car and Hybrid Climate Control Systems
  • Computer Aided Design (SolidWorks software)
  • Design and Making an Adapter for an Electric Motor (workshop)
  • Design and Making a Fiber-Glass Battery Box (workshop)
  • Conversion of an Internal Combustion Car into a 100% Electric Car (workshop)
  • First Responder Safety for Emergency Situation
  • Basic Electric Car Maintenance

The process of converting classic internal combustion vehicle models into EVs has proven to be particularly popular among the students.

“We are on the cusp of massive changes,” says Michael Bream, owner of EV West in San Marcos, Calif. The company has 12 employees, including a staff of six engineers who design vehicle-specific EV conversion procedures, a shop area where conversions are conducted, and a wholesale/retail lineup of EV parts & accessories along with charging station components.

“We adjust along the way,” says Bream of his EV SKUs. Originally aimed at outside-of-the-box do-it-yourselfer enthusiasts, “as we’ve moved along we’ve realized that this is a business-to-business thing” patronized by professional repairers and EV conversion shops.

His clientele includes David Benardo, the proprietor of Zelectric Motors in San Diego who converts vintage Volkswagens and Porsches into EVs. Benardo’s shop handles the exterior and exterior restoration aspects and then facilitates and subcontracts the powertrain portion in cooperation with EV West.

“We have a lot of people who are fascinated by our business model,” according to Bream, who encourages ICE aftermarket entrepreneurs to embrace the EV evolution – especially as it pertains to executing EV conversions.

“It’s future-proofing for your business,” he says, offering free advice with the goal of fulfilling your need for parts. “If someone opens a shop just like mine I will help them. I have a four-year wait at my shop, with deposits already made, to have a car converted. The most important thing is there’s no competition” as these types of do-it-for-me jobs remain a rarity and you’d be entering a field that bodes well for a heightened level of acceptance.

Overcoming the trepidation of entering into a new marketplace can be achieved by obtaining education and experience. “There was fear and anxiety when fuel injection came out,” Bream recounts. “If you can make the leap from carburetors to fuel injection, the leap to EV conversions is like a small step.”

Just do it

Colleges and vocational schools are certainly acceptable resources, but Bream is fonder of on-the-job experimentation and refinement. “Education is education, but the best education is just doing a seat-of-your-pants conversion,” he suggests.

“I’m a hot rod tuner, and I cruise around with a laptop. My dad is a hot rod tuner, and he cruises around with a timing gun.”

As part of an engineering college project, Bream and his classmates were tasked with inventing an electrically powered boat. He took to the assignment like a duck to water, so-to-speak, and upon graduation he constructed an EV land-racer. “I bought components and built a race car; that’s how I got into it. I had no clue, I just did it.”

Thus for “absolutely, positively car guys,” venturing into serving the EV segment is quite a doable endeavor for you and your staff. “I will not hire a computer guy,” Bream declares. “I’ll hire a car guy who knows computers. It’s easier to teach a car guy about electronics than it is to teach an electronics guy about cars.”

Although there may be some customers interested in a conversion “because his wife can’t stand the smell” of ICE exhaust fumes, the best prospects for implementing a viable EV bay is in an upscale neighborhood with a progressive-leaning, environmentally friendly population.

“You’re not going to have a lot of (financially strapped) college students doing this, and you probably won’t have many customers for this in the Texas oilfields.”

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About the Author

James Guyette

James E. Guyette is a long-time contributing editor to Aftermarket Business World, ABRN and Motor Age magazines.

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