Reynolds Community College gets grant to develop electric-drive vehicle program

J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College will receive $720,000 in federal stimulus funds to develop a curriculum for training technicians to work on electric-drive vehicles.

The award is among $2.4 billion in grants that President Barack Obama announced yesterday in Elkhart, Ind., for 48 projects selected by the Department of Energy.

The three-year grant will allow Reynolds to offer an advanced career studies certificate focusing on electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids and fuel-cell electric vehicles. The new program also will offer an advanced electronics course on the control systems for electric-drive vehicles.

Traditional college automotive programs do not cover these new technologies, and manufacturer training is not available to independent repair facilities.

Bob Heinz, dean of Reynolds' School of Business and Engineering Technologies, said a trial of the first course is expected to be offered this fall at the campus in Goochland County. The introduction and safety course will focus on the high voltage associated with the vehicles.

Five online courses will be developed and made available nationwide, he said. Under the distance-education format, the hands-on lab portion of the courses will take place on weekends in garages and dealerships.

The college will partner with dealerships for equipment for students to work on, as well as with James Madison University's electronics program.

Heinz said the program will offer opportunities for young people interested in careers in the emerging technology and for unemployed mechanics seeking to retool their skills.

It also will train more technicians to work on the increasing number of hybrids on the road, he said.

Just a few years ago, Heinz said, there was little talk of hybrid electric vehicles "and now there are millions on the road and very few places to fix them."

Contact Karin Kapsidelis at (804) 649-6119 or .