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Panel to Evaluate Battery Technology: The California Air Resources Board has appointed a four-member, independent panel to evaluate the status of batteries needed to power electric vehicles. The panel, which will meet with battery and vehicle manufacturers, is to report its findings at the ARB’s Oct. 11 workshop on battery technology. The panel members are Fritz Kalhammer, vice president of the Electric Power Research Institute; Akiya Kozawa, a retired Union Carbide Corp. researcher; Carl Moyer, chief scientist for Acurex Environmental Corp., and Boone Owens, battery expert for Research International.