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Plug-in hybrid, all-electric or fuel cell? Car-makers are hedging their bets on what will emerge as the next generation engine technology of choice – now it seems another alternative approach could well be set to enter the mix. Scottish engineering firm Artemis Intelligent Power has tested a hybrid system that it claims can cut carbon emissions by 30%, with the added advantage that it is better suited to inter-urban journeys than conventional hybrids like the Toyota Prius.
In common with other hybrids, the system employs a regenerative braking system that stores energy as the vehicle slows down, and feeds it back into the engine as it accelerates. The key innovation is that instead of storing the energy in a battery, the new system stores it in a hydraulic accumulator.
By Nick Chambers •
June 13, 2008
First Flex-Fuel Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle
As part of a push by the US Department of Energy (DOE) to make plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) cost competitive with other cars by 2014, Ford has delivered a plug-in hybrid electric flex-fuel Escape to the DOE to join its test fleet of other PHEVs currently undergoing research and testing.
The vehicle is equipped with a 10 kilowatt lithium ion battery that can take it up to 30 miles at speeds under 40 mph before needing to fire up its fuel-fed hybrid-electric engine. After that, the hybrid-electric engine kicks in and can deliver a fuel economy of 88 mpg in the city and 50 mpg on the highway when using E85 (85% ethanol/15% gasoline blend).
Shai Agassi is a man with with a pretty big mission - to engineer a globally sustainable personal transportation system for the 21st Century. As the founder and CEO of Silicon-Valley based company Project Better Place , he aims to turn that dream into a reality.
The Project works by teaming up with existing players in the car industry to establish large-scale electricity recharge grids (ERGs), made up of electric cars, batteries, charging points, and renewable energy power stations. Earlier this year, the company announced it had teamed up with Renault-Nissan to roll-out an impressive network of 500,000 recharging stations across Israel by 2010. Now it has announced plans for similar electric car projects in Denmark and San Francisco, with more in the pipeline for the near future.
A key benefit of the planned ERGs will be their role in driving demand for renewable energy. In Israel, most power comes from coal or gas, but the project plans to use solar energy generated in the country’s Negev Desert to power the batteries.
By John Addison •
June 4, 2008
By John Addison (6/4/08). With oil prices rocketing past $130 per barrel, a growing number of vehicle makers are planning to offer electric vehicles by 2010. Zero gasoline will be used.
Over 40,000 electric vehicles (EV) are currently used in the United States. [...]
The X1 prototype: Faster Than Your Average Ferrari.
Most of the time I like to profile cars we might actually get the chance to drive, but it never hurts take a look at the forefront of technology. Enter the X1 prototype, an open-canopy electric vehicle that meets somewhere between go-cart and Indy-500 race car.
Think electric vehicles can’t hack it? They don’t all look like golf carts, and they sure as hell don’t all poke around under 65 mph: The X1 was just featured in a series of Mythbusters’ tests where it beat a Ferrari in a quarter-mile race (see MythBuster: Why Electric Vehicles Beat Gas in 5 Extreme Tests).
Here’s an interesting idea: instead of putting the airbag in the car, put the car in the airbag.
Sure it sounds silly, but XP vehicles, a start-up in California, is doing just that with their upcoming electric car, the Whisper™. Apparently, XP has taken the same sort of airbag technology developed to safely land recent NASA missions on Mars and used it to create an inflatable polymer car frame in which they pack all the essentials for it to actually be considered an automobile.
TRIAC Electric Car. Range: 60-100 Miles. Cost: 2 cents per mile
This little number has been getting some good press lately (see EcoGeek and Inhabit), and for good reason: it’s the first commercially available electric vehicle with a price tag and functionality that could meet the needs of the average city driver (assuming you can afford it).
OK, you aren’t going to fit a family of 5 in there, but that’s not what it’s made for. Green Vehicles, manufacturer of the 3-wheeled TRIAC EV, calls it a “modern freeway commuter,” because the zero-emissions vehicle can reach 80 mph and will get you into the carpool lane with a single driver. Safety-wise, it has a structural steel cage the company says is the “same metal skeleton used in race cars” and a low center of gravity to maintain balance (but surprisingly has no airbags).
Click the image to expand.
UC Davis’s Institute of Transportation Studies has prepared a sort of primer for “non-battery experts” on the pros and cons of different battery technology for use in plug-in hybrid electric cars (PHEVs). The report, called Batteries for Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs): Goals and the State of Technology circa 2008, discusses:
- the basic design concept of PHEVs and inherent trade-offs in different battery technology.
- the current state of the most common battery chemistries, including nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) and lithium-ion (Li-Ion), and their abilities to meet the needs of PHEVs
- potential trajectories for further improvement in battery technology
Arthur Shopenhauer said “All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.”
Above you see three cars, the Tesla Roadster, Wrightspeed X1 and the Tango… the Tesla in particular because of the company’s comparitively deep pockets, which would be in the Violently Opposed Stage (by the majors [...]
In San Francisco last week I happened to bump into a Tesla Roadster outside SF Green. The pictures are below, but I also wanted to highlight something Daryl Siry, VP of sales marketing and service for Tesla Motors said during the event.
Daryl commented that yes, $100K is a lot to pay for an electric car (he also mentioned the new Whitestar sedan would be around $70k), but he reiterated how expensive the technology is for small companies.
The New York Times reported on Tuesday that Nissan plans to sell electric cars in the US in 2010. Nissan’s chief executive, Carlos Ghosn, said the company was motivated to accelerate the development of battery-powered vehicles by high gas prices and environmental concerns. Nissan expects to expand to a globally-marketed fleet of 60 electric vehicles by 2012.
John O’Dell, senior editor of GreenCarAdvisor.com, noted that this was a major announcement for the auto industry: “Nissan is upping the ante tremendously. They are the first to put it on the line and say we’re going to have an all-electric vehicle for a certain market by a certain date.”
