A new vehicle that was not mentioned in "Who Killed the Electric Car" is the plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV). This vehicle is a hybrid that combines an internal combustion engine with an electric motor. The PHEV works by using storage batteries that recharge by plugging the car into an electrical power source. The plug-in hybrid begins a trip (on full charge) as an electric vehicle. Once the battery is depleted, the car continues running as an internal combustion engine vehicle. In the second stage, some vehicles are capable of recharging the battery and running as a regular hybrid electric vehicle. Currently, there are three modes of operation: a charge-depleting - where the battery is used to it's minimum state of charge (SOC) threshold before the combustion engine is initiated, charge-sustaining - where the battery is kept at 50 to 60% (typical of a conventional hybrid vehicle) in junction with the internal combustion engine, and a mixed-mode - where a portion of the energy is supplied by the electric batteries and is recharged by an external source.
One interesting development is the integration of an engine that can take biofuels or ethanol, allowing further flexibility for users.
Current models of PHEV have an all electric range of 40 miles. Newer models that are in development are estimated to have up to a 70 mile range. This would allow daily usage of the vehicle to be conducted in electric mode while having the combustion engine as backup and for longer trips.
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3 comments:
This sounds great and is a step forward in the process but my hope is that part of the electric source can be used for the afternoon ride home from work. Many people have the option of getting to work early or a little late, so as to avoid traffic, but most people do not want to stay at work later so we return to the same problem we discussed during our movie screenings. Dr. Norton and I, if we both drove to Emory everyday, have a one-hour drive one-way. My drive is 70 miles total so the newer models would be optimal for me if I want to drive using only electric energy.
So what is the difference between this car and Dr. Norton's hybrid car? Is it because this one would only use the combustion engine after it runs out of battery whereas Dr. Norton's car uses gasoline even when the battery does not run out? I know Dr. Norton told us something about how her car will use gasoline when she wants to accelerate because electricity from the battery along would not allow you to accelerate very fast.
My guess about the difference between this kind of car and the usual hybrids is that the battery in this newer kind does a lot more work and, as a result, has better gas mileage. From what I understand oes like the Toyota Prius and Honda Insight recharge their batteries when they brake and, like you said, mainly rely on gas to accelerate. It would seem like this the hybrids Andrew is talking about would be able to have bigger charge in the battery and be able to pull more power from it.
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