PowerPedia:Hybrid Vehicles
From PESWiki
Wikipedia has an excellent entry on Hybrid cars (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybrid_car).
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Hybrid Vehicles - An Overview
Hybrid Vehicles are vehicles that run on a combination of fuels, ususally petroleum and electricity. There are a number of different hybrid vehicle designs, including combined internal combustion and electric engines that operate in concert and separate internal combustion and electric engines that operate independently. A number of fuels can be used with hybrids, including gasoline, diesel and biofuels such as ethanaol. The main advantage hybrid vehicles offer is greatly increased gas milage, even in large vehicles such as SUVs and buses. Current hybrid designs do not require the vehicle owner to plug the hybrid into the power grid, as the hybrid batteries are charged by the gasoline engine and regenerative braking (electricity captured during the braking process).
Hybrid Vehicles - Historical Perspective
Toyota pioneered hybrid vehicles with the introduction of the Prius (http://www.toyota.com/prius/index.html) in 1997 in Japan. The Prius is now in its second generation, which is more powerful and offers better gas milage. Many other auto companies have offerred hybrid vehicles in recent years, with varying designs and mileage gains. Honda offers the Insight (http://automobiles.honda.com/models/model_overview.asp?ModelName=Insight&bhcp=1&BrowserDetected=True), which is the most fuel-efficient hybrid on the market, boasting an impressive 60 miles per gallon combined fuel economy. Ford is the first automaker to offer a hybrid SUV, the Ford Escape Hybrid (http://www.fordvehicles.com/suvs/escapehybrid/), which delivers double the gas milage of the traditional Ford Escape model, an impressive 36 miles per gallon. Many other hybrid vehicles are planned in the near future.
The Future of the Hybrid Vehicle
There is no doubt that hybrid vehicles have become a minor phenomenon in the automobile industry and greater society at large. The Toyota Prius and Ford Escape hybrids both won annual "Car of the Year" awards for innovative vehicle designs.
However, there is quite a bit of doubt about the future of hybrid vehicles. Many industry analysts believe hybrid vehicles will be a niche market and grow little before a new wave of hydrogen/fuel cell cars hit the market some time in the next decade.
The two determining factors for hybrid vehicle's growth prospects going forward will be consumer demand and gasoline prices (which are somewhat linked). As of this writing, oil recently hit a record high of $58+/barrel, and gasoline prices are within the $2.00 to $2.50 range in the U.S. This increase in gasoline prices has already dampened demand for SUVs and has created an up-tick in interest in hybrid vehicles.
If gasoline prices continue to rise during this decade, it is very likely that consumers will demand far more efficient vehicles such as hybrids. It is very possible that with rising gasoline prices and consumer demand, hybrid technology will eventually dominate the automobile industry in coming years. Like most technologies, there is a curve of acceptance that must be overcome, but once a certain point is passed in the curve, the new technology overtakes the old technology and dominates the industry.
Look for more hybrids in large vehicles such as SUVs and pick-up trucks, as they have the most to gain in fuel efficiency. Also, more established car lines will include a hybrid option, such as the currently available Honda Civic hybrid and Toyota Highlander hybrid SUV.
Future hybrids might offer a plug-in option and stronger batteries that would increase the range of the electric portion of the hybrid technology, thus increasing gas mileage performance. Some electrically inclined hybrid enthusiast (http://www.eaa-phev.org) have already begun experimenting with plug-in and stronger battery designs (see References below). Another technological development might be the combination of a plug-in hybrid with a biofuel engine that burns ethanol 85 (85% ethanol, 15% gasoline), thus delivering incredible miles per gallon of gasoline of 300 mpg or more. Other hybrid designs might incorporate capacitors or flywheels to deliver extra power when necessary (see the directories below). Even compressed air hybrid vehicle designs are being tried with hybrid vehicles in an innovative way to save gasoline and increase mileage (see References below).
All in all, the future appears bright for the hybrid, despite the naysayers. Almost every new technology has been met by naysayers who doubt it has a future and focus on the drawbacks. The main factor that will drive the adoption of the hybrid vehicle is the price of gasoline. There are real indications that gasoline might increase in price in coming years as demand outstrips supply permanently. Don't be surprised if during the 2012 model year, traditional internal combustion engine automobiles have been completely replaced by hybrid vehicles.
References
- CalCars (http://calcars.org/) The California Car Initiative - Including the PriusPlus project.
- EnergyCS (http://www.energycs.com/) - A California company testing plug-in hybrid designs.
- EAA-PHEV (http://www.eaa-phev.org) - PlugIn Hybrid Conversion Documentation and Technical Discussion.
- Plug-In Hybrid Vehicle (http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2005/03/29/023042.html) Powered by Valence Battery Unveiled at EVS 21.
- Plug-In Hybrid-Electric Prius (http://www.evworld.com/view.cfm?section=communique&newsid=8032) Unvieled at Monte Carlo Exhibition.
- Pneumatic-Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) (http://edition.cnn.com/2005/TECH/03/30/spark.air.car/index.html) Car that runs on compressed air.
Directories
- Hybrid Cars (http://www.energyplanet.info/Hybrid_Cars/) - A visual directory of hybrid vehicle websites. (EnergyPlanet.info)
See Also
- Directory:Hybrid Vehicles - directory entry here at PESWiki
- Compressed Air (http://www.freeenergynews.com/Directory/CompressedAir/) - directory at FreeEnergyNews.com
- Electric Vehicle (http://www.freeenergynews.com/Directory/EV) - directory at FreeEnergyNews.com
- Fuel Efficiency Directory at PESWiki
