Tag Archives: hybrid
Peugeot has announced its first Hybrid Air car which it plans to have on public sale by 2016. The Hybrid Air is driven by a conventional petrol internal combustion engine coupled with a hydraulic motor that is powered by compressed air. The car has a pressurised steel "scuba tank" running down the middle of its undercarriage. The tank is filled with about 20 litres of nitrogen and some oil. Like a Toyota Prius, the Hybrid Air recovers energy when the driver brakes or decelerates but, instead of using this energy to charge a battery, the Hybrid Air compresses the nitrogen … Continue Reading
A system of powering hybrid trucks through overhead wires is being tested at Long Beach, Califormia. The basis of the "eHighway", developed by Siemens, is a series of overhead wires that would be installed over at least one lane of a highway, similar to the electrical wires of tram lines. Specially equipped hybrid trucks would connect to these wires via pantographs on their roofs. When connected, the truck runs exclusively on electrical power, switching to diesel when disconnected for passing, swerving, exiting and so on. When the truck brakes, energy can be fed back into the grid for use by … Continue Reading
Most electric and electric hybrid cars make use of the energy generated when the car brakes to power a generator that charges the batteries. However, according to Per Tunestål, a researcher in Combustion Engines at Lund University in Sweden, air hybrids could achieve the same fuel saving at a much lower manufacturing cost. The researchers calculate that 48% of the brake energy could be compressed and saved in a small air tank connected to the engine and could be reused later. This is about the same degree of reuse as in today’s electric hybrids. The method could be used with … Continue Reading
Buses on city routes waste a lot of energy stopping and starting. One way of capturing some of that energy is by using a flywheel. The UK’s Technology Strategy Board has formed a consortium to test the idea. Construction has begun on the first “Flybus” prototype vehicle, It is estimated that the Flybus system could deliver up to 20% savings in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions in stop-start city center operation. The bus will be fitted with a compact high-speed flywheel which will act as an energy store, recycling the kinetic energy that would otherwise be wasted whenever the vehicle … Continue Reading
Peugeot has announced that the world’s first diesel/electric hybrid car, based on its 3008 model, will go on sale in the next European spring. The car has a 163-horsepower 2.0-litre diesel engine and a 37-horsepower electric motor. Claimed fuel consumption is 3.8 litres per 100 kilometres. The car has four modes of operation: Auto – the system automatically operates the diesel or electric motor as required; ZEV- only the electric motor is used (providing the batteries are sufficiently charged); 4WD – both motors are used – the diesel motor drives the front wheels and the electric motor drives the rear … Continue Reading
The French Government has announced plans to invest €1.5 billion ($au 2.5 billion) in infrastructure for the two million electric and hybrid cars it wants on the road by 2020. The plan includes industrial research, making batteries, producing clean cars and building a nation-wide network of battery-charging stations. Under the plan, a million battery-charging points will be built by 2015. From 2012 all new apartment blocks with parking lots will have to include charging stations. The network will grow to a total of four million points by 2020. Funds will also be provided for the development of elecric cars by … Continue Reading
Researchers at two institutions have proposed different ways in which the use of ultracapacitors could boost the efficiency and reduce the cost of hybrid vehicles. According to estimates by researchers at Argonne National Laboratory in Illonois, ultracapacitors could lower the cost of the battery packs in plug-in hybrid vehicles by hundreds, or even thousands of dollars, by halving the size of the packs that are needed. The cost of the batteries is the main the reason why hybrids cost thousands of dollars more than conventional vehicles. This is especially true of plug-in hybrids, which rely on large battery packs to … Continue Reading
When the third-generation Toyota Prius was released in Japan a month ago, Toyota’s sales target for the month was 10,000 vehicles. Actual orders reached 180,000! The Prius was the top-selling vehicle in Japan in May – the first time that it has achieved the top spot. Honda’s hybrid Insight, released in February, was the third best selling vehicle. The new Prius is selling for just over two million yen (about $au26,000) in Japan; the Insight is 1.89 million yen ($au24,500). Toyota is also selling the previous model Prius for the same price as the Honda Insight. Sales of the old … Continue Reading
While most car makers have been announcing their grand plans for electric and hybrid cars, Fuji Heavy Industries which own Subaru, has been noticeably silent. It seems that Fuji wanted to produce a hybrid Subaru based on Toyota’s technology. Toyota is the largest shareholder in Subaru with a 16% stake and the two companies have a long-standing agreement to share development costs. However, Toyota was very reluctant to share the technology which has made the Prius the market leader. That attitude seems to have changed now that all manufacturers will have to produce more efficient vehicles if they are to … Continue Reading
The hybrid Honda Insight was Japan’s best selling car in April – the first time that a hybrid has topped the list. Honda sold 10,481 Insights which retail for 1.89 million yen ($au25,500) each. Toyota’s Prius hybrid dropped to 21st place ahead of a new model release due on May 18. Honda Insight
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Renewables News- Dysol Aiming to Print Storage with Solar CellsAustralia's Dyesol Limited has acquired an equity stake in Printed Power Pte Ltd, a spinoff company of Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. Printed Power is focussing on integrating dye solar cell technology with printed storage and power management systems to … Continue Reading → […]
- CSIRO Printer Makes 10m of Solar Cells a MinuteCSIRO researchers have built a gigantic printer that spits out solar cells at a rate of about ten metres a minute. The printer system uses existing technology to embed polymer solar cells (also known as organic solar cells) in thin … Continue Reading → […]
- New Aussie Technology to Clean Polluted WaterScientists from Deakin University, together with French colleagues, say that they have manufactured a lightweight and reusable material that can absorb up to 33 times its weight in a wide range of spilt oils, chemical solvents and dyes, while repelling … Continue Reading → […]
- Dysol Aiming to Print Storage with Solar Cells
