A series hybrid really needs about 5 kWh to allow a decent plug-in range, thus ruling ultracaps out.

More to the point, the new generation of lithium-ion can be cycled thousands of times from 0 to 100% and back in 5 minutes with massive power outputs (eg A123, Altairnano). These were previously the advantages of the ultracapacitor, so it's difficult to see where the advantage of the ultracapacitor now lies and how it can compete on cost or weight with the far superior new LiIon.

http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/ecotech/ecot.htm

Hi folks,

It is always nice to use press releases about some newly announced technology and speculate about its role in a future vehicle. But NASA recently closed down the 'single stage to orbit' project when they found it required 'unobtainium.' In theory, a great material with amazing strength-to-weight ratio, it was not available for any price.

So I'm happy to read about new energy technologies and hope that samples will be someday available. But in the meanwhile, I'll continue to drive my NHW11, 03 Prius and tweak its performance because I can't commute in a press release.

Bob Wilson

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I like it! Good point.

However the A123 cells are already in mass production in China, and are on the road being tested in converted Prii today (if not yet commercially available). So, currently somewhere in between press-release and daily commuter!

http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/ecotech/ecot.htm

Yes, I see Altair has a $750,000 initial contract already to supply batteries for the Phoenix Motors EV's. There are numerous trade-offs and supply issues that have to be dealt with to design the vehicle. I haven't seen the charging efficiency of the Altair batteries, or the price - so if either of these factors are inferior to the Ultracaps that become available - then Ultracaps may be preferable. You could use a 1 kwhr Ultracap to do the "grunt work" of absorbing & supplying the high currents of acceleration & braking and normal hill travel and use a cheap 5 kwhr Li-Ion battery pack to supply the much "gentler" needs of plug-in or hill climbing in the mountains at speed or occasional sustained travel at extreme speeds. Of course, you would need a DC to DC convertor between the battery pack & ultracaps.

I suspect that the series hybrid would give even better fuel economy, compared with parallel hybrids & regular ICE vehicles, with the new EPA standards. This is because the series hybrid has a much better capacity to store & return braking and downhill energy than the parallel hybrid or ICE vehicle. Because it has loads of electrical power, inefficient mechanical cooling fans, pumps and air conditioners can be replaced with much more efficient electrical equipment. The fact that the engine in the series hybrid has no mechanical connection and is smaller & more efficient than the parallel hybrid engine, gives a lot more flexibility in designing a vehicle heating system and of course the engine can be run at a much more efficiently controlled timing, since the vehicle can run typically > 10x longer on battery power than a parallel hybrid.

In northern climates, a typical vehicle will use 3-5 litres of fuel per hour idling, which must be done to keep it warm, where I live this amounts to 4-6 dollars per hour - probably 1/2 of a Taxi Driver's income. And idling in the cold is bad for the engine. A 3 kw electric heater would heat a vehicle just fine even at -40 degC. The cost of this energy is about 15-30 cents off of the power grid vs. 4-6 dollars for fuel per hour. An electric heater could be put right in the seat, which is much more efficient heating than through air circulation due to heat conduction with the driver.