My husband & I decided to take Al Gore's call for 50% emissions cuts seriously. We're prototyping a high-mileage HEV retrofit of one of our Pontiac Fiero's. (High mileage, as in at least 75 mpg). New power management system to bring all components up to BEP. A TRUE hybrid, not an electric boost system like current offerings.

When the project is completed, we'll be in a position to make an impact with Plans, components & retrofits for those who can't afford to buy an OEM hybrid.

Signups have begun at www.phoenixnavigation.com/hybrids/index.htm Interested?

 

Best of luck in your venture. With all the venture capital money chasing yield these days, if you build up the operational process and franchise it, you'll make a zillion.

 

Do you have a public business plan, investor release documents and some technology white papers/documents?

These, and their availability for public review would really help in the credibility side of things. This is so that you don't get pushed into the "con jobs" category that private ventures are so often afflicted by.

By the way, what is your definition of a "true hybrid"?


Cheers;

MSantos

 

Thanks for your advice. We're working on business presentation materials to go along with a planned private investor show this Fall.

What is a TRUE hybrid? It's the best of both worlds.
Sad to say, most of the OEMs are following Toyota's lead in their rush to sell "partial hybrids". Partial hybrids are electrically-assisted or enhanced mechanical drive systems. Whenever there is a direct connection between the internal combustion engine and the wheels, you're looking at a mechanically driven system with electrical enhancements.

A true hybrid uses equal parts of a combustion engine and either electric or hydraulic pumps, generators & motors. In other words, true hybrids fall between mechanically-driven cars and electrically-driven vehicles - using a 50/50 mix of parts. This approach means that you can run the ICE and all other components at their BEP (best efficiency point) greater than 90% of the time, under all load conditions.

By capturing energy & using it at BEP, this design strategy delivers what we're looking for: much higher MPG, less pollution, and better overall efficiencies. In fact, we believe that true hybrids represent the only system that can enable us to cut vehicle emissions by 50% before the "point of no return".

 

Hmmm. Sounds Cdn to me. But you do have a great question - Where's your business Plan?

 

Do you understand how the Toyota (and Ford for that matter) system works? It is not a electrical boost of the ICE, but an integration of electric motors that balances the ICE with motors through the power split device. The Toyota has no dirrect connection of the ICE to the wheels. Without the (electric) motor helping, the car will go nowhere!

The Honda could be called a boost system, and the GM (except the 2-mode) could be called a boost system, but not the Toyota or Ford systems. Actually the 2 mode system seems very promising as it is driven solely by the elctric motor and the ICE only regenerates power for the motor's usage as needed.

Well, a true hybrid is one that uses more than one source of energy to provide motion. You could have a gas/diesel hybrid if you wanted. To call the Honda, Toyota, Ford, GM systems FAKE hybrids is not a good way to encourage people to buy your hybrid "kit." I guess we could say that the manufactures sell true hybrids because they are sold as new cars, and you only would sell a hybrid retrofit.

Lets see your working prototype. I hope you are correct, as I just want to get better mileage to save money. I could care less about the environment because I don't think we are hurting it like Al Gore claims we are.

 

Your confusion regarding the operation of today's HEVs is understandable. The debate over series/pure/true/full hybrids versus parallel/mild/partial hybrids has continued for at least 8-10 years in both media and scientific papers. I had to consult with the hybrid vehicle design gurus of our company in order to answer you correctly -- but here it is.

Toyota's Prius, and all other commercially available HEVs are parallel hybrids.

What you described in your comments (GM's Volt concept) is the only series hybrid being offered by OEMs that we're aware of -- and it will be years in coming. In series hybrids (like ours) there is no direct connection between the fire-breathing dragon & the wheels. This type of hybrid functions in sequence: from engine to generator, generator to batteries, batteries to electric motor. In other words, the car is propelled entirely by its electric motor.

Or, as Popular Mechanics puts it in their May 2007 article "The 110 Volt Solution" by Ben Hewitt: "E-flex vehicles such as the Volt will drive their wheels with a 120-kw, 160-hp electric motor. An engine or fuel cell will run an on-board electric generator."

Now compare that with PM's explanation of how the Prius works: "The Prius is driven by a 76-hp gasoline engine SUPPLEMENTED by a 50-kw, 28-hp electric motor."

In parallel hybrids both an electric motor and ICE drive the wheels, often working together. Early on, these systems used a larger piston engine to drive rear wheels, plus a generator to store electrical energy in a block of batteries used to power a front wheel drive electric motor. (Mechanical drive on rear wheels & electric drive on front wheels.)

So, in spite of what you believe, if you pull the electric motor, the car will still chug down the road -- because there's a mechanical drive connection there.

A major reason that OEMs choose to produce parallel (mild/partial) hybrids is that high-performance electrical components associated with pure/series hybrid systems cost a lot more than mechanical drive components. -- This is one of the challenges that we have chosen to tackle. We will post news of our working prototype on our corporate website, in case you're interested.

Hope this helps clear up the confusion.

 

No. Prius and other THS(HSD) vehicles are series/parallel hybrid.
50 kW means 67 HP.
There is no such mechanical drive on rear wheels & electric drive on front wheels in the market.
No, your comment does not help and makes readers confused.

Ken@Japan

 

Actually, I believe that Hybrid Lady did a good job of explaining the concepts in how the series hybrid works. The ICE runs at a constant speed, the rpm being it's most efficient range, which powers the generator, which then charges the batteries, which power electric motors at the wheels. Very efficient and the motors at the wheels can be controlled by a cpu for maximum traction.

If I correctly understand the technology, the advantage is the ICE can be quite small and efficient. The drawback is the batteries have to be larger and with current technology that means a fair amount of weight, or expensive Li-ion. But the simplicity and flexibility of full electric motor drive is attractive.

 

Actually, Lady Hybrid is incorrect.

I can remove my ICE and drive away with electricity alone.
( Well, not literally, but I can dis-able it by either running out of gas, or reaching under the hood and dis-connecting the spark plugs or fuel injectors... yes, I have done both, and I can still drive away! )

I don't care what one mis-informed person says.
The Ford Escape Hybrid and Prius and others that have similar systems are TRUE HYBRIDS.

There are cases were the battery and electric motor assists the ICE. True.
Also true: There are cases where the ICE assists the battery and electric motor.

Plug-In Prius cars and plug-in Ford Escape cars are on the road now.
Under 40 MPH you can drive solely off the electric motor. If the add-on battery gets depleted after 20 or 30 miles, the gasoline engine can run for a few minutes to re-charge the batteries, or you can plug in.
And yes, they have the option to run in BOTH series mode and parallel mode. Very intelligent, flexible systems.