Hybrid News

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Hybrid

Battery-powered cars have a lot to recommend them, but they still have one major flaw - the batteries! Compared to almost any other energy storage solution, even the best of today’s electrochemical batteries still have very low energy density and very high cost. Every major car manufacturer is pursuing electrically-driven vehicles with lithium ion batteries as a solution to the problem of CO₂ emissions and oil consumption. They all are aware of the fact that virtually all of these cars will be money losers for at least the first few years until production volumes are ramped up. The presumption is that as more batteries are made in larger volumes the price will come down to a point where the cars might become profitable.

But is this a realistic assumption? It might not be if extracting lithium from the ground becomes increasingly expensive in the same manner that oil is from older fields and other unconventional sources. With dramatically increasing demand for the material, it becomes a real possibility that the price of batteries may never come down. Recycling lithium from depleted batteries is apparently also far more expensive than virgin material. There is of course the possibility of new material breakthroughs that would eliminate the need for lithium. There are also possibilities like silicon nano-wires or ultra capacitors that could dramatically increase energy storage density and reduce the size and requirement for materials like lithium. The only thing we know for sure right now is that we don’t know. All this just goes to show the need for pursuing multiple parallel paths for energy diversity, because there doesn’t appear that any one solution will be sufficient.

[Source: Autoblog]

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Original post by Sam Abuelsamid

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Manufacturing/Plants

Automotive supplier Bosch plans to invest lots of money into electric vehicle technologies, including $400 million into a joint venture with Samsung to create lithium ion batteries. The first individual cells should roll out of Bosch’s doors sometime next year with complete lithium ion packs following a year later. Of course, batteries are part of any hybrid drivetrain, and that’s where Bosch sees most of their packs going for the next few years before fully electric cars become more available. How long will that take? According to Bosch, the tried-and-true internal combustion engine has got another twenty years or so until its market share dwindles to a minority position.

Why invest in EVs if the payday is so far off in the future? Bosch’s manager of battery development Joachim Fetzer likens the situation to that of ABS brakes, which took a large investment up front which didn’t pay off until the brakes became commonplace. Now is the time for suppliers to get EV technology ready.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req’d]

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Original post by Jeremy Korzeniewski

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Fiat, European Union

Last week, the French postal service La Poste announced it’s intent to buy a lot of electric vehicles for mail carriers to use. Newteon, the company that works with Micro-Vett and Fiat on vehicles like the all-electric Fiat Doblo and Fiorino, now says its vehicles have made La Poste’s short list of potential additions to the fleet. A prototype Doblo EV will be delivered to La Poste this summer and then four or five more will be tested in the fall. Micro-Vett converts the Fiats and Newteon distributes the vehicles exclusively in France and other EU countries. Since La Poste is interested in at least 500 EVs, and potentially 10,000 in five years, getting on the short list could propel Mirco-Vett and Newteon into the big(ger) leagues. Thanks to Fabien for the tip.

[Source: Newteon]

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Original post by Sebastian Blanco

Filed under: Biodiesel, Diesel, Mitsubishi

Click on the image for high-res shots

Mitsubishi has an admirable performance record with their off-road Pajero Evolution, racking up a record 12 Dakar wins since 1985. Why is the vehicle relevant to the green audience? This year, Mitsubishi has installed a new 260 horsepower three-liter turbo diesel V6 engine, which is a derivative of their previous gas-powered six cylinder engine. Team Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart considers this new engine part of a green initiative, with the team’s new president, Osamu Nakayama, saying, “Our motor sports activity has taken a step up to establish the environmentally-friendly engineering strategy of Mitsubishi Motors.” Mitsubishi believes that this new racing engine will further their research into non-food sourced biodiesel, which is something we can appreciate. They also have an Outlander chase vehicle running on diesel fuel. Hit the break for the press release.

Press Release:

REPSOL MITSUBISHI RALLIART READY FOR EXCITING NEW CHALLENGE WITH DIESEL POWER IN 2008

* Team Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart announces the cross country rally debut of the new diesel-powered Pajero Evolution, code-named MPR14.
* Mitsubishi Technology initiatives take significant measures to make its competition programme even more environmentally aware.

Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) and its motor sports unit MMSP have established the team’s objectives for the coming season, as well as for the 2009 ‘Dakar’, which breaks new ground with a start and finish in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and a rest-day in Valparaiso on Chile’s Pacific coast.

New High-Performance V6 Diesel Power Unit
Meanwhile, the major new feature of the team’s 2008 programme is the introduction of a turbo-diesel version of the highly successful Pajero Evolution, cross-country rallying’s most successful car with a record 12 Dakar wins to its name since 1985. The new 2,997cc V6 powerplant benefits from Mitsubishi’s longstanding expertise in the field of advanced diesel technologies, ranging from low compression ratios to high-pressure fuel injection.

Development of the Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero Evolution MPR14 started with bench testing of a new three-litre 260bhp diesel derivative of the MPR13’s existing petrol engine in Japan. The capacity of three litres was chosen since it offered the best compromise between performance and weight. The new block was then grafted into an MPR13 chassis to form the first MPR14 which underwent extensive testing in France and North Africa. This program was aimed at building on the proven strengths of the MPR13 and validating work done on the dyno to produce a competitive, reliable package with the new V6 diesel mated to a five-speed gearbox.

While the engine itself was essentially developed in Japan, MMSP was responsible for its integration in the chassis, with specialist of Valeo tasked with a bespoke cooling system. The MPR14 made its debut in the hands of Hiroshi Masuoka/Pascal Maimon (Japan/France) on Team Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart’s first outing of the 2008 season, April’s Central Europe Rally which took in Hungary and Romania.

Mitsubishi Tops Rallying’s ‘Green’ Initiatives
Team Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart has also decided to take a lead by enhancing its environmentally responsible approach to its competition activities in association with its key partners, Repsol, Valeo and BFGoodrich, all of whom stand out as pioneers in their specific domains when it comes to protecting the planet. “Now, our motor sports activity has taken a step up to establish the environmentally-friendly engineering strategy of Mitsubishi Motors” underlines MMSP SAS’s new president, Osamu Nakayama.

Repsol sees the arrival of diesel power for the Pajero Evolution MPR14 as an ideal opportunity to bring its latest research developments into efficient fuels in general and non-food sourced biodiesel in particular to the table. Indeed, the Spanish-based oil and gas firm’s efforts in this field contributed to its recent nomination as a ‘Gold Class’ company in the Sustainability Yearbook 2008 compiled by PriceWaterhouseCoopers and Sustainable Asset Management (SAM), an independent company tasked with conducting the annual assessments for the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. And the Michelin Group - which owns the BFGoodrich brand - has always stressed that the transfer of technology between its motor sports activities and road tires is by no means unilateral, and cites its ongoing research into low rolling resistance as one area in which production tires have benefited the competition programmes of partners such as Mitsubishi.

The 1990s saw the Michelin Group take a valuable lead in this domain with the launch of the first green car and truck tire range which has gone on to see the advent of products such as the current award-winning Michelin Energy Saver tire.

Last but by no means least, Valeo’s long experience of automotive systems and electronics proved invaluable during the development of the new diesel-powered Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution MPR14. Its contribution essentially concerned the specific cooling system using the UltimateCooling[TM] architecture. Valeo’s input also concerns the advanced low energy LED front and rear lighting systems used on the car and which further contribute to achieving appreciable fuel savings.

Team Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart’s 2008 Programme
In addition to its ongoing testing and development activities, Team Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart is pleased to confirm its intention to contest three events during the first half of 2008.

The first will see a four-car entry for the inaugural Central Europe Rally with a line-up of four Mitsubishi Pajero Evolutions, including one MPR14 powered by the latest V6 diesel engine and crewed by Hiroshi Masuoka/Pascal Maimon (Japan/France), plus three MPR13s for Luc Alphand/Gilles Picard (France), Stéphane Peterhansel/Jean-Paul Cottret (France), and Joan Nani Roma/Lucas Cruz (Spain).

“Our 2008 programme has been tailored to prepare for our new challenge which is to contest the 2009 Dakar with our new diesel-engined car,” says Team Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart Director Dominique Serieys. “Our schedule will initially take us to three events: the inaugural Central Europe Rally [Hungary and Romania], the Transiberico [Portugal] and the Baja Espana [Spain].

Exact driver line-ups for the Portuguese and Spanish fixtures will be announced shortly, as will the team’s programme for the second half of the season.

Mitsubishi Outlander Service Car
A European-specification Outlander will serve as support vehicle carrying spares and tools on the Central Europe Rally for the four Pajero Evolutions. It will form part of a total fleet of 13 service vehicles, which include five trucks, Pajeros, L200 pick-ups, and Outlanders.

The first Outlander to serve as support vehicle on a cross-country rally is a SUV aimed at urban motoring. It nonetheless profits from the same three-mode electronically controlled 4WD transmission system as the Pajero and the four-wheel drive L200, and has been specially prepared to take on the punishing conditions associated with rallies like the Dakar.

The Outlander which has been prepared for the Central Europe Rally is a European-spec model powered by a four-cylinder 2.2-litre turbocharged diesel engine mated to a manual six-speed gearbox. It features the same livery as the competing cars and incorporates specific rally equipment such as roll cage, bucket seats, competition suspension and tires, and guards. Neither the engine, the gearbox nor the electronically-controlled 4WD transmission system have been modified, although their calibration has been tuned to meet the needs of the demanding conditions it will face. Last but not least, a bigger fuel tank has been fitted to ensure the sort of range required for the long distances involved.

2008 Central Europe Rally Itinerary
The Central Europe Rally is the first event to qualify for the newly-created Dakar Series and starts in Budapest, Hungary, on Sunday April 20. It features about 2,600km route, including about 1,100km divided into seven special stages in Hungary and Romania. The stages range in length from 100 to 320km, the longest test taking the form of a loop around the reputed Romanian spa town, BaiaI Mare.

The seven-day rally finishes on the shores of Hungary’s Lake Balaton on Saturday April 26.

Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution (MPR14) Technical Specification

(T1 Modified Cross-Country Cars)

OVERALL LENGTH 4195mm
OVERALL WIDTH 1990mm
WHEEL BASE 2775mm
FRONT TRACK 1750mm
REAR TRACK 1750mm

ENGINE MODEL 6 cylinder, 24-Valve, DOHC, dry-sump oil system
FUEL SYSTEM common rail
DISPLACEMENT 2997cc
MAXIMUM OUTPUT 190kW (260 PS) 650Nm (66.3 kgfm)
TRANSMISSION 5-speed Ricardo-type, sequential shift gearbox and mechanical gear selection
4WD system full time, mechanical centre diff lock; Front diff Xtrac self-locking differential; Rear diff Xtrac self-locking differential

SUSPENSION Front Independent, double wishbones, coil spring; Rear Independent, double wishbones, coil spring; Dampers 2 shocks per wheel, fully-adjustable damping and anti-roll bar system

STEERING Power-assisted rack and pinion
WHEEL STROKE 250 mm front and rear
BRAKES Front and rear: Ventilated Brembo discs with 6-piston Brembo calipers
WHEELS aluminium 7×16
TYRES BF Goodrich 235/85 - 16
MINIMUM WEIGHT 1900 kg

OTHERS Aeronautic steel multi-tubular frame, Honeycomb body floor and carbon fibre body
FUEL TANK CAPACITY 500 litres

[Source: Mitsubishi]

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Original post by Jeremy Korzeniewski

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Hybrid, Toyota

The styrofoam hamburger container shape of the Toyota Prius elicits a lot of responses, good and bad. But when was the last time you saw one and thought, “wow”? Back when the hybrid was introduced, amazement might have been a common reaction, but we’ve seen the Prius in the U.S. for eight years already. What could possibly make us excited about the car now (well, aside from the high gas mileage). Toyota North America’s head of product planning Mike O’Brien has been thinking about ways to bring the wow back to the Prius, and it all revolves around a plug. As US News talked to O’Brien and then tried to crack the truth from the rumors about the upcoming Prius refresh. Their guesses:

• An all-electric button to go a few miles on battery power alone. This is a pretty easy guess to make, as the EV button is already available on the Japanese Prius.
• Two-prong outlets. Power your laptop or DVD player right off the powerful hybrid battery? Could happen.
• Plug-in Prius. Um, yeah, this one we know about.
• Lastly, US News thinks that the new Prius could be used as an emergency generator. O’Brien told the magazine that, “There’s enough power in a Prius battery to power a 1,200-square-foot house.” This would be an option down the road - i.e., not in the Prius we’ll be seeing in Detroit in January.

[Source: Rick Newman / US News via EV World]

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Original post by Sebastian Blanco

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Hybrid, Toyota

Toyota has announced it will offer a plug-in hybrid vehicle with lithium-ion batteries (most likely, for lease, not for sale) in Japan, the U.S. and Europe by 2010. This is the confirmation of the success of Toyota’s PHEV Prius plan and tests in Japan and in UC Davis. Batteries will be supplied by the joint venture that Toyota set up with Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., which will begin producing lithium-ion batteries in 2009 and will move into full-scale production in 2010. While this sort of official confirmation is nice, Toyota isn’t revealing everything: the company said are working in a new type of battery which could outperform lithium-ion, but didn’t explain further). It seems that Toyota doesn’t want to fall behind GM’s Volt.

During the press conference announcing the PHEV Prius, Toyota confirmed its plans to produce the Camry Hybrid in Australia and Thailand and showed off its improvements in gas mileage for both gasoline and clean diesel models (sold under the DCAT label in Europe).

[Source: AP]

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Original post by Xavier Navarro

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Hybrid, Toyota

The Congressional Tennessee Valley Authority Caucus is a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators and Representatives from the Tennessee Valley Authority area (Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia). Today, the Caucus will hold a field hearing on electric drive vehicles in Nashville, and Toyota will be showing off the plug-in Prius prototype there. We’re familiar with the Toyota PHEV Prius PR routine (we took one for a drive late last year at EVS23), but we’d be much happier about these events if certain Toyota execs didn’t spend so much time downplaying the plug-in hybrid.

In any case, Toyota will also have Camry and Highlander hybrid models on display at the Caucus hearing, as well as a regular Prius. More details after the break.

Press Release:

Toyota To Display Plug-In Prius at Congressional TVA Caucus Field Hearing in Nashville

NASHVILLE, Tenn., June 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Toyota will display a prototype plug-in Prius hybrid at Legislative Plaza on Monday, June 16, during a field hearing on electric drive vehicles called for by the Congressional TVA Caucus.

The prototype Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) enhances the high fuel economy and ultra-low emissions of the popular Toyota Prius production hybrid model with an expanded Nickel-Metal-Hydride battery pack that can be charged by plugging into a standard household electrical outlet. With more electric power in reserve, the vehicle is capable of operating in pure-electric mode for longer periods of time and at speeds up to 60 mph.

By 2010, Toyota will have its next generation plug-in hybrid with Lithium-Ion batteries being tested by commercial fleets in the U.S. and elsewhere. With over 1.5 million hybrid sales worldwide, Toyota is the established leader in hybrid technology.

“As we look ahead, we believe hybrids will continue to raise the bar for new technology,” said Robert Wimmer, Toyota’s national manager for Technical and Regulatory Affairs, Energy & Environmental Research. “Plug-in hybrids can offer substantial gains in fuel economy and a reduction in total tailpipe emissions.”

Toyota will also display current hybrid production models, including Prius, Camry and Highlander. These much in demand models are producing considerable fuel savings and reduced emissions.

“When considering the benefit of new technologies, we must understand the relationship between large sales volumes and fuel savings,” Wimmer said. “For example, if we double sales of a hybrid model, the fuel savings is greater than doubling its fuel economy with no change in sales volume. Therefore, it is critical that new technologies, such as plug-ins and fuel cells are introduced at a price point and utility that allow for high volume sales. Otherwise, their environmental benefit will be negligible.

The Congressional TVA Caucus field hearings on electric drive vehicles will begin at 10:15 a.m. in Senate Hearing Room 12. A tour of all manufacturer’s vehicles and a media availability will take place at the main entrance of Legislative Plaza on 6th Avenue from 9:30 to 10 a.m.

[Source: Toyota]

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Original post by Sebastian Blanco