…ever.

The gas motor charges the battery. Of course, you’ll achieve higher mileage if you CAN plug it in, but you can still receive the basic benefits of the hybrid even without the grid power.

Those worried about the grid getting overtasked, think about my previous post: it took Toyota 10 years to sell 1,000,000 Prii worldwide. There are at least 100,000,000 cars operating in the U.S. alone. The current Prius is less than 1% of the car population, and I don’t think Plug-In Hybrids will sell as fast as the Prius did, especially with the higher price. It will be a long time before the grid is seriously impacted, and I’m sure our energy companies will be able to keep up with the demand.

Dr. Fill, the solar panels on the Prius only assist the AC system a bit. It’s really only a gimmick, nut I’m sure there are plenty who will jump on that bandwagon.

Plug-in tech will only help you if you have a car with a garage
That’s part of the market
It’s a niche of a niche

Lithium-Ion is what will take hybrids to the next level
Can they be affordable, safe, and reliable?
Not yet

DrFill

I would buy a car like the Volt, if I set up a solar array on my house, which I just might do in a few years. Powered by the sun, and mostly funded by the government (solar tax credits). I wouldn’t own it as my only vehicle, but as a commuter? sure.

Electric power from the wall is about one third the price of any liquid or gaseous fuel. For most short trips, drivers will use the cheaper ‘fuel’ — electricity — if they can.

Alcohol fuels like methanol and isobutanol are synthesized from carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. The chemical plants that produce these alcohol transportation fuels will be co-located with coal-fired power stations where there is a ready source of carbon to be captured. Nuclear power stations will be used to contribute heat and power for the synthesis of these alcohols.

The feature of PHEVs is that they are dual-fuel: stored electrical power and methanol (or whatever other liquid or gaseous fuel they are designed to use).

The fuel cell PHEV will have:

1.) a certain amount of battery storage (an electrochemical device) that can be opportunity charged if there is even a standard house socket available.

2.) a direct methanol fuel cell (an electrochemical device) that runs on a tank of methanol (CH3OH). Methanol was the fuel used by all the Indy 500 cars for 50 years until the corn farmers’ lobby got them to switch to inferior ethanol.

A number of ethanol plants are being reconfigured to produce isobutanol (C4H9OH) which is a better alcohol than ethanol (C2H5OH) on which to run combustion engines. Even 85% butanol can be run in gasoline engines without engine modification; and butanol doesn’t have the water problems of ethanol.

In China, people are already driving the PHEV made by BYD Auto. In 2011 those cars will be available in the U.S.

Toyota is in the process of putting an initial 500 PHEVs on the road.

Beyond Li-ion and Li iron phosphate (LiFePO4) batteries are Lithium-sulfur batteries. Li-sulfur batteries use more cost effective materials; have higher energy density; and operate well at freezing winter temperatures.

The various technologies will continue to evolve. The objective is to build vehicles that can run on electrical power and a range of synthesized hydrocarbon fuels.

For anyone who thinks batteries on their own will power vehicles, remember that a large amount of energy is required to climb hills; to provide heating in winter and to provide cooling in summer. Batteries don’t provide the energy density of a tank of liquid hydrocarbon fuel.

Another advatage of hydrocarbon fuel is that filling a tank with fuel is a lot faster and easier than charging a battery.

Better take a packed lunch though…..could get hungry on the way…

And yeah, it took them over 10 years to sell 1 million Prii worldwide. It doesn’t make sense that they would sell 1 million plug-ins for more money each in 6 years. I wouldn’t even say it was “common sense” Johnny, but I would say the inverse is outright stupid.

DB9

DB9