9.7 What is a "hybrid" vehicle?
Description
This article is from the Gasoline FAQ, by Bruce Hamilton with numerous contributions by others.
9.7 What is a "hybrid" vehicle?
A hybrid vehicle has three major systems [128].
1. A primary power source, either an IC engine driven generator where the
IC engine only operates in the most efficient part of it's
performance
map, or alternatives such as fuel cells and turbines.
2. A power storage unit, which can be a flywheel, battery, or
ultracapacitor.
3. A drive unit, almost always now an electric motor that can used as a
generator during braking. Regenerative braking may increase the
operational range about 8-13%.
Battery technology has not yet advanced sufficiently to economically
substitute for an IC engine, while retaining the carrying capacity, range,
performance, and driveability of the vehicle. Hybrid vehicles may enable
this problem to be at least partially overcome, but they remain expensive,
and the current ZEV proposals exclude fuel cells and hybrids systems, but
this is being re-evaluated.
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