Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle

[madokie]

http://www.hymotion.com/products.htm

If someone asks you today if there is a car that can cut North America's oil imports to a minimum and reduce pollution significantly at the same time, what would be your answer?

Hymotion's Plug-in Hybrid system (PHEV) can provide Hybrid vehicles with 100+mpg fuel efficiency and fight climate change simultaneously. The advantages of Hymotion’s PHEV includes better fuel economy, fewer visits to gas station, lower fuel costs, less pollution and longer range in all-electric mode --- the solution for spiking gas prices, CO2 emissions and dependence on imported oil.

What is in the system?
No factory parts or components will be replaced or taken out of the vehicle, the plug-and-play PHEV system engineered by Hymotion can boost the electric capacity of a vehicle by 7 times, making the extra range for all electric “stealth” mode. And since the whole system, which includes the smart charger, power electronic and battery, is smaller and lighter than factory NiMh battery box. This is made possible by the special Lithium Ion Polymer battery technology that Hymotion employs in their plug-and-play PHEV system, one does not require a trunk full of batteries to achieve such efficiency and performance.

Hymotion PHEV system is not only small and lightweight, but also powerful and long-lasting. The system charges from the engine, braking system and the power grid while the vehicle is parked and plugged in. One would plug in to a 120V outlet in the garage overnight and use the surplus electricity generated by power plants at night. The overnight charge will only cost an average of 75 cents for 50 extra miles

[leveymg]

1. Any information about cost?

Didn't see any at their website. This idea of retrofitting hybrids to become true plug-ins is GREAT, provided it's cost-effective.

[madokie]

2. No, sorry, I don't

I like the idea that this is added too and not replacing the oem battery pack. the cost of the new car alone is out for me, we don't drive enough to make it worth while but a lot of people do. My understanding is that during off peak hours the energy we use isn't really going to be 'adding to' the co2 problem at the same rate as otherwise, its already being made anyway. they must keep the generators generating to supply what is needed anyway at no where near their capacity. maybe I just don't get it I don't know but it sounds to me like a step in the right direction.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

3. I rather the idea of having a solar panel or two in the back

yard to charge some batteries, lead acid or otherwise, then use those batteries at night to power an inverter to charge your car back up.... now THAT would be the ticket imho.

[skids]

5. I wonder how easy they could make it...

...to simply switch battery packs.

[madokie]

6. if your battery pack was large enough with high enough voltage

I think you could charge without the losses in the inverter and charger. a dc to dc voltage regulated circuit maybe. The part I like about all this is it has people working on solutions using technology we now have all the while gaining new knowledge for the future.
One big step would be great but a series of small steps will also get us to the same place. So to me all is good.
The main thing is people are becoming more and more aware of the pitfalls of building more fossil fueled plants and in so doing becoming more receptive to changes to lifestyle and the importance of that aspect.

[Selteri]

8. Technically if you use solar or ind wer you're charging it for free.

At least if you have enough wind or solar to be a negative grid house that gets paid by the electric company.

[skids]

4. PHEV kit costs

As of the start of this year, Hymotion was only selling bulk orders for government fleets. At that time the price was $9500 for the ford/toyota kits. They said they were going to try for a price of $5000 by the time they went retail, which was supposed to be about March of this year. A later news article said they were letting them out the gate to individuals at $12,500, and they had adjusted their target price to $6,500 by this summer.

Edrive, a competitor, was looking at a $12,000 price tag for release a few months ago. Don't know if the release actually hapenned.

HybridsPlus has started just recently selling an installed kit that uses the new leading-edge A123 battery systems. They are about twice the price, but also expected to fall over time as production scales for both the kits and the batteries:

http://www.hybrids-plus.com/ht/products.html

...so for now these are luxury items, but at least they exist and are for sale, which is a step forward.

BTW, for any owner/operators of commercial trucks, you might want to check out http://chechfi.ca which is not a hybrid system but seems a great stopgap technology. Don't let the word "hydrogen" in big print scare you these are not hydrogen-cultist pie-in-the-sky things just a simple fuel pre-processor. I think they find the hydrogen hype to work well for them as far as attracting attention is all.

[Selteri]

7. Sadly They are still luxury and difficult at best to track down.

But consider also that a hybrid car easily falls into low level luxury since my Prius ran 30k.

Of course, the cost of the battery system being almost or more than that of the car truly makes it a Luxury I can't afford either.

[leveymg]

9. That's a break-even point after 10,000 to 15,000 days.

If one accepts their 75 cents/day figure for a full recharge.

Maybe my grandchildren will still be enjoying the Prius.

Sigh.