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  • Jun
  • 29
  • 2008

Uncle Sam Rolls In a 100-MPG Solar Plug-In Hybrid

Tony Markel drives a plug-in hybrid that runs 50 miles per charge, goes 100 miles per gallon and gets power from the sun. If he has his way, you'll drive one too before long.

Fleet vehicles by their very nature are used in a limited geographic area. Think local utilities, taxi cab companies, fire and police departments, UPS or FedEx or even the US Post Office and many others. I saw on the PBS show Scientific American…

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  • May
  • 04
  • 2008

Sony Unveils Ultrasmall Hybrid Fuel Cell for phones

Sony prototyped a fuel-cell system small enough to fit in one hand (50×30mm). It works by combining a fuel cell, a Li-polymer secondary battery, a control circuit and so forth together to output up to 3W of power. Its use efficiency of energy is high enough that 14 hours of 1seg movie can be continuously played by general mobile phones.

The new fuel-cell system is direct methanol type and uses methanol as fuel. Also, it is an active fuel-cell system, which controls fuel supply with a pump. The system is hybrid type with the output supplemented by a Li-polymer…

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  • Apr
  • 24
  • 2008

The World’s Largest Hybrid

It’s wheels are bigger than your car…the driver has to climb a flight of stairs to get to his seat. And, if GE has their way, they might soon be painting it (at least metaphorically) green.

Haul trucks are basically massive dump trucks used in mining operations. They, of course, consume massive amounts of fuel, and so increasing effiency marginally can save massive amounts of fuel. Already, most new haul trucks are electrically…

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  • Apr
  • 02
  • 2008

Toyota to Pioneer Hybrid Racing Technology?

There is buzz that Toyota’s entry into the 2009 LeMans will have a hybrid powertrain. There are lots of consumer cars out there that show hybrid can = power, but will that translate onto the race track?

Hybrid packages are usually packaged as environmentally friendly or fuel efficiency improving features, but in many cases hybrid technology can be used for plain, old-fashioned power. With performance batteries (or capacitors in the case…

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  • Mar
  • 29
  • 2008

Toyota Prius - Power Split Device

“The PSD is a planetary gear set that removes the need for a traditional stepped gearbox and transmission components, and also the familiar rev-lurch-rev-lurch of acceleration in an ordinary gas powered car. It acts as a continuously variable transmission (CVT) but with a fixed gear ratio.”

The model below allows you vary the speed of both the ICE, and MG2. MG2 is the larger of the 2 electric motor/generators and is also referred to as the traction motor because its speed (RPM, or revolutions per minute) has a fixed…

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  • Mar
  • 25
  • 2008

Google To Spend $10 Million on Plug-In Hybrid Electric Car

As usual, Google is at the forefront of, well, everything. But this one is a little surprising: their philanthropic branch, Google.org, is putting $10 million into plug-in electric hybrid research and real-world testing.

Google’s own project, called RechargeIT, hopes to accelerate the development of plug-in hybrid and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology. They’ve already set up a demonstration fleet by adding plugs and batteries…

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