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{{topic header| default.png | Hybrid vehicles}}
{{topic header| default.png | Hybrid vehicles}}


==Environmental impact of batteries==
==The electric vehicle==
The [[lithium ion batteries]]{{w|lithium ion batteries}} are a major contributor to the environmental impact of hybrid vehicles.{{fact}} However these are not an essential part of hybrid cars, which have been built using different types of batteries.<ref>climate scientist Graeme Pearman's comments to [[User:Chriswaterguy|Chriswaterguy]] (after his Lowy Institute talk, 18 Apr 2007) that he had helped to built a hybrid (15 years ago?) which did not use lithium ion batteries. (He confirmed my query as to whether this was the "Eco-Commodore," which I assume is actually the [[Holden ECOmmodore]], but the ECOmmodore was much later, unveiled in 2000... was it just ignored for the intervening ~8 years? --[[User:Chriswaterguy|Chriswaterguy]])</ref>
A [[Electric cars|purely electric vehicle]] uses a large amount of batteries, combined with a electric motor. They emit no exhaust fumes whatsoever and are thus very useful in certain situations (ie use in enclosed spaces).


Claims have been made that the batteries of the Prius have a very short lifespan, resulting in very high environmental impact for the distance traveled. In fact, the batteries have a 10 year, 150,000 mile warranty.<ref name="warranty">[http://priusyes.com/ Prius Yes website] (promotional website). Click "Prius Facts" for the statement about the warranty on the batteries.</ref>
==Downsides of the electric vehicles==
===Amount of battery capacity required===
Purely electric vehicles require a great amount of battery (or rather electric energy) capacity, and thus a huge amount of batteries. At present, [[lithium ion batteries]]{{w|lithium ion batteries}} are mostly used (sulpheric acid-lead batteries can be used too, but are generally not used anymore due to their low power/weight ratio). Lithium-ion batteries have a major environmental impact (the production of these batteries atleast, not their use).{{fact}}


One solution to this would be to swap the battery with a (ultra)[[capacitor]] and a [[range extender]] (ie microturbine, IC engine or Stirling engine) fitted to a dynamo or alternator to recharge the ultracapacitor. Especially microturbines (which are ?% more efficient than IC engines, ie regarding incineration) are very useful, as they are very light, and (as any range extender) allow to use energy dense fuels (more energy can be taken along compared to batteries). This way, the capacitor can be used as a buffer (so storing say energy to drive a few hundred meters upto 1 km, rather than storing energy for say 100 - 500 km).
Other battery types can also be used (some battery types lowers this impact greatly), but all generally still have a negative environmental effect, and weighten down the vehicle and reduce range (compared to fuel, batteries -regardless of the type- have very low power/weight ratio's.<ref>climate scientist Graeme Pearman's comments to [[User:Chriswaterguy|Chriswaterguy]] (after his Lowy Institute talk, 18 Apr 2007) that he had helped to built a hybrid which did not use lithium ion batteries. He confirmed this was the "Eco-Commodore/[[Holden ECOmmodore]]</ref>
Note that although one may perceive this setup as not that environmentally friendly (compared to electric vehicles which drive purely on their battery capacity), it is actually allot more environmentally friendly than most internal combustion and hybrid cars. This as: less batteries are required (environmentally polluting to produce), microturbines burn fuel more cleanly than IC engines, and finally, the fuel itself can be ie [[biofuel]] or a emissionless fuel (nitrous oxide, hydrogen, ...). It also still function as a hybrid (allowing to reduce power at certain point within the city) and so is more efficient here than using a vehicle fitted only with one powerplant (ie microturbine, IC engine or Stirling engine)


==Plug-in hybrids==
==The hybrid vehicle as a solution to remove a lot of battery capacity==
plug-in hybrids{{w|plug-in hybrid}} also have the option of recharging the batteries from mains power. The cost of electricity to power plug-in hybrids during all-electric operation in California in 2007 has been estimated as less than one fourth the cost of gasoline.<ref name="hevctr">HEV Center (2007) [http://www.team-fate.net/phev.html "What are Plug-In Hybrids?"] Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, UC Davis; retrieved 18 April 2007</ref>
One solution to reducing the amount of battery capacity is to use a regular [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybrid_vehicle_drivetrain#Parallel_hybrid series hybrid] (to allow using a energy dense fuel rather than electrochemical energy storage) yet swap the battery with a (ultra)[[capacitor]] and a [[range extender]] (ie microturbine, IC (gasoline) engine, IC (diesel) engine or Stirling engine) fitted to a dynamo or alternator to recharge the (ultra)capacitor.
 
Swapping the battery with a capacitor eliminates the major downside of the battery (the fact that it is recharged very slowly). This downside hence asked for a large battery, to ensure that the battery wouldn't run dry before the alternator powered by the IC engine had a chance to recharge it. The capacitor can hence be used more as a "buffer" (so storing say energy to drive a few hundred meters upto 1 km, rather than storing energy for say 100 - 500 km).
 
For the type of IC-engine to be used: although (Beta-)Stirling engines (which are 10% more efficient than IC (gasoline) engines regarding incineration and are very light and allow the use of pure plant oils as fuel) seem useful, they actually aren't really as they can not be stopped and started rapidly (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_economy-maximizing_behaviors FAS technique in Hypermiling]). We really need a IC-engine that can be stopped and started quickly, so a regular yet lightweight gasoline engine seems most suitable. Such an engine is ie the [[quasiturbine]].
 
==Advantages of the hybrid electric to purely electric vehicles==
Besides the main advantage of the descreased weight/increased range, and the advantage of eliminating a lot of battery capacity (which is useful as the production of the batteries are environmentally unfriendly), there are additional advantages:
 
* Unlike Stirling-only vehicles, Stirling-electric hybrid vehicles can be immediatelly driven after starting. Stirling engines require a "warm-up time", yet due to the capacitor, the vehicle can use the energy still present in the capacitor to immediatelly drive off. The capacitor is then continuously recharged underway. However, due to the inability of the Stirling engine to be stopped/started quickly, the capacitor can not be charged fully (as it would need to be stopped well before the capacitor is fully charged, to allow optimal energy conversion efficiency). This in turn would require a large capacitor, which again adds weight to the vehicle, reducing the efficiency of the system as a whole.
 
* Stirling (and Diesel) engines extract more energy and can use other environmentally friendly fuels (ie plant oils) than IC (gasoline) engines.


==Criticisms==
* It also still function as a hybrid (allowing to switch to the electric motor within densely populated areas). Electric motors are more efficient here than a heat engine since the heat engine (ie microturbine, IC engine or Stirling engine) would need to operate on a speed/load that is not optimal for it


Art Spinella of [http://www.nvo.com/cnwmr/ CNW Marketing] has released reports critical of hybrids, particularly their claim of economic benefits, though this analysis is based on certain doubtful assumptions about the lifespan of hybrids.<ref>This report has been discussed also by the libertarian policy institute, the [http://www.reason.org/aboutreason.shtml Reason Foundation] - a public policy research organization based on "libertarian principles, including individual liberty, free markets, and the rule of law."[http://www.reason.org/aboutreason.shtml] It is claimed that hybrids have a higher energy cost over their life cycle than normal cars, and even than the enormous [[Hummer|Hummer.]]{{w|Hummer|Hummer.}} This is calculated as dollars per mile. There are many factors, of which a significant one appears to be the assumption that a Hummer will last for three time as long, i.e. 300,000 miles instead of 100,000 miles for a Prius. [http://www.reason.org/commentaries/dalmia_20060719.shtml Have You Hugged a Hummer Today?], Commentary, Reason.org, July 19, 2006</ref> One widely-released report in 2005, the in-depth [http://cnwmr.com/nss-folder/automotiveenergy/ Dust-to-Dust] study (from production to disposal of a vehicle) found that hybrids fared worse than large SUVs.  In particular, a Toyota Prius cost $3.24/mile to build, operate and dispose/recycle, whereas a Chevy Tahoe or GMC Yukon cost $2.93/mile. (For comparison purposes, a Hummer H3 was $2.065/mile, an Audi A6 was $4.96/mile, a Toyota Echo was $.70/mile and a Jeep Wrangler was $.60/mile.  Other hybrids were roughly similar to the Prius, the Honda Insight was the best at $2.94/mile).  However, these numbers are not without dispute.  The CNW report estimated that a Prius cost $354,000 over its lifetime of 109,000 miles, and a Chevy Tahoe cost $787,000 over 268,000 miles and a Ford Excursion cost a whopping $888,000 over 269,000 miles.  There are two issues with this - the simpler one being that a Prius may have an average lifespan of much more than 109,000 miles - and in fact the batteries have a 10 year, 150,000 mile warranty.<ref name="warranty"/> It is a recently introduced car, but several incidental cases of the Prius operating more than 200,000 miles on the original batteries have been reported.  Assuming an industry-average lifespan of 178,000 miles, the Prius would then only cost $2.28/mile, beating all large SUVs and full-size pickups.
* In the specific case of parallell hybrid electric vehicles fitted with a Diesel engine (not a gasoline engine as the latter are more efficient on operating on almost any speed/load ratio):
** when used on his own (not hybrid setup), the Diesel engine gets into trouble beyond a certain speed/load<ref>See wikipedia article on "Diesel engine"</ref> (it works fine for low speeds/loads though) as it can then not oxygenate its fuel optimally. This results in a lesser energy conversion and thus power loss. The electricity generator (dynamo or alternator) too works more efficient<ref>This difference can be quite high, ie brushed types can show a difference of 40% !</ref> at a specific speed and load. As with series hybrids it's possible to keep the speed/load of both the diesel engine and the electricity generator at a constant rate, near their optimal speed/load range, the efficiency is kept very high during the entire trajectory the vehicle needs to cover.  


==Lifetime cost==
First Touch of a new Generation
The second issue is the lifetime cost of a vehicle.


A January 2007 analysis by Intellichoice.com calculated that all 22 currently available hybrids would save their owners money over a five year period. The Toyota Prius led the results with a five year cost of ownership 40.3% lower than comparable non-hybrid vehicles.<ref>[http://www.businessweek.com/autos/content/jan2007/bw20070108_774581.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index_autos "Hybrids Cost-Efficient Over Long Haul"], ''Business Week'', January 9, 2007. The summary of the Intellichoice report is based on Wikipedia.</ref> The CNW report reached different conclusions, but with some apparently faulty calculations.
In the 21th century the industry developed more and more vehicle which is able to use green Energy form the socket. The car industry knows that this step is important, because when they miss this step other companies or manufactures came and do this. Furthermore green energy is the further of our world. If you looked at the big company like BMW for example, you can see that they create tow new cars for the customers. In the year 2014 they present the i8 and the i3. This two cars have the best and the highest technology in there.


Operating costs are fairly well-known, limited largely to fuel, repairs and maintenance. The initial buyer of the vehicle must pay for the mining, manufacturing, assembly, design and overhead of all components of the vehicle (assuming there is no massive government subsidy common to all industrialized nations).  Otherwise the manufacturer or suppliers would be losing large sums of money on each vehicle (many times the price of the vehicle, given the numbers in this report) and quickly go out of business.  Since little money changes hands when a car is junked, it is reasonable to assume the disposal of a vehicle is largely paid for by recyclable material (and to some extent, government-subsidized landfills).  The CNW report shows large sums of money for each step in the process.  Even the cost of transportation of workers to the workplace is covered, although that should be paid by their paycheck.  Only government-subsidized road repair seems to be missing in the list of costs (which is affected more by multi-ton vehicles). The large dust-to-dust report does not get into specifics on how double-charging of expenses is avoided (such as steel that is recycled, or workers' costs and their salaries), but a detailed analysis of the whole report is not possible here.  Briefly, without the bankruptcy of multiple nations and car manufacturers, the large figures associated with lifetime vehicle costs are highly suspect. 
i8


In any case, the '''less publicized but more recent report for 2006 vehicles''' (summarizing spreadsheets available only) has adjusted the figures considerably.  According to CNW Marketing, hybrids now cost less per mile than large SUVs: the 2006 Prius is reported at $2.87/mile, Chevy Tahoe is $3.76/mile, and Ford Excursion is $4.04/mile. Regardless, until the vehicle lifetime costs can be verified more completely, and considering the inconsistency between claim short lifetime of the battery with the actual warranty period, these reports should be considered with skepticism - though of course some of their analysis may well be valid.
The BMW i8, first introduced as the BMW Concept Vision Efficient Dynamics, is a plug-in hybrid sports car developed by BMW. The 2015 model year BMW i8 has a 7.1 kWh lithium-ion battery pack that delivers an all-electric range of 37 km under the New European Driving Cycle. Under the United States Environmental Protection Agency cycle, the range in EV mode is 24 km with a small amount of gasoline consumption.  


''See also: [[Wikipedia: Hybrid electric vehicle #Comparison of regular hybrids with petroleum and plug-in hybrid vehicles]]
i3


==Suggested projects==
The BMW i3, previously Mega City Vehicle, is a five-door urban electric car developed by the German manufacturer BMW. The i3 is part of BMW's "Project i" and was launched as a new brand, BMW i. The i3 is BMW's first zero emissions mass-produced vehicle due to its electric power train, and BMW is the first company to launch a volume production vehicle on the market featuring carbon-fiber reinforced plastic to improve the vehicle's energy consumption.
*Check Reason.org's analysis and attempt to give an objective analysis of which cars are more efficient over their life cycle.{{sp}}


''This article or section contains content copied from the [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hybrid_electric_vehicle Hybrid electric vehicle] page on Wikipedia.''<ref>The material section beginning "Art Spinella," was copied here 26 March 2007, with a note left on the [[Talk:Hybrid_electric_vehicle#Criticism.2C_analysis|Wikipedia talk page]]. It was quickly [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hybrid_electric_vehicle&diff=117966719&oldid=117920517#Trade-offs.2C_comparisons_and_criticisms removed], as it contains considerable analysis and original research, which is suitable for Appropedia but not Wikipedia.</ref>
==Plug-in hybrids==
Plug-in hybrids{{w|plug-in hybrid}} are series or parallell hybrids equipped with a [[mains electric grid-connector|power plug]]. They have the option of recharging the batteries from the electricity grid.
 
==Criticisms==
===Costs of private electric vehicles (cars)===
{{Main|Costs of electric and hybrid electric cars}}
Although the cost of electricity to has been estimated as less than one fourth the cost of gasoline (in California in 2007), the lifetime cost of electric and hybrid-electric cars is much higher than IC-powered cars.<ref>[http://www.team-fate.net/phev.html "What are Plug-In Hybrids?"</ref> This is partly a result of the huge amount of battery capacity installed on these cars, as well as other parameters (ie car weight, non-essential systems, safety precautions, ...).


* We need to examine the relative '''environmental''' impacts, not the $ cost.--[[User:RichardB43|RichardB43]] 07:35, 26 January 2011 (PST)
Another issue is the use of [[rare earth elements]] in some electric or hybrid-electric vehicles. especially lanthanum and some 3 other elements seems often used in these vehicles. In some cases, their use can not be avoided, in other cases, they can be avoided.<ref>[http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/engineering/news/important-rare-earth-elements#slide-1 Rare earth elements used in electric and hybrid electric cars]</ref><ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium#Terrestrial Lithium not being a rare earth element]</ref>


==Notes==
==References==
<small><references/></small>
{{reflist}}


== Interwiki links ==
== External links ==
* [[Wikipedia: Petroleum electric hybrid vehicles]]
* [[Wikipedia: Petroleum electric hybrid vehicles]]
* [https://www.bmwusa.com/vehicles/bmwi.html BMW Electric Cars]


{{copyedit|Perhaps some paragraphs can be split, and a brief intro written.}}
==See Also==
* [[Electric Vehicle Charging]]


[[Category:Road vehicles]]
[[Category:Road vehicles]]

Revision as of 01:46, 26 July 2019

Default.png
Default.png

The electric vehicle

A purely electric vehicle uses a large amount of batteries, combined with a electric motor. They emit no exhaust fumes whatsoever and are thus very useful in certain situations (ie use in enclosed spaces).

Downsides of the electric vehicles

Amount of battery capacity required

Purely electric vehicles require a great amount of battery (or rather electric energy) capacity, and thus a huge amount of batteries. At present, lithium ion batteriesW are mostly used (sulpheric acid-lead batteries can be used too, but are generally not used anymore due to their low power/weight ratio). Lithium-ion batteries have a major environmental impact (the production of these batteries atleast, not their use).[verification needed]

Other battery types can also be used (some battery types lowers this impact greatly), but all generally still have a negative environmental effect, and weighten down the vehicle and reduce range (compared to fuel, batteries -regardless of the type- have very low power/weight ratio's.[1]

The hybrid vehicle as a solution to remove a lot of battery capacity

One solution to reducing the amount of battery capacity is to use a regular series hybrid (to allow using a energy dense fuel rather than electrochemical energy storage) yet swap the battery with a (ultra)capacitor and a range extender (ie microturbine, IC (gasoline) engine, IC (diesel) engine or Stirling engine) fitted to a dynamo or alternator to recharge the (ultra)capacitor.

Swapping the battery with a capacitor eliminates the major downside of the battery (the fact that it is recharged very slowly). This downside hence asked for a large battery, to ensure that the battery wouldn't run dry before the alternator powered by the IC engine had a chance to recharge it. The capacitor can hence be used more as a "buffer" (so storing say energy to drive a few hundred meters upto 1 km, rather than storing energy for say 100 - 500 km).

For the type of IC-engine to be used: although (Beta-)Stirling engines (which are 10% more efficient than IC (gasoline) engines regarding incineration and are very light and allow the use of pure plant oils as fuel) seem useful, they actually aren't really as they can not be stopped and started rapidly (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_economy-maximizing_behaviors FAS technique in Hypermiling]). We really need a IC-engine that can be stopped and started quickly, so a regular yet lightweight gasoline engine seems most suitable. Such an engine is ie the quasiturbine.

Advantages of the hybrid electric to purely electric vehicles

Besides the main advantage of the descreased weight/increased range, and the advantage of eliminating a lot of battery capacity (which is useful as the production of the batteries are environmentally unfriendly), there are additional advantages:

  • Unlike Stirling-only vehicles, Stirling-electric hybrid vehicles can be immediatelly driven after starting. Stirling engines require a "warm-up time", yet due to the capacitor, the vehicle can use the energy still present in the capacitor to immediatelly drive off. The capacitor is then continuously recharged underway. However, due to the inability of the Stirling engine to be stopped/started quickly, the capacitor can not be charged fully (as it would need to be stopped well before the capacitor is fully charged, to allow optimal energy conversion efficiency). This in turn would require a large capacitor, which again adds weight to the vehicle, reducing the efficiency of the system as a whole.
  • Stirling (and Diesel) engines extract more energy and can use other environmentally friendly fuels (ie plant oils) than IC (gasoline) engines.
  • It also still function as a hybrid (allowing to switch to the electric motor within densely populated areas). Electric motors are more efficient here than a heat engine since the heat engine (ie microturbine, IC engine or Stirling engine) would need to operate on a speed/load that is not optimal for it
  • In the specific case of parallell hybrid electric vehicles fitted with a Diesel engine (not a gasoline engine as the latter are more efficient on operating on almost any speed/load ratio):
    • when used on his own (not hybrid setup), the Diesel engine gets into trouble beyond a certain speed/load[2] (it works fine for low speeds/loads though) as it can then not oxygenate its fuel optimally. This results in a lesser energy conversion and thus power loss. The electricity generator (dynamo or alternator) too works more efficient[3] at a specific speed and load. As with series hybrids it's possible to keep the speed/load of both the diesel engine and the electricity generator at a constant rate, near their optimal speed/load range, the efficiency is kept very high during the entire trajectory the vehicle needs to cover.

First Touch of a new Generation

In the 21th century the industry developed more and more vehicle which is able to use green Energy form the socket. The car industry knows that this step is important, because when they miss this step other companies or manufactures came and do this. Furthermore green energy is the further of our world. If you looked at the big company like BMW for example, you can see that they create tow new cars for the customers. In the year 2014 they present the i8 and the i3. This two cars have the best and the highest technology in there.

i8

The BMW i8, first introduced as the BMW Concept Vision Efficient Dynamics, is a plug-in hybrid sports car developed by BMW. The 2015 model year BMW i8 has a 7.1 kWh lithium-ion battery pack that delivers an all-electric range of 37 km under the New European Driving Cycle. Under the United States Environmental Protection Agency cycle, the range in EV mode is 24 km with a small amount of gasoline consumption.

i3

The BMW i3, previously Mega City Vehicle, is a five-door urban electric car developed by the German manufacturer BMW. The i3 is part of BMW's "Project i" and was launched as a new brand, BMW i. The i3 is BMW's first zero emissions mass-produced vehicle due to its electric power train, and BMW is the first company to launch a volume production vehicle on the market featuring carbon-fiber reinforced plastic to improve the vehicle's energy consumption.

Plug-in hybrids

Plug-in hybridsW are series or parallell hybrids equipped with a power plug. They have the option of recharging the batteries from the electricity grid.

Criticisms

Costs of private electric vehicles (cars)

Main article: Costs of electric and hybrid electric cars

Although the cost of electricity to has been estimated as less than one fourth the cost of gasoline (in California in 2007), the lifetime cost of electric and hybrid-electric cars is much higher than IC-powered cars.[4] This is partly a result of the huge amount of battery capacity installed on these cars, as well as other parameters (ie car weight, non-essential systems, safety precautions, ...).

Another issue is the use of rare earth elements in some electric or hybrid-electric vehicles. especially lanthanum and some 3 other elements seems often used in these vehicles. In some cases, their use can not be avoided, in other cases, they can be avoided.[5][6]

References

Template:Reflist

External links

See Also

  1. ↑ climate scientist Graeme Pearman's comments to Chriswaterguy (after his Lowy Institute talk, 18 Apr 2007) that he had helped to built a hybrid which did not use lithium ion batteries. He confirmed this was the "Eco-Commodore/Holden ECOmmodore
  2. ↑ See wikipedia article on "Diesel engine"
  3. ↑ This difference can be quite high, ie brushed types can show a difference of 40% !
  4. ↑ [http://www.team-fate.net/phev.html "What are Plug-In Hybrids?"
  5. ↑ Rare earth elements used in electric and hybrid electric cars
  6. ↑ Lithium not being a rare earth element
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