The recent public interest in using alternative fuels to power the automobile has created investment in a huge variety of technologies that could reduce the planets dependence on oil for transportation. Unfortunately, these technologies are diverse and disjointed, and while each one shows promise, they need to be focused on working together to produce a system level solution that actually saves energy and reduces Green House Gas (GHG).
Fuel cells, fed by hydrogen and producing electricity and only water as a byproduct, have been in development for two decades and although the technology has improved tremendously the economic and safety aspects of producing and transporting hydrogen have not.
A recent joint study by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) concluded that Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV) have the potential to improve air quality and substantially contribute to meeting long term goals of reducing GHG to 80% below 1990 levels by 2050.
The PHEV presents a suitable system approach that has the potential to be the most appropriate investment to have an impact on reducing our dependence on oil and reducing GHG. Genovation Cars exists to produce a PHEV product that makes best use of the latest technologies that are safe on the road, not experimental and do no harm to the environment. We are not focused on building cars with exotic materials and leading edge technologies that beat all energy efficiency goals or speed records. We are building a vehicle for the average family that cares about protecting the environment.
We keep six factors in mind when considering whether a technology is ready for our car. Those are Safety, Cost, Weight, Availability, Reliability and Ease of use/maintenance. Using the initials we call these our SCWARE factors.
The major components that make up a PHEV car are:
- The electric traction motor that moves the car.
- The controller that manages the power flow from the batteries to the traction motor.
- The battery pack that stores the energy.
- The charger that refills the energy store.
- The battery regulators that prevent the individual batteries from damage by either overcharging or overdraining.
- The GenSet that produces electricity while driving to recharge the battery pack.
- The auxiliary electric motor that drives all the pumps for braking, steering and cooling.
- The solar panels that capture the suns energy to help pre cool the car.
- The energy recovery system that captures energy that would normally be dissipated as heat when braking.
- The safety management system that makes sure all systems work in harmony and do not allow dangerous situations to exist.