Chevy Volts forward
The Chevy Volt concept car
(Credit: CNET Networks/Sarah Tew)Bad pun, I know, but "Chevy charges forward" would be worse, because the concept Volt is an electric car. Chevy grabbed the front of its new Camaro and grafted on a small sports coupe made of lightweight composite materials developed by GE. GM has been using its Chevrolet brand to push its most futuristic alternative energy ideas, such as the previously announced Fuel Cell Equinox. The Volt seems especially designed to counteract the bashing GM got in the movie Who Killed the Electric Car?, as the Volt builds on the technology GM used in its original electric car, the EV1.
While the car looks pretty cool on the outside, with a clear Lexan top stretching down over the hatchback, its underpinnings would make any tech geek drool. The Volt uses what GM calls its E-flex System, a drivetrain using an electric motor to turn the front wheels, getting its power from a bit lithium-ion battery down the center. With that electric drivetrain system, the car can go 40 miles and takes a little more than six hours to charge up.
The underpinnings of the Volt
(Credit: CNET Networks/Sarah Tew)So to extend the range, GM adds in a three cylinder, turbocharged 1-liter engine. This engine isn't connected to the wheels, rather, it turns on and runs at a steady speed whenever the battery needs charging. GM says the range with the engine goes up to 640 miles. Now I know some of you are thinking, "Yes! I've been saying for years that instead of hybrids, cars should use engines to generate electricity, like they do in locomotives." Well, I've got some bad news--the Volt is far from reality. GM's press materials point out that a technological breakthrough in battery development must occur to for this concept to work. Currently, there's no Lithium-ion battery big enough to meet the car's requirements.
I don't know enough about battery engineering to figure out why someone just can't build a bigger battery, but I'm sure GM would use it if it existed. But take heart--battery technology, stuck in lead-acid stasis for most of the last century, is being pursued with a vengeance. The big brass ring? Owning a technology that could be used in all the world's automobiles.
For every watt taken out of a battery, a watt+ must be put in. Roughly 1/3 of our electricity is lost at heat in the national grid. The GM battery holds 16 kilowatt hours ($5,000+). A car needs a motor with about 50,000 watts power to accelerate reasonably. If cruising at 60mph takes 25,000 watts, then that battery will be good for just under 40 miles. But recharging 16kw is like having a 5,000 watt oven on at home for 4 additional hours. At 12¢ per kw (my net rate) I'd pay about $1.92. Interesting: A Toyota Prius, getting 50mpg (probably more) consumes $2 of gasoline to go the same distance, at $2.50/gal. In stop/go traffic, it does even better.
My point is this: Our country is not ready for everyone to consider a battery-powered car. Same goes for Hydrogen, which requires equal amounts of electricity for its manufacture. Hybrid technology using conventional fuels, regenerative braking, and efficient motors, is our only practical option TODAY.
How can we cut costs, reduce CO2 emissions, and have a little more time to adjust to a future without cheap gasoline (yes, $3 is still cheap!)... Conservation, reduction, and mass-transit. Things we Americans all hate to think about.
- Why use a reciprocating engine -it's turbine time!
- by sdyaffe January 9, 2007 6:43 AM PST
- If you are using an engine to run at a steady RPM to charge a battery, why us
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(4 Comments)pistons? This type of application is where a small 2 stage turbine would excel,
and get far better fuel effiency as well as being lighter with less moving parts