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Making the Case for Grid-Hybrids - Part 2By Bill Moore Open Access Article Originally Published: September 30, 2001
The concept of a grid-connected hybrid-electric vehicle certainly has its appeal, not only does it give you the benefits of a battery electric vehicle (BEV), but it neatly sidesteps the BEV's principle shortcoming, that of limited range. A GHEV or grid-hybrid electric vehicle can continue to operate well beyond the range of the BEV as long as there is a fueling station handy. That fuel can be gasoline or diesel or a wide range of other fuels including ethanol, methanol or hydrogen. And the amount of fuel used could be dramatically less, since the GHEV would only use its internal combustion engine when the vehicle needed to be operated outside the range of its battery-electric drive. EPRI estimates that such a vehicle would have a fuel efficiency equivalent of 100 mpg (2 liters/100km). EPRI's Robert Graham explained to EV World that this takes into consideration the "efficiencies of the power plant, plus the efficiencies of an electric motor and add that to an efficient internal combustion engine." He said that when you combine all these factors together, a grid-hybrid with a 60 mile ZEV range would exceed the fuel efficiency of the best diesel-electric hybrids developed for the US government's Partnership for a New Generation Vehicle. Graham also invited EV World readers to download the report, which is available free off the EPRI web site, and study its conclusions and assumptions. He said he hope the report is critically reviewed so his team will better understand the issues as they go into Phase Two of the study. Besides looking at the technical issues involved in building a grid-hybrid, Graham's group also looked at the economic and marketing issues. Chief among these is the fact that adding an electric drive and enough batteries for 20-60 miles of electric-only range will make the car more expensive. "The real question is," Graham asked, "Are those costs going to be so excessive that you cannot make a market? The numbers and the data show that you can make a market even with the cost differential, which he estimates could be as little as $2,000 per vehicle, though it could range upwards of $5,000 and higher. He jested that the price differential would not be as high as that between the cost of his Chevy Camero and his wife's Ford Explorer. To ascertain the potential market for GHEV's EPRI hired consultants to do a series of public surveys in Los Angeles and Orlando, Florida. Consumers were asked a series of assumptions about a hypothetical vehicle had the same performance and size as a conventional family sedan. They were also told that it could be plugged in and that it offered the advantages of both a hybrid and battery electric vehicle. If such a vehicle were available and cost more than a conventional vehicle, at what price point would they cease to be interested in it? "It was determined that there is a certain sized market and that market is greater or larger depending on what the cost differentials are. But it also said that the consumer does have an interest vehicles that are fuel efficient, and vehicles that are clean, and vehicles that have all-electric mileage. They aren't afraid to plug in the vehicles and they aren't afraid of the new technology as is shown by the number of people trying to buy the Toyota and Honda hybrids. So there is a market that can be made for this type of vehicle as long as you understand the parameters and your design your vehicle to meet those parameters. The study pretty extensively defines what those are." Coincidentally, the day EV World interviewed Graham, Renault announced it would be unveiling a grid-hybrid version of its Kangoo, which currently is available in a battery electric, as well gasoline version.
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