Micro Hybrids: Going Green One Step At A Time

Electric vehicle is the latest and the greatest green technology currently available in the automotive sector. But despite all efforts, incentives and subsidies, electric vehicles remain out of the reach of an average consumer. In my previous blog posts, I have written about technologies such as plug-in hybrids, hybrids, turbo charged engines and micro-hybrids. This article will take a closer look into micro-hybrids and why I think that is the best technology for the current time.

In my opinion, the best technology is the one which makes a mass impact. You can always create a great prototype which is extremely efficient but it is difficult to create a commercial product for the mass market. Such prototype technologies are good for developing future products and defining future product trends but are not suitable for current needs. Considering these factors, I think "micro-hybrids" will be the best technology for current times.

When I talk about micro-hybrids, I am talking about vehicles with small battery packs with regenerative braking, engine start-stop and turbo charger engine technologies. Combination of these three technologies will provide green-house-gas emission reduction and operational cost savings. It will also provide a smaller payback period than electric vehicles or plugin electric vehicles. In the previous post "Efficiency: The Underlying Trend", I briefly wrote about micro-hybrid technologies and also explained why I feel these technologies are important.

Turbo Charged, Direct Fuel Injection Engines: By using high efficiency turbo charged, direct fuel injection engines, the car manufacturer can easily downsize the engine. Instead of using a 1.6 Liter gasoline engine to drive a small sedan, the automaker can use a 1.2 liter turbo charged engine producing the same power output but using less gasoline. As car needs less fuel, it will emit less carbon dioxide and will have a lower operation cost.

Engine Start-Stop Technology:  The technology allows the car to shut off the engine when it comes to a halt in the city traffic and when you put your foot on the accelerator peddle, the engine starts automatically. It eliminates the engine idling fuel consumption, eliminates particulate matter emissions, effectively improves efficiency and reduces fuel costs. The challenge is to keep air-conditioning, heater and auxiliary power systems running. Hence this technology needs bigger battery pack and independent air handling technologies. Some micro-hybrids cut off the air-conditioning systems when the engine shuts off which is not a good design as consumers will not choose such products. Developing a slightly bigger battery pack, electrically operated compressor and heat storage tank for heater application in addition to start-stop technology will match the current comfort level requirement of the consumer.

Regenerative Braking: This technology uses generators which capture the energy from braking and charges the larger battery packs. This allows the vehicle to capture kinetic energy which would have otherwise wasted as brake-pad wear or heat. All hybrids and electric vehicles have this capability but using this technology on a small scale without requirement of high-power electronics and motor will reduce the cost of technology. For example, Nissan Leaf has a 80kW motor which is also used to capture the energy from braking. Instead of using 80kW motor, smaller 5kW system can be used to capture partial braking energy which will help charge the batteries. This motor will not be used to propel the car but will be used only to capture the braking energy. This will allow reduction in the cost of the system and make it more attractive to the average consumer.

These three technologies combined together can add significant efficiency to current cars. I am excited about these technologies because the cost and possibility of the mass deployment. The incremental cost of adding these technologies to existing car models is 10 to 15%. With increasing gasoline prices, the payback period on these technologies will be far less than those on electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles. I am a big fan of electric vehicles and believe that the electric vehicle is the practical long term future but in the short term these technologies will help us get closer to our goals of emission control and cost savings.

Many market surveys have shown that owners of Nissan Leaf were prior owners of hybrid vehicles such as Toyota Prius and Honda Insight. Technologies mentioned above can act as a catalyst to the consumer interest in zero-emission technology and will help improve the awareness about green technologies.