Hybrid Synergy Drive (HSD), also known as Toyota Hybrid System II, is the brand name of Toyota Motor Corporation for the hybrid car drive train technology used in vehicles with the Toyota and Lexus marques. First introduced on the Prius, the technology is an option on several other Toyota and Lexus vehicles and has been adapted for the electric drive system of the hydrogen-powered Mirai, and for a plug-in hybrid version of the Prius. Previously, Toyota also licensed its HSD technology to Nissan for use in its Nissan Altima Hybrid. Its parts supplier Aisin offers similar hybrid transmissions to other car companies.
Capstone Green Energy Corporation, formerly Capstone Turbine Corporation, was incorporated in 1988 as a California based gas turbine manufacturer that specializes in microturbine power along with heating and cooling cogeneration systems. Key to the Capstone design is its use of air bearings, which provides maintenance and fluid-free operation for the lifetime of the turbine and reduces the system to a single moving part. This also eliminates the need for any cooling or other secondary systems. The Capstone microturbine is a versatile and dispatchable technology that is fuel flexible and scalable enough to fit a variety of applications.
A microturbine (MT) is a small gas turbine with similar cycles and components to a heavy gas turbine. The MT power-to-weight ratio is better than a heavy gas turbine because the reduction of turbine diameters causes an increase in shaft rotational speed. Heavy gas turbine generators are too large and too expensive for distributed power applications, so MTs are developed for small-scale power like electrical power generation alone or as combined cooling, heating, and power (CCHP) systems. The MT are 25 to 500 kW (34 to 671 hp) gas turbines evolved from piston engine turbochargers, aircraft auxiliary power units (APU) or small jet engines, the size of a refrigerator. Early turbines of 30–70 kW (40–94 hp) grew to 200–250 kW (270–340 hp).
BAS is a category of automotive parallel hybrid technology that uses an electric motor to contribute power to the internal combustion engine's crankshaft via a serpentine belt. By mounting this motor generator unit in the conventional location traditionally used for the standard automotive alternator, it permits a low-cost method of adding mild hybrid capabilities such as start-stop, power assist, and mild levels of regenerative braking. BAS systems differ from other mild hybrid systems as they are not run off the vehicle's crankshaft.
Mild hybrids (MHEV) are generally cars with an internal combustion engine (ICE) equipped with a minimally extended battery and an auxiliary electric combined motor and generator in a parallel hybrid configuration that is only enough for an electric-only mode of propulsion at slow speed and allows the engine to be stopped whenever the car is coasting, braking, or stopped, and then restarted once power is required again. Mild hybrids may employ regenerative braking and some level of power assist to the internal combustion engine.
The Green Car of the Year is a Car of the Year award from the Green Car Journal. The winner is selected by an 11-member panel comprising automotive and environmental experts. Invited jurors have included Mario Andretti; Carroll Shelby, Jay Leno, Carl Pope, Christopher Flavin, Jonathan Lash and Jean-Michel Cousteau.
Hybrid vehicle drivetrains transmit power to the driving wheels for hybrid vehicles. A hybrid vehicle has multiple forms of motive power, and can come in many configurations. For example, a hybrid may receive its energy by burning gasoline, but switch between an electric motor and a combustion engine.
A hybrid train is a locomotive, railcar or train that uses an onboard rechargeable energy storage system (RESS), placed between the power source and the traction transmission system connected to the wheels. Since most diesel locomotives are diesel-electric, they have all the components of a series hybrid transmission except the storage battery, making this a relatively simple prospect.
A hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) is a type of hybrid vehicle that couples a conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) with one or more electric engines into a combined propulsion system. The presence of the electric powertrain, which has inherently better energy conversion efficiency, is intended to achieve either better fuel economy or better acceleration performance than a conventional vehicle. There is a variety of HEV types and the degree to which each functions as an electric vehicle (EV) also varies. The most common form of HEV is hybrid electric passenger cars, although hybrid electric trucks, buses, motorboats, and aircraft also exist.
The Chevrolet Volt is a plug-in hybrid and extended-range electric vehicle car that was manufactured by General Motors, and also marketed in rebadged variants as the Holden Volt in Australia and New Zealand and the Buick Velite 5 in China, and with a different fascia as the Vauxhall Ampera in the United Kingdom and as the Opel Ampera in the remainder of Europe. Volt production ended in February 2019.
The history of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) spans a little more than a century, but most of the significant commercial developments have taken place after 2002. The revival of interest in this automotive technology together with all-electric cars is due to advances in battery and power management technologies, and concerns about increasingly volatile oil prices and supply disruption, and also the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Between 2003 and 2010 most PHEVs on the roads were conversions of production hybrid electric vehicles, and the most prominent PHEVs were aftermarket conversions of 2004 or later Toyota Prius, which have had plug-in charging and more lead–acid batteries added and their electric-only range extended.
Voltec, formerly known as E-Flex, is a General Motors powertrain released in November 2010. The Voltec architecture is primarily a plug-in capable, battery-dominant electric vehicle with additional fossil fuel powered series and parallel hybrid capabilities.
The Cadillac ELR is a two-door, four-passenger luxury plug-in hybrid compact coupé manufactured and marketed by Cadillac for model years (MY) 2014 and 2016 – with a hiatus for MY 2015. Using a retuned version of the Chevrolet Volt's Voltec EREV drivetrain, the ELR's lithium-ion battery pack delivered an all-electric range of 37–39 miles (60–63 km) and a top speed of 106 mph (171 km/h).
The eRuf Model A is a late-2000s all-electric concept sports car built by German automobile manufacturer Ruf Automobile. The car was powered by a UQM Technologies propulsion system. The car has a top speed of 225 km/h (140 mph) and was capable of producing 150 kW of power and 479 lb⋅ft (649 N⋅m) of torque. Estimated range per charge was 250–320 km (155–199 mi), depending on performance level, using iron-phosphate, lithium-ion batteries built by Axeon plc of Great Britain. During coasting the engine works as a generator producing electricity to charge the batteries.
The Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid is a plug-in hybrid liftback manufactured by Toyota. The first-generation model was produced from 2012 to 2016. The second-generation model has been produced since 2016. Production of the third-generation model began in 2023.
A range extender is a fuel-based auxiliary power unit (APU) that extends the range of a battery electric vehicle by driving an electric generator that charges the vehicle's battery. This arrangement is known as a series hybrid drivetrain. The most commonly used range extenders are internal combustion engines, but fuel-cells or other engine types can be used.
Range anxiety is the driver's fear that a vehicle has insufficient energy storage to cover the road distance needed to reach its intended destination, and would thus strand the vehicle's occupants mid-way. The term, which is now primarily used in reference to the practical driving range of battery electric vehicles (BEVs), is considered to be one of the major psychological barriers to large-scale public adoption of electric cars.
The Lotus Ethos is a fully plug-in hybrid concept car that was unveiled at the 2010 Paris Motor Show as the "Lotus CityCar". The vehicle was developed by Lotus Engineering, a separate division from Lotus Cars. The CityCar has a lithium battery pack with an all-electric range of 60 km, and after the battery is depleted the 1.2-litre petrol engine kicks in to help with charging, allowing the car to run more than 500 km. The concept car is designed for flex-fuel operation on ethanol, or methanol as well as regular petrol.
UQM Technologies Inc was an American manufacturer of electrical motors, generators, motor controllers, fuel cell compressor systems and hybrid systems for passenger and commercial vehicles. Established in 1967 as Unique Mobility Inc, UQM was based in Longmont, Colorado. UQM's products were sold direct to original equipment manufacturers (OEM).
The Chevrolet Volt is a compact car that was produced by General Motors. The first generation of the Chevrolet Volt, it was manufactured at the Detroit facility until it was succeeded by the second and final generation of the Volt in 2015. It is a five-door liftback with a range-extending generator.
