Electric hybrid vehicle

The Toyota Prius is a hybrid petrol and electricity vehicle and the world's best-selling hybrid model, with more than 3.7 million units sold until April 2016.

A hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) is a mixed propulsion car combining an electric motor and a combustion engine.

At world level in 2016 there were already more than 58 million light hybrid electric vehicles in circulation, led by the United States, and Japan, followed by Europe.; hybrid models manufactured by Toyota Motor Corporation surpassed the all-time mark of 9 million vehicles sold in April 2016. Second is Honda Motor Co., Ltd. with more than 1.35 million hybrids sold as of June 2014, Ford Motor Corporation, with more than 424,000 hybrids sold in the United States as of June 2015. and Hyundai Group with cumulative sales of 200,000 hybrids as of March 2014, including both Hyundai Motors models like those of Kia Motors.

Advantages

Many hybrid electric systems allow the collection and reuse of kinetic energy, which escapes as heat when braking, thanks to the use of regenerative braking, although this system is now also used in some high-end non-hybrid vehicles.

The combination of a combustion engine always operating at maximum efficiency, and energy recovery from braking (useful especially on short stretches), makes these vehicles achieve better performance than some conventional vehicles, especially in very busy cities. busy, where most of the traffic is concentrated, so that both fuel consumption and polluting emissions are significantly reduced. Traditional electric vehicles are recharged from an external source, which causes autonomy problems due to the absence of charging points. However, hybrid electric vehicles get their energy from the combustion engine and with energy recovery during braking. This gives them similar autonomy as the internal combustion at the cost of some loss of performance against them due to the continuous conversion of energy from one format to another and the losses due to storage in the battery.

Disadvantages

Its major disadvantages are the weight and cost of construction. The use of two propulsion systems together with the auxiliary batteries reduces the habitable space and its weight makes the performance worse compared to another combustion engine of equivalent power. On the other hand, using the combustion engine to move a generator, which recharges the batteries, which feed an electric motor, means that the total performance of the system is not as efficient as its builders preach. In fact, they never give the figures for the cost of fuel per kilometer in the form of a comparative currency value and they limit themselves to referencing the use of fossil fuel without counting electricity consumption (much higher).

Other disadvantages:

• Its price, higher than a vehicle with internal combustion engine.
• Toxicity of batteries used by electric motors.
• Significant use of scarce materials (neodimio and lantano in the case of Prius).
• Greater weight than a conventional car (the electric motor and batteries must be added), and therefore an increase in the energy needed to move it.
• More complexity, making revisions and repairs difficult.
• They pollute like any other when they use the combustion engine.
• Battery has a very lower life than the one in the vehicle.
• Battery problems have arisen.
• The full use of energy cycle is more polluting because of the losses produced in every transformation of energy and that the primary source remains primarily fossil (carboon, fuel or gas).
• From spending all fuel consumption to electricity the cost of electricity would be prohibitive for average household consumption.

Basic Constitution

Toyota 1NZ Hybrid Motor: on the left the thermal engine, on the right of the chain the electric propulsion motor, on the left of the same generator

• A MT thermal engine, at one end of the motorcycle-propellant group.
• A MG1 electric motor located next to MT.
• An MG2 electric motor at the opposite end of MT.
• A traction mechanism based on an epicycloidal train and a drag chain located between MG1 and MG2.

Operation

• MG1 loads the high voltage battery and launches the MT thermal engine.
• MG2 is the one that drags the vehicle in all circumstances, either alone or cooperating with MT, and makes the generator function during the braking. Its feed is alternating three-phase. It transmits its pair to the crown of the epicycloidal train, which is in solidarity with the chain drag pinion.

Types of propulsion trains

The Toyota Prius is a parallel electric hybrid vehicle, which has both a regular version, and a plug.

The Chevrolet Volt is a serial system plug-in hybrid vehicle.

There are numerous types of hybrid electric propulsion systems, among which three stand out: the parallel system, the combined system and the sequential or series system.

• Parallel system: The thermal engine is the main power source and the electric motor acts by providing more power to the system. The electric motor offers its power in the output and acceleration when the thermal engine consumes more. This system stands out for its simplicity, which opens the door to the possibility of implementing it in existing vehicle models, without the need for specific designs, and facilitates the equalization of its cost to that of a conventional vehicle. This is the system that uses the Honda Insight.
• Combined system: The electric motor operates solo at low speed, while at high speed, the thermal and electric motor work at the same time. The thermal engine combines the propulsion functions of the vehicle and the power of the generator, which provides energy to the electric motor, which usually increases the efficiency of the system, since the energy generated by the thermal engine can be used, which in certain circumstances can be in excess, and instead of wasting it, to recharge the batteries of the electrical system. The Toyota Prius uses this system.
• Serial system: the vehicle is driven only with the electric motor, which gets the energy of a generator powered by the thermal engine. The Opel Ampera, based on the Chevrolet Volt, is a series electric hybrid.

They can also be classified as:

• Regular, which use the electric motor as support, but cannot be recharged by connecting it to the power grid.
• Plugs (also known as PHEVs), which mainly use the electric motor and can be recharged by plugging them into the power grid. An internal combustion generator recharges the batteries when the onboard computer detects that they have been exhausted. It does not even need that generator to move the wheels, the very high pair of electric motors moving the wheels avoids even the use of a transmission and a clutch.

Each of these systems has its pros and cons, but all of them have an important positive component, since they indicate a serious effort in research and development of more efficient and cleaner propulsion systems by some brands in the automotive sector. the automotive

A disadvantage of electric hybrids is their weight slightly higher than the conventional one, due to the additional electrical system, and that its traction is mechanical (gearbox and bearings to the wheels) connected to its internal combustion engine.

Energy chain of a hybrid electric vehicle

Toyota Prius Hybrid Vehicle Information Panel.

The digital panel of the Ford Fusion Hybrid maintains records of the improvements achieved in the "eco-driving" style and the type of propulsion that the vehicle is ulging (low).

The kinematic chain

A vehicle needs to do work to move; To do this, it must acquire energy from some source and transform it, with some type of engine (conventional thermal, electric, etc.), into kinetic energy so that the wheels turn and displacement occurs.

A classic vehicle takes energy that is stored in a fossil fuel (eg gasoline) and that is released through combustion inside a conventional heat engine. The output torque of this heat engine is transmitted to the wheels.

The electric motor, combined with the gasoline engine, is an alternative to the use of vehicles solely powered by fossil energy from non-renewable sources. Traditionally, the engines that have powered cars have been oversized with respect to what is strictly necessary for normal use.

The power

Cars typically have internal combustion engines that range between 45 and 240 horsepower. This power is required in particular situations, such as full acceleration, climbing steep slopes with a high vehicle load and at high speed. The fact that most of the time this power is not required is a waste of energy, since oversizing the motor to later use it at a very small percentage of its capacity places the operating point in a place where the performance is quite bad. An average conventional vehicle, if it is used mainly in the city or on long, stationary journeys at moderate speed, will not even need to develop 20 horsepower.

The fact of developing a power that is much less than what the engine can give is wasteful for two reasons: on the one hand, manufacturing costs of the engine are incurred in excess of what it would actually require, and on the other, the performance of An engine that can give 100 horsepower when it only gives 20 is much inferior to that of another engine with less maximum power running at full power and giving the same 20 horsepower. This second factor is mainly responsible for the fact that the urban consumption of the same vehicle equipped with a high-power engine consumes, on urban routes, much more than one of the same weight equipped with a smaller engine. In conclusion, the engine must be suitable for the use for which it is intended.

Efficiency

Hybrid Vehicles at Expo 2005.

Since the greatest consumption of vehicles occurs in the city due to continuous stops, electric motors constitute a notable energy saving; while a thermal engine needs to increase its revolutions to increase its torque (engine force), the electric motor, on the other hand, has a constant torque, that is, it produces the same acceleration when starting the march as with the vehicle in motion.

Another factor that reduces performance efficiency on busy roads is the way you stop the vehicle. This stop is carried out through a process as inefficient as dissipating and wasting energy in the form of movement, kinetic energy, carried by the vehicle to transform it into heat released uselessly into the environment together with wear materials from the braking components. These components are made up of heavy metals and binders that can be toxic, both in the handling for the manufacture of these components, during use (in the form of dust released during braking) and during their final discharge or recycling. Unfortunately hybrids also have brakes that use this system.

The efficiency of the electric hybrid is noticeable above all when used in the city; the energy is cleaner and the electric motor, which is mechanically simpler, consumes less lubricating oil, and since it works at low temperatures because there is no combustion, it can be much more durable than an internal combustion engine, and with few spare parts. wear such as bearings.

On the one hand, it has the extra power necessary that the combustion engine provides in situations such as those mentioned above. On the other hand, it does not suppose any extra fuel consumption at all. On the contrary, it represents savings, since part of the electrical energy is obtained by recharging the batteries when braking or stopping the vehicle or when descending slopes, moments in which the kinetic energy of the vehicle would be dissipated (transformed into irrecoverable heat for to be more exact) with traditional brakes. It also makes it possible to use only the electric propulsion in starts after prolonged stops (traffic lights for example) or parking lots and keep the heat engine stopped in these situations in which it is not used, or a minimum power is required, without compromising the ability to resume. the march instantly. This is possible because it has the ability to start the heat engine in a few tenths of a second if necessary.

In addition to efficiency, the possibility of exclusively using the electric motor for a while allows avoiding the production of smoke in annoying situations, such as in garages.

The main problem facing the automobile industry to manufacture efficient vehicles is the demands of the consumer. The very low price (in relation to other sources of energy) of fossil fuels, thanks to the fact that oil is a source that humanity has found readily available, does not contribute to raising awareness among the population for energy savings.

However, it's not all good these days. The current production costs of batteries, their high polluting degree and their weight, together with the low storage capacity, still limit their widespread use.

You must also take into account the material of the batteries, which if they are lead, have a great environmental impact, both obtaining metallic lead and handling it for the manufacture of batteries, as well as recovering the metals after exhaustion its life cycle. In case of being lithium, it has a high cost since the availability of the metal is limited, and it also has issues related to caring for the environment.

Battery storage

Electrical energy is a bridging (non-primary) energy resource that, stored in batteries, also runs out. The electric motor, to replace the thermal one, is currently considered a great advance in sustainable economy. The pollution in operation of this is very low compared to that of the operation of the fossil fuel engine (although the published calculations do not take into account the scarce energy use of the primary exhaustible resource that generated the electricity). Currently, the storage of electricity in batteries represents a significant technological barrier to the use of an electric motor in the automotive industry.

Electric motors have proven their ability to power other types of machines, such as trains, stationary machines, and factory robots, since they can be seamlessly connected to high-power power lines. However, the energy storage capacities in a mobile vehicle force designers to use a complicated multidisciplinary and hybrid energy chain to replace a simple and cheap classic tank-motor-wheel energy chain. Electricity, as an energy currency, facilitates the use of very diverse technologies, since the electric motor consumes electricity, regardless of the primary source used to generate it. And this primary source is precisely what is usually the biggest polluting factor in the energy chain of hybrid and electric vehicles.

While the premium price of a hybrid vehicle is theoretically amortized over the life of a car, the consumer rarely chooses to make a large initial investment in such a vehicle. In addition to the fact that no government sees the change in fossil fuels (gas, oil and its derivatives) as convenient due to the "coup" that this would give to the economy, due to the current tax burden on fuels. On the other hand, in the medium-term future, in which the price of oil skyrockets due to its scarcity and the only way to fill this gap is to increase efficiency and use biofuels (which cost more to produce than oil today), the hybrid vehicle will surely go from being considered a luxury only for convinced and wealthy environmentalists, to an acceptable form of road transport, but if the price of oil or biofuels falls, consumers will continue to use these fuels.

Thanks to the use of hybrid technology, consumption reductions of up to 80% in the city and 40% on the highway are touted, compared to conventional vehicles with similar features (note that only fossil fuel consumption and electricity consumption are mentioned is considered zero). Regarding the comparative monetary expense, there are no publications (and let's not forget that electricity has a much higher cost in euros than other energies). Carbon dioxide emissions will have a parallel behavior unless nuclear, solar or wind energy is used as the primary source.

Loudness

Various associations have warned about the danger that hybrid vehicles pose for pedestrians, indicates a report by the United States Department of Transportation^{[citation needed]}. They are concerned that these vehicles are quieter than regular vehicles, making it difficult for pedestrians and cyclists to hear the sounds that normally alert them to the presence of a vehicle on a street or intersection. Said report reveals that in certain maneuvers these vehicles "have twice the chances of being involved in accidents with bystanders than conventional ones." The United States National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has proposed installing sound emitters that work when moving at low speeds in hybrid and electric vehicles.

Elements

Elements that can be used in the configuration of the energy chain of a hybrid electric vehicle, and must be coordinated through an electronic-computer system:

• High capacity batteries to store electric power to move the vehicle.
• Fuel pipe, to store power in the form of fuel and transform it at the time of use. In this way, energy storage capacities similar to or above the fossil fuel tank are achieved.
• Photovoltaic panels to help recharge batteries.
• Inertial battery that allows to recover the energy detached in the mill. Batteries are not charged under short and very high power peaks, so speed up an inertia steering wheel and then use that kinetic energy to slowly load those batteries is shaped as a good option.
• Supercondensers to perform the same function as inertia flyers using only electric technology.
• Generators for, in case of very low battery levels, consume fossil fuel in piston engines to generate electricity.
• Turbogen groups to, in case of very low battery levels, consume fossil fuel in rotating turbine engines to generate electricity.

In this way, using a mixture of technologies that support the electric motor, a vehicle is achieved that can compete in performance with the classic version.

Types of vehicles

2010 Toyota Prius (third generation).

2012 Toyota Prius c (Toyota Aqua in Japan).

2012 Toyota Yaris Hybrid

.

2013 Ford Fusion Hybrid (second generation).

2012 Toyota Camry Hybrid (second generation).

Honda Civic Hybrid.

2010 Honda Insight (second generation).

Nissan Altima Hybrid.

Ford Escape Hybrid.

• Buses: manufactured by Castrosua, mainly the Tempus.
• Cars: among others, Toyota Prius (the best seller), Toyota Prius v, Toyota Prius V, Toyota Yaris Hybrid, Honda Insight, Honda Civic Hybrid, Ford Saturn Escape Hybrid, Toyota Camry Hybrid, Toyota Highlander Hybrid, Honda Accord Hybrid, Honda Insight, Mercury Milan/Ford Fusion Hybrid, Nissan Altima Hybrid, Lexus RX 400h, Lexus RX 450h

Fuel consumption and environmental impact

Advantages and disadvantages

Disadvantages

• The high purchase price.
• Toxicity of batteries that require electric motors.
• Significant use of scarce materials (neodimio and lantano in the case of Prius [1]).
• Greater weight than a conventional car (we have to add the electric motor and, above all, the batteries), and therefore an increase in the energy needed to move it.
• More complexity, making revisions and repairs difficult.
• When they use the combustion engine they pollute just like any other.
• Batteries (extremely expensive) have a very lower life than that of the vehicle
• The use of electric energy for transport will greatly increase your demand and will shoot (yet) the price of kWh injuring everyone's domestic economy, and especially the most disadvantaged who will not be able to meet more basic needs at home.

Advantages

• Increased efficiency in fuel consumption in city.
• Using the electric motor: reducing pollutant emissions
• Using the electric motor: Less noise than a thermal engine.
• Using the electric motor: More pair and more elasticity than a conventional motor.
• More immediate response.
• Energy recovery in slowdowns (in case of using regenerative brakes).
• Higher autonomy than a simple electric.
• Using the electric motor: Greater softness and ease of use.
• Reload faster than an electric one (which is late to fill the tank).
• Better operation on short and urban routes.
• In short runs, it can work without using the thermal engine, reducing fossil consumption.
• The thermal engine has a power more adjusted to the usual use. There is no need for a more powerful engine than necessary in case that power is needed at some time, because the electric motor supplements the extra power required.
• More powerful and versatile electrical installation. It's very difficult for you to run out of battery for something on. The extra power also serves to use some equipment, such as air conditioning, with the thermal engine stopped.
• Discount on insurance, for its lower degree of sinisterness.
• In some countries such as Mexico, acquiring a hybrid car brings with it fiscal benefits, such as deductibility in the Income Tax and 0% rate in the Tenure or Vehicle Use Tax.

Incentives

Spain

The Comprehensive Automotive Plan made up of the Competitiveness Plan, endowed with 800 million euros, the PIVE II Plan and the commitment to hybrid electric vehicles, with the aim that in 2014 one million vehicles circulate on Spanish roads electric cars. To this end, it is proposed to launch a pilot program called Project Movele, consisting of the introduction in 2009 and 2010, and within urban environments, of 2,000 electric vehicles to replace gasoline and diesel cars.

Likewise, the Electrobús Project finances the acquisition of electric hybrid buses. There is a plug-in hybrid model manufactured in Spain called Castrosua Tempus, financed by said Project.

Sales

In Spain, in 2012 the Toyota Prius was the most sold among hybrids, with 3,738 registrations. Of the total, 76 units corresponded to the Prius +, the minivan version, and eight to the Prius Plug-in, the plug-in variant.

Second place went to the Toyota Auris HSD, followed by the Toyota Yaris Hybrid with 95 (888) and the Lexus CT 200h with, the Lexus RX 450h SUV, and the Lexus GS 450h saloon with 20 (114). Following are the turbodiesel hybrids, such as the Peugeot 508 Hybrid 4, the Mercedes E300 and the Citroën DS5 Hybrid 4. And after them, there are the Honda Jazz Hybrid, Audi Q5 Hybrid, Honda Insight, Peugeot 3008 Hybrid 4 and the Opel Ampera. Further Distance: BMW 3 Series Active Hybrid, Infiniti M35h, Audi A6 Hybrid, Audi A8 Hybrid, BMW 5 Series Active Hybrid, BMW 750 Active Hybrid, BYD F3 DM, Chevrolet Volt, Honda CR-Z, Lexus LS 600h, Mercedes S400 Hybrid, Porsche Cayenne Hybrid, Porsche Panamera Hybrid and VW Touareg Hybrid.

The progress in the sales of hybrid vehicles has been continued in the following years. In Spain, in the first 8 months of 2018, 45% more units of this type had already been sold compared to the same period of the previous year. This is explained by the growing interest of users and by the growing supply of car brands in the hybrid and electric sector. In this sense, brands such as Volvo announced that as of 2019 all their vehicles that go on the market have an electric motor. Other brands such as Toyota have consolidated their leadership in the hybrid car sales sector, ranking in the top positions.