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Car makers, electric car chargers, two mayors and one prime minister all made the call for more electric, hybrid and plug-in hybrid cars and an infrastructure to support the vehicles.

Today there are roughly 2 million hybrids in the
global car park of 820 million vehicles—or far less
than 1 percent. And there are fewer than 200 plug-in
hybrids. Before we start thinking about other uses for
the battery packs in such vehicles, Kjaer all but begged
his audience, “let's just get the batteries driving the
wheels
first!”

Plug-in cars, some that rely solely on electricity and some that marry an electric motor with a gasoline motor for better mileage and fewer emissions, are slowly making their way into the mainstream. And it's not just because they replace most or all of the gasoline used to fuel the typical car with cleaner, cheaper, domestic electricity.

In just one year, the whens and wheres of lithium battery packs for hybrid and electric cars have come into much sharper focus

The paper discusses the use of a dual energy storage system based on batteries and supercapacitors in hybrid electric vehicles (HEV). The battery has a large energy density, enabling an all-electric driving range of 100 km, while the supercapacitor has a large power density and provides peak power during acceleration and regenerative breaking. The paper discusses the benefits and drawbacks of both storage systems and the specific requirements imposed by the hybrid drive train. Coupling such a HEV to the grid allows interaction between grid and HEV, providing the grid with a controllable load. Depending on the communication between the hybrid fleet and the grid, this load can be controlled by adjusting the electricity price in order to allow a higher penetration of intermittent renewable energy sources such as wind parks in the grid and if the communication allows the transmission system operator to reduce the load imposed on the grid by the hybrid fleet, the hybrid fleet can become part of the secondary frequency control reserve. In case of sudden demand or supply fluctuations, the hybrid fleet can assist in primary control of the grid. Due to the dual energy storage system the HEVs can also provide fast load tracking to keep the voltage in microgrids at the desired set point. An experimental setup with a battery, grid coupling and induction machine proves the feasibility of the concept.

A small internal combustion engine, a start/stop function and regenerative braking all help to reduce fuel consumption in hybrid drive systems. But Dr. Peter Rieth denies that they also make a vehicle less fun to drive. In this ATZautotechnolgy interview, the head of Systems & Technology at Continental's Chassis & Safety Division talks about electronic brakes, rear-wheel steering, the networking of active and passive safety and further trends.

Das Institut für Verbrennungsmotoren und Kraftfahrwesen der Universität Stuttgart (IVK) entwickelt zusammen mit der Adam Opel GmbH und der Robert Bosch GmbH einen Prototypen mit Hybridantrieb auf Basis eines Opel Astra Caravan, der maximal 90 Gramm pro Kilometer CO2 emittiert. Dabei übernehmen die IVK-Wissenschaftler die Aufgabe, den Verbrennungsmotor zu optimieren sowie die hybridspezifische Software zu erstellen. Die Zusammenarbeit erfolgt im Rahmen des Verbundprojekts "Antriebskonzept mit Erdgas-Hybrid", das vom Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Technologie gefördert wird.

Conventional internal combustion engines waste a lot of energy in creating heat, but by applying a ‘Rankine cycle,’ a process where hot exhaust gases are used to heat up a water reservoir and create steam to spin a turbine, electricity can be generated. This electricity can then be used to charge up an array of batteries and help power a hybrid-electric powertrain.

Ford Motor Co and power utility Southern California Edison will announce an unusual alliance on Monday aimed at clearing the way for a new generation of rechargeable electric cars, the companies said.