Battery developer claims hybrid car advance

WASHINGTON — A battery developer is claiming its technology can extend the range of hybrid electric vehicles.

Technology Research Laboratories Inc. (TRL, Research Triangle Park, N.C.) claims its battery technology can extend the range of hybrid electric vehicles to 75 miles or better per charge. The company claims its battery operates on physical chemistry principles different from conventional lead-acid batteries, and is made almost entirely of carbon and plastic materials.

The company said it is initially targeting the "plug-in" hybrid-electric car market which has so far failed to mesh gears due to unreliable and expensive power sources. Battery disposal also remains an issue. TRL claims its testing showed that a four-passenger electric car be powered by less than 1,000 pounds of its batteries and could travel up to 100 miles on a single charge "depending [on] speed and road conditions."

Total usable energy is 25 kW/hour, TRL said.

Battery life, weight and cost have combined with a lack of battery charging capacity to slow consumer acceptance of electric cars. TRL is claiming a weight power density for its battery technology of up to 80 W per pound with continuous use and up to 200 W per pound at peak use. Volumetric energy density was about 2 kilowatt hours/feet3.

Source : http://www.eetimes.com/news/latest/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=193303372

The H in Honda stands for Hybrid - that will be the message from the Japanese firm Geneva Motor Show

This official sketch is of its latest petrol/electric prototype, the Small Hybrid Sports Concept. Designed to take on the Toyota FT-HS, unveiled at last month's Detroit expo, the sports model signals the brand's intent to bring a hot hybrid to market.

Penned by Honda's European research and development division in Offenbach, Ger­many, the car has a similar stance to its Toyota rival, and shares styling cues with Acura's recently revealed NSX successor.

The front end will resemble Honda's FCX concept, which will also be on display at the Swiss event. The SHSC is set to feature the latest lithium-ion batteries coupled to an ultra-efficient petrol engine, highlighting the performance potential of hybrids. Full details of the car and its likely production schedule will be revealed at Geneva.

Meanwhile, Honda is also focusing on its green production model, as growing interest in environmentally friendly cars is expec­ted to boost sales of the Civic Hybrid by more than 400 per cent this year.

Additional stocks of the petrol-electric variant have been ordered for UK showrooms after main dealers reported higher than antic-ipated demand for the 61.4mpg saloon.

"The initial 500 cars sold out well before Christmas. We're increasing the supply to 2,500 from May, because we expect interest to continue rising," said Honda UK environmental manager John Kingston. The Metro­politan police force is among customers for the £16,300 hybrid, which covers 0-62mph in 12.1 seconds and goes on to 115mph.

Source : http://uk.cars.yahoo.com/09022007/45/t/honda-hybrid-geneva-show-0.html