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Post date: Jul 3, 2010 9:39:33 PM
Why hybrid cars need flywheels instead of battery
BMW’s recent trials in America
Germany and Britain of some 500 electric versions of the Mini. The firm has been boasting that theMini E will get 156 miles between charges. In “real-world” conditions, however, test cars have been averaging around 100 miles, and some drivers have been getting as little as 40 miles in chilly weather.
The Leaf, which is expected to tip the scales at over 3,000lb. / 60mls?
Factor in the latter's smaller battery capacity (24 kilowatt-hours to the Mini E’s 35 kW-h), and the Leaf could be averaging less than 60 miles between charges in normal use. General Motors thinks that is more than enough for the average American
High-momentum flywheel systems
Besides finding their way into road vehicles, high-momentum flywheel systems are being investigated as ways of storing energy collected from intermittent sources such as wind and solar power, and for responding quickly to increases in demand that are now dealt with by switching on stand-by generators fuelled by natural gas. Beacon Power, a firm based in Massachusetts, is building a 20-megawatt plant in Stephentown, New York, that uses 200 flywheels to stabilise the local grid in this way.
Back on the road, flywheel hybrids
that cut both fuel consumption and greenhouse-gas emissions by 30% or more appear to be only three or four years away. When they arrive, today’s coal-fired electric cars will look decidedly dirty by comparison. Roll on the day.
source: economist.com
Related:
Zero Inertia Drivetrain http://jcwinnie.biz/wordpress/?p=1525
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