http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=10958 Planet Ark Hybrid electric vehicle seen as clean but slow
UK: May 25, 2001 LONDON - Despite a tax break by George W. Bush, hybrid cars combining a small internal combustion engine with a battery pack have made a slow start on the world's congested roads. The hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) promise to cut emissions and fuel consumption, but the battery technology has not yet delivered the acceleration and sustained speed which conventional motorists demand. Seen by some as the car of the future, the HEV got a boost this month from the U.S. president's energy strategy. Bush announced plans for $4 billion in tax breaks for buyers of the more environmentally-friendly hybrid and fuel cell vehicles, in a package otherwise widely condemned by critics as a threat to the environment. A number of industry analysts said the announcement, while welcome, would do little to speed output of hybrids. "It might encourage a few more people to go for them (HEVs), but the major bugbear is not so much the price but their performance parameters," said Angus MacMillan of metal consultants Brook Hunt, who sees the move on HEVs as a relatively insignificant gesture. "It's (a) small sop to the environmental lobby, given what the other legislation is going to exact on the environment." Patrick Moseley, research programme manager at the U.S.-based Advanced Lead Acid Battery Consortium (ALABC), expressed a contrary view. "Hybrids are already selling pretty well as they are," he said. The first generation includes Toyota Motor Corp's Prius model and Honda Motor Co's Insight. In February, worldwide sales of the Prius were reported at around 50,000. In the second half of 2000 some 5,562 cars had been sold or leased in the United States, according to the Electric Vehicle Association of the Americas' website . This compares with some 3,805 of Honda's Insight model since the fourth quarter of 1999. HEVs - which have a small internal combustion engine and a battery pack - are seen holding the most promise for cutting emissions and fuel consumption in the short-term. HEV engines are designed to run at constant speed to keep batteries charged on open roads. Battery-only operation is used in towns and cities to cut pollution. Overall emissions are estimated to be 50 percent lower than normal cars. But many see HEVs as little more than an interim technology to some form of pure electric vehicle. FUEL CELL CARS Fuel cell cars, also favoured by Bush's tax break, comprise an onboard charger which can also directly drive the system. Hydrogen and electricity are burnt to create electricity, while emissions are hot, distilled water. The technology would still need a battery to power electronic devices but configurations are being investigated. "The most important thing surely is the recognition of the importance of commercialisation," said Marcus Nurdin, managing director of the World Fuel Cell Council. But technology had to be improved, he said. Costs had to be cut and infrastructure issues - such as the safe storage of hydrogen - had to be resolved before volume output could begin. Others were more sceptical of the tax break benefits. "The tax incentive doesn't matter if the technology is not there," said Brook Hunt's MacMillan. Gerry Woolf, head of Britain's Electric Vehicle Association, saw a move towards HEVs in the popular, gas-guzzling sports utility vehicles (SUVs) sector as a sign of their increased acceptance. Ford aims to offer hybrid Escape models from 2003. On its website it said the vehicles will achieve up to 40 miles (64 km) per gallon in city driving and travel up to 500 miles (804.7 km) on a single tank of gasoline. Woolf said the vehicle would initially use nickel-metal hydride batteries, but added that General Motors was leaning towards lead-acid batteries for its SUV models. In the industry, a battle for HEV battery configuration is raging between nickel-metal hydride and lead-acid technologies and this was also seen as being unaffected by the tax breaks. Toyota's Prius and Honda's Insight have opted for nickel-metal hydride batteries. Analysts said nickel-metal hydride batteries had better chemistry and further development was needed for lead-acid technology to cope with the heavy duty cycle required for HEVs. But some were confident the lead-acid camp could make up lost ground, simply because of cost advantages. The Electric Vehicle Association's Woolf said a lead-acid battery pack for HEVs costs around $200. Other technologies were at least three or four times as expensive and the car industry was not willing to pay such a price in the longer term, he said. "In the early year or two, lead won't be there - but it will be in the longer term," ALABC's Moseley said. Potentially, lead would have much to lose if nickel maintained a stranglehold on HEVs, given that around three-quarters of the six million tonnes per year market is used in batteries - mainly for automotive uses. Story by Karen Norton REUTERS NEWS SERVICE Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Please do NOT send "unsubscribe" messages to the list address. To unsubscribe, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
