[ausev] Series Hybrid Plug In Details

[Marc Kohler]

>From 
Lithium Batteries for Hybrid Cars
By: John Voelcker
http://spectrum.ieee.org/jan07/4848/2

Beyond plug-ins: the Volt

Although plug-in hybrids involve larger 
batteries, their fundamental design hardly varies 
from that of other, mechanical-drive cars. More 
radical is the "series hybrid electric" car, 
which powers the wheels with electric motors and 
uses the onboard combustion engine only to run a 
backup generator that recharges the batteries as needed.

The Chevrolet Volt, unveiled to the press on 7 
January at Detroit's North American International 
Auto Show, is the first-ever series hybrid 
concept car shown by a major manufacturer. For an 
animated tour of its innards, click here. Its 
1.0-liter, 3-cylinder turbocharged engine runs an 
onboard 53-kilowatt generator that recharges a 
16-kilowatthour lithium-ion battery made of 80 
four-volt cells. The battery pack's volume is 100 
L, one-third as much as the lead-acid batteries 
in GM's 1990s-issue electric car, the EV1. GM's 
targeted maximum weight for the pack is 180 
kilograms (400 pounds). The company also wants 
the battery to last at least 10 years, through 4,000 full-discharge cycles.

The battery pack would charge in less than 6.5 
hours, power a 120-kW electric motor delivering 
320 newton-meters of peak torque, and go 64 km 
(40 miles) in all-electric mode on battery charge 
alone. The 12-gallon gasoline tank would add an 
additional 965 km (600 miles) to that range.

"We don't have a battery pack yet," said Tony 
Posawatz, the vehicle line director. He confirmed 
that the vehicle shown in Detroit doesn't yet run.