Fuels are an important part of the world today. But as everybody knows, fuel resources are depleting at an exponential rate, and we as humans, need to contribute to help save fuel, and also save the environment for future generations.
In simple terms, hybrid means a thing made by combining two elements. A hybrid vehicle uses two or more distinct types of power, such as internal combustion engine to drive an electric generator that powers an electric motor, e.g. in diesel-electric trains using diesel engines to drive an electric generator that powers an electric motor, and submarines that use diesels when surfaced and batteries when submerged. Other means to store energy include pressurized fluid in hydraulic hybrids.
The basic principle with hybrid vehicles is that the different motors work better at different speeds; the electric motor is more efficient at producing torque, or turning power, and the combustion engine is better for maintaining high speed (better than typical electric motor). Switching from one to the other at the proper time while speeding up yields a win-win in terms of energy efficiency, as such that translates into greater fuel efficiency . The best examples which we can use to compare two different systems is we take the case of the magnificent hypercars; The Mclaren P1 and the Ferrari Laferrari. The Mclaren P1 has a separate electric motor that additionally supplies the fuel engine, but the Laferrari has a KERS system, which stores residual energy which could be lost while braking and pumps the stored energy back when required. Both the cars are highly efficient.
Right now, electric cars are much more lucrative as an investment as they are completely carbon free and electricity is extremely cheap as compared to fuel. But lithium mines are depleting rapidly. To ensure the proper mining of lithium, hybrid cars, which use less lithium ion seems to be the way to go, although there is a lot of R&D that needs to go into improving the existing system. The Japanese have taken long strides to improving the hybrid mechanisms, by incorporating it into their trains.
The concept of hybrid engines should be incorporated into the mainstream road cars, but the main issue with this is that the cost of supercapacitors required to store this energy is
humongous. This is the main reason why automobile companies and research labs are heavily pumping money into finding an effective mineral and increasing the efficiency of the existing models.
The world is fighting a difficult battle combating climate change and global warming. We as engineers need to start finding solutions to these problems, rather than concentrating on
ourselves. It’s high time that systems like hybrid cars are brought into the world and reduce the carbon footprint.
-M.Bharadwaj