| The future of the hybrid battery car is so bright you | | | | Self-discharge is less than half compared to |
| have to wear shades. Some would say the interest in | | | | nickel-cadmium, making lithium-ion well suited for |
| the plug in hybrid is down right electrifying.The hybrid | | | | modern fuel gauge applications. They pose no threat |
| battery car got a huge boost when President Bush | | | | to the environment for lithium-ion cells cause little harm |
| featured it in a speech on his energy policy. It's part of | | | | when discarded.Like most hybrid technologies, this one |
| the plan to replace over three-quarters of Mideast oil | | | | has its draw backs. Chief among them is that the |
| imports by the year 2025.The location the President | | | | lithium-ion batteries are fragile and require a protection |
| chose to give the speech is also significant. He spoke | | | | circuit to maintain safe operation. All short comings are |
| at Johnson Controls, a Milwaukee auto parts company | | | | expected to be overcome as research and |
| that is making lithium-ion battery cells for the next | | | | development continue.To be successful hybrid fuel |
| generation of the hybrid battery car.The race for | | | | technologies must include petroleum alternatives. Right |
| hybrid technologies continues as the U.S. Energy | | | | now ethanol would lessen the need for oil if mixed with |
| Department pushes for hydrogen fuel cells to replace | | | | gasoline. Here in the U.S we already make nearly 4 |
| gasoline in cars. The department has targeted the | | | | billion gallons of ethanol from corn. The irony is that a |
| year 2024 as a time when those fuel cells will be | | | | great deal of energy is needed to manufacture ethanol |
| widely used in hybrid vehicles of all kinds.There are | | | | and that energy often comes from fossil fuel and |
| really two forces driving the development of hybrid | | | | natural gas.Ethanol is an alcohol-based alternative fuel |
| technologies. Number one is the uncertain Mideast | | | | that is produced by fermenting and distilling starch |
| sources of fossil fuels. The other is the cost per barrel | | | | crops that have been converted into simple sugars. |
| of oil. As the cost of oil increases the race for | | | | Feed stocks for this fuel include corn, barley, and |
| information on hybrid cars becomes even more | | | | wheat.Ethanol has a better chance of surviving as an |
| important.Because hydrogen fuel is very expensive to | | | | important hybrid fuel when it is made from "cellulosic |
| transport some predict that the hybrid battery and | | | | biomass" such as trees and grasses. These produce a |
| ethanol technologies will precede any hybrid fuel based | | | | hybrid fuel called bioethanol. Ethanol is used to increase |
| on hydrogen.Government support means that plug in | | | | octane and improve the emissions quality of |
| hybrid cars are on the horizon. These vehicles would | | | | gasoline.Ethanol is blended with gasoline to create E85, |
| get a battery charge from an ordinary electric outlet. | | | | a blend of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline. E85 and |
| Lithium-ion batteries will make this possible. These | | | | blends with even higher concentrations of ethanol |
| batteries will be large versions of the lithium-ion battery | | | | qualify as alternative fuels under the Energy Policy Act. |
| you use in your cell phone. You could be driving a | | | | Vehicles that run on E85 are called flexible fuel |
| plug-in hybrid by the year 2010.The energy density of | | | | vehicles (FFVs) and can currently be purchased from |
| lithium-ion is typically twice that of the standard | | | | several vehicle manufacturers.There will be one |
| nickel-cadmium battery. There is even a growing | | | | surviving hybrid fuel in the future. What is your guess |
| potential for higher energy densities with these power | | | | on which it will be? Or are there some surprise hybrid |
| source.Lithium-ion is a low maintenance battery, an | | | | technologies in our future? |
| advantage that most other battery types can't match. | | | | |