FEV Says It Has Developed a Range Extender That Can Be Added to a Standard HEV
By Scott Doggett February 9, 2010
FEV Inc. an Auburn Hills, Michigan, developer of advanced powertrain technologies, announced today that it has a coupled an FEV-developed auxiliary power unit with a 3-cylinder engine to extend the driving range of hybrid electric vehicles.
The company claims the coupling can extend the range of a standard HEV from 20-40 miles to 200-350. The announcement was made in conjunction with the 2010 SAE Hybrid Vehicle Technologies Symposium, opening Wednesday in San Diego.
The coupling does not mark the first time a company has created a 3-cylinder range-extender for a hybrid electric vehicle. Lotus Engineering created one six months ago (pictured).
But what it does is throw more weight behind the viability of extended-range electric vehicles, which are vehicles with electric drivetrains and an onboard generator that supplies juice to the battery pack, drivetrain or both.
Range-extender could accelerate development of range-extended electric vehicles by mainstream automakers by satisfying a concern that will grow among consumers as they become increasingly familiar with electric vehicles - and that concern is range anxiety.
As most of us know, range anxiety is that rising discomfort one feels driving along in a battery-electric vehicle, watching the fuel gauge fall and wondering nervously whether one will reach their destination (and an electrical outlet) before running out of electricity.
Because range-extenders typically run on gasoline, drivers of range-extended EVs have the option of finding a place to plug into or finding a gas station. Given that gas stations abound, few people worry about running out of gas - hence they experience relatively little range anxiety.
The auxiliary power unit coupled with the three-cylinder gasoline-powered engine is designed to bring 40 kilowatts of power to existing EV architecture.
No photos of the range-extender or further details regarding it were released.
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