- Title: ISRAEL: Israeli company develops Jet turbine that could power hybrid-electric car
- Date: 28th July 2009
- Summary: BAR ILAN UNIVERSITY, NEAR TEL AVIV, ISRAEL (RECENT) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) ARNOLD ROTH, ETV MOTORS' CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER SAYING: "We're gratified by high levels of interest from the industry, from people who make cars and components for cars, and we'd like to see our technology everywhere, because it produces a much better result for society and for the enviro
- Embargoed: 12th August 2009 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Israel
- Country: Israel
- Topics: Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky,Energy
- Reuters ID: LVAEZ1F4BKM8GW5PV2HLGSNX28DR
- Story Text: An Israeli company says it develops a Jet turbine and a high-density battery which can improve hybrid range to produce cheaper, free of the need to recharge hybrid-electric car.
With the muffled roar of a jet engine, the test vehicle an Israeli start-up hopes will prove to be the future of the hybrid electric car, ignites.
The car looks like a normal Toyota Prius, a top-selling gasoline-electric hybrid, except its internal combustion engine, which has powered cars for decades, is completely disconnected.
Instead, an electric engine, containing a supercapacity battery and a micro-jet turbine engine, power from the rear as it drives almost silently around a test track.
With automakers racing to develop the most efficient, environmental friendly cars with minimal emissions, the concept of turbine-powered electric vehicles is not new.
But ETV Motors, a private company based just outside of Tel Aviv, says they have found a way to make it commercially viable.
It says it has developed a micro-turbine engine to act as an on-board charger and a high-density battery that can power a vehicle for about 60-80 kilometres (37-50 miles) on one charge.
Gery Ordan, ETV Motors' Chief Engineer explained that the vehicle, which is equipped also with an outlet that can be used to charge the battery from an external power source, is designed to use the turbine engine as an on-board charger for its battery.
"This is a Gas turbine engine with all the glory of turbine engines, of course," Ordan told Reuters in a test track near the Israeli city of Kfar Saba, and showed the various parts of the engine before assuring that: "This is a Jet engine, the professional word are turbine engine, gas turbine engine."
Neither of the newly developed components are in the test car, which uses modified technologies already on the market. But the model, ETV Motors said, is proof of their concept.
Citing reasons of secrecy, the company would not show its new technologies, which should be ready for tests in mid-2010.
Another Israeli project, Better Place, which was launched in 2007 with $200 million of venture funding, has been gaining momentum across the globe, pushing for fully electric cars that recharge by plugging in to a grid network.
Better Place has partnered with Renault <RENA.PA> and Nissan <7201.T> to develop electric car infrastructure.
Toyota Motor Corp <7203.T>, another of the automaker giants developing hybrid and plug-in technologies, has said it would start leasing 500 plug-in cars globally by the end of this year.
Toyota has said the car will be powered by lithium-ion batteries, and Japan's Nikkei business daily reported this month the plug-in will be able to run 20-30 km (12-18 miles) on battery power alone at full charge.
But according to Arnold Roth, ETV Motors' Chief Operating Officer, the company's product has no competition in today's market.
"ETV Motors is developing a power platform for new generation of alternative fuel vehicles. We have a new electric chemistry which will the basis for an exiting new generation of batteries and we have a micro turbine developed against the background of an aviation heritage that will give the vehicles built on our platform tremendous advantages over everything else that we know about today," said Roth at Bar Ilan University near the coastal metropolis of Tel Aviv.
One of the core advantages of ETV Motors' vehicle, according to Roth, are batteries developed in cooperation with Bar Ilan University, which are much smaller yet much more powerful batteries than the ones used today to power vehicles.
The game-changing development, said chief technology officer Arieh Meitav, was a higher density battery, based on Lithium Manganese Nickel Oxide.
The batteries, Meitav explained, will be the first to have 4.7 volt cells, versus existing Lithium-ion batteries with 3.2 volts. This allows for longer range with a smaller battery, and it is projected to last the lifetime of the car, he said.
"Comparing to these chemistries that are developed for the auto motors, specifically ones, the energy content of this is about two up to three times greater," said Meitav.
This way, Roth explained, ETV Motors' batteries will power a car for more than twice as long, and with its on-board charger, will not be dependent on complicated electric charging infrastructure. Though the car will be plug-in compatible.
"Our power platform is based on two breakthrough technologies: one of them is a new kind of electro chemistry which enables us to build batteries that are smaller and yet more powerful and longer lasting and more efficient. The other is an on-board charger so that while you're driving your vehicle you're actually recharging the battery and that makes it unnecessary to stop with the kind of frequency that other solutions that people would have heard of require today," Roth added.
The second part of the system, the electricity producing micro-turbine, is being developed with the help of an Israeli aviations company -- though ETV Motors would not say which one.
The turbine can run off a variety of fuel sources, like gasoline, diesel and biofuel, the company said, and will only operate to charge the battery when it runs low, spinning at a constant 80,000 RPM for maximum efficiency.
Felix Kramer, founder of CalCars.org, a Palo Alto-based nonprofit startup promoting plug-in hybrids, said the company had two very promising solutions that are still far from commercialization.
But Roth, who said the company is discussing options to either manufacture parts of the system themselves or license it out to a larger company, hopes to see ETV Motors' technology in every future car.
"We're gratified by high levels of interest from the industry, from people who make cars and components for cars, and we'd like to see our technology everywhere, because it produces a much better result for society and for the environment," Roth said, adding that the hybrid system will be cheaper than hybrids on the market today. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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