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Energy Storage For Hybrid Vehicles

Hybrid technology combines the advantages of combustion engines and electric motors. Scientists are developing high-performance energy storage units, a prerequisite for effective hybrid motors.

Prototype of a lithium-polymer accumulator for use in hybrid vehicles. (Credit: Copyright Fraunhofer ISIT)
The vehicle is powered by petroleum on the freeway and by electricity in town, thus using considerably less energy. A hybrid propulsion system switches over to generator operation when the brakes go on, producing electric current that is temporarily stored in a battery. The electric motor uses this current when starting up. This yields tremendous savings, particularly in urban traffic.

But up to now, hybrid technology has always had a storage problem. Scientists from three Fraunhofer Institutes are developing new storage modules in a project called “Electromobility Fleet Test”.

The pilot project was launched by Volkswagen and Germany’s Federal Ministry for the Environment BMU together with seven other partners. The Fraunhofer Institutes for Silicon Technology ISIT in Itzehoe, Integrated Circuits IIS in Nuremberg, and Integrated Systems and Device Technology IISB in Erlangen will be pooling their expertise for the next three years. The researchers are developing an energy storage module based on lithium-polymer accumulator technology that is suitable for use in vehicles.

Full article: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080814091059.htm
Source: sciencedaily.com
Credit image: Copyright Fraunhofer ISIT

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