Range extenders, not exactly a new idea for electric cars but they are an idea that has yet to be fully developed. The Chevrolet Volt has a four cylinder gas engine that kicks in when it runs out of battery power to extend the range by over 320 miles. The Volt currently is the standard for range extension in an electric car but recently Volvo has been working with the Swedish Energy Agency and the European Union to develop new and more effective range extenders.
Right now all of the current concepts feature a three-cylinder engine that can use either petrol or E85. The engine also features brake regeneration and the cars will feature a smaller battery pack due to the combustion engine being added. This engine will add about 621 miles to the range of the vehicle. In fact with that range extender alone, Lebron could have fled Cleveland to Miami and only had to fill his tank up once.
The first range extender concept is a series connected range extender to be used on the Volvo C30. The C30 will use the combustion engine connected to a 40kw generator to power the electric motor. This engine/generator will also be used to charge the battery pack if the driver chooses to utilize that option. This will give the car a total range of 1,100km (about 683 miles). The C30 will have a 40L (10.6 gallon) fuel tank and will have about 170-hp.
The second range extension concept also uses the C30, but will use a parallel connection. This time the three-cylinder engine is turbocharged and produces 190-hp and will be used to drive the rear wheels for highway cruising. An electric motor is used to power the front wheels and generates 111-hp. When the C30 utilizes both the car gets over 300hp and can do 0-60 in less than six seconds. Once again the C30 has the option of using the combustion engine to add charge to the battery and overall the car has a range over 1,000km (621miles).
The third range extender concept will use the V60 but will use a similar parallel connection as the previously mentioned C30. The difference in this parallel extension is that the combustion engine will be used on the front wheels as opposed to the rear wheels. Once again, the petrol engine is turbocharged generating 190-hp and it uses a two-stage automatic transmission along with a 40kw generator. The electric engine is the same as before and produces 111-hp. This electric engine powers the car until a speed of 50kph (31mph), then the gas engine kicks in. This car has a slightly larger fuel tank at 45L (11.9 gallons) and once again the driver can use this fuel to power the gas engine’s generator which charges the battery.
These great extended range options allow drivers to get maximum performance out of their vehicles while still getting great fuel economy and low emissions. The extended range technology will be a key feature until battery technology becomes more efficient and should play a major role in the upcoming years.
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