Volvo ReCharge: another serial hybrid

[Dr Mordrid]

Works like GM's E-Flex (Volt) system. Other auto makers look to be heading in the same direction.

Meanwhile Toyota's stubbornly sticking with their parallel mechanical/electric drive. Methinks they got caught with their shorts down.

NOTE: GM is leaning towards nominal cost leasing for their batteries while maintaining the same physical form factor. This would allow upgrading to higher capacity units as they come along.

Link....

The Volvo Recharge Concept – electric car with a 1.6 litre Flexifuel back-up motor

September 6, 2007 Volvo is set to unveil an interesting plug-in hybrid at the Frankfurt Motor Show. The ReCharge Concept is a Volvo C30 with electric wheel motors and batteries that can be charged via a regular electrical outlet. When fully charged the Volvo ReCharge Concept can be driven approximately 62 miles on battery power alone before the car’s four-cylinder 1.6 Flexifuel engine takes over to power the car and recharge the battery. As the vast majority of us drive less than 60 miles a day, the ReCharge is effectively a permanent electric car with an acceleration figure of 0-62mph in 9 seconds and a top speed of 100mph.

“This is a groundbreaking innovation for sustainable transportation. This plug-in hybrid car, when used as intended, should have about 66 percent lower emissions of carbon dioxide compared with the best hybrid cars available on the market today. Emissions may be even lower if most of the electricity comes from CO2-friendly sources such as biogas, hydropower and nuclear power. A person driving less than 60 miles per day will rarely need to visit a filling station. Also, thanks to the excellent electrical range from a fuel consumption angle, the Volvo ReCharge Concept is exceptionally kind to the car owner’s wallet,” commented Magnus Jonsson, Senior Vice President Research & Development at Volvo Cars.

Operating costs are estimated to be about 80 percent lower compared to a similar petrol-powered car when using battery power alone and even drivers who cover more than the battery-only range will benefit from the ReCharge Concept. For a 150km (93 mile) drive starting with a full charge, the car will require less than 2.8 litres of fuel, giving the car an effective fuel economy of 1.9 l/100km (124mpg).
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[ZokesPro]

Can't see image.

[Dr Mordrid]

Fixed

[Lizzard[MPE]]

is it just me, or does that vehicle have absolutely no style whatsoever to it.

[Dr Mordrid]

It's not just you.

[Nowhere]

As for the looks - doubt it will end up looking exactly like that; right now it's just a quick & dirty redesign of Volvo C30, I guess meant more to put in the spotlight its new engine type/etc.

As for parallel vs. plug-in...perhaps it's clear choice to you, Doc, but definatelly wouldn't be one for me at this point/for some time. Namely: (and I think I'm not alone among people living in cities) where the heck would I be able to recharge plug-in hybrid?

[Dr Mordrid]

Anywhere you can find a socket: GM's plugs into a normal wall outlet. 6 hrs/charge.

No outlet? The gas/Ethanol85 or diesel 3 cyl 1L turbo starts up when the batteries are discharged and charges 'em as you drive.

Full-time electric so no hauling around the heavy, duplicitous mechanical parts. A lot of these will have the wheel electric motors so no drive line at all, just wiring.

Never know; providing outlets might become a value added feature for apartment buildings & parking garages as they become commonplace.

[Nowhere]

Where would I find a socket on the street 5 floors below where my car is parked? I'm not going to keep a close eye on extension cord left on sidewalk...for 6 h (etc.). As I said, perhaps it's clear choice to you (garage...), but not for many, so there's probably still market for parallel hybrids...in few coming years. Or not (I wonder is there anywhere sizeable demographics of people who don't usually keep their cars in garages and have the money to buy more pricy hybrid...Japan perhaps? And that's why Toyota keeps pushing parallel?)

(I understand good points about serial hybrids, lack of drive line/etc.; wonder how this ends up if its recharged practically only by the engine?...)

A bit chicken & egg problem...

[Brian Ellis]

From the point of view of the environment, this would be very negative in all places where fossil fuel is burnt to generate electricity. The typical CO2 efficiency of a thermal power station is somewhat less than that of a good, modern, ICE and the other polluting gases and particles are a helluva a lot worse going via a coal, oil or NG power plant.

One thing I can promise and that is a terrible ride with an extra 25-30 kg of unsprung weight on each wheel. It is almost funny to see alloy wheels with that bloody great mass of metal showing through! The original Rover DE concept was to have the four motors inboard on the chassis with transmission shafts to the unsprung wheels for this reason.

I'll stick with my conventional hybrid, not with something that's neither one thing or another and would be more polluting in this country (all electricity here is generated from burning heavy fuel oil). In any case, we are strapped for capacity here in summer. We have 1100 MW peak generating capacity, at the moment, and peak demand this summer went up to 1080 MW, after some minor power cuts.

[Gurm]

As Brian points out - there's a REASON why people pay extra for Alloy wheels. Here we've been trying to REDUCE wheel weight to improve ride quality for 20+ years, and now they're putting a MOTOR in each wheel?

I understand that engineering-wise it's a brilliant plan, but the ride will either be JARRING, or so cushioned by the suspension that you'll have NO road feedback.

[Dr Mordrid]

No more jarring than if the vehicle has steel rims. The rim + motor, both mostly alloy, weighs about the same as conventional solid steel rims.

Another factor is that in many designs the wheel motor saves weight with the brakes; they're integral and very compact (read: much lighter) plus you get regenerative braking with reduced complexity.

Add low profile tires & it's a wash or better.

The lower C/G and advanced traction control per-wheel control provides are sauce for the goose.

Siemens eCorner design


(1) rim
(2) thin rotor/stator units
(3) electric wedge brake (brake-by-wire w/force feedback)
(4) active suspension
(5) electronic steering (steer-by-wire w/force feedback)

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eCorner combines drivetrain, steering, shock absorbers and brakes

In the future, car wheels will take on a different appearance than today's familiar steel or mag wheels. With eCorner, a tire containing a sensor (Tire Guard) for monitoring the inflation pressure will be in contact with the road. Even the wheels' suspension of the future will significantly differ from today's design. While complex mechanical wheel suspension systems with oil-pressure spring elements ensure a comfortable ride for the passengers and permanent, reliable contact with the road, electronic circuits will play an increasingly significant role in the future. Within eCorner, electric motors will take over the task of ensuring contact between wheel and road. With this new suspension, hydraulic steering can be eliminated, giving automakers new degrees of freedom. In the future, each individual wheel can be moved to its own specific steering angle. When the speed is reduced, the wheel hub motors act as auxiliary brakes using a generator effect. The energy reclaimed in this manner can be used to charge the vehicle battery. Finally, in addition to the generator brakes, the electronic wedge brakes (EWB) can decelerate each wheel separately with maximum precision and enormous braking power to match the need of the driving situation.
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[Gurm]

Ahh yes, but those of us already used to alloys + low-profile tyres... will be in for a bit of a setback, handling-and-feel-wise, now won't we?

...

Then again, it'll be a nicer ride than your average Camry, so...

[Dr Mordrid]

Ahhh but notice the absent large parts: swing arm(s), stabilizer bars, shocks/struts etc.

[cjolley]

Doesn't that look an awful lot like a railroad train suspension?

The "active suspension" part will negate the minuses, and then some.
Could possibly even dynamically cancel road noise.

[Technoid]

be interesting to know what milage it would get if you constantly used the gasoline engine to power the electric motors