Hybrid Engines Spark Hope for New Applications

According to Plastics News, the combination gasoline and electric motor systems making up the new hybrid range of vehicles are drawing increased interest from drivers and carmakers, and could mean increased plastics use on cars and trucks for automakers that must package several cubic feet of batteries on hybrids.

“Early on, (carmakers) were packaging them in metal, but that is moving forward into plastics now, with our expectation they’ll be all plastic soon,” said Ray Brown of Johnson Controls Inc. (JCI).

Hybrids fuel up on standard gasoline used in an internal combustion vehicle, but also have a supplemental electric motor that taps into batteries that store energy created during vehicle use, such as when brakes are applied.

Those batteries – currently nickel hydride, but expected to shift to lithium-ion eventually – hold about 4 volts of electricity per cell, Brown said. Hybrids need between 144 volts and 350 volts; the battery modules can be three to four feet in width and length and a few inches in depth.

Since their introduction in 2000, hybrids have been getting increased attention. The second generation of Toyota’s power system in the Prius won notice from car buyers and industry watchers in 2003. Honda has hybrid power available with its Insight and a version of the Civic.

Following on their heels are new offerings from a cross-range of vehicles. Toyota will introduce a Lexus hybrid SUV, the RX400H, later this year, focusing on hybrid technology in the advertising, and Ford will market a gas-electric version of its Escape SUV this summer.

Yoshio Ishizaka, executive vice president of Toyota Motor Corp., notes that experience in hybrid technology will carry over to future vehicle programs. “Hybrid technology is a key element in the advancement of fuel cell technology,” he said. “If you have an advantage with hybrids, you will have an advantage with fuel cells.”

Within 15 years, most cars and trucks will have some kind of hybrid system. JCI’s automotive unit, based in Plymouth, Michigan, is in talks with automakers for future products. Its European battery unit, under the Varta name, already makes systems for hybrid buses there.