Hybrid cars - All about fuel cells according to Toyota
One of the biggest critics
of hybrid
cars has been GM, claiming that hybrid cars are just
buzz and nothing but an interim technology to fuel
cells.
So, when fuel cells arrive, hybrids disappear?
According to a new article by AutoWeek; however, hybrid cars are about one thing, fuel cells. "To the extent that the future is fuel cell, it's a hybrid fuel cell," says Dave Hermance, executive engineer for environmental engineering for Toyota Technical Center U.S.A. "All the work we do today lets us be the low-cost provider to three-fourths of the fuel cell system."
To be sure, the Toyota Prius has already led to around 650 patents covering the "power flow" of future fuel cell cars. Even when fuel cells eliminate gasoline-powered engines, "the hybrid's electric motors still will propel the car, and the electronics will convert the direct-current power of the fuel cell and battery over to alternating current," Hermance says.
And, in the interim, today's hybrids can still significantly reduce both pollution and foreign oil dependency, while also utilizing the gains of clean gasoline, diesel, and hydrogen engines, as fuel cells become cost-effective.
Perhaps, it's GM, rather than hybrid cars, that is the interim aspect of the automotive industry.
So, when fuel cells arrive, hybrids disappear?
According to a new article by AutoWeek; however, hybrid cars are about one thing, fuel cells. "To the extent that the future is fuel cell, it's a hybrid fuel cell," says Dave Hermance, executive engineer for environmental engineering for Toyota Technical Center U.S.A. "All the work we do today lets us be the low-cost provider to three-fourths of the fuel cell system."
To be sure, the Toyota Prius has already led to around 650 patents covering the "power flow" of future fuel cell cars. Even when fuel cells eliminate gasoline-powered engines, "the hybrid's electric motors still will propel the car, and the electronics will convert the direct-current power of the fuel cell and battery over to alternating current," Hermance says.
And, in the interim, today's hybrids can still significantly reduce both pollution and foreign oil dependency, while also utilizing the gains of clean gasoline, diesel, and hydrogen engines, as fuel cells become cost-effective.
Perhaps, it's GM, rather than hybrid cars, that is the interim aspect of the automotive industry.
