ttystikk
- 6,892
- 313
More; widespread adoption of natural gas injected diesel engines. They run cleaner and develop more power. Fuel is cheaper, too.
Fuel cells are small. They fit just fine in cars- it's the fuel that's the holdup. Cheaper hydrolyzer units are on the way, these convert hydrocarbon fuels into hydrogen ready for fuel cells. Then many fuels can run the fuel cell, which will drastically improve mileage, into the hundred+ mpg range. No more engine- replaced by a glorified starter that nonetheless develops 100% of its maximum torque at zero rpm. Massive towing power!. No more transmission- and voltage invertor means that slowing down regenerates energy. Instead, the battery pack gets bigger, fuel cell runs constantly, and power controller acts as traffic cop, sending power to wheels when driver demands, battery when there is excess.
The bigger the vehicle, the better this works. Semi trucks, buses, RVs will go hybrid, but not like today- instead, they'll work like big versions of today's Chevy Volt; a tiny engine driving a generator, with most of the power coming from battery.
An electric trash truck with regenerative braking sounds a little like a perpetual motion machine- only a small amount of excess power would be needed to keep the thing going, cycle after cycle after cycle...
Fuel cells are small. They fit just fine in cars- it's the fuel that's the holdup. Cheaper hydrolyzer units are on the way, these convert hydrocarbon fuels into hydrogen ready for fuel cells. Then many fuels can run the fuel cell, which will drastically improve mileage, into the hundred+ mpg range. No more engine- replaced by a glorified starter that nonetheless develops 100% of its maximum torque at zero rpm. Massive towing power!. No more transmission- and voltage invertor means that slowing down regenerates energy. Instead, the battery pack gets bigger, fuel cell runs constantly, and power controller acts as traffic cop, sending power to wheels when driver demands, battery when there is excess.
The bigger the vehicle, the better this works. Semi trucks, buses, RVs will go hybrid, but not like today- instead, they'll work like big versions of today's Chevy Volt; a tiny engine driving a generator, with most of the power coming from battery.
An electric trash truck with regenerative braking sounds a little like a perpetual motion machine- only a small amount of excess power would be needed to keep the thing going, cycle after cycle after cycle...