To stay healthy one essentially needs to keep the environment healthy otherwise the polluting greenhouse emissions and fuel addiction will result in havoc one day. However, automakers have already laid their plans to develop environment-friendly vehicles but no satisfactory results have been recorded till date. Therefore, Google has now taken the responsibility on their shoulders to lead the path and to boost hybrid, plug-in vehicles its philanthropic branch has released over $1 million grants via their Recharge IT program to developers for promoting plug-in hybrid cars development.
How it works:
This new technology will swap current gasoline battery hybrid engines and will run completely on electric power or clean power by exploiting gasoline engine only to recharge electric battery of vehicles. To make your car run tomorrow as you juice-up your cellphone every night users can recharge the battery at night.
It is also worth mentioning that the initial trials of this new technology also exposed fruitful results because this electric energy based engine was up to 30 mpg more powerful than the existing hybrid models.
To power the experimental fleet of plug-in vehicles Google.org in conjunction with A123Systems and Hymotion has also developed a massive solar panel grid at the organization’s California Corporation and the best part is that the users can also sell their accumulated power to the national power grid under a programme called V2G, or “vehicle-to-grid’ for as much as $3,000.
According to the executive director of Google.org, Dr. Larry Brilliant:
Clean energy technology can dramatically shift how we make and use energy for out cars and homes by charging cars through an electric grid powered by solar or other renewable energy sources, and selling power back to the electric grid when it’s need most. This approach can quadruple the fuel efficiency of cars on the road today and improve grid stability.
Other supporters:
Now, inspired by Google to use plug-in technology for clean power and healthy environment GM has also focused its attention to develop the most extensive version of its Chevrolet Volt, which will also use an all-electric engine with a generator-only gasoline engine. Simultaneously, to promote clean energy Nissan has also initiated work towards the development of the lithium-ion battery that will also support plug-in hybrids. Thanks to Chrysler, Saturn, and Toyota too who have also started to develop plug-in hybrids. I think their collaborative effort will definitely bring some fruitful results to save our environment from harmful greenhouse emissions.
As plug-in version of hybrid-vehicles demands more classy batteries as compare to current batteries used in our hybrid cars the research reveals that to combat this barrier lithium-ion battery will be the best solution, but still it needs more research.
The lithium-ion batteries those are also used in cellphones and laptops as compare to nickel hydride batteries those are currently powering our hybrids are more compact and lighter. To participate in this race one unnamed company is also making a lithium-ion battery pack and selling it to Toyota Prius, to facilitate owners who aspire to transform their nickel metal hydride battery hybrids into plug-ins.
Dan Reicher, the director of Climate and Energy Initiatives for Google.org, on the company’s website wrote:
Linking the U.S. transportation system to the electricity grid maximizes the efficiency of our energy system. Our goal is to demonstrate the plug-in hybrid and V2G technology, get people excited about having their own plug-in hybrid, and encourage car companies to start building them soon.
It is noteworthy that Google’s this initiative will not only help to save our environment from greenhouse emissions and regular fuel dependency but it will also raise the moral of other tree-huggers to concentrate themselves on other polluted emissions that comes from our industrial units to discover alternatives and to keep our environment clean and green.
Via: Buzzle
