Holden's ECOmmodore proves that petrol-electric cars could be economical today.
CSIRO technologies make the ECOmmodore much less expensive than previous hybrid vehicles.
They are unique because they not only power a vehicle the size of a standard family car, but they also make it drive like one.
Innovations
The ECOmmodore uses innovations from across CSIRO including:
Patented technology
The car features a patented drive train (getting power from the engine to the wheels) that incorporates switched reluctance motor technology. The drive train is:
The electric motor generates electricity when the car decelerates or is running on its petrol engine.
The drive train CSIRO developed for Holden's petrol-electric ECOmmodore uses less fuel than the equivalent conventional vehicle.
Advanced energy storage
CSIRO used creative chemistry to optimise the batteries for the ECOmmodore while the super-capacitors, the first to be used in a car, were designed to absorb and deliver energy very quickly.
The entire energy storage system is:
Batteries in electric vehicles typically weigh around 500 kilograms (about half the weight of a small car).
The whole power pack for the ECOmmodore (batteries plus super-capacitors) weighs 200 kilograms.
Reducing pollution
We also modelled the reduction in urban pollution that would result from the adoption of hybrid vehicles.
On the road
The ECOmmodore was shown around Australia. At the time of the Sydney 2000 Olympics, it led the torch relay from Uluru in the centre of Australia and at its conclusion in Sydney, New South Wales.
Read more about
efficient electric machines and download:
Green Machine quick time video (part of the
Australia Advances Series).
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