I just saw this article about the latest iteration on diesel-electric hybrids: http://www.newsweek.com/2010/10/11/diesel-hybrid-key-to-european-prius.html The last sentence in the article seemed to sum up the present state of affairs: With battery costs appearing to be the challenge to success of the different variations on EV, the article seemed to point out an opportunity for a diesel-electric hybrid. I would be curious what others think about the potential for a successful diesel-electric hybrid offering from any manufacturer.
Komatsu HaulPak has several successful offering for serial Diesel Electrics Hybrids. They just are not a useful size for most of us.
Diesel-electrics aren't new. Railroads use lots of them. The prototypes that came out of the Supercar project were diesel-electrics. The Big 3 didn't want to build them a decade ago. I don't believe anything has changed.
Well there seems to be more interest in hybrid semi-trucks. The only info I could find on the net was 3 year old articles, but I do remember seeing some TV segment that highlighted a production hybrid rig. The current install base for diesels in the US is trucks, so I think it's natural that they would be the main group to get diesel hybrids. Hybrid Semi Truck | Hybrid Semis | HybridSemiTruck.com
The article that I linked referred to a Peugeot 3008 diesel hybrid. The 3008 is larger (cross-over size) than the Prius and has a higher output powertrain, yet gets better mileage. All while emitting only 10 grams/mile more CO2. I wonder if some of the more performance-oriented manufacturers (e.g. Audi, BMW, Porch, maybe even VW, since they all have access to latest generation diesel and hybrid technology) are contemplating releasing diesel hybrid cars?
1. US emission regs are much tougher on diesels than those in the EU, so you can just look at EU-only diesels and expect to get the same performance here. 2. US diesel fuel is lower cetane (40) than the EU's (50-55). This makes power density harder to achieve (you need more displacement). The trucking industry wants the cheaper fuel since they're less concerned about power density. 3. At 50 MPG, the benefit of going to 60 MPG is less than the benefit of going to from 40 to 50...in $ and CO2. 4. Diesels are much harder to stop-start smoothly then gas enignes, at least without added mechanical complexity like a compression release. 5. The Prius engine is already within about 5% of the efficiency of the best small diesel that meets our emission regs (VW TDI). You'd need a 20% improvement to go from 50 to 60 MPG.
