Is hybrid vehicle technology beginning to zero in on a particular design paradigm?
Its not zeroing in at all. Its getting broader. First you had the very different gas-electric Prius and Insight-type hybrids. Since their initial release, the U.S. OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) have a growing family of hybrid models available. There are new designs under way in the U.S., in Europe, in Japan, and the Chinese auto industry has aggressively pursued hybrid development. But we should also remember that in overall terms, hybrids today only account for about 1 percent of the U.S. Fleet. TT: What hybrid topologies are SwRI engineers working on? There are three major areas of hybrid activity under way here at SwRI. First, theres energy storage, where internal research and development (IR&D) programs are looking at advanced lithium-ion batteries. In addition, we have an active program area in the testing and characterization of all types of battery chemistries used in hybrid energy storage systems. Second, SwRI engineers are working on novel ways to integrate and contr
