As it bids to establish plug-in electric vehicles with fuel-efficient, low-emission gas turbines for range extension, ETV Motors Ltd has achieved a milestone by completing a proof-of-concept test of its range extended electric vehicle architecture.
The concept, from the Israeli start-up, uses a gas microturbine for the range-extending generator and in the test drive the company modified a Toyota Prius using commercially available components. It replaced the NiMH pack with a large format lithium-ion battery and retrofitted a liquid-fuelled gas turbine generator as a range extender.
The demonstrator is expected to serve as a test vehicle for the company’s development work. Currently this is focused on the development of a new microturbine, along with a new lithium-ion battery.
Its microturbine is being developed on Rich-Quench-Lean principles and will have the unique property of achieving optimum efficiency at two operating points. This dual mode property will provide freedom when matching the turbine to a number of drive cycles and vehicle categories.
ETV Motors is now hopeful that its first generation model will be fully functional by the second quarter of 2010. It is expected to provide efficiency that outperforms the present state of the art offerings by around 30 per cent.
