Posts Tagged ‘quick charging stations’

The energy company Vattenfall and Volvo have launched a joint venture to be able to offer plug-in hybrid vehicles on the market in 2012.

The period of transition from fossil fuelled vehicles to vehicles run on electricity will take some time. With more electric vehicles used our dependency on oil will diminish because electricity can be created from various energy sources. A plug-in hybrid vehicle uses electricity as the main energy source but when the battery is empty it can also be run on petrol/gasoline or biofuels like bioethanol or biodiesel. The main purpose for the battery on electric vehicles developed in the close time span is therefore shorter road trips but the capacity will be enough for most drivers living and working in the same city or area.
Compared to a combustion engine the electricity engine uses about 75% less energy. With petrol fuel prices available on the market today electricity will power the vehicles with about a fifth. Because the development of batteries takes time and costs a lot of money the prices on plug-in vehicles will be higher than a traditional vehicle. This will probably change over time.

The Plug-in hybrid can be charged in your home, at work or wherever the batteries can be loaded. According to Vattenfall, more plug-in hybrids on the market that needs to charge their batteries will not be a capacity problem for the existing Swedish grid. In time the demand of quick charging stations will increase. This must be in mind while building or upgrading the grid infrastructure.

Here are two video presentations about the development of Plug-in hybrids from Volvo and Vattenfall.