Hybrid EVs

What’s in today’s article?

• Why in News?
• What are the Different Types of EVs?
• What are the Challenges to Transitioning to Electric Mobility?
• What are the Advantages of Hybrid EVs?
• Challenges towards Reducing Net emissions
• Way Ahead and Conclusion

 

Why in News?

• A crucial element of the world’s transition to becoming net-zero is electric vehicles (EVs).
• However, hybrid electric vehicles (EVs) present a big opportunity for economically developing countries to begin the transition instead of waiting.

 

What are the Different Types of EVs?

• HEVs (Hybrid EVs): They combine a conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) system with an electric propulsion system, resulting in a hybrid drivetrain that substantially lowers fuel usage. Example, Toyota Hyryder in India.
  • An ICE is a heat engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer (usually air) in a combustion chamber.
• PHEVs (Plug-in hybrid vehicles): They have a hybrid drivetrain that uses both an ICE and electric power for motive power, backed by rechargeable batteries that can be plugged into a power source. Example, Chevrolet Volt.
• BEVs/full EVs: They have no ICE or fuel tank (no tailpipe emissions), and run on a fully electric drivetrain powered by rechargeable batteries. Example, Tata Nexon in India, or the Nissan Leaf and Tesla Model S.
• FCVs (Fuel cell vehicles): FCVs combine hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity, which runs the motor, and the only residue of the chemical process is water. Example, Toyota’s Mirai and Honda’s Clarity.

 

What are the Challenges to Transitioning to Electric Mobility?

• A successful transition to full EVs requires fast-charging infrastructure along highways. The lack of a fast-charging infrastructure will discourage people from buying full EVs.
• The high prices for EV fast-chargers because of high installation and maintenance costs [capital cost - $500-1,000/kW, service and maintenance - 5% per year; an installation cost of around 50% of the charger cost, etc].
• Economically developing nations don't have access to a grid or the grid isn’t 100% reliable.
• EVs with higher range will need larger battery packs and thus be more expensive.

 

What are the Advantages of Hybrid EVs?

• Fuel economy:
  • A hybrid EV’s fuel economy is 1.5-2x times higher than in conventional ICE vehicles for city driving and 1-1.5x times higher for highway driving.
  • A PHEV combines the best of both hybrid and full EVs. Using a small battery (5-15kWh) that can be charged from the grid offers 3-4x higher fuel economy than conventional vehicles.
• The purchase price of hybrid cars is only 5-15% higher than conventional vehicles and is independent of the vehicle range.
• Hence, hybrid EVs are an alternative to full EVs (in the short-term), given the power generation and grid capacity-reliability, the fraction of renewable sources in the power generation mix, and availability of fast-charging infrastructure in developing countries.

 

Challenges towards Reducing Net emissions:

• Well-to-wheel emissions include both tailpipe emissions and emissions due to fuel production - electricity or fossil fuels.
• The life-cycle emissions is a more comprehensive index that includes well-to-wheel emissions and emissions due to vehicle and battery production, maintenance, and end-of-life recycling.
• Therefore, reducing net emissions depends on many factors and remains a challenge both in the case of full electric EVs and hybrid EVs.
  • For example, switching to full EVs will result in 19-34% lower emissions by sedans and 38-49% by SUVs in the fossil-fuel-dominated energy mix in India.

 

Way Ahead:

• Regenerative braking in hybrid EVs (recovering the kinetic energy of the vehicle) can improve fuel economy in urban areas and in hilly conditions.
• An engine start-stop mechanism can also save fuel at traffic junctions and in heavy traffic.
• The above steps will not only help to improve fuel economy of hybrid EVs, it will also help in net emissions reduction.

 

Conclusion

• In places where transitioning to renewables for power and building fast-charging infrastructure will take a decade or more, there is the need to switch to hybrid EVs as a short-term solution due to the fuel-economy and emissions benefits.

 

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Q1) What is the National Programme on Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) Battery Storage?

The Government of India approved the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme 'National Programme on ACC Battery Storage' for achieving manufacturing capacity of 50 GWh of ACC for enhancing India's Manufacturing Capabilities with a budgetary outlay of ₹ 18,100 crore.

 

Q2) What is the difference between Li-ion and lithium batteries?

The main difference between lithium batteries and lithium-ion batteries is that lithium batteries are primary cells and lithium-ion batteries are secondary cells. The term "primary cell" refers to cells that are not rechargeable.

 

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Source: The promise of hybrid EVs in cutting short-term carbon emissions