Lotus exploring mild hybrids with super-capacitors

A Lotus hybrid anytime soon?

Lotus Engineering, the automotive consultancy division of Lotus, and Continental Division Powertrain recently presented the results of their “Low CO2” research collaboration - "a practical option for manufacturers to reduce their fleet average CO2 emissions" according to the company.

Part of that research includes a mild hybrid drivetrain that couples a 12 kW electric motor and 60v supercapacitors for energy storage. But are supercaps realistic today?

At NAIAS, I was able to ask Micky Bly, who runs GM's hybrid powertrain program, about the possibility of supercaps and GM hybrid vehicles. Micky stated that GM was still exploring supercaps, but that GM didn't believe that supercaps were a viable technology for their current hybrid program due to cost/benefits.

Nano-engineered hybrid battery breakthrough?

Printable batteries?

Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York State have developed a nano-engineered battery that is paper thin and can be cut, folded, rolled or molded, without losing its molecular integrity.

"As well as outputting low amounts of energy steadily over a long period, the mechanism can also be built as a supercapacitor, emitting a massive burst of energy in less than a second. And a completely new invention, a hybrid device, can do both. Potential applications for the new battery and supercapacitor device include hybrid cars," reports CNN.

Because of the device's thin, malleable nature, it could be incorporated into seats, door panels, etc., freeing up the space where batteries are normally placed in hybrid vehicles.

While the materials are cheap, there is not yet a way to mass produce these batteries. Let's hope that changes.

"When we get this technology down, we'll basically have the ability to print batteries and print supercapacitors," said Pulickel M. Ajayan, professor of materials science and engineering at Rensselaer, one of the co-authors of the paper.