More and more manufacturers are offering their hybrid car. It must be said that the mode of operation of these vehicles makes it possible to reduce CO emissions2.
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A hybrid car uses two sources ofenergy different. The idea of combining, on board the same vehicle, an electric motor and a thermal motor seems like an interesting solution.
Advantages of the hybrid car
This makes it possible to maintain an excellent level of dynamic performance while significantly reducing pollution in urban areas (thanks to optimized energy management). Finally, the hybrid car benefits from the advantages of both propulsion systems:
- silence and cleanliness for electric propulsion;
- power and autonomy for the combustion engine.
How a hybrid car works
A hybrid vehicle is equipped with a thermal engine which has a system of energy storage usually electrochemical. This allows him to storekinetic energy during deceleration, but also the excess energy produced in certain driving situations.
This motor is always kept in an optimal operating zone, to avoid peaks in fuel consumptionand, when the power required at time t is too low, the energy produced in excess is stored to be remobilized later.
The different operating phases of Toyota hybrid technology. The Japanese manufacturer was the first to put a hybrid car on the market. A curiosity in the 1990s.© Toyota, YouTube
Several levels of hybridization
The vehicles available on the market have varying levels of hybridization:
- Micro-hybridization simply makes it possible to take over from the thermal engine in order to ensure the supply of electrical peripherals. It ensures a reduction in consumption of approximately 5%. It is adopted by a large majority of manufacturers. The German BMW was the first to generalize this technology.
- Mild hybridization (semi hybrid), meanwhile, is actually based on a battery of several hundred watt hours and allows savings of 10 to 30% on urban journeys.
- Full hybridization (full hybrid) — this is the example of the classic Toyota Prius or the Ford MOndeo Hybrid — allows the car to run from its only reserve of stored energy. The reduction in consumption can go up to 50%.
- Plug-in hybrids – for example the Volkswagen Passat GTE, the Audi A3 e-tron or the Mercedes C-Class 350e – finally can drive for several tens of kilometers like real electric vehicles.
Series, parallel or power bypass hybrids
Two main hybridization solutions can be proposed:
- So-called “series” hybrids are rather rare. Here, the heat engine works like a Generatorto produce the electricity needed by the electric motor to move the car forward.
- The so-called “parallel” hybrids are the most common. In this case, the two motors are able to propel the car separately.
Power bypass hybrids combine the two previous solutions. Here, 100% electric propulsion is possible, but part of the heat engine’s power is still transformed into electricity, either to recharge the battery or to directly power the electric motor.
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