Hybrid haulage could save fuel and the environment

US members of congress are pressing for government to support the development of medium and large trucks with hybrid electric-combustion engines.

The call for the Department of Energy to help out came after hearings by the House of Repesentatives science and technology committee on the future for hybrid trucks, and US pump prices exceeding a once unthinkable $4 a gallon.

Sales of small- to medium-size hybrid passenger cars, like the Toyota Prius, are growing fast. But hybrid technology for trucks is about a decade behind, says Richard Parish of the Hybrid Truck Users Forum, an organisation partly supported by the US Army to develop the industry.

New Scientist