Plug-In Hybrids: The New Focus for the Future of Transportation

Recently there has been a lot of interest in the concept of the Plug-In Hybrid Vehicle or PHEV. I [Professor Andrew Alfonso Frank] have been researching this concept for about 30 years. Over this time, there have been major improvements in the basic components, such as the batteries, the Continuously Variable Transmission or CVT, and computer control technology in vehicles. As a result, the technology is now ready for introduction to the mass market by the major car companies.

In contrast, the Plug-In Hybrid can use as much as 90% of their driving energy from electricity using the currently available electric sources already in our society, ie the standard outdoor plugs at 120 volts and 1.5 KW in the US and 220 volts at 2 KW in much of the rest of the world. The rest of the energy for these automobiles can come from liquid fuels such as gasoline, Diesel or ethanol from biomass. In addition, the vehicles can be charged directly from small wind and solar systems on top of our homes and workplaces.

Professor Andrew Alfonso Frank is Director of Hybrid Vehicle Research at the University of Californai-Davis. He holds the following degrees: B.S. (1955), University of California, Berkeley, M.S. (1958), University of California, Berkeley, M.S. (1965), University of Southern California, Ph.D. (1968), University of Southern California, Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering.
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