Hybrid Technology is better than ICE
While I’m a huge support of everything battery electric, I understand it’s not possible for every scenario. As such, I’ve also been in favor of plug-in hybrid technology. It’s not just about the environmental part of electrification, but also the general superiority of electrical over mechanical systems.
As we’ve seen with BYD’s DM5.0, you can got > 2000 km in one tank of gas with PHEV. That’s just unimaginable for an ICE vehicle. The efficiency found in PHEV is also superior to what’s found in HEV.
The superiority of PHEV/REEV technology can be found in the recent Zhuhai air show. There were many weapon system displayed. REEVs were found among numerous smaller vehicles (both UGVs and regular vehicles).
The one above is HQ-17AE. It is used to provide short range air defense and defense against drone swarms with micro missiles.
The next one is a medium UGV called VU-T10. A flagship UGV using REEV technology. It has 200 km range and is fully driven and powered by various electric motors and wire.
These vehicles use ISG starter/hybrid assist motor, wheel hub motor, wheel side motor and Axle motors. It even uses active liquid cooling system for thermal management of hub motors. They have wire-controlled chassis with all-electric high precision steering, acceleration & braking. Even Weapon base station, radar station & other part of turret are electric controlled. They use 900V or even higher voltage platform to generate high power without overheating the electrical system.
Electrical system is just more compact, react faster & more easy to use smart/AI tech than mechanical systems. REEVs are also more efficient than ICE & have much longer range & break down less frequently.
Hybrid will not just stay in ground vehicle, but also move into aerial vehicles.
In fact, NASA and GE Aerospace announced this year that they are working together to develop Hybrid electric jet engine to more efficiently power future aircraft.
It makes sense that Hybrid technology should be used. Electrical systems are just simpler and more compact. You can also make them more efficient. Once we add battery power to them in the future, you can make them even more efficient, since the jet engine will be used to just generate electricity and electricity will power the parts that actually drive the aircraft (whether propellers in turboprop and rotary aircraft or the components that compresses the air sucked in and squeeze the out in jet aircraft). Mechanical parts can be replaced by electrical parts. Using REEV technology allows the power to be generated in the most efficient method to be used later when battery powers the electrical motors. That’s why we have replaced HEVs with PHEV/REEV tech. The latter is more efficient.
In the recent Zhuhai air show, we saw some of China’s Aero hybrid technology on display. First, AECC showcased its own hybrid tech stack.
The most interesting part is this MW class Hybrid electric propulsion system that intends to power a propeller.
AECC also displayed a 800kW Hybrid Electric Turbo generator as well as a permanent Magnet Alternator.
It also showcased Electric propulsion motor for eVTOL. Notice how compact some of these generators, motors and alternators are? AECC displayed these subsystem and larger systems at the same time that it displayed the current generation of turbofan, turboprop and turboshaft engines that will power anything from large transport, to helicopters, to turboprop aircraft to civilian airliners to unmanned drone transport to tilt-rotors. There was a whole family of aeroEngine systems.
It should not be surprising that AECC plans for the next generation of engines to be hybrid since they are more efficient.
I did find interesting that a startup named Falcon Aerospace showcased its own series of hybrid electric systems. They just started in 2020 and their main product is heavy piston engine. Now, they have already developed a series of hybrid propulsion from 10kW class E10 to 300kW class E300.
According to them, they put E300 on eVTOL and it flew for more than 2 hours and increased range to 4x that of a battery electric eVTOL. This has already been tested for 900 days and looks to be ready to be fitted out on an eVTOL or unmanned platform.
They mainly promoted E30 and E300. E30 is also quite interesting. It’s designed to power low cost cruise missiles and eVTOL. They claim that it’s very economical.
E30 is also interesting because it’s a hybrid turbojet engine with high speed direct drive generator and controller. The high temperature and high speed gas ejected by the turbojet engine drives the power turbine assembly to rotate at high speed and directly driving the high speed generator to generate electricity and provide electrical energy for the equipment.
If they can be successful with smaller hybrid engines, there is no reason why they cannot move to larger engines and creating battery hybrid versions of them.
As with REEVs, more technology advancement is needed to develop high voltage systems that can provide the power needed for aircraft.
And of course, electrification of shipping propulsion has been ongoing for many years now. Diesel electric submarines have been around for a long time. IEPS has been in use for quite a few years now. More modern naval ships have moved to IEPS for greater efficiency and lower noise level.
As a whole, this has been an exciting year of watching hybrid technology really develop. Many applications like air travel, military vehicles and long range shipping really are unlikely to use battery electric technology even in 20 years. Even if we use cleaner fuel source like SAF or methanol, there is still a lot of reasons to move toward more efficient and advanced hybrid electric propulsion. As such, it is exciting to watch so many platforms are moving in that direction.