EV WORLD: Best Approach to Electric Car Range-Extension Still Evolving

EV WORLD: Best Approach to Electric Car Range-Extension Still Evolving: "how does using a turbine sound? Several companies claim that turbines -- a.k.a. jet engines -- are the ideal range extender. At a recent conference in Munich, I spoke with Mateusz Kurkowski of MTT (Micro Turbine Technology), a company based in the Netherlands. The MTT range extender system is flightcase-sized, at 900 by 60 by 30mm: an incredibly compact package. For a Prius-class car, MTT recommends a 10 kW turbine that weighs, all in all, 40-50 KG. The advantages of a turbine are: extremely low vibration, low noise, small size, and very clean combustion, also due to its ability to recirculate gases. A turbine spins at a superfast speed of 240,000 RPMs, yet can be air-cooled, which saves size, weight and complexity. And you can use any fuel you like, too: gasoline, Diesel, ethanol -- you name it. Rather flippantly, based on Mr. Kurkowski's name, I took the liberty of suggesting Vodka as a fuel, but as a naturalized Dutchman, he said Jenever would do. Personally, I find the concept extremely attractive: an EV with a turbine engine would be a sexy way of combining greenness with Buzz-Lightyear-type futuristic coolness.

In any case, a good range extender that works well with a modern battery set-up sounds like a dream team. Size it right, and your batteries become more affordable, because you don't need so many. Cheap, clean electric power for 80-90% of your drives, and a small, quiet additional engine for the occasional trip to your mother in-law: what's there not to like?"