Diesel hybrid

Anybody hear anything about Toyota and Diesel hybrid. I heard it was going to be a truck, a one ton or more.

Reply to
The beneVolent dbu
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It's quite possible. Remember, General Electric are developing a hybrid railway engine (big, US style, long distance hauler).

Reply to
Andrew Stephenson

General Motors' Electro-Motive division has been making diesel-electric train locomotives for a very long time, and diesel-electric submarines were the norm before the advent of nuclear powered subs. The diesel engine turns a generator which supplies power for the electric motors that move the train or power the sub.

Reply to
Ray O

Thank you for that insight, which of course had eluded me for lo these many years. ;-) That's why I wrote that GE are developing a "hybrid", as in the current use of that term in Toyota cars.

GE may, of course, simply be modifying a standard diesel-electric set by adding generators and big traction batteries, with Prius- style fancy electronics to manage the electric power. We'll see.

A recent GE shareholder report suggested regenerative braking can save around 17% (seventeen percent) of the energy required to run such a beast. The battery bank hardly bears thinking about; but a sketch with the item showed many separate batteries (each quite bulky) packed into sundry corners of the vehicle.

In the case of a hybrid car (eg, Prius), quick engine starting is important. I imagine a railway engine need not start its engine so promptly (maybe they'd have a couple of minutes' notice -- at least), hence a diesel would suit that application fine, assuming they ever shut off the diesel and run electric-only, rather than using the electric drive merely to augment the diesel.

Reply to
Andrew Stephenson

Sorry, I thought you were pretty knowledgeable about things with IC engines, but you never know, hence my little history lesson.

I suspect that GE is taking the diesel-electric setup to the next step like regenerative braking, more sophisiticated controls and traction mkotors, and perhaps batteries and then calling the setup a "hybrid" to take advantage of increased awareness of the term.,

Reply to
Ray O

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