Talk about thinking outside the box when it comes to finding ways to solve the problem with electric vehicles and limited driving range.
By Chris Chin
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Subaru engineers appear to be thinking really far outside the box. The automaker recently filed a patent with the World Intellectual Property Organization for a turbine engine-assisted extended-range electric vehicle propulsion system. Yes, you read that correctly. And yes, I’m talking the same sort of turbine engine you find on modern airplanes.
But, no, before your fantasies for a jet-powered Subaru go wild, it isn’t quite what you think. The good folks at CarBuzz stumbled upon the patent filing with the WIPO — which is basically the global equivalent to the United States Patent and Trademark Office or USPTO.
It basically outlines an engineering concept that consists of a gas-powered turbine engine being used as an electric generator. Judging by the abstract details, it sounds like an alternative method of recharging and propelling an extended-range electric vehicle on the go.
In the context of cars and the current trend towards electrification, automakers and engineers are hard at work trying to improve technologies and innovate in the EV space. Over the past several years, the industry experienced a major shift towards electrification after the European Union mandated a ban on the sale of internal combustion-powered vehicles by 2035.
It’s all in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas pollution by alleviating the industry’s dependency on toxic fossil fuel-based resources.
Since the EU finalized the mandate, carmakers went on a seemingly rushed offensive to mass-produce electric vehicles. While they proved that electric vehicles are possible and work as cars, they still revealed some major hurdles and drawbacks.
Those include limited driving range compared to gas- or diesel cars, long recharging times, inconsistent and inconvenient charging infrastructure, and more.
To try and solve the biggest problem with electric vehicles — driving range and recharging challenges — automakers are looking for new recharging methods and ways to make the experience similar to refilling or depending on a big tank of refined dead dinosaur juice.
One of the most promising solutions is an extended-range electric vehicle, or EREV. An extended-range electric vehicle is basically an all-electric car, like a Tesla or a Lucid. But instead of solely relying on a battery pack for electricity, they also feature an onboard auxiliary gas- or diesel-powered internal combustion engine.
Think of it as basically a gas-powered generator, except built into a car’s structure. Its sole purpose is to generate electricity on the go, all to help recharge an EV’s battery pack. The electricity generator has no role in driving the wheels.
On an EREV, the main electric drive’s battery pack continues powering the drive motor. But once the battery pack depletes, the ICE-based generator automatically kicks in to recharge the battery on the fly, to extend overall driving range.
Such technology is helpful in a pinch if EV drivers run out of battery juice and can’t find a suitable or convenient recharging method, or for long road trips. An EREV’s range-extender generator can also supply more electricity under heavy load or throttle conditions.
Believe it or not, EREVs are not new technology. If you remember the Chevrolet Volt, BMW i3 and even the Fisker Karma, those vehicles were EREV pioneers.
They were all full-fledged electric vehicles. But they also featured small, ICE reciprocating engines to help recharge the battery on the fly. In the Volt and Karma’s case, they utilized small four-cylinder gas engines. The i3 utilized a three-cylinder swiped from BMW’s motorcycle lineup.
With Subaru’s idea, however, instead of using a small piston engine as the range-extending ICE generator, they’re toying with the idea of a small ICE-based turbine engine.
In the filing, Subaru described it as a “turbine power generation system,” that consists of a “power generation motor that is driven by rotational torque of a turbine shaft.”
The patent abstract then further explains the existence of “a first battery that supplies electric power to the power generation motor; and a second battery that charges electric power generated by the power generation motor.”
In essence, it basically sounds like a new take on EREV technology.
While patents don’t typically cement any hard production plans, they provide hints of what may potentially be on the horizon for new vehicles.
Today, automakers are circling back to evolving ICE-based technologies, including EREVs and even gas-electric hybrids, with hopes of buying time for further electric vehicle technology advancement.
Other examples include Mazda experimenting with reviving the Wankel rotary for EREV applications. Stellantis is currently readying its first EREV with the Ramcharger pickup truck, which features a more conventional 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 as its electric generator.
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