A start-stop system is available on the new Ford Fusion.
As American automakers prepare for stricter,
federally-mandated fuel efficiency standards, anything that can take a car
farther on a gallon of gas is welcome news.
That's partly why start-stop technology, which saves fuel by
shutting down the engine when the car stops for more than a few seconds (like
at a red light), is finally picking up in the United States.
Start-stop has its problems, but a new way of making
batteries could make the technology a lot more viable.
The Problems With Start-Stop
Last year, AAA predicted that 8 million cars in North
America would be equipped with start-stop by 2017. That's not a huge number:
Americans bought 7.2 million new passenger cars and trucks in 2012 alone. The
technology is more common in Europe and Japan, where it's included in some 40%
of new cars, AAA says.
While there's no doubt it saves fuel — by as much as 12% —
start-stop is not good for battery life. Things like air conditioning and the
radio are powered by the engine, and if it turns off at red lights, the battery
has to pick up the slack — that's why the battery dies if you leave your
headlights on when your car is off.
The "key limiter" of start-stop technology
"has always been the performance of the battery and the cost," said
Chad Lewis, Chief Global Strategy Officer of Texas-based Molecular Rebar Design
(MRD), a maker of carbon nanotube technology that can be applied in cars.
In February, Panasonic released a battery system that powers
the car's electronic components with energy generated by braking, which is
recovered and stored in a nickel metal hydride battery that's separate from the
lead acid battery under the hood.
But MRD says it has found a solution that goes to the root
of the problem, by making the lead acid battery itself better. The company has
published a patent for a technology, which it says will dramatically improve
battery life for a variety of applications, starting with acid lead batteries.
A close-up of carbon nanotubes.
The breakthrough is a new way of using carbon nanotubes,
microscopic cylinders of carbon molecules that are both extremely strong and
conduct electricity. They have a lot of potential that "wasn't able to be
unlocked," Lewis said, because they form in convoluted bundles (see photo
at left).
Lewis compared those bundles to cotton balls, which are no
good for making clothing. But in 2010, the company found a way to make them
discrete — untangle them into individual pieces of thread — and much more
useful.
The result is nanotube wiring that "functions just like
rebar," the reinforcing steel used to make concrete stronger.
MRD found that adding individual nanotube wires to a paste
used in the production of lead acid batteries improved ion transport within the
battery, making it last 50% to 70% longer, allowing it to hold a larger charge,
and cutting charge time in half.
The resulting battery can also be used in addition to
advances like Panasonic's system, to provide even greater advantages.
The lead acid battery manufacturing process, conducted by
MRD subsidiary MRLead LLC, is already underway at some offshore facilities and
should start in the U.S. in the next few months on a large-scale basis.
Batteries with the technology come with a 15% to 20% markup in price, but the
huge benefits in how they can be used make them a no-brainer, Lewis said.
The Best Is Yet To Come
The immediate benefits will be for lead acid batteries, and
could make start-stop technology more viable. But, Lewis said, this is a
"core technology that is applicable in any battery space."
That sets up MRD for its next, much more significant
challenge in the auto industry: revolutionizing the lithium-ion batteries that
are the most serious obstacle keeping electric cars down.
Auto Tech: Prototype racing for better road cars
A brand new motorsports track originally constructed to host
the Formula Grand Prix, the Circuit of the Americas is 5.153 km long and
features 20 turns with elevation changes of over 40 metres (133 feet). Some of
the world’s most renowned raceways inspired its construction, and many of the
track’s turns are recreations of their historic turns. Great, sweeping bends
encourage multiple racing lines and more passing, to the great enjoyment of
racing fans.
Both the American Le Mans Series and the World Endurance
Challenge made their inaugural debuts at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA)
this past weekend, in front of a combined estimated three-day crowd of 33,591
fans – despite torrential rains on the Friday.
It was a double-header weekend featuring endurance racing of
the finest calibre – a two hour and 45-minute ALMS (American Le Mans Series)
race on Saturday, followed by the six-hour WEC (World Endurance Championship)
on Sunday. Both races are modelled after the 24 Hours of Le Mans – the greatest
endurance race of them all – which consists of multiple classes of cars from
modified sports car to purpose-built prototypes.
It was the fifteenth and final season for the ALMS, which
will be replaced by United Sports Car Racing next season.
With the return of the SRT Viper this year, the hot
competition was in the GT1 sports car class, with the Viper and nemesis
Corvette waging some steamy battles over the course of the season. This round
belonged to Corvette, although the #93 Viper driven by Jonathan Bomarito put up
a fierce fight to come in second.
Sunday’s six-hour World Endurance Race was a continuation of
the epic battle between Audi and Toyota during the 24 Hours of Le Mans in Sarthe,
France where Audi took first and third, Toyota second and fourth.
In Austin, a single Toyota went up against a pair of Audis
in a heated struggle during which theToyota TS030 managed to force one of the
Audis off-track – and yet another became airborne after a rear punt from one of
the GT cars. Although Audi was again on the podium taking first and third, the
Toyota managed an impressive second place.
On no other world stage would those two auto manufacturers
be considered competitors – since they inhabit very different realms of the
automotive market. Yet, not only do Audi’s R18 E-Tron Quattro and the Toyota
TS030 represent the very top tier of endurance racing – they have more in
common than you may think.
Both of these prototype vehicles represent the ultimate
efforts of their respective technology and engineering departments – and both
are hybrids.
But what does this have to do with the average consumer –
especially the typical commuter who has no interest in motorsports of any kind?
Audi has enjoyed spectacular success in endurance racing –
dominating at every stage of world competition. A veritable juggernaut with an
overwhelming presence at Le Mans, Audi’s success in the gruelling world of
endurance can’t help but have a trickle-down effect on the public’s perception
of Audi toughness and durability.
As for Toyota – the TS030 not only embodies the next level
of their hybrid technology leadership – it goes a long way towards erasing
their long-held reputation for building boring and soulless transportation, and
a return to their sportier roots.
But does that old adage of “win on Sunday, sell on Monday”
still hold any relevance today?
The 2012 Motorsport Sponsorship Report issued by Foresight
research in Rochester, Michigan suggests that many buyers are still influenced
either directly, through attending events, or indirectly, through marketing
perception or peers.
More than 16 percent of buyers who attended a motorsport
event claimed that it had significant impact on their buying decisions. One out
of five buyers participating in the survey had watched racing on television,
while one in twelve had actually attended.
According to the report, typical motorsports fans love cars
and trucks, and tend to spread their opinions and advice. Some 44 percent of
race goers will share their recommendations with their peer group who are in
the market to buy.
Racing influences those outside of this sphere too, with up
to 25 percent of new vehicle buyers having occasionally watched at least one
event on television.
Many buyers just aren’t interested in raw performance from
their daily drivers and have even less interest in racing. Yet some of our
greatest vehicle technology breakthroughs originated to cope with the rigours
of on-track competition.
Article Credit: www.autos.ca
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