Understanding Current Hybrid Vehicle Technology

So, what is a hybrid car in 2022?  What is the current technology ?

A hybrid vehicle combines at least one electric motor with an internal combustion engine (ICE) to move the car.  This system is set up to recapture any energy from regenerative braking.  There will be times when the electric motor can do all the all the work of moving the car, and then sometimes the ICE will do 100% of all the work.  And then there will be times when the electric motor and the ICE work together to move the vehicle along.

The  hybrid system ultimately has the end result of less fuel being burned and, therefore, offering its driver better fuel economy.  In some circumstances, like in a short quick passing manoeuvre, adding electric power to the ICE power will can even boost the vehicle’s performance for performing the task.

All hybrid systems are set up for the electric motor to use electricity coming from a high-voltage battery pack.  This battery pack is separate from the car’s conventional 12-volt battery system that runs the auxiliary car systems (e.g., air conditioning, headlights, coolant fan, etc.).  The high voltage battery pack is replenished by capturing energy from deceleration (typically this energy is lost to heat that is generated by the brakes in a conventional ICE-only vehicle).  So, the regenerative braking system captures this deceleration energy and sends it back to the high voltage battery pack which runs the vehicle’s electric motor.  Hybrid vehicles are also designed to use the ICE to charge and maintain the high voltage battery pack.

The main Hybrid Designs are:

Parallel Hybrid

The electric motor(s) and ICE are connected in a common transmission (automatic, manual, or a CVT) that will blend the two sources of power for moving the vehicle.

Series Hybrid

A Series Hybrid is where the electric motor(s) provide all the thrust, and there is never a physical or mechanical connection between the ICE and the wheels.  The ICE is purely onboard for recharging the high voltage battery pack.

Plug-In Hybrid (PHEV)

The plug-in hybrid system enhances the conventional hybrid concept with a much larger high voltage battery pack.  As this is similar to a conventional electric vehicle (EV), it must be fully recharged using an external electricity source (i.e., charged from your home power supply, your office, or a public charging station).  Because the energy storage is much greater, it allows for extended all-electric driving, thus significantly reducing your fuel consumption.  In fact, short commutes and a recharge nightly means that you’ll be running on electricity most of the time (great for city driving).  Should you deplete the large battery pack, the car simply reverts to being a conventional parallel hybrid, using the assistance of an ICE.  Plug-in hybrids can be either a series or a parallel hybrid system.

Mild Hybrids

When you hear the term Mild Hybrid, don’t start thinking it is anything like the Parallel Hybrid, Series Hybrid, or Plug-In Hybrid (these 3 are considered “full hybrids”) mentioned above.  In a Mild Hybrid vehicle, the electric motor is there to only assist the ICE for the purposes of improving fuel economy, increasing performance, or both.  It won’t ever fully move the vehicle on its own.

The Lithium Rush

Lithium is in very hot demand at present.  Like a new frenetic modern-day gold rush, it seems that big companies wanting lithium are frantically looking for this new sort of gold.

Obviously, lithium is required in the production of lithium-ion battery cells that are used for powering EVs.  In order to make sure that they don’t run short of lithium anytime soon, China, which has the largest EV market in the world, produces 80% of the world’s usable lithium product all on their own.  In a statement recently, Sung Choi, a metals analyst, stated that “The cost of lithium has risen because virtually all automakers have jumped onto producing EVs.”

Currently, over half of the world’s lithium resources are in South America and Australia.  As prices for lithium are surging – and some metal analysts at BloombergNEF (BNEF) have witnessed an almost 500% increase in the past year – China seems to be leading the charge in the hunt for new lithium mining reserves.

China is searching around the world for new lithium deposits that can supply their big need for the metal used in EV production.  China has even looked at the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau as a source for the metal, as well as in Africa.  Sung Choi also said that “Africa has recently been in the spotlight with its ample resources in metals.”

Some of the African lithium mining fields being looked at by China include the reserves found in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where Zijin, a Chinese mining giant, is battling with Australia’s AVZ minerals over controlling the DRC’s Manono mine.  Quite possibly, the Manono mine has the world’s biggest lithium deposit.

Last year, Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi said that people living in areas with mines were “still languishing in misery,” while it was the foreign multinationals running the mines who prospered.  The mines do provide locals with jobs, but many would say that the locals don’t see enough trickle-down reward from the massive multimillion-dollar projects.

Also, in Zimbabwe there are large untapped deposits of lithium, and China is rapidly buying up these resources.  Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt, a Chinese-based company, has recently purchased Arcadia Lithium mine outside Harare.  The money (some $300 million) will be used to construct a mining plant with a processing capacity of 400,000 metric tons of lithium concentrate per year.  The Zimbabwean government has welcomed this recent investment, looking forward to helping fill China’s and the EV’s need for lithium-based batteries.

The current and potential growth of the EV industry, and therefore the rush for new lithium resources, has had companies like Tesla seriously considering getting into lithium mining and refining directly for themselves.  Maybe it is Toyota who is taking the more manageable approach to the mass production of EVs.  Their pace toward an EV transfer seems to take a better-calculated methodology when compared with some other big automotive manufacturers who seem driven on producing a fleet of their own EVs as fast as possible.  Toyota sees the value in hybrid technology building a bridge to solving any issues around climate change and the EV mindset.

Lithium isn’t just used in the production of EV battery packs.  Lithium is also used in rechargeable batteries for mobile phones, laptops, digital cameras, and in warfare equipment. It is also used in some non-rechargeable batteries for things like heart pacemakers, clocks, and toys.  The future and the course of EV production and EV uptake does seem to depend on the amount of lithium being available and the costs involved for mining it.  These costs will affect how much a new climate change-solving EV might eventually sell for.

What to Do if You Have Squeaky Windscreen Wipers?

There are certain noises in life that raise the hairs on the back of the neck.

Fingernails down a blackboard, the sound of screeching tyres behind you, for some it is even the chewing of a loved one…

However, when you’re driving, there is another one that takes the cake. And it gets a whole lot worse if you head out knowing it is already going to rain. What is it? Well, have you ever flicked the windscreen wiper switch and heard that loud squeak? Yes, we have too…with every back and forth, it is like teeth being pulled.

So if you find yourself in this position, what should you do?

It’s potentially a combination of factors, but happily, it’s a short list. There are only two, three depending on how you look at it, things that are involved. One is the windscreen itself. The second and potentially third are one or both of the wiper blades.

Given the most likely source of the squeaking is the blade/s, these would be the first port of call for a visual inspection. Lift the wiper arms up from the windscreen. Detach the blades from the arms and, using a good torch, inspect the blades themselves. Feel the blades with your fingers. Do they feel soft, malleable, easy to flick back and forth? Or are they dry, cracked, and brittle?

If any signs of a failing blade or blades are noticed, then a visit to your local auto parts retailer is in order to source new wiper blades.

Once new blades are fitted and lowered, get the hose and give the windscreen a good squirt. Activate the wipers and listen. Still noisy? Then having eliminated one part of the equation, the other has to be the windscreen itself.

Specific window cleaning products do a fantastic job, but the condition of the glass is critical.

Again, eyeball the window. One method is to get that torch onto it at night and shine across the window. Look for a straight beam of light bouncing off it. If the reflection looks scattered, it’s likely the same reason we polish cars. The windscreen is likely to be pitted, scratched, and this form of damage will grab onto a wiper like a child to a lollypop. Hence the squeaking that follows.

Depending on the condition of the glass, it may be useful to apply a treatment of IPA (iso-propyl alcohol) to further remove dirt and grime that may have become embedded and not removed by previous cleaning. IPA may also be used, gently, to clean blades that are dirty but fine otherwise.   Professional services can offer a polishing of the glass and this does need to be professionally applied.

Unfortunately, the worst case scenario, but one that dramatically lifts the safety factor, is a windscreen replacement. Not only will new and smooth glass reduce friction and allow rainwater to run off easier, forward vision is far less likely to be reduced thanks to light scattering from the tiny scratches.

Auto parts websites have plenty of information about the right replacement blades to suit your car, and this is also one of the most common DIY auto repairs. So if you’re in doubt, don’t hesitate to ask for help.

Who and What is ANCAP?

All new vehicles sold in Australia and surrounding areas must undergo testing to assess how safe that car is. Graded with a star rating, the more stars a car has, the safer that car is. ANCAP, also known as the Australasian New Car Assessment Program, provides a substantial overview of what makes a car tick the boxes safety wise.

A few years ago, ANCAP changed the parameters in what they use to assess the safety of a car. There are four key areas: Adult Occupant Protection, Child Occupant Protection, Vulnerable Road User Protection, and Safety Assist.

Adult Occupant Protection

ANCAP looks at the kind of protection, the kind of safety, offered to the most likely passengers in the front and second row seats of a car.

They look at offset impacts, side impacts, whiplash injuries for front and second row, Autonomous Emergency Braking in a city setting, and rate the categories appropriately.

Full width and frontal offset are the highest for adults, with a score of 8 being applied along with 8 for Side Impact and Pole (oblique).

That last one is not uncommon, as it’s been found that drivers looking at an object in a crash situation have a higher tendency to impact that object.

To achieve a five star rating for Adult Occupant Protection, the car must achieve a total of 80% of the possible maximum score of 38.

Child Occupant Protection

80% is also the minimum requirement for the Child Occupant Protection, which has a maximum score of 49. There are just four margins here, Dynamic (Front) at 16 points, Dynamic (Side) with 8, 12 points for Child Restraint Installation, and 13 for On Board Features.

On the star rating, Adult Occupant and Child Occupant both have 80% to reach five stars. 70% is four stars, 60% for three stars, 50% for two stars, and 40% for just one star. Vulnerable Road User Protection and Safety Assist have 60% and 70% respectively.

Vulnerable Road User Protection

Vulnerable Road User Protection takes a look at Head Impact (24 points), with 6 points apiece for Upper Leg Impact, Lower Leg Impact, pedestrian related AEB (Autonomous Emergency Braking) and cyclist related AEB. The specifications here are about looking at frontal designs of vehicles; will it mitigate injury to a pedestrian and/or cyclist, and will it overall mitigate or avoid impact with pedestrians and/or cyclists?

Safety Assist

The final sector, Safety Assist, measures the amount of safety features available, and the effectiveness of those systems. The current maximum score is 13, with 2020 moving that to 16.

Speed Assistance Systems are rated to 3 points, Seat Belt reminders also rate as 3, and Lane Support Systems as 4. AEB in an inter-urban environment is current 3, with that increasing to 4 in 2020. A new category, Junction Assist, with two points, comes in next year.