As California and 13 other states gain traction in Washington, D.C., to nudge emissions and consequently fuel efficiency standards upward, AFS Trinity Power Corporation has given an update on their ambitious 150-mpg SUV. (Read: “Obama Pushes Review of State Emissions.”)
A year ago, AFS Trinity introduced the XH-150 prototype introduced a year ago at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit based on a first-generation Saturn Vue. Since then, development has continued, and the company now claims a 40-mile electric-only range—same as the Chevrolet Volt—for its evolved XH-150S. While operating on electricity with about 200 horsepower, the SUV can deliver 11.5-second 0-60 acceleration and 90 mph highway speed. A second operating mode teams the electric and gasoline powertrain is triggered when the batteries are 80-percent depleted. However, the driver can also opt to put the vehicle in gas-hybrid mode with 370-horsepower whenever desired or required, enabling 0-60 acceleration of 6.9 seconds, on par with a Porsche Cayenne, but delivering fuel economy in an SUV of 35 to 65 mpg, depending on conditions.
To achieve the electric power, the XH-150S uses off-the-shelf lithium-ion batteries, buffered by fast, electronic energy storage devices called ultracapacitors that handle high currents during acceleration that would otherwise heavily stress and reduce the useful life of the batteries. Managed by AFS Trinity's power and control electronics, the batteries operate in the low to moderate power "sweet spot" for which they are optimized, but they can tap the ultracapacitors when high or very high currents are
AFS Trinity is in the process of applying for $2.5 billion of the $25 billion Department of Energy "green retooling" funding, which new DOE regulations specify is to be spent for " ... re-equipping, expanding, and establishing manufacturing facilities in the U.S. to produce advanced technology vehicles and components that demonstrate meaningful improvements in fuel economy."
CEO Ed Furia says, AFS Trinity would use the money “to retool one or more such factories and put laid off UAW workers back to work to produce AFS Trinity's 150-mpg Extreme Hybrids, resulting in the retention of thousands of auto industry jobs.”
Innovative companies such as AFS Trinity are pushing the industry, and even leading it, through the green revolution of the 21st century. But, it remains to be seen how this technology would be carried to production, either in an exclusive vehicle or licensed to automakers. This is definitely a company to follow.