Volvo developing EV range extenders

Volvo Car Corporation has announced it is taking the next step in the company's electrification strategy by producing test cars with range extenders - electric cars that are fitted with a combustion engine to increase their effective range. The projects, supported by the Swedish Energy Agency and the EU, encompass three potential technology combinations. Tests of the various concepts will get under way in the first quarter of 2012.
April 19, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
RSS609 Volvo Car Corporation has announced it is taking the next step in the company's electrification strategy by producing test cars with range extenders - electric cars that are fitted with a combustion engine to increase their effective range. The projects, supported by the Swedish Energy Agency and the EU, encompass three potential technology combinations. Tests of the various concepts will get under way in the first quarter of 2012.

"This is an exciting expansion of our increasing focus on electrification. Battery cost and size mean that all-electric cars still have a relatively limited operating range. With the range extender, the electric car has its effective range increased by a thousand kilometres - yet with carbon dioxide emissions below or way below 50 g/km," says Derek Crabb, VP powertrain engineering at Volvo.
The company's technological developments in this area currently encompass three different technology combinations, with three-cylinder petrol engines being installed to complement electric drive to the front wheels. All the variants feature brake energy regeneration. The engines can run on both petrol and ethanol (E85).

Two of the solutions are based on the Volvo C30 Electric. In both cases, the standard battery pack has been somewhat reduced in size to make room for the combustion engine and its fuel tank.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Smart transport systems investment will continue to grow despite public sector cuts
    May 30, 2012
    The ITS sector is now going through an evolution driven by the maturation of communications technologies and their increasing adoption in major cities worldwide. The widespread availability of high-speed networks, both fixed and wireless, along with the ability to embed intelligence in physical objects throughout the urban environment and the diffusion of mobile devices that can send and receive real-time vehicle or infrastructure information, is driving the adoption of smart transportation systems in citie
    Read More
  • All electric vehicle barrier exceeds cycle testing expectations
    March 23, 2012
    "The cycle testing was performed at the Texas Transportation Institute at the Texas A&M University System, in College Station, Texas. The IIID electric barrier successfully completed 1,491,455 cycles, before a replaceable cable failed.
    Read More
  • Veolia to deploy SmartDrive Systems
    April 23, 2012
    Executives from Veolia Transportation's On-Demand Division, whose SuperShuttle, Compass and Golden Touch franchised brands provide consumer and specialised transport services, and SmartDrive Systems, a leader in fleet safety and operational efficiency, have announced Veolia's purchase of SmartDrive safety and eco-driving technology for the division's 1,631 vans and buses throughout the US.
    Read More
  • Amsterdam Group turn ITS theory into practice
    August 6, 2013
    ASECAP’s Marko Jandrisits discusses the Amsterdam Group’s efforts to bring a sense of order to cooperative ITS deployments. When an issue arises which is deemed to require a technological solution governments and public-sector agencies around the world all too often tread the same sorry path. A decision is made to research and develop said technology to the production-ready stage, the work is done and the technology realised but then the money for deployment runs out and the technology is left on the shelf
    Read More

Highlighted Content