New Prototype Technology Expected to Use Road Bumps to Regenerate Battery

GREENWICH, Conn.- A new prototype technology that can use the bumps in a road to regenerate power to the batteries of hybrid and electric vehicles has been exclusively optioned to Electric Truck, a privately held licensing and technology firm.

The commercial rights were optioned to the company by Tufts University, Boston, which originally developed and patented the technology through its Office for Technology Licensing and Industry Collaboration.

Drivers of hybrid cars could increase their miles per gallon by 20 to 70 percent through the use of this new technology, according to Martin Son, associate director of the OTL&IC at Tufts.

The new technology was illustrated as “one that can be implemented as a shock absorber and instead of having the energy as heat and dissipating, it can be converted into a usable electrical energy which can then be used to recharge the battery,” said Mr. Son.

The large range in the potential savings in miles per gallon was elaborated on by Mr. Son, expressing that “the scope and types of vibration energies that the vehicle would encounter would be completely dependent on what terrain a person would be driving on, whether it be smooth roads, off-road, pot holed roads, etc.

Another factor that would incorporate into this would be the weight of the vehicle itself. The more massive the vehicle, the more pronounced the effect on the ability for the vehicle to generate more electrical energy for the battery.”

The new technology is also expected to have a pronounced decreasing effect on the emissions of hybrid vehicles, according to David Holst-Grubbe, chief executive officer and co-founder of Electric Truck.

“We would be able to lower all of the regulated emissions such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide, particulate matter, and hydrocarbons. We expect emissions to be lowered by as much as 50 percent, and this would be especially true for the diesel markets. Those applications are extremely good for us in trucking, ” said Mr. Holst-Grubbe.

What is not yet clear is how this new technology will affect the sticker price of both hybrid and electric vehicles. Mr. Holst-Grubbe was unable to speculate as to this but did add, “they will be more affordable to drive. A person might pay a premium for a hybrid or electric vehicle today, but they get it all back in fuel economy.”

The technology is currently in the early prototype stages and is expected to be ready for market by the end of 2009. Mr. Son, added that “we have committed on an exclusive basis to working with Electric Truck. It is an exclusive option, so we are giving Electric Truck the first opportunity to develop this technology and eventually turn it into a product ready for the marketplace.”

Also participating in the development of this technology is Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Ill. The company has provided both funding and well as a research facility to conduct real-world experiments on the technology.