ETVMotors announces funding for range-extended EV w/micro-turbine
An Israeli start-up that launched about a year has just come to our attention with the announcement that it has closed a round of venture funding. ETV Motors has been working on a powertrain for range extended EVs that features a micro-turbine to drive the generator. ETV this week collected $12 million in funding from The Quercus Trust of Newport Beach, California and New York-based 21Ventures.
According to COO Arnold Roth, the company is focusing on developing its powertrain technology. No long term decisions have been made yet but the company plans to explore licensing and co-development deals with automakers and suppliers once they get further along. Roth tells ABG "We are evaluating multiple options, and have certainly not closed the door on producing what we develop, either alone or with suitable partners." The concept of using a small turbine to drive the generator is not unique to this company. Automotive X-Prize competitor Velozzi is doing something very similar on its competitor.
Turbines have advantages in this kind of application because they work better at constant speed than they do in transient conditions. Turbines can also operate on a wide variety of fuels without modification. The company has a Toyota Prius mule running with its experimental powertrain.
[Source: ETV Motors]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Chris 6:45PM (4/26/2009)
Interesting. What kind of emissions do micro-turbines have?
Reply
Chris M 11:33PM (4/26/2009)
Due to the continuous combustion, the unburned hydrocarbon and CO emissions are very low, but high combustion temps can lead to high NOx levels. Reducing the combustion temps reduces the NOx but also reduces efficiency and power. It should be possible to reduce NOx and other pollutants with a specially designed catalytic converter.
organic 7:33PM (4/26/2009)
Turbine are super clean because of the high temps. The problem is with shock. Current turbines tend to be air bearing. When a large pot hole or bump hits them things are not happy in the land of 230,000rpm. The one shown in the pic is oil bearing from an RC project.
Reply
gorr 7:12PM (4/26/2009)
It look way better then the volt generator package. I said many times in the past to install a small gasoline battery recharger and performance enhancer with these battery cars. It's almost impossible to have a decent package with only a battery because it weight and cost too much for the power it have and it's so weighty that the recharger and performance enhancer have to be small and compact and light to fit somewhere in the car. People will notice with the volt a limp ride with difficult acceleration and poor breaking and few mpg.
Reply
bonzo 2:14AM (4/27/2009)
How do you get 12MM in funding for strapping an extremely inefficient, oil burning, emmissions creating Jetcat turbine out of an RC airplane to a very standard looking little generator? I can do the same for $12000. Somebody just lost their shorts to a slick salesman. I've got some oceanfront property in Arizona for sale...
Reply
Scatter 2:35AM (4/27/2009)
Interesting. Makes a lot of sense - compact, light weight, simple. Be interesting to watch how this develops.
Reply
freddyzdead 4:25AM (4/27/2009)
I agree with bonzo about the 12 million; this looks like off-the-shelf components to me, so where does all that money go? But I do wish bonzo would learn how to spell "emissions". And I certainly don't agree that it's extremely inefficient. It's just like the APU on a jet aircraft. You know, the whiney thing that generates power when the plane is on the ground. That's pretty much the same thing as an EV range extender, isn't it?
Reply
Giuliano 5:34AM (4/27/2009)
in past , more than 10 years ago i seen one VOLVO proto try to follow this way...
but was very complex to actuate because the turbine turn at more than 100.000 -200.000 lap/minutes and so it mean create electric energy at very high frequency and later need to be reduced to 50 hertz. another trouble is that the turbine for have a good performance must be a regenerative turbine ... and that is more complex to build.
Reply
Scatter 8:03AM (4/27/2009)
Hang on, these criticisms about the company receiving $12 million seem well off the mark. Surely this was a proof of concept and the money is to move it towards being production-ready? Of course you're going to use cheap, inefficient components at first, this money is to move things on, no?
Reply
bonzo 11:33AM (4/27/2009)
Little RC turbines are the most inefficient engines there are and produce the most emissions of just about any power package. Of course coupling a turbine to a generator will made power so not much to prove by making the simple little demo package they show. Capstone turbine has been doing this for years and use a recuperator to get decent efficiency out of a small turbine package but at a hefty cost.
Reply
Narniaman 11:22PM (4/27/2009)
dittos on the little RC turbines being inefficient.
I don't know if they are quite as inefficient as a steam engine, but it probably gives it a run for the money.
Using a small diesel engine with a good turbocharger as the power source would make much more sense.
Reply