BlueDotTom
Member
Sorry for being MIA...was disconnected over the weekend and then sick.
Lots to respond to:
LMFP: I'm super excited about LMFP batteries! Closely following the news from CATL and Gotion. Definitely a boon for EVs in general, but borderline game-changing for this application.
Electric power steering: passenger cars have pretty much fully transitioned to electric power steering. Midsize to full size trucks have a mix of hydraulic, electrohydraulic, and electric. HD, as far as I know, is still entirely hydraulic (but several tier-1 suppliers make electric and electrohydraulic systems). It's only a matter of time until everything has electric steering.
Crosstrek toad: That is a very cool idea. But probably not something we would pursue in the near term because of the small market size and the low utilization rate. Our system would provide the same benefit when operated in a parallel hybrid mode, which we will eventually enable once we're secure in the market.
Mark B: Completely agree that an aftermarket system that runs in parallel with the ICE would be extremely difficult to execute in a way that provided significant savings. And 10 years ago what you're saying about the PHEV version would be spot on as well. But, batteries have been getting better at a ridiculous pace. LMFP batteries are becoming commercially available, and they're getting 240 Wh/kg (at the cell level). If you conservatively figure 2 miles/kWh for the types of vehicles we're talking about, its clear that a pretty reasonable battery gives a pretty reasonable range for daily driving. Our belief is that there hasn't been a mass market for this kind of retrofit because there has never been a scalable, mass producible product architecture, so the prices have been very high ($25-35K) and the installations have had to be done in-house.
Onyrlef: Can't quite tell if you're joking about relativity, but lots of people are saving a lot of gas with PHEVs from OEMs (Toyota, Ford, Volvo, BMW, Jeep, Chrysler, Hyundai/Kia, Porsche). Despite not being a very good use case (work from home, go to the mountains a lot on the weekends), I averaged 95 mpg with my Chevy Volt.
Lou: We do disconnect the vehicle's drivetrain when in EV mode. This avoids parasitic drag, like you said, and also obviates the need for a tranny lube pump for vehicles that aren't configured for flat towing.
Phew...I think that's it...this is fun guys.
Lots to respond to:
LMFP: I'm super excited about LMFP batteries! Closely following the news from CATL and Gotion. Definitely a boon for EVs in general, but borderline game-changing for this application.
Electric power steering: passenger cars have pretty much fully transitioned to electric power steering. Midsize to full size trucks have a mix of hydraulic, electrohydraulic, and electric. HD, as far as I know, is still entirely hydraulic (but several tier-1 suppliers make electric and electrohydraulic systems). It's only a matter of time until everything has electric steering.
Crosstrek toad: That is a very cool idea. But probably not something we would pursue in the near term because of the small market size and the low utilization rate. Our system would provide the same benefit when operated in a parallel hybrid mode, which we will eventually enable once we're secure in the market.
Mark B: Completely agree that an aftermarket system that runs in parallel with the ICE would be extremely difficult to execute in a way that provided significant savings. And 10 years ago what you're saying about the PHEV version would be spot on as well. But, batteries have been getting better at a ridiculous pace. LMFP batteries are becoming commercially available, and they're getting 240 Wh/kg (at the cell level). If you conservatively figure 2 miles/kWh for the types of vehicles we're talking about, its clear that a pretty reasonable battery gives a pretty reasonable range for daily driving. Our belief is that there hasn't been a mass market for this kind of retrofit because there has never been a scalable, mass producible product architecture, so the prices have been very high ($25-35K) and the installations have had to be done in-house.
Onyrlef: Can't quite tell if you're joking about relativity, but lots of people are saving a lot of gas with PHEVs from OEMs (Toyota, Ford, Volvo, BMW, Jeep, Chrysler, Hyundai/Kia, Porsche). Despite not being a very good use case (work from home, go to the mountains a lot on the weekends), I averaged 95 mpg with my Chevy Volt.
Lou: We do disconnect the vehicle's drivetrain when in EV mode. This avoids parasitic drag, like you said, and also obviates the need for a tranny lube pump for vehicles that aren't configured for flat towing.
Phew...I think that's it...this is fun guys.
