Raser Technologies is developing a hybrid truck that's targeted to get 100 miles per gallon, with near zero emissions. The company is also finishing up a project to put its drive system into an SUV, a vehicle built with cooperation from an unnamed auto manufacturer.
Raser's plug-in electric drive is a 4WD system designed to be used in a half ton truck, like the Ford F-150, Chevy Silverado 1500 or Dodge Ram 1500.
Continuous Electric Power
Most of the hybrids currently on the market use a combustion engine as a backup to power the vehicle. Raser's system uses a small, fuel efficient gasoline engine for only one thing -- to power the generator that recharges the lithium ion batteries. An electric motor propels the truck at all times.Raser's E-REV trucks will be designed to run about 40 miles on a full charge, and short-distance driving is the best use of the system, but the trucks can travel up to 400 miles or so on a 12 gallon tank of gas if necessary.
Testing Raser's Hybrid Technology
Pacific Gas & Electric of California will test one of the first trucks to be produced, and has already agreed to purchase two of Raser's plug-in hybrid SUVs. Raser already has an agreement with a global automaker to put the system in a 100 mpg plug-in hybrid SUV.All of vehicles are being designed for fleet use, but with the ramped up interest in hybrids, we could eventually see them for sale to individuals.
