Next generation range extension — 2 Glimpses of the future

The electric revolution of mobility has left the cradle and is expected to breach the barrier of mass scale commercialisations within the next 3-5 years. To achieve that goal, the issue of range must be resolved. Especially plugin hybrid vehicles address this topic with a combination of batteries and a range extender. Range extender technologies hold a large market potential for the coming years and with the third generation, the possibility of zero emission range extenders exist. These solutions are based on new fuel cell technologies or multi fuel radial jet turbines and will fuel the vehicles of the future. Comparisons between a High Temperature Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (HT-PEM) Fuel Cell running on methanol and a Radial Jet Turbine with multi-fuel capabilities show that each of them have potential capabilities that make them relevant as solutions for the future EVs. The HT-PEM has a high efficiency and utilizes an existing infrastructure where the Radial Jet Turbine is very compact and extremely flexible when it comes to fuel choice. Both technologies hold interesting potentials but are however currently challenged by the cost of market introduction for new technology and a short track record. With the search still going for a supplement to gasoline, they are however interesting possibilities with their utilization of clean liquid fuels. Furthermore they could together support the introduction of Methanol as an overall fuel for transportation.