AFS Trinity Power Corp. showcased its XH-150, an innovative plug-in hybrid sport utility vehicle that can achieve the equivalent of 150 miles per gallon, Friday at Zilker Park.
Its innovation lies in the use of ultracapacitors, which can discharge electricity faster than batteries. Batteries power traditional hybrids but do not release energy quickly enough to accelerate as fast as gasoline-powered vehicles without overheating. The XH-150 uses ultracapacitors much like a toilet uses a tank, filling them slowly with energy from lithium ion batteries and then flushing the energy to power the motor during acceleration.
"It's a much more powerful hybrid than anything else out there," said Donald Bender, the company's chief technology officer. "It has great acceleration, great performance and good range."
The prototype, a modified Saturn Vue Green Line Hybrid, can accelerate from zero to 60 mph in about 10 seconds using battery power only, or 6.9 seconds using a combination of gasoline and electricity.
No gasoline is consumed for the first 40 miles after a full charge because the battery does all the work. The daily driving demands of nearly 80 percent of Americans is about 40 miles, according to U.S. Department of Transportation statistics.
Like other plug-in hybrids, the XH-150 can be charged overnight by plugging it into a 110-volt household outlet, which is the equivalent of about 75 cents per gallon.
The city of Austin started a national campaign, Plug-In Partners, to promote plug-in hybrid vehicles. This program has been adopted by the mayors of more than 50 major U.S. cities.
"Austin has more potential for plug-in hybrids than any city in the country," said Edward Furia, CEO of AFS Trinity. "You've got enough electricity in the middle of the night coming from West Texas wind farms Austin Energy operates that you could charge all the cars in Austin with wind."
The manufacturer estimates that SUVs with the Extreme Hybrid drive train installed would cost about $8,700 more than their gas-only counterparts. It would take 3.5 years for the added expense to pay off, according to its estimates.
AFS Trinity, which specializes in energy storage devices, intends to partner with automakers to incorporate Extreme Hybrid technology into existing vehicles.
"In two years we can have power trains with this technology for sale to any automaker in the world," Furia said. "We want to see this implemented globally on a massive scale."
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