Neighborhood Electric Vehicle (NEV) Plug-In Hybrid

Presenter Information

Christopher Henney, Minnesota State University, Mankato
Garett Soukup, Minnesota State University, Mankato
Sean Wimer, Minnesota State University, Mankato

Location

CSU 204

Start Date

22-4-2008 8:30 AM

End Date

22-4-2008 10:15 AM

Student's Major

Automotive and Manufacturing Engineering Technology

Student's College

Science, Engineering and Technology

Mentor's Name

Bruce Jones

Mentor's Department

Automotive and Manufacturing Engineering Technology

Mentor's College

Science, Engineering and Technology

Second Mentor's Name

Vincent Winstead

Second Mentor's Department

Automotive and Manufacturing Engineering Technology

Second Mentor's College

Science, Engineering and Technology

Description

The project was funded by a grant provided by the Minnesota Department of Commerce, for the purpose of electric hybrid vehicle development. The goal of the project was to transform an electric vehicle to a plug-in hybrid through the integration of a small gasoline generator set (genset). The vehicle used in this project was an e-ride Industries neighborhood electric vehicle and a gasoline powered genset from Cummins Power Generation. In trying to keep the vehicle as environmentally friendly as possible, the genset was modified to run on a blend of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline since ethanol is a cleaner burning, more renewable fuel than regular unleaded gasoline. The conversion from an electric vehicle to a hybrid was done to reduce the size of the batteries needed while extending the usability and range of the vehicle.