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Saturday, April 29, 2006

Hybrid fuel efficiency for one-fifth the cost, and no batteries?

Hybrid Cars from Hybrid Hippie!

MIT-based startup Ethanol Boosting Systems has another use for fuel that goes way beyond E85 fuel in terms of reduced emissions and increased fuel efficiency. Best of all, the added cost of the EBS solution is said to be less than $1,000.

EBS uses as-needed direct injection of ethanol in a turbocharged gasoline-fueled engine to boost the overall fuel octane rating to more than 130. The high octane rating allows the engine to use massive levels of turbo boost without lowering the engine's compression. To make a long story short —lots of power and torque can be produced very efficiently by a small engine, with a 1.5-liter 4 cylinder EBS engine producing roughly the same performance as a 3.0-liter V6, using much less fuel.

A really interesting aspect of the EBS solution is the low quantity of ethanol needed to enable a car with the fuel efficiency of a hybrid - a two- to six-gallon auxiliary ethanol tank would last for two to four months of driving.

Much more info at the EBS site here.

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