Motors & Drives Information

Over the last several years, snowmobiles have been a source of environmental controversy and have even been banned in some wilderness areas. But interestingly enough, a hybrid sled, using a new electric motor technology, may quiet that controversy.

Raser Technologies Inc., Provo, Utah, has demonstrated a prototype hybridelectric snowmobile that could potentially address many of the noise and emissions concerns of environmentalists while providing the speed and capability snowmobile enthusiasts crave. The Polaris prototype snowmobile features a low-cost, industrial electric motor enhanced with Raser's Symetron technology replacing the Polaris' normal two-stroke engine.

Thanks to the Symetron technology, the small, lightweight (80 lb.) motor delivers up to 80 hp--as much power as many popular two-stroke engine snowmobiles. In this series hybrid, the electric motor powers the snowmobile. A 6 hp Polaris gasoline engine drives a generator that recharges onboard batteries for range extension. The advanced lithium battery, supplied by Compact Power Inc., is normally charged from the electric grid in this "plug-in" hybrid.

Hybrid-electric snowmobiles like this prototype could help quell the controversy over the use of-snowmobiles in national parks such as Yellowstone as well as other popular snow-mobiling locations around the country. "We think the horsepower is finally equivalent to what you would expect in a combustion machine, but we can run quietly and cleanly," said David West, vice president, marketing for Raser Technologies. He cited measurements that indicated the hybrid electric snowmobile was over 600 times quieter than the combustion engine version.

The hybrid-electric snowmobile is just one application of Raser's Symetron advanced motor technology. "Our technology is scaleable and works just as well at a fractional size motor as it will work on a very large, high horsepower motor," said Kraig Higginson, CEO of Raser. Indeed, Raser has developed a compact, 500 hp Symetron-enhanced electric motor using a low-cost industrial motor. Raser is proposing its use in heavy-duty trucks and buses.

# posted by Medical Information : 4:05 AM