New engine idea from Subaru for future EVs?

Future EVs?

So I saw this headline at gearpatrol.com: “Subaru Just Patented a Wild New Engine Idea for Its Future EVs.” So, we had to read it, and it turns out to essentially pertain to hybrid electric vehicles not pure EVs!

The engine is a gasoline engine used to recharge the battery like the Chevy Volt, etc., not a new electric engine. So, here’s what this is about.

The information was derived from a patent filed with the World Intellectual Property Organization. In it, Subaru described it as a “turbine power generation system,” that consists of a “power generation motor that is driven by rotational torque of a turbine shaft.”

The use of a turbine is what’s new, and there is nothing said about whether it is more efficient than what we are used to in internal combustion engines. Whether it is or not, it remains gasoline powered, and while yes, the engine does not drive the wheels, the effort to extend the EV range burns gasoline.

The article says “One of the most promising solutions is an extended-range electric vehicle, or EREV,” and that “automakers see EREVs as the next innovative step towards an electric future.”

We see developments under way on solid-state batteries around the world as the future of fast charging, long range EVs, not an attempt at another gas powered EREV.

The Gear Patrol article is here. Maybe the word “gear” is what drives the desire to see a gas-fueled turbine as a step forward.

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