DIY: Build Your Own Plug-in Hybrid?

It might not give step-by-step instructions for retrofitting your school bus, but a new book purports to tell readers how they, too, can create their own plug-in hybrid electric vehicle like the like the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid or the 2010 Toyota Prius.

Perhaps those especially savvy readers can even hold onto the hope that they might eventually be eligible for the next round of federal grants for electric battery and hybrid drive train development. Well, OK, probably not, especially as GreenCarReports.com editor John Voelker gives it less than a stellar review of Build Your Own Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle.

First of all, the book says it can help owners of hybrid vehicles convert them to PHEVs. The author is Seth Leitman, who last year coauthored an updated version of the classic Build Your Own Electric Vehicle. Voelker writes that the book is:

"...comprehensive but slightly disappointing. In part, that's because book publishing takes way too much time. The field of PHEVs is evolving so fast that you can only find truly up-to-date information online.

In particular, the book's list of conversion kits, sources, and background is now several months old. That's a lifetime for a technology whose members exchange information and collaborate to solve technical problems in online forums (eaa-phev is just one of many)."

The commercially-available hybrid diesel school bus currently on the market are from IC Bus, and Thomas Built Buses. IC Bus has both an PHEV and HEV, while Thomas has the latter. If this book review doesn't detract you, and you're the competitive entrepreneurial type, the book can be found on Amazon or in bookstores like Barnes & Noble.

UPDATE: A previous post made it sound like Thomas Built Buses was the only manufacturer with a hybrid school bus available to the market. We didn't mention IC Bus and its own plug-in and regular hybrid-electric models, which has been available the longest, since 2006, and currently has about few hundred in service nationwide. We regret the oversight, a big one.

Thomas Moving Towards an All-Electric?

Daimler AG, the parent company of Thomas Built Buses, has purchased a 10 percent stake in electric vehicle company Tesla Motors, according to a press release. The companies said they will cooperate on battery drive systems, electric drive systems and vehicle projects. Could this put Thomas closer to an all-electric school bus? Representatives from from Thomas weren't immediately available to answer. But for prognosticators and green bus enthusiasts there's some exciting potential.

Thomas is already working on a hybrid Saf-T-Liner C2. According to the release, Daimler and Tesla were also working together to integrate Tesla's lithium-ion battery packs and chargers into Daimler's electric smart car. The release goes on to note that Daimler just founded the Deutsche Accumotive GmbH, a joint venture with Evonik Industries AG, which makes the company "the first vehicle manufacturer worldwide that develops, produces and markets batteries for automotive applications.

Could a new all electric bus be far off?

Goodbye Prius, Hello Volt

Newsweek has a story that's worth reading on why first-generation, Prius-style hybrids may be the first victims of a shift to plug-in hybrids. Why dump these relatively new cars? Because the market will need to make room for their much more efficient younger brothers and sisters. Of course, Prius maker Toyota disagrees:

"The fact that the Prius has been around for 10 years does not mean it is old news or obsolete. In fact, it keeps getting better and better," says John Hanson, a company spokesman ... Hanson says Toyota is doing research on lithium-ion batteries, and plans a plug-in hybrid prototype for next year. But he insists that for now its tried-and-true batteries are best, and that lithium ion isn't ready for prime time. "Battery science is not where it needs to be," he says.

Recently, we've seen a bit of news on the hybrid in the school bus industry. Next generation buses may be far from some district's economic reach now, but with more hybrids coming to market, the school bus industry will soon have its own similar questions to answer.

District Drops CNG, Says Diesel Will Save

Three years ago the Tucson Unified School District invested heavily in CNG-powered school buses, now the school district is change its tack with an $3 million diesel school bus order, the Arizona Daily Star reports:

... the CNG buses have drawn complaints from mechanics, who don't like the engines as much as they do diesel, and from drivers, who don't like the long trips to the airport fueling station ... but the biggest reason behind the switch is that diesel is cleaning up its act. With the federal government next year instituting stringent clean-air requirements, the new generation of diesel buses spits out only a fraction of the tiny pieces of dust, soot and fumes that its older kin does. Such emissions are now on par with clean-burning CNG-fueled buses.

Tom Mulligan, the district's transportation director, says given the improvements in diesel, the decision to switch makes financial sense. But Richard Kolodiej of NGVAmerica says that might not hold if diesel prices go back up, especially since districts can lock into natural gas prices for seven years. On the environmental side Patricia Monahan of the Union of Concerned Scientists says natural gas is still worth considering as a means to end petroleum independence and overall pollution reduction. But, she says:

"... I think school districts have a lot of hard decisions to make ...I wouldn't chastise the district for cutting costs, but there is an argument to still use natural gas."

So what's going on at your operation? Are you looking at CNG or propane? Is "green" diesel where it's at?

Also on the alt-fuel radar this week, IC Bus will get $10 Million from the U.S. Department of Energy to develop and test the next generation plug-in hybrid school bus.

Plugging Into Hybrid Futures

In 2009, everyone is talking plug-in hybrids, but do we have the infrastructure ready? Cheryl Jensen at the Washington Times automotive section reflects on the theme after a major auto show, asking whether she's pulled a Rip Van Winkle and "missed the years of the necessary infrastructure being put in place - and awoke to an electrified future." She asks, "How would my mother-in-law recharge one from the 33rd floor of her New York City apartment?"

Pupil transporters don't often find themselves in an office on the 33rd floor, but they want hybrids and they may have to prep to get their yard ready for hybrids. In Napa Valley, Calif., Ralph Knight had to change his power breakers from 110 volts at 10 amps to 220 volts at 30 amps to enable a four-hour rather than eight-hour charge. But Knight already had the charging stations set up from his experiments in all-electric school buses. What would it take to get your yard up to snuff?