Ford has unveiled the Escape Hybrid E85, a research vehicle marrying two petroleum-saving technologies – hybrid electric power and flexible-fuel capability.
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It said that the Escape Hybrid E85 – unveiled on Wednesday at the Washington motor show – is the world’s first hybrid vehicle capable of operating on blends of fuel containing as much as 85% ethanol, a renewable fuel that can be produced from American-grown corn or sugar beets. Ethanol use releases no fossil-based CO2, so its use as a fuel in place of petrol reduces the release of greenhouse gases.
“As a leader in both hybrid vehicles and in vehicles capable of operating on ethanol-based fuels, Ford is the ideal company to bring both technologies together for the first time,” said Ford Americas COO Anne Stevens.
“This innovative research programme could lead to breakthroughs to significantly reduce our nation’s dependence on imported oil while also helping to address global climate change,” Stevens said. “Both the Escape Hybrid E85 and the ethanol fuel it runs on are made in America.
Picking up on the theme pitched during this week’s restructuring announcements that innovation would drive future US market product development, she added: “This is another example of how Ford is driving American innovation.”
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By GlobalDataFord claims that it is already a leader in both technologies because it has two full hybrid electric vehicle models on the road today – the Ford Escape Hybrid and the badge-engineered Mercury Mariner Hybrid – and will increase production capacity to 250,000 hybrid vehicles a year globally by the end of the decade, and will also produce up to 250,000 ethanol-capable vehicles this year, including the F-150 pickup truck, and Crown Victoria , Mercury Grand Marquis and Lincoln Town Car large sedans.
However, it should be noted that Ford currently buys all of the hybrid transaxles it needs from Aisin, a member of Toyota’s supplier group. Toyota is currently regarded as the industry leader in hybrids though Ford has made clear it wants to develop its own expertise.
Nonethless, Ford launched the world’s first hybrid SUV, the Escape, in 2004 and is still the only American automaker selling a full hybrid.
It plans a Mazda Tribute Hybrid next year (though this is just another Escape badge-engineering exercise) and hybrid versions of the Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan mid-size sedans in 2008.
Next, in the 2008 to 2010 time period, will be hybrid versions of the Ford Five Hundred and Mercury Montego full-size sedans, and the Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX crossovers.
Ford said ethanol-fueled hybrids could significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Escape Hybrid, already the world’s cleanest and most fuel-efficient small SUV, would produce about 25% less carbon dioxide if operated exclusively on renewable E85 ethanol fuel instead of carbon-rich petrol.
The automaker recently announced a project with VeraSun Energy Corporation to encourage the further availability of E85 fuel at retail filling stations. Today, it is most commonly available in parts of the Midwest.
The Escape Hybrid E85 research project will aim for breakthroughs that could further expand the appeal of ethanol-capable vehicles.
“Researchers are applying some of the best expertise in the industry in hybrid power controls, flexible fuel operation and exhaust after-treatment,” said Nancy Gioia, Ford’s head of sustainable mobility technologies & hybrid programmes.
“We’re working on the whole system, from the fuel tank through to the tailpipe, to optimise fuel efficiency and lower emissions.”
Although engineers have achieved very low tailpipe emissions with flexible-fuel vehicles (FFVs), evaporative emissions remain a challenge. Some blends of ethanol are much more volatile than petrol, so a more aggressive evaporative system is necessary. A full hybrid application presents additional evaporative challenges, because the vehicle often operates on electric power alone without actuating the evaporative vacuum system that operates when the petrol engine is in use.
Engineers are pursuing a number of strategies to address this challenge with the goal of achieving partial zero-emissions vehicle (PZEV) status. No FFV has yet been certified to this extremely clean standard, because of the evaporative requirement in the PZEV standard.
“We are seeking innovations to eliminate the release of fuel vapours from the vehicle,” said Gioia. “We’re working to further improve the efficiency of our systems that trap and consume fuel vapours while also working on ideas to prevent the generation of vapour in the first place.”
Researchers also hope to apply a number of proprietary engine technologies being developed for future application that could further increase the fuel economy performance of a hybrid FFV.
Further expanding the popularity of both hybrids and the use of ethanol-based fuels would significantly reduce American oil imports and greenhouse gas emissions until the day when hydrogen becomes widely used as a fuel for internal combustion engines or as a source of electric power produced by hydrogen fuel cells.
“Hydrogen holds the ultimate long-term promise for clean and sustainable power,” Gioia said. “In the meantime, both hybrids and ethanol-fueled vehicles can significantly lessen US dependence on imported oil while reducing the impact on our global environment.”
