As one of the fifteen universities in North America taking part in the EcoCAR 2: Plugging into the Future competition, The Pennsylvania State University Advanced Vehicle Team (PSUAVT) designed and implemented a series plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) that reduces fuel consumption and emissions while maintaining high consumer acceptability and safety standards. This architecture allows the vehicle to operate as a pure electric vehicle until the Energy Storage System (ESS) State of Charge (SOC) is depleted. The Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) then supplements the battery to extend range beyond that of a purely electric vehicle.
General Motors (GM) donated a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu for PSUAVT to use as the platform to implement the PSUAVT-selected series PHEV design. A 90 kW electric traction motor, a 16.2 kW-hr high capacity lithium-ion battery pack, and Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) are now integrated into the vehicle. The APU is a 750cc, two-cylinder engine running on an 85% ethanol/15% gasoline (E85) mixture coupled to an electric generator.
Along with the challenges of properly mounting and integrating powertrain components, considerable effort was required to develop a proper hybrid control algorithm that maximizes overall system efficiency, minimizes harmful emissions, provides superior performance, and ensures safe, reliable operation. The PSUAVT has successfully integrated these multiple subsystems into a fully functioning refined series plug-in hybrid electric vehicle that has achieved many of the PSUAVT and EcoCAR 2 Year 3 goals.