The Advanced Lead Acid Battery Consortium (ALABC) and its partners in the Natural Gas Hybrid Vehicle (HGHV) Working Group demonstrated a NHGV start-stop vehicle powered by lead-carbon batteries at the Alternative Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo in California.
The model, a RAM 1500 HFE, works with a start-stop system that operates with compressed natural gas fuel and a 12V lead-carbon battery. The NGHV Working Group plans to build a second vehicle with the same concept later this year operating with “other” technology to reduce more costs than the first model.
The project group stated that NGHV technology will become an alternative for conventional gasoline and diesel engine vehicles due to the combination of compressed natural gas and hybrid-technologies, which lead to lower fuel costs and emissions.
The project aims to create sustainable vehicles with 98% recyclable lead-carbon batteries that use lead, plastic and chemicals from domestic recyclers.
The technical approach was designed by ALABC. The NGHV project is a collaboration of various companies in the naturals gas and lead-acid battery industry and is sponsored by Southern California Gas, AGL Resources, RSR Quemetco and East Penn Manufacturing. The sponsors will test the models in their fleets.