Hybrid vehicles and energy security
Hybrid vehicles, which combine traditional gasoline engines with electric propulsion systems, have gained attention as a viable solution to energy security concerns, particularly in industrialized nations. The ongoing dependency on petroleum for transportation fuels has raised issues related to economic stability, greenhouse gas emissions, and national energy security. In the U.S., a significant percentage of petroleum consumption is attributed to the transportation sector, leading to heightened interest in alternative vehicle technologies, including hybrids, plug-in hybrids, and battery electric vehicles.
These vehicles not only offer the potential for reduced fuel consumption but also contribute to environmental benefits through lower emissions. Innovations such as regenerative braking and efficient engine operation enhance fuel efficiency, making hybrid technology attractive to both consumers and businesses. However, widespread adoption faces hurdles, including high production costs, limited infrastructure for charging electric vehicles, and fluctuating fuel prices, which can affect consumer interest.
Government initiatives have played a crucial role in promoting hybrid and electric vehicles, providing funding for research and development, as well as incentives for consumers to make greener choices. As hybrid vehicle adoption grows, experts predict significant reductions in imported fuel and improvements in both economic and ecological outcomes. Understanding the evolving landscape of hybrid vehicles is essential for grasping their potential to address pressing energy security challenges.
Hybrid vehicles and energy security
Summary: Concerns about fuel dependency and cost, energy security, and greenhouse gas emissions have renewed public- and private-sector interest in hybrid vehicles.
Since the 1970s, the dependence of vehicles on petroleum has contributed to economic and environmental concerns, particularly in industrialized countries. The US Energy Information Administration reported that 67.2 percent of total petroleum consumption went to the transportation sector in the United States in 2021. An increasing reliance on oil imports also impacts national energy security. In 2007, 58 percent of petroleum consumed in the United States was imported oil, compared to 43 percent in 1979; a decade later, in 2017, imports constituted about 19 percent of the US oil consumption, in part through increased fuel efficiency and in part because of increased domestic production. In 2021, imported oil once again accounted for 43 percent of US oil consumption.
With steep increases in fuel prices and use, there are clear implications for the individual and national economy and carbon footprint. Developing a long-term solution to energy needs requires reducing the petroleum consumption of vehicles, which could come from changes in consumer behavior, increases in vehicle efficiency, or greater diversification of energy sources. By the 2020s, hybrid vehicles and electric vehicles had emerged as popular alternatives to vehicles with gasoline engines.
Hybrid Vehicle Variations and Value
Hybrid vehicles, which use a combination of technologies to function, are increasingly seen as a plausible means to address the concerns surrounding greenhouse gas emissions and fuel dependency. Some hybrid variations include plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), which have the ability to charge the battery by plugging a vehicle cable into the electricity grid; battery electric vehicles (BEVs), which use rechargeable lithium-ion batteries; and hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), which use both gasoline and electricity for power sources.
HEVs allow the use of a smaller engine that can run in the most efficient part of its operating range, and some models can be driven in an all-electric mode. Their continuously variable transmissions also prevent the engine from operating when it is unnecessary, such as when idling or when the vehicle is stopped. Finally, hybrids can store some of the kinetic energy normally lost while braking, where the batteries store some of this kinetic energy and then release it to assist the gasoline engine as needed; this process is known as "regenerative braking." These features contribute to reducing both petroleum usage and greenhouse gas emissions.
Various hybrid technologies provide different options for reduced fuel use. A 2009 NREL report quantifying fuel savings from hybrid vehicles estimates that between 1999 and 2007, hybrid vehicles saved nearly 385 million gallons of fuel in the United States, or more than 9.2 million barrels of petroleum. Although these savings were small in comparison to the total amount of fuel consumed by light-duty vehicles (LDVs), they were projected to grow as additional hybrid models penetrated the market. The International Energy Agency (IEA) reported that the percentage of hybrid vehicles purchased in the United States between 2005 and 2009 increased from 1.2 to 2.8 percent, even in the midst of an economic recession; however, the automotive website Edmunds.com reported that hybrids peaked at 3.1 percent of US new-car sales in 2013, falling to 2 percent market share by 2016, while plug-in hybrids reached 0.4 percent penetration that same year. Although these numbers represented a small percentage of the overall market, the 2017 annual energy report of the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) predicted that hybrid vehicles will comprise 4 percent of the market share of new-car sales by 2040. The IEA reported that electric vehicle sales reached a US market share of 4.5 percent in 2021.
Government groups and businesses alike, keen to take on a “greener” image and reduce costs, are considering hybrid buses, trucks, and commercial vehicles as possible solutions. In pickup and delivery service, truck fuel economy can be improved from 30 to 50 percent with hybrid technologies. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a typical step van could save as much as $1,200 in fuel costs and reduce greenhouse emissions by more than 7 metric tons per year, with even greater benefits for a typical enclosed delivery truck. If public and private entities do continue to adopt hybrid vehicles, according to research projections, there is the potential to reduce imported fuel for US transportation needs significantly and to improve the economic and ecological outlook.
Obstacles to Widespread Adoption
Public interest in rising fuel prices, concerns over global warming, and recovery from an economic recession helped to promote hybrid vehicles, but barriers faced by consumers include cost, fuel infrastructure, and a viable market. Cost remained an impediment, as hybrid vehicle production requires a large amount of intricate electronic and engineering construction, and models can have expensive parts, such as lithium-ion batteries. Moreover, domestic petroleum production was reinvigorated with the shale-oil boom of the 2010s thanks to hydraulic fracturing, thus lowering the price of gasoline again and reducing interest in high-efficiency vehicles for many. At the same time, improvements in battery technology and the slow, but increasing, installation of charging infrastructure have made all-electric vehicles more appealing to environmentally conscious consumers. In 2022, the New York Times reported that high gas prices for the year caused many to become interested in electric vehicles. However, consumers still faced the barriers of low overall electric vehicle supply and a limited infrastructure of electric vehicle charging stations.
Government Mandates and Incentives
The US government has been pursuing research into hybrid vehicles for decades to address the nation’s economic and environmental concerns. In 1966, Congress introduced the earliest bills recommending the use of electric vehicles as a means of reducing air pollution. In 1976, Congress passed the Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Research, Development, and Demonstration Act to spur the development of new technologies, including improved batteries, motors, and other hybrid-electric components. In 1990, California passed the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Mandate, which required 2 percent of the state’s vehicles to have no emissions by 1998 and 10 percent by 2003, although the mandate was incrementally weakened by the early 2000s. California implemented an executive order in 2020 that mandated all vehicles sold by 2035 must be zero-emission vehicles.
In 2008, the US Department of Energy awarded $8 billion in automaker loans to support the development of fuel-efficient vehicles and assist the automotive industry after the impacts of the economic recession. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 further allocated $2 billion for the development of electric vehicle batteries and related technologies, and another $400 million was slated to fund building the infrastructure necessary to support plug-in electric vehicles. Then, in 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act provided a tax credit of up to $7,500 to those who purchased a new electric vehicle. These initiatives, along with tax credit incentives for consumers, focused on building self-sufficiency and sustainability in energy resources.
Technological advances have produced several models of hybrid vehicles with viable options for energy and economic savings. Continued progress toward energy sustainability requires changes in consumers’ attitudes and behaviors, support from government entities, and profitable incentives for automobile manufacturers. Government and industry researchers forecast increased public acceptance of and myriad benefits from hybrid vehicles that reveal a hopeful alternative to current energy dependence, economic strain, and environmental pollution.
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