Hybrid generator - thanks to Brett at British Airways!

This car is going to be a hybrid, with an onboard series range extender generator. I've decided to start off with a very low power generator, the honda EU2000i, this gives 2000 watts. The car will use about 100 watt-hours of energy per kilometer, so running the generator gives you 20 extra kilometers per hour. In other words, you can drive all day if you only drive 20 kilometres in an hour. Note this does NOT mean 20 kilometers per hour speed! you might drive at 60 km/h for 20 minutes, stop at a café for 40 minutes - generator running, it's quiet-, and so on. Later I'm planning a stronger generator that recharges faster.

The generator will have to be modified to eliminate the inverter part - the internal rotor generates high voltage multi phase AC which is sent through a rectifier bridge to be used as DC by the inverter. In my case, I have a charger that accepts DC input (Manzanita PFC) so I will rewiring the honda generator to send the high voltage DC (about 200 volts) into the PFC.

The generator is made possible by Brett Payne at British Airways Dulles airport - you see, I was trying to take it from the USA to france (half the price in the USA compared to europe) but it was blocked by the Travel Safety Administration people because it had traces of fuel in it. Brett was awesome in taking it to Federal Express who shipped it back to a friend in the USA who is storing it for me while I figure out how to get it back (I'll probably just take it apart the next time I'm in the US, dry off all the pieces, and so make it OK for air travel). Thanks Brett! Fly BA/OpenSkies!!