AFS Trinity Power Corporation is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 corporation headquartered in Medina, WA with an engineering center in Livermore, CA that develops technology for plug-in hybrid electric vehicle

Plug-in hybrid electric vehicle

A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle , plug-in hybrid vehicle , or plug-in hybrid is a hybrid vehicle which utilizes rechargeable batteries, or another energy storage device, that can be restored to full charge by connecting a plug to an external electric power source...

s. The company has developed PHEV technology that actively combines batteries with ultracapacitors. The company asserts that the combination of high-power ultracapacitors, which prefer to discharge and recharge quickly, and high-energy lithium-ion batteries, which prefer to discharge and recharge slowly, makes for a system with both long-life and high energy-density storage.

Prototype

AFS Trinity claims that this "Extreme Hybrid" technology makes it possible for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles to achieve the equivalent of 150 miles per US gallon (63.8 km/L), travel 40 miles (64.4 km) per charge in all-electric mode and use gasoline for additional range (limited by gasoline tank size) in hybrid mode. The company also reports that its prototype "XH-150S" modified Saturn Vue

Saturn VUE

The Saturn Vue is a compact crossover SUV that was sold by General Motors' Saturn marque, and at one time was Saturn's best-selling model. It was the first vehicle to use the GM Theta platform when it was introduced in 2002. A second generation model was launched in 2007 for the 2008 model as a...

 SUVs demonstrated 11.6 second 0-60 performance in electric-only mode and 6.9 second 0-60 performance in full hybrid mode, which would be comparable to a Porsche Cayenne.

AFS Trinity's Extreme Hybrid prototypes have been test-driven by journalists from The New York Times, The Washington Post, ABC World News, CBS Evening News, CNN, and Salon.

History

AFS Trinity was formed on December 5, 2000, through the combination of two predecessor companies, American Flywheel Systems, Inc. (AFS), incorporated in 1991, and Trinity Flywheel Power (Trinity) which was incorporated in 1993. Since 1991, AFS Trinity has conducted programs with private and government organizations including DARPA, NASA

NASA

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...

, the U.S. Navy, U.S. Army, U.S. DOT, California Energy Commission

California Energy Commission

The California Energy Commission is California’s primary energy policy and planning agency. Created in 1974 and headquartered in Sacramento, the Commission has responsibility for activities that include forecasting future energy needs, promoting energy efficiency through appliance and building...

, Oak Ridge National Laboratories, Lawrence Livermore National Labs, Honeywell

Honeywell

Honeywell International, Inc. is a major conglomerate company that produces a variety of consumer products, engineering services, and aerospace systems for a wide variety of customers, from private consumers to major corporations and governments....

, Lockheed

Lockheed Martin

Lockheed Martin is an American global aerospace, defense, security, and advanced technology company with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, in the Washington Metropolitan Area....

, and Ricardo plc

Ricardo plc

Ricardo plc is a British publicly listed company named after its founder, Sir Harry Ricardo and founded on 30 June 1927 in Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex. The company is a leading global multi-industry engineering provider of technology, product innovation and strategic consulting...

.

On January 24, 2006, AFS Trinity and Ricardo signed a Technology Partnership Agreement for Ricardo to help integrate AFS Trinity's Extreme Hybrid drive train technology into passenger cars and SUVs. On January 27, 2008, the company unveiled two modified Saturn Vue

Saturn VUE

The Saturn Vue is a compact crossover SUV that was sold by General Motors' Saturn marque, and at one time was Saturn's best-selling model. It was the first vehicle to use the GM Theta platform when it was introduced in 2002. A second generation model was launched in 2007 for the 2008 model as a...

 SUVs (called XH-150 SUV) at the North American International Auto Show

North American International Auto Show

The North American International Auto Show is an annual auto show held in Detroit, Michigan at Cobo Center, usually in January. It is among the largest auto shows in North America.-History:...

 in Detroit.

On January 26, 2010, AFS Trinity demonstrated its prototypes for Delaware officials including Governor Jack Markell, suggesting that Delaware's idled factories and workforce could potentially mass produce the vehicle.

Technology

The powertrain using two forms of energy storage is disclosed in US patent application 11/519,350.

The application describes a family of architectures where a battery is used in conjunction with a second energy storage device which may be an ultracapacitor, a flywheel

Flywheel

A flywheel is a rotating mechanical device that is used to store rotational energy. Flywheels have a significant moment of inertia, and thus resist changes in rotational speed. The amount of energy stored in a flywheel is proportional to the square of its rotational speed...

, or a second battery. The purpose of the second energy storage device is to protect the battery from high current during high power operation.