Gina Bui, Adam Hock, Jake LaPorte, and Candy Tong

Are hybrid electric vehicles actually causing more environmental damage than internal-combustion vehicles?

Internal-combustion vehicles have not always been kings of the road as they are today. In 1895, one-third of all the automobiles registered in the state of Michigan were steam-powered, one-third battery-operated and one-third propelled by internal-combustion engines running on gasoline. Within 20 years, the steam and electrical cars had disappeared and the Model T petrol-powered car was making history. Battery-operated vehicles gave way to internal-combustion vehicles because a liter of gasoline provides at least 100 times the energy of a battery taking the same space. This extraordinary energy density overcomes the inherent disadvantage of the spark-ignition engine: 80% of the energy is wasted in combustion and only 20% gets to the wheels. Now, the battery-operated engines vehicles are making a comeback, with a new twist. The engines are not strictly battery-operated. They are a combination of battery and internal-combustion engines. They are called Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs). It is our intention to investigate whether or not HEVs actually cause more environmental damage than internal-combustion vehicles. We will present our findings in the following order: