Range extended electric powertrain (REEP)

2010 Plug-in Conference

Brian Polowniak, ALT e LLC, explains fleet recycling vehicles with range-extended electric powertrain (REEP) conversion at the Plug-in 2010 conference in San Jose, CA.

Former Chrysler Group President and CEO, Tom LaSorda, and former Chrysler EVP of North American, Steven Landry are part of this company, plus three ex-Tesla employees.

Think of how many government fleet vehicles there are in the United States. Imagine being able to save money by extending the life of a vehicle for less than the purchase of a new vehicle.

Basically, Alt-e guts the truck and replaces its innards with a Ford 2.0L, 4-cylinder naturally aspirated gasoline engine powering an 82 kW (peak) Remy DC generator. Pack in a couple 82 kW (peak) Remy DC drive motors running at 320V and you get almost 300 lb-ft of torque, while a 25 kWh battery pack using Li-ion manganese oxide polymer cells provides the energy storage. You get 40 miles to the charge and over 400 miles to the total tank/charge. Plus you still get the 7,500 towing capacity.

It takes Alt-e twelve hours to change out the internal combustion engine and give it back to you as a REEP.

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Lou Ann Hammond

Lou Ann Hammond is the CEO of Carlist and Driving the Nation. She is the co-host of Real Wheels Washington Post carchat every Friday morning and is the Automotive, energy correspondent for The John Batchelor Show and a Contributor to Automotive Electronics magazine headquartered in Korea. Hammond is a founding member of the Women's World Car of the Year #WWCOTY, and board member of the Women in Automotive.