One of the biggest complaints people have about hybrid vehicles is the cost. They want to save money at the pump, but they do not want to pay the extra money for the technology. Tony Markel thinks that he can help bring the costs down on hybrid vehicles. He has taken a 2006 Toyota Prius, revamped it, and says that if hybrids are made his way, people will get more performance for their money.

Markel, a senior engineer at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, sites the battery that came with his prius. It came with a nickel-metal hydride pack, and Markel took that out and replaced it with lithium-ion batteries.

Markel believes this will be a more cost effective and durable measure that hybrid manufactures can take. But he did not stop there.

In an effort to get the most out of the available energy sources, Markel also set up a solar panel on top of the Prius. Right now, the solar panel gets enough solar energy to go five miles. It is currently only in the test phase, so they do not know the limitations with this as of yet.

Markel and his team are also working on vehicle to grid charging. The idea is to charge plug ins at night. The team thinks that by doing this, some of the power can be returned to the grid the next day. Automakers are not experimenting with this idea, so people are leaning to Markel and his team to understand more about this concept.

What they do know is that this plug-in Prius gets 100 mpg and can go 50 miles off of a charge. Even though it is in the experimental stage, Markel says that he expects to see this technology out on the roads before we know it. He feels that his team has made great progress in their research, and will be able to bring down the price of hybrid vehicles in the future. As hybrids become more affordable, people can finally have the opportunity to purchase one and find out what so many people are talking about.

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