Dr. Charles Perry, a former electrical engineer at IBM, believes his hybrid retrofit kit can transform nearly any vehicle into a fuel-saver at a cost of between $3,000 and $5,000. The idea is at least sound enough to have taken the top prize at the green energy competition from the Tennessee Technology Development Corp., which came with a $50,000 grant along with a matching investment and a hopeful deal to put the invention into commercial production within three years from Palmer Labs LLC.
Perry’s patent-pending hybrid retrofit kit features one hub-mounted electric motor with 10-15 horsepower powering each wheel. The needed electrons to power the system would come from an appropriately-sized battery mounted securely in the trunk. According to the inventor, this system could potentially double fuel mileage in urban settings. Work is currently underway on a functional prototype that’s being developed with assistance from the Tennessee Technological University.
