One might think that the steam engine is an outdated technology that had its heyday centuries ago, but in fact steam is once again a hot topic with vehicle manufacturers. Indeed, the next generation of hybrid cars and trucks may incorporate some form of steam power. Honda, for example, has just released details of a new prototype hybrid car that recharges its battery using a steam engine that exploits waste heat from the exhaust pipe.
Typical cars only convert about a quarter of the energy produced during combustion into work, with the rest being lost as heat. Honda has managed to increase this efficiency by 4% to nearly 29% by using some of this lost heat to generate electricity.
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