Wired News: Engineers are developing adapter kits for hybrid vehicles that will increase their efficiency to 100 miles per gallon by powering them solely on electricity during short trips.

Today’s hybrid vehicles use electricity stored in batteries to assist the gasoline engine in acceleration and to completely power the vehicle while idling or at steady low speeds (generally less than 25 mph). Vehicles such as the Toyota Prius, Honda Civic Hybrid and Ford Escape Hybrid include drive-train management systems that automatically decide when to use the batteries or internal-combustion engine.

Enter CalCars and EDrive, organizations developing modification kits that enable the Toyota Prius to be recharged from the grid. And a new group of automotive component suppliers, the Advanced Hybrid Vehicle Development Consortium, hopes to develop technology that enables hybrids to run without help from the gasoline engine for up to 50 miles.

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