Article: Peugeot Citroen unveil new 117mpg [Air] hybrid
 

Hello -

We've talked about this car before but this appears to be a new drivetrain layout, Old Mech style :

Peugeot Citroen: Coming soon, the car that runs on air | Mail Online
CarloSW2

I saw this article today and was going to post it, but searched Ecomodder first and found YOUR post!

What an interesting idea for a hybrid. It makes perfect sense to me.

Here's the link I found. Same story, different site.

Peugeot and Citroën Hybrid using Compressed Air
 

Saw this on Automobile Mag and thought y'all would want to look.

http://strumors.automobilemag.com/fi...ay-623x389.jpg


Link

Automobile Mags version of the story Here.

It gives a whole new meaning to 'compression braking'.

I guess flywheel storage is falling behind. I would think a flywheel energy store would need less space than those tanks. They use them on buses.

I wonder how it compares to electric storage on a lbs/watt basis. Are there safety issues with having a tank under extreme pressure sitting next to you?

I wonder how much space it will take for the range... this would be an interesting alternative for an electric streamliner ;)

I find the best part of all to be that there are no batteries. That's a lot of extra weight gone, a lot of extra complexity (battery cooling etc.) gone, a lot of extra cost gone, and a considerable ecological impact gone. I'm very very impressed, and I hope the vehicles are successful.

I watched the video and I'm a bit confused by the hydraulic component. I assume that the pumps are there to convert velocity to pressure and vice versa, but how do they work? Is it as simple as a vaned fan, ala turbocharger, spinning the pump (or vice versa)?

Edit: the more I think about this the more it tends to stand a lot of my hypermiling techniques on their head. If I want to use air power a lot, I will have to stop a lot! No more timing traffic lights. :)

Accumulators are heavy, too.

This car is the subject of an older thread, though it doesn't mention it by name until later in the thread:

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...way-24700.html

As that tank is pressurized it will get hotter than a firecracker.

Me too. My best guess is that is a pig in the tube shaped tank with air on one side and hydraulic fluid on the other. And lots of it.