|
The point about the hydraulic hybrid is that it avoids losses from braking, and returns that energy back to moving the car again. It effectively replaces the brakes, right? What it cannot do is also provide storage for energy that comes from outside the vehicle i.e. like the battery in an electric hybrid.
It is more efficient at regenerating energy than is an electric hybrid, but it is more limited in the amount of energy it can store. So, a hydraulic hybrid is not able to "double" as a second type of energy input i.e. a battery can be charged from an external source and increase the energy storage. Since electricity can come from several different sources i.e. from renewable energy and not just from fossil fuels, this is an important advantage.
Any advantage a hydraulic hybrid may have will be in the real world functionality over time. Does the accumulator hold up over a long enough time to be practical? Does the hydraulic fluid itself need to be replaced, or is it flammable, or caustic, or poisonous? Does it have enough storage capacity to allow the ICE to be smaller and more optimal because it gets assisted by the hydraulics?
We'll see when we have these cars on the road.
|