Peugeot just announced plans to introduce a new hybrid car that does away with lithium-ion batteries entirely and instead uses compressed air to provide zero-emissions driving. The new compressed air car that will be powered by a hybrid system that combines a gas motor with compressed air storage.
Although the system was unveiled in a new hybrid car, Peugeot says that the system will be fitted to its current models starting in 2016. The system uses a gas engine, a unit to store energy in the form of compressed air, a hydraulic motor-pump assembly and an automatic transmission working with an epicyclic gear train. How does it work? A hydraulic motor-pump forces the compressed air against fluid, which then activates the hybrid’s wheels. In city driving, drivers will be able to drive up to 50 miles without using any gasoline.
The compressed air hybrid car also features a smart control system that adapts the operating mode to the driver’s commands and optimizes energy efficiency in three different modes: ZEV (Zero Emission Vehicle), gas internal combustion and combined.
In 2016 the system will be implemented in Peugeot’s current models like the Citroën C3 and Peugeot 208.
The 50 miles without the gasoline engine running is completely bogus, the compressed air bottle only holds a few hundreds Watts according to PSA
The amount of energy stored in the nitrogen tank is small — equivalent to about five teaspoons of gasoline. While that is only enough to power the car a few hundred yards until the gasoline engine takes over again, when repeated over the course of a day of city driving, those extra teaspoons of energy add up to big improvement in mileage, Peugeot says.
Also, energy efficiency of producing compressed air is quite low, so teh idea of producing from the mains is not so good
They should make it so that the compressor can be run from any mains or EV chargepoint. So you\’re still using electricity to power the car, but simply converting its energy to be stored as compressed air.
amazing engine!!!
For a “hybrid” it’s a nice twist (compared to the perhaps more conventional Prius) as it shouldn’t need replacing (beyond normal wear’n'tear) and doesn’t require potentially dangerous chemicals to produce, the down-side is that the compressed-air tank is only filled on braking.
It can then be released to assist pulling away from stationary and as an additional “boost” when accelerating with the combustion engine. In a way it’s more like the F1 “KERS” system.
Maybe if you’ve run out of (gasoline) fuel you could recharge it with a foot-pump?