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Peugeot Citroen To Introduce Compressed Air Hybrid By 2016
cylonlover writes "With a few exceptions, such as Volvo's Air Motion Concept, major automotive manufacturers have generally shied away from compressed air technology. PSA Peugeot Citroen is bucking this trend with its 'Hybrid Air' powertrain that addresses the limited range of compressed air energy storage technology by combining it with a gasoline powered internal combustion engine. The company plans to have Hybrid Air powered vehicles on the road by 2016."
Suddenly ahead of me
Across the mountainside
A gleaming alloy air car
Shoots towards me, two lanes wide
So much different than our current ones....
Wait - what?
Not many details about it.
I guess you can re-use cylinders from the ICE for compression and expansion, which would save on weight.
Though the main problem with compressed air is that it cools and lowers pressure after it's been compressed, which is a big source of inefficiency. Large amounts of the energy are lost as heat. No mention on how they tackle that. For a lot of hybrid use, I suppose that insulating the tank would work quite well, but they imply that it can run off air for a large amount of the time, suggesting that the air will stay in the tank for a while and therefore cool down substantially.
Still though, batery charging isn't exactly 100% efficient and the simplicity could outweght the reduced efficiency.
Also, free A/C in summer.
SJW n. One who posts facts.
Cheaper and simpler than exotic batteries, saves a ton of gas, and you don't need rare earths. http://gas2.org/2008/10/28/ups-is-first-in-delivery-industry-to-test-hydraulic-hybrids/
No one has heard of who?
These are major car brands in the EU.
Here is some some quick responses.
1- No, running around in car with gas full of high pressure tank is the not the end of the world, people (including yours truly) do it with CNG enabled cars.
2- As for compression/decompression energy losses, same as for CNG, you need to cool it it blah blah, and is done so on a commercial scale at every CNG station; therefore can be done.
3- CNG suffers from power problems on steep climbs, same seems to be the case for air. But for regular commute, it's perfect and economical.
4- Air car suffer from low power density (much lower than CNG), but AFAIK, a full tank can last you the usual daily commute, which ought to be enough for a small city car. (which is what it will be able to power anyway, can't carry the load of bigger cars as of yet) And you could charge at work too(regular mains-running onboard compressor apparently take 3-4 hrs), so there is that.
5- MDI realised that air alone won't be enough, so they have been developing hybrid versions themselves.
TL;DR Air could prove to be good for the usual regular commute, since fuel costs will be minimum (air is free, all it will cost is running the compression and pump, which, looking at local CNG setups, will prove to much less than petrol equivalent, if commercially done)
Here is some aircar nerd sites:
- http://www.aircars.tk/
- http://www.cyber-media.com/aircar/index.shtml
(I would take their figures with a grain of salt, but well, the video shows running prototypes, so at least there is *something*)
I am an ACCA student. Got a query on Accountancy/Finance? Maybe I can help!
...for tire inflation, otherwise they'll go out of business, and the queues to "just infllate the tires" will kill us all :)
You know those funny little Citroen (dear /. janitors, please fix your bloody character encodings) 2CVs? With the little two-cylinder engines?
Yes, the little two-cylinder engine that produced around 60bhp/litre in its final form in the late 1970s. The little two-cylinder engine with alloy heads, pistons and crank-case (the prototypes were magnesium but that was too expensive) and drop-forged crank, borrowing heavily from fighter aircraft engines of the day. And then that engine, fitted into a body designed to protect the occupants in an accident - it was the first car designed so that the engine would break off its mountings and slide under the floor in a front impact, rather than back through the bulkhead and into the front seat occupant's legs.
Back in the 70s they could do well over 60mpg at safe motorway speeds. The French *can* make cars, and they make them better than Americans.
Here's a hint, America - no-one wants to buy your heavy, slow, ugly gutless V8s. They suck.
You don't understand.
Once every 15 years you will need to haul 20 tons cross country, so you should just buy a semi for your regular commute so it's there when you need it.
SJW n. One who posts facts.
Yes, a hybrid of an internal combustion engine, and a hydraulic pump/motor unit recovers energy generated by the ICE and from braking and deceleration.
PSA says for city driving, its Hybrid Air system provides fuel savings of 45 percent and increases a vehicle’s range by 90 percent compared to conventional engines with the same power rating. In standard body styles the company says the system achieves certified fuel consumption (combined cycle) figures of 2.9 l/100 km (81 mpg) and CO2 emissions of around 69 g/km.
(The current voluntary target for CO2 in EC legislation limits average CO2 emissions from the European fleet of cars to 120 g CO2/km.
Oddly, Peugeot chooses to mention this voluntary target rather than indicate the degree to which the obligatory standards would be met.)
Mileage would be pretty impressive if they could actually achieve it in typical Euro city driving conditions. And it has the advantage of not requiring a heavy battery pack which can cost around 7 grand.
Unstated is what percentage of the time the engine must run to accommodate the typical trip, and keep the air tank topped up.
Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
Everyone always ignores the fact that MPG ratings on European cars for the European market are rated in MPIG - Miles Per Imperial Gallon.
1 imperial gallon = 1.2 US gallons
In reality, the 60 MPG-rated eurocar only gets 50 mpg.
The compressed air designation is very misleading. This is a hydraulic hybrid, using a hydraulic pump/motor the same way a normal hybrid uses a battery - for acceleration and storing braking energy.
Hydraulic hybrid vehicle (HHV) technology has been slowly maturing and is very promising. It is already in use for some advanced heavy trucks. Garbage trucks in particular, with their stop and go usage profile benefit from their efficiencies.
UPS is trying some out. Manufacturers like Navistar and Eaton are on board
In the U.S the EPA has been at the forefront of the research. See their page about it: Hydraulic Hybrid Research
In 2011 the EPA announced a partnership with Chrysler to produce an HHV minivan that would give you a 60% improvement in city driving fuel economy.
Hybrid Batteries are expensive and can't handle the braking energy a truck generates. Hydraulic technology is cheap, well understood, and gives you more bang for your buck.
Nothing better than some examples, like the DS5 Diesel electric hybrid with interesting styling.
The "sahara" version of the 2CV had 2 engines (front and back) and 4WD. It was so light it would easily pass through loose sand where other jeeps got stuck. The "DS" looked like a modern aerodynamical car in 19-frickin-55. Hydro-pneumatic suspension, power steering, swivelling headlights. They sold 12000 the first day. British Top Gear compared the suspension of the C6 to a BMW 7 series by driving around on a horse track with a video camera strapped to the roof. With the Citroen, you could actually see the horses.
10 ?"Hello World" life was simple then
You should replace "European" in your text by "UK". But UK is an exception about this.
All others European countries use SI units: litre and meter. Usually the car consumption is rated in L/100km.
The stupid thing is that nobody in the UK buys fuel by the gallon. It is always sold by the liter.
Also, the signs on the motorway that say "2/3 mile" are placed exactly 1km from the exit, they are just labelled wrong.
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