The land of dazzling watches, efficient knives and of course cuckoo clocks, may soon be adding a new technological marvel to its impressive resume – a pneumatic hybrid engine.
Engineers in Switzerland are working on an engine that is said to be much cheaper than today’s electric hybrids and almost as economical.
The battery needed for the electric hybrid currently is heavy and expensive and unaffordable for many customers – as well as containing complicated technology. That is why researchers at ETH Zurich set about looking for an approach that is simpler and yet more affordable.
The result was the pneumatic hybrid drive concept which has a compressed air tank connected to the engine instead of a battery unit. This means that when required, the compressed air flows through an electronically controlled valve and into the engine. If fuel is also injected the engine will respond quickly and although the system used to control the valve is also complex it can be mastered through powerful algorithms and computer systems.
According to Lino Guzzella, professor of thermotronics, this compressed air supply helps the engine to achieve extreme downsizing. Whereas conventional car engines have peak powers of 150hp or more, but usually need no more than 30hp for every day driving, this engine halves frictional losses, increases the average efficiency and is supercharged by a turbocharger to boost it to desired levels.
Initial tests show the engine’s average efficiency has been boosted from 18 to 24 per cent on the European Test Cycle – the equivalent of an energy saving of one third. Energy savings of 50 per cent are achievable in purely urban traffic.
The concept is said to have caught the eye of several major motor companies and suppliers – so watch this space.
