New Hybrid Car can Reduce Fuel Costs and Carbon Emissions
February 26th, 2009 Posted in NewsResearchers have developed a car that captures lost power and reuses it, thereby decreasing fuel consumption during city driving by half. This technology was invented at the University of Edinburgh and has now been applied by the company Artemis Intelligent Power.
Engineers from Artemis have transformed a BMW 530 saloon using a computer-operated hydraulic drive system, called Digital Displacement®. The engine has been converted to drive a Digital Displacement® pump, which sends its output power to two Digital Displacement® motors driving the rear wheels. When the car brakes, energy that would otherwise be lost is captured and stored. This energy is then used later to accelerate the car.
The car thus runs on both petrol and stored energy. Switching between the two is regulated by a computer, which ensures a minimum of fuel is used at all times. According to the engineers the performance of the car is not altered. The system is most effective during city driving, due to the frequent stopping and starting, and might be particularly advantageous for buses.
The company was recently awarded the 2008 Rushlight Powered Transport Award for this technology. Furthermore, it has licensed two commercial companies for their Digital Displacement® system.
Artemis has strong links with the University of Edinburgh due to collaborations on several energy projects and several of the companies engineers are University graduates.
For more information contact the Director of Artemis, Dr Win Rampen; tel 0131 516 8606; email w.rampen@artemisip.com.
-Jorine Willems
2 Responses to “New Hybrid Car can Reduce Fuel Costs and Carbon Emissions”
By Frank on Feb 26, 2009
Yay for energy-efficient cars!
By Steve Hill on Aug 5, 2009
What a great innovation, I can see a great future for this and there must be other transport methods that could benefit from this technology – well done.