It can then provide extra power to the engine when the car is started and save fuel by avoiding idle operation when the car is at a standstill.
Air hybrids or pneumatic hybrids as they are also known, are not yet in production. Nonetheless, electric cars and electric hybrid cars already make use of the brake energy to power a generator that charges the batteries, according to a Lund University statement in Sweden.
However, according to Per Tunestål, researcher at Lund University, air hybrids would be much cheaper to manufacture. The step to commercialisation does not have to be a large one.
"The technology is fully realistic. I was recently contacted by a vehicle manufacturer in India which wanted to start making air hybrids," he says.
