Hydraulic Hybrid

[Fast_Ed]

So, Citroen is looking at a pretty cool alternative to the gas-electric hybrid:
http://blog.caranddriver.com/citroen-de ... auto-show/

From this C&D article:
"Although it sounds massively complicated and exceedingly strange, Hybrid Air, in fact, isn’t very complex. Here’s how it works: A planetary gearbox is sandwiched between the gasoline engine and a hydraulic motor. The hydraulic motor is powered by—you guessed it—a hydraulic pump that’s also located under the C3′s small hood. As for what powers the hydraulic pump, well, this is where the “Air” part of Hybrid Air comes in. The prototype C3 features a pair of tanks, one mounted longitudinally down the middle of the car and another “low-pressure” unit sitting transversely behind the rear axle. The rear tank stores compressed air, which can be piped into the central tank or, more appropriately, chamber, which is initially filled with hydraulic fluid. During acceleration, the air (which likely inflates a bladder within the main tank) is released, forcing the fluid through the hydraulic pump and into the motor, driving the wheels. Although Citroën doesn’t specify, there most likely is a reservoir tank where the hydraulic fluid is stored after it cycles through the motor. "

I remember an old 'Wheeler Dealers' where they fixed an old Citroen ds, and there was some interesting air-hydraulic suspension system.. So I guess it makes sense that these guys would be the company to come up with this.

This system might make even more sense for energy storage for load leveling wind and solar power. Store energy using this tech and release it when the wind isn't blowing or the sun isn't shining. Heck, wind power is already in the form of mechanical energy.