Theoretically, using compressed gas to store recovered kinetic energy is significantly more efficient than charging a battery with it. There is a company in Europe or Asia already building prototypes that run only on compressed gas. However, where does he get his claims of 130 MPG? His technology just recovers waisted energy, but they say nothing about how his gas engine will be more efficient. In stop and go slow traffic it could be useful but in highway driving it's no help at all.
Put that thing into production with the necessary back-up brake system, air-bags, ABS, stability control, emissions control systems, etc and you're going to add weight and expense and reduce the fuel efficiency and power/speed. I'm not disparaging the concept, I like it and would like to see the ideas integrated into a next generation of hybrid somehow, but I think this is another pie-in-the-sky idea like so many others we've seen that won't perform in the real world as well as the conceptualized vehicle is hoped to.
He hasn't built a model, much less a prototype, so the mileage claim is theoretical. Goodness knows what kind of compromises are necessary to actually make this thing work. I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for one.
Hi All, Well, I do not know about 130 mpg, but something very high is doable with the concept. A Plug-In Prius gets on the order of 80 to 100 mpg-ge (gas equivalent) driven well. This is the same thing. The accumulator is just like the large battery. And this is not a unique hybrid either. Its appears to be a hydraulic hybrid, similar to what the EPA lab did. That car got 80 mpg using a Diesel prime-mover. The concept is already in production too - Eaton makes a hydraulic hybrid system for package delivery trucks.
Compressed gas has problems, because the heat of compression dissipates rapidly. From the size of the wheel motors, I think this has got to be a hydraulic hybrid. The accumulators in the EPA car used foam rubber insulation within the tank to reduce the temperature loss. There is a story about a grad student intern spending his summer semester droping foam pellets into the tank.
The guy has a design. He does not have a car. He is making claims based on nothing but wishful thinking. Oh, yes, and he has a computer which shows an animation. I bet we have some folks here on PriusChat who can make computer animations. Here's an idea: Let's get one of our computer nerds to make an animation of a car that gets 200 mpg. We'll get Warren Buffets to invest a million dollars in it, and Danny can use the money to eliminate the advertisements on this site. Hey, it's as good an idea as that guy has.
