Volvo Reveals Technology Behind Hybrid Flywheel

Jun 4 2011

Many cost-conscious car finance buyers will be happy to know that Volvo is pressing ahead with a road version of the company’s F1 flywheel technology.  The company claims it is a cheap and simple way of both boosting power and cutting fuel consumption by up to 20%.

Volvo seems to be approaching the hybrid technology field from a totally new angle.  It is going to run final tests to the KERS seen in F1 during the second part of 2011.  This could be the forerunner to future hybrid cars that will be both more powerful and more cost effective.

The Swedish car manufacturer claims that their solution is both light weight, energy efficient and cost effective.  It can, says the company, make a four-cylinder engine perform like a six-cylinder (as a result of the power-boosting effect), while simultaneously reducing fuel consumption.

The system will be known as the KERS Flywheel (Kinetic Energy Recovery System).  It will be fitted to the car’s rear axle.  When the driver brakes, the dispersed energy will cause the flywheel to spin at very high speed – up to 60,000 revolutions per minute.  When the car accelerates again, the energy stored in the flywheel will be transferred back to the car’s rear wheels.

The car will be driven by an internal combustion engine that switches off as soon as the driver applies the brakes.  The energy stored in the flywheel can be utilised both for acceleration purposes or to provide extra power when the car runs at cruising speed.  This will provide a boost of up to 80bhp to engine power and significantly reduce acceleration times.

Author - Louise Hutchinson

 

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