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Thought the same thing as soon as I read this - this is not a turbocharger, it's an electric air compressor. The efficiency of the turbo comes from the use fro

Thought the same thing as soon as I read this - this is not a turbocharger, it's an electric air compressor. The efficiency of the turbo comes from the use from the otherwise wasted exhaust gas energy being used to compress the intake air. Superchargers use main engine energy via the accessory belt, thereby consuming some of the energy they help produce. Benefits of injecting compressed air into an internal combustion engine is well documented and supported by physics. The main problem is how to do it for free or nearly free. One option that the article seems to imply is to separate power generation and compression, perhaps using some sort of dynamo in exhaust and running generated power to compressor?

paddy_m 12y ago
Look at what F1 teams are doing this season. They have an electric dynamo on the turbos, and on the driveshaft. They can recover energy out of the turbo or put energy into it, the same with the driveshaft. Mercedes has the best engine by far this year. They put the exhaust turbine of the turbocharger on the back of their v6 engine, it is connected to the compressor via a long driveshaft that goes in the V of the cylinder bank. This separation between turbine and compressor allows them to keep a lot of heat away from the intake side, which allows a denser charge, which allows more power. The dynamo for the turbo also sits in the V, I think they have some type of clutch there also so they can let either side of the turbo system freewheel. Note:I think dynamo is the proper term for an electric motor which can also be a generator.