Chrysler, EPA to design Hybrid Hydraulic mini-van

The EPA’s parallel Hydraulic Hybrid system utilizes a hydraulic pump/motor plus high and low pressure accumulators to assist with light and extended acceleration. Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

WASHINGTON – U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Chrysler announced a cooperative agreement to develop and adapt hydraulic hybrid technology for the light duty auto market. The goal of this partnership is to design a Chrysler minivan as a demonstration vehicle, using EPA’s own patented technology. It is anticipated that the hydraulic hybrid technology will increase overall fuel efficiency 30-35 percent – 60 percent city driving — and reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent.

EPA’s hydraulic hybrid technology, developed in the agency’s lab in Ann Arbor, Michigan, is coming into use in large delivery and refuse trucks across the U.S. The hydraulic hybrid system captures and reuses the energy lost in braking through a hydraulic pressure vessel. The system can also turn off the engine when it is not needed and only fully use the engine when it can operate at peak efficiently.

The new partnership seeks to bring the technology to passenger vehicles. sA joint engineering team will design and integrate the hydraulic hybrid system into a minivan, and test the demonstration vehicle in 2012. The minivan will feature a unique powertrain that replaces the automatic transmission.

EPA’s work for this project will take place at the National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory. Other key engineering partners working on the project include FEV, Inc. of Auburn Hills, Michigan and Southwest Research Institute of San Antonio, Texas and Ann Arbor.
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