F1 racing going green

Philip Wong | Aug 29, 2008

Come 2009, Formula One's racing body will be implementing new rules targeted at lowering the environmental impact of the sport. To fulfill these requirements, development is underway to recover energy lost during deceleration. The Kinetic Energy Recovery System or KERS kicks in while braking and stores kinetic energy mechanically or electrically via a flywheel or battery, respectively. This stored energy is then subsequently released to accelerate the car out of a corner, etc.

According to Wikipedia, the maximum power handling for the F1 KERS is capped at 60kW and teams such as BMW and Honda are currently testing the system. What's more interesting is the potential of this technology in street cars and the fuel savings to offset the soaring petrol price.

Via BusinessWeek | Photo credit: BMW Sauber

Filed under: Future Tech
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