An alternative energy system utilizes a combination of renewable energy components creating a synergy for generating electricity to power a large vehicle. The renewable energy components include, a primary solar panel, a transparent solar panel, and a brake apparatus. The primary solar panel and the transparent solar panel substantially cover the surface area of a vehicle. The primary solar panel and the transparent solar panel have an ultrathin configuration to enable enhanced resiliency, and to at least partially wrap around a substantial portion of the surface area of the vehicle, including the windows. The brake apparatus includes a regenerative brake that converts kinetic energy of the moving vehicle to electricity when the brakes are applied. The generated electricity is carried to an electricity storage device that selectively powers an electric motor. The system is effective with large vehicles that have spacious surface area and large kinetic energy when braking.

An alternative energy system utilizes a combination of renewable energy components creating a synergy for generating electricity to power a large vehicle. The renewable energy components include, a primary solar panel, a transparent solar panel, and a brake apparatus. The primary solar panel and the transparent solar panel substantially cover the surface area of a vehicle. The primary solar panel and the transparent solar panel have an ultrathin configuration to enable enhanced resiliency, and to at least partially wrap around a substantial portion of the surface area of the vehicle, including the windows. The brake apparatus includes a regenerative brake that converts kinetic energy of the moving vehicle to electricity when the brakes are applied. The generated electricity is carried to an electricity storage device that selectively powers an electric motor. The system is effective with large vehicles that have spacious surface area and large kinetic energy when braking.

A power system includes an engine, a driveshaft, and an energy storage system having a flywheel. The energy storage system further includes a transmission structured to transfer energy between the flywheel and the driveshaft. The transmission includes a differential geartrain and a variator coupled to the differential geartrain and having a variator input shaft and a variator output shaft rotatable at a range of speed ratios. The variator may be coupled to a sun gear in the differential geartrain and controls a pattern of energy transfer between the flywheel and the driveshaft.

A power system includes an engine, a driveshaft, and an energy storage system having a flywheel. The energy storage system further includes a transmission structured to transfer energy between the flywheel and the driveshaft. The transmission includes a differential geartrain and a variator coupled to the differential geartrain and having a variator input shaft and a variator output shaft rotatable at a range of speed ratios. The variator may be coupled to a sun gear in the differential geartrain and controls a pattern of energy transfer between the flywheel and the driveshaft.

A vehicle comprises an internal combustion engine, a wheel propulsion shaft, wheels and a kinetic energy recovery system configured to recover and store kinetic energy of the vehicle, and restore the stored energy by propelling the wheel propulsion shaft and/or by cranking the internal combustion engine. To reduce the emissions of the vehicle, a method for operating the vehicle comprises, when the vehicle operates: when the vehicle is not stationary, recovering and storing kinetic energy of the vehicle in the KERS, when the vehicle is stationary, measuring an energy level stored in the KERS and comparing the measured energy level to a predetermined high threshold value, so that the method comprises, if the energy level stored in the KERS is above the predetermined high threshold value: stopping the internal combustion engine, then when the vehicle start is required, propelling the wheel propulsion shaft exclusively by the KERS.

A kinetic energy recovery system (KERS) tier a machine having a swing motor and/or an actuator includes a hydraulic motor/pump that can output pressurized fluid for operating at least one of: the swing motor and the actuator. A first shaft of the hydraulic motor/pump can be rotated by fluid returning from at least one of: the swing motor and the actuator back to the hydraulic motor/pump. Further, the KERS also includes a flywheel that can selectively couple with the first shaft with the help of a first clutch. The flywheel stores drive power generated by the hydraulic motor/pump from the return flow of fluid when the first clutch couples the flywheel with the first shaft of the hydraulic motor/pump. A gearing arrangement is coupled to the flywheel and can selectively engage with a second shaft associated with a prime mover of the machine with the help of a second clutch.

A homopolar DC electromagnetic transmission (HET) and an application system thereof are provided. The HET includes two rotors, a stator, an external auxiliary system and an adjustment control system. Each of the rotors has one or more axisymmetric rotor magnetic conductors, and the stator has one or more direct current magnet exciting coils wound around an axis of a rotation shaft. A main magnetic circuit is guided to be a closed ring. The HET includes at least two main magnetic circuits. The HET includes a closed main current loop. The loop is connected with all the rotor magnetic conductors, a rotor electric conductor, a dynamic/static circuit connecting medium, stator conductors and stator magnetic conductors in series or in series and parallel. A direction of main current on the rotor magnetic conductors is perpendicular to a direction of magnetic flux () on meridian plane.

An exemplary energy storage device is an energy storage device capable of storing energy, which includes a flywheel driven by a motor to store and release rotation energy and a hydraulic element disposed between the motor and the flywheel to change the rotation speed of the flywheel.

Assembly (1) comprising at least one vehicle wheel (2), adapted to rotate about a vehicle wheel axis (X2) and adapted to perform an at least rolling movement on a travel surface for the vehicle; at least one flywheel (4), adapted to rotate about a flywheel axis (X4) which can be operatively connected to said at least one vehicle wheel (2), in such way the vehicle wheel (2) can transmit kinetic energy to the flywheel (4); at least one kinetic energy recovery device (10), operatively associated with said flywheel (4) and adapted to store the kinetic energy transmitted to said at flywheel (4), to make it available for subsequent uses; at least one clutch (8), adapted to connect and disconnect selectively and operatively said vehicle wheel (2) and said flywheel (4), in order to uncouple said flywheel (4) from said vehicle wheel (2), to allow said flywheel (4) to rotate due to inertia when the vehicle wheel (2) is stopped, and in such way to couple said vehicle wheel (2) when is standstill to said flywheel (4) rotating due to inertia, to transfer a start-up rotational motion from said flywheel (4) to said vehicle wheel (2).

An energy recovery system for a vehicle is presented. The energy recovery system comprises a Kinetic Energy Recovery System, KERS, for connecting to a propulsion shaft of the vehicle, an internal energy storage device configured to receive and store energy from the KERS, and a processing circuitry configured to cause distribution of energy from the internal energy storage device to the propulsion shaft of the vehicle and/or at least one non-propulsion battery for the vehicle based on an energy level of the non-propulsion battery.