Audi Is Working On Battery-Charging Suspension

Every time you hit an imperfection in the road, the energy absorbed goes to waste. But in the future, Audi's new suspension system will be able to harness it
Audi Is Working On Battery-Charging Suspension

At its most basic level, the task of suspension dampers is to absorb energy. Specifically, the kinetic energy created by driving over a road surface, and all the associated imperfections, pot holes and speed bumps. The majority of that energy is wasted, as it’s lost in the form of heat - but what if it could be harnessed? That’s exactly what Audi is hoping to do with a suspension system it’s developing, rather unfortunately called ‘eROT’.

In this system, a lever arm absorbs the movement of the wheel carrier, and through a series of gears transmits the movement to an electric motor, which then generates electricity. This free juice is sent to a 48-volt ‘substation’ - a system Audi already uses in the SQ7 (below).

Audi Is Working On Battery-Charging Suspension

How much electricity depends on how crappy the road surface is. Audi’s testing revealed an average of about 100 to 150 watts on German roads, ranging from 3 watts on a newly surfaced autobahn to 613 watts on a “rough secondary road”. Since the energy created means the engine has less battery charging to do, you’ll burn less fuel and emit less in the way of C02 - a drop of around 3g/km is what we can expect.

This suspension is more about the whole kinetic energy harnessing thing, too. Using trick software, it’s able to give a soft compression followed by a stiff rebound. Should this all work how Audi wants it to, it’d be the suspension equivalent of having your cake and eating it: dampers that don’t trade composure for comfort, or the other way around.

It’s early days, by the company does state that “its use [eROT] in future Audi production models is certainly plausible.” There is a caveat - the models in question will need to run the 48 volt system, but as that’s something expected to be rolled out to many more models in the near future, these clever dampers might be a common fit in the Audi stable before long.

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Comments

Speedemon (Giulia Lover)

That means everything we hate is now our friend…..

WHAT IS HAPPENING!!??

08/10/2016 - 11:58 |
28 | 0
Anonymous

When you know the future is Battery….

08/10/2016 - 12:01 |
2 | 0
Kevin 15

In the next 100 year: BMW is working on Fart Battery-Charger. (Fart generates heat, the heat transfered from the seat to the charger)

08/10/2016 - 12:06 |
4 | 2
Luke ZS 96

You will be able to harness enough electricity to power the whole of Europe by driving the roads in Ireland

08/10/2016 - 12:08 |
172 | 0

[DELETED]

08/10/2016 - 13:58 |
2 | 178

the same for the roads in Belgium x)

08/10/2016 - 19:11 |
4 | 0

come to bulgaria,there are legit roads that you need to go in the onconing lane with 20 kmh

08/11/2016 - 13:16 |
2 | 0

Try Montréal too

08/11/2016 - 13:23 |
0 | 0
FLixy Madfox

Too bad dodge doesn’t have this. They certainty need a new charger…

08/10/2016 - 12:08 |
122 | 0

ba dum tiss

08/10/2016 - 14:41 |
18 | 0
Joshua Desson

Now they just need a system that gets energy from tail gating and we will have infinite power

08/10/2016 - 12:13 |
62 | 2

That system is called slipstreaming.

08/10/2016 - 12:21 |
46 | 0
Anonymous

Not to be pedantic, but CO2, not C02 and ‘but’ not ‘by’ in the final paragraph.

08/10/2016 - 12:15 |
2 | 4
AX53

Clever

08/10/2016 - 12:17 |
4 | 2
M3R1CA

Test it in PA and NY. You will have virtually unlimited power

08/10/2016 - 12:22 |
8 | 0
Anonymous

So considering the road conditions in Turkey, I guess we will have infinite range !

08/10/2016 - 12:40 |
0 | 0