Free-Piston Engines: A Possible Route to Hybrid-Electric Vehicles
A Sandia team is pursuing a novel route to hybrid-electric vehicles: the free-piston engine. So called because the piston is not mechanically linked to other engine systems, such as the crankshaft, the free-piston engine may provide greater efficiency than its conventional diesel and gasoline counterparts. Fueled by renewably sourced hydrogen, it also could one day…