PSA Peugeot Citroen plans to put Hybrid Air powered vehicles on the road by 2016. The system combines an internal combustion engine with compressed air energy storage. It is similar to electric hybrid system but uses compressed air for energy storage rather than batteries.


A hydraulic pump/motor unit recovers energy generated from the combustion engine and from braking/deceleration and stores it in the air energy storage unit.

The system claims to improve fuel efficiency by 45% and increase a vehicle’s range by 90% as compared to conventional engines of similar power ratings. The system can operate solely on gasoline power, air power or a combination of both when high power acceleration is required.


In small vehicles such as the Citroen C3 and Peugeot 208, the system is said to achieve a combined cycle fuel efficiency of 2.9-litres/100 km with an estimated CO2 emissions of 69 g/km.

PSA plans to introduce the system in their B segment models from 2016 in the first phase. C segment and light commercial vehicles will follow after that.