C2019-17

Key Benefits

Advantage(s): "MACROSimplicity is MACROStrength" 10 years ago, the first Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) was designed. It harnessed the kinetic energy of a slowing car to produce electrical energy (i.e. energy regeneration), whereas a non-KERS equipped car would expend that energy as heat during braking. It was used extensively in Formula 1 and has recently been implemented in some high-end production automobiles. Before MACROS, several attempts were made at developing a KERS that utilized the kinetic energy of suspension rather than braking to regenerate electrical energy (hydraulically actuated, electromagnetically actuated, mechanically actuated), but most have been abandoned due to cost of development and a lack of manufacturability resulting from complex design schemes. Even automotive manufacturer Audi has teased their design for years but, ‚has no firm production plans‚ as of last year. Sounds like things got complicated‚ the strength of MACROS is in its simplicity. With only five components, MACROS is the most mechanically robust KERS system ever designed. It is also, therefore, the most practical KERS solution with regard to manufacturability and cost effectiveness. As it stands, MACROS‚ development was 1/300,000th the cost of developing the hydraulically actuated design from MIT. JP Morgan‚ $100m investment in the MIT design wasn‚ enough, as it (or any other suspension KERS design) has yet to make it to market. Using my own labor, garage space, tools, test mule, and $400 in parts, I have built a working prototype. During testing, the alternator produced a 12v output; enough to charge any conventional 12v system.