Mazda 'i-ELOOP'

The best way to harvest what is essentially 'free' engine power under braking, or when running on a trailing throttle for example, has challenged engineers for decades. The most common solution is brake energy regeneration: capturing kinetic energy that would otherwise be lost when slowing down.

Such systems have been in use for a number of years. For instance, Formula One racing cars started to use them in 2009, while BMW/MINI's regenerative braking system has also been fitted to BMW and MINI models late 2007. However, Mazda's system is unique. i-ELOOP, short for "intelligent Energy Loop", is the world's first passenger car system to use a capacitor to store the electricity.



In 2011, Mazda Motor Corporation announced that the company had developed the world's first passenger vehicle regenerative braking system that uses a capacitor. The groundbreaking 'i-ELOOP' system began to appear in Mazda's vehicles in February 2013. The all-new Mazda6 was the first of Mazda's SKYACTIV technology models to be available with i-ELOOP, and in real-world driving conditions with frequent acceleration and braking, 'i-ELOOP' improves fuel economy by approximately 10 percent.

Mazda's regenerative braking system is unique because it uses a capacitor, an electrical component that temporarily stores large volumes of electricity. Compared to batteries, capacitors can be charged and discharged rapidly and they are resistant to deterioration through prolonged use. 'i...