Have you ever wondered how much potential energy from fuel is lost in gas-powered vehicles? Surprisingly, traditional combustion engines only use about
Sometimes efficiency gains aren’t worth the cost and complexity. Regenerative braking produces a shitton more power than this, so it’s worth it (also, the motors are already there, just run them in reverse and turn them into generators). You can get the same thing by slapping a solar panel on the roof. Which nobody is doing because it’s too costly and complex for what you get out of it.
Sometimes efficiency gains aren’t worth the cost and complexity. Regenerative braking produces a shitton more power than this, so it’s worth it (also, the motors are already there, just run them in reverse and turn them into generators). You can get the same thing by slapping a solar panel on the roof. Which nobody is doing because it’s too costly and complex for what you get out of it.