Do you remember the RAHT RACER? It had a pedal powered generator system to use to power an electric motor to propel a bike. I like the concept. Finally a German company, Schaeffler, has developed it in a bottom bracket crankdrive known as the Schaeffler Free Drive. As you pedal the generator sends electricity to the motor to propel you. Any excess electricity being generated is stored in the battery for later use.
You can read all about it HERE.
Unfortunately the motor designed for this is limited to only 250 watts to comply with the stupid European law on e-motor assist. 250 watts is nearly worthless in my opinion. It is not powerful enough to propel a bike up much of a grade. The rider has to assist the motor. BTW, this is strictly pedal assist. There is no hand throttle with this rig.
The motor is capable of regenerative braking meaning that the motor can help recharge the battery. This is very inefficient however so don’t count on it accomplishing much.
There are no chains, gear reductions, belt drives, etc. involved. Instead only wires are used to conduct the electricity from the generator to the motor making a much easier task of designing bikes. I wonder how heavy these two components are. They both look like they would weigh quite a bit.
We will see what the future holds for this company and this product. I would hope that they start offering much larger motors though. 250 watts isn’t worth messing with. 1500 watts would make a good starting point. 
KEEP ON TRIKIN’
250 watts is a lot if you are supplying the power by peddling.
You, of course, are entitled to your opinion but I sure don’t agree with you. If I dial my e-motor down to only 250 watts I might as well shut it off as I can’t tell it is on anyway.
You are so correct on that 250W motor point!! Why bother at all? Sadly, in my old age innocence I got swept up in the ebike hype last year and bought an ICE Adventure with the 6100 STEPS system and only a 250w motor on it. That bike is so heavy already by itself, so that this little motor makes it harder to ride sometimes than my old nonmotorized trike was. And looking at the picture of this new German pedal pusher, the possible weight of it popped into my mind right away too. Looks nice though!