Scuderi Air Hybrid Engine

[BigPontiac]

I just saw a clip of this on the local news, as it's being developed by a local company. They're promising huge gas mileage improvements vs. current gas and diesel engines and looking for licensees...

Their website shows how it works: http://www.scuderigroup.com/

Here's a press release I pilfered that explains the details...

Wednesday May 3, 3:05 am ET

Three More Patents Filed for Breakthrough Air-Hybrid Engine that Doubles the Fuel Efficiency of Today's Automobiles

WEST SPRINGFIELD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 3, 2006--Building on the momentum of its American automotive industry introduction at last month's Society of Automotive Engineers World Congress in Detroit, the Scuderi Group today announced that it will debut designs of its breakthrough air-hybrid technology, the world's most fuel efficient internal combustion engine, to the European auto industry May 9 - 11 at the Engine Expo 2006 in Stuttgart, Germany (Booth 6200.) With three additional worldwide patents recently filed, the air-hybrid system potentially doubles the fuel efficiency of today's automobiles and reduces toxic emissions by up to 80 percent - all within a design that will make hybrid vehicles easier and far less expensive to build.

Declared the most visited booth at SAE by show officials, the Scuderi Group will unveil the engine to the European car industry as it also announces its expansion into Europe. (See related press release at http://www.scuderigroup.com/news_and_event...articles.html.) Backed by the U.S. government and verified by a world renowned independent laboratory, the Scuderi Air-Hybrid Engine is adaptable to diesel and gasoline automobiles, commercial vehicles and any other applications powered by internal combustion engines.

Source: The Scuderi Group

"These technology enhancements, and the subsequent patents, come at an important time as auto makers around the world look to be more efficient in their use of petroleum products and toxic emissions," said Sal Scuderi, president of The Scuderi Group. "Once the engine's development is complete, the industry will have available the fuel efficiency, power, and impact on the environment that consumers are looking for and at a cost that makes sense."

The engine takes advantage of Scuderi's groundbreaking split-cycle technology, (US. Patents 6543225, 6609371, and 6952923) by recapturing and storing energy in the form of compressed air. Unlike conventional engines, the Scuderi Engine produces compressed air during its normal operation. By adding a small air storage tank with some simple controls costing only a few hundred dollars, the Scuderi Engine can recapture energy normally lost during the breaking of a vehicle. To accomplish this with electric hybrids requires a complex electrical system, costing thousands of dollars, consisting of generators, motors, and large batteries. In addition, unlike electric hybrids, the Scuderi Air-Hybrid has the unique capability of recapturing energy from the exhaust of the engine, making it possible to utilize a Scuderi Air-Hybrid design in stationary applications such as electric generators - an application where electric hybrids are considered impractical.

While electric hybrids are struggling to reach a 50 percent increase, the Scuderi Air-Hybrid is anticipated to double the mileage of a vehicle. Besides having significantly higher increases in efficiency and better reductions in toxic emissions than electric hybrids, the Scuderi Engine also improves power and performance. Today's electric hybrid cars normally reduce power and performance to obtain an increase in mileage. Because the Scuderi Air-Hybrid increases power while improving mileage at a cost of only a few hundred dollars as compared to thousands for an electric hybrid, the Scuderi Air-Hybrid is the first hybrid system that makes economical sense.

Currently under development, the first diesel and gasoline prototypes are expected to be completed in 2007. This patented design represents the most significant breakthrough for internal combustion engines to come along in decades, an advance that takes on added significance given rising fuel prices and growing environmental concerns.

The Scuderi Engine has attracted the attention of the U.S. government, which recently awarded The Scuderi Group $1.2 million in federal funding to further the development of its engine. Led by U.S. Rep. John W. Olver (D-MA), the grant is part of the Department of Defense Appropriations Bill passed by Congress.

Developed by a team of thermodynamic experts, the Scuderi Air-Hybrid Engine is expected to deliver a quantum leap in performance, efficiency and environmental impact. The Scuderi Group accomplished these advances by focusing on the heart of the engine, challenging conventional approaches to engine design in place for over 120 years.

As a result of this breakthrough design, the Scuderi engine is expected to:

1. Potentially double vehicle mileage

2. Reduce toxic emissions by up to 80 percent

3. Be compatible with all alternative fuels, including natural gas, ethanol, and bio-diesel

4. Be easy and cost effective to manufacture by utilizing the same components found in today's engines

By utilizing fluid mechanics, thermodynamics and the unique features of a split-cycle design, the Scuderi Technology improves how an engine converts chemical energy into mechanical energy. Unlike conventional engines, the Scuderi engine divides the four strokes of a standard engine (intake, compression, power, and exhaust) over a paired combination of one compression cylinder and one power cylinder. These two cylinders perform their respective functions once per crankshaft revolution, while conventional engines require two revolutions of the crankshaft to perform these same functions.

The Scuderi Technology can be applied to any piston engine from very small gasoline powered lawn mowers engines to very large diesel powered train engines. The technology is patented worldwide with six patents issued and several pending in over 45 countries. The Scuderi Group plans to license the technology to qualified engine manufacturers.

The Scuderi Group includes experts in fluid and thermodynamics, engine technology, patent and commercial law, licensing, government relations, business management and finance. The technology is based on the research and inventions of the late Carmelo Scuderi (1925-2002) who spent over 40 years inventing, developing and commercializing new technology. He is best known in the engineering profession for his oil-less compressor technology that changed the method used by the refrigeration and air-conditioning market to recycle ozone-depleting refrigerant chemicals.