( Air-Hybrid Blog )
Innovation Talk Dominates the SAE Hybrid Symposium
Scuderi Group Vice President of Marketing and Sales Nick Scuderi recently participated in the SAE's annual Hybrid Symposium in San Diego. Even with the cloud of doom and gloom hovering over the automotive industry, the event was very well attended and discussions mostly centered on engineering solutions and less on fiscal restructuring. It was very apparent that engineers are feeling the pressure to innovate. From all the presentations and lobby chit chat, it's clear that the industry is struggling to get the lithium's battery's energy density up and cost down, as well as increasing the overall life of the battery. This is a major challenge for the market and will be difficult to overcome, which many OEMs around the world have recognized and have since abandoned plans to invest in electric-powered vehicles. Further, many stated that it's difficult for a consumer to purchase a hybrid electric vehicle unless fuel costs are north of $7 per gallon. And with the price of gas lower than last year, sales of electric hybrids have also dropped significantly. Other experts described the automotive industry as one that is under pressure to look at all ways to decrease green house gas emissions, including other ideas to downsize such as turbo charged gasoline engines and other forms of hybrids. The Scuderi Air-Hybrid Engine design was often referenced as one such solution. With its potential historical gains in efficiency as well as the the prospect of emitting up to 80 percent less toxins than any vehicle on the road today, the Scuderi Air-Hybrid will help the OEMs reach their environmental goals quicker - and at a far less expense than other hybrid technologies. Major OEMs continue to see the Scuderi technology as a key solution to the major challenges being faced. As most of the talk at the symposium obviously centered around the Air-Hybrid components, anticipation was definitely evident as many anxiously await the official unveiling of the first prototype of the Scuderi Engine on April 20 in Detroit. It is the base split-cycle Scuderi Engine that will enable the air-hybrid and turbo-charged elements to achieve the most significant efficiency and emission gains.
NPR: Electric Cars Still Years Away From Paying Off
By Frank Langfitt, February 23, 2009 After years of producing gas guzzlers, automakers are focusing more on electric vehicles. At auto shows across the country, the companies are rolling out a variety of electric vehicles. They may pay off one day, but making electric vehicles affordable and practical will take years. Listen now.Podcast: First Scuderi Engine Prototype Assembled
When Fully Developed, Engine Expected to be Most Significant Advancement in Internal Combustion in Over 130 Years February 9, 2009 – After several years of extensive research, development, and patent preparation, the Scuderi Group announced today the assembly of the proof-of-concept prototype for its Scuderi Split-Cycle Engine. The highly anticipated prototype will undergo further testing and analysis and will be officially unveiled to the automotive industry April 20 at the 2009 SAE World Congress in Detroit. The one-liter, naturally aspirated gasoline prototype is expected to produce up to 80% less toxins than a typical internal combustion engine. And when fully developed with its turbo charged and air hybrid components, it is expected to achieve significant gains in fuel efficiency – the most since the inception of the Otto Cycle over 130 year ago. The introduction of the Scuderi Split-Cycle technology to the engine manufacturing industry is significant because it gives OEMs a new, cleaner burning solution to comply with tough emissions and efficiency standards going into effect around the world – without having to make significant investments to retool or modify current production processes. The original Scuderi Engine design was invented by Carmelo Scuderi (1925-2002). The Scuderi Group expects further advancement of the technology once the greater engineering community begins working with the engine and makes modifications and improvements that will most likely take the efficiency to even higher levels. "This is a very important milestone for the Scuderi group as well as the Scuderi family,” said Sal Scuderi, president of the Scuderi Group. “This has been seven years in the making and we’re only just beginning to realize the potential that this technology holds. We are eager to conclude licensing discussions with OEMs, so we can see the engine come to life in a variety of vehicles and finally be able to give the driving public a more fuel-efficient and environmentally-friendly driving option." Click on the player below to listen to a podcast with Sal Scuderi talking about this latest development.
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The basic Scuderi Engine is a split-cycle design that divides the four strokes of a conventional combustion cycle over two paired cylinders: one intake/compression cylinder and one power/exhaust cylinder. Additionally, by firing after top-dead center, it produces highly efficient, clean combustion with one cylinder and compressed air in the other. Unlike conventional engines that require two revolutions to complete a single combustion cycle, the Scuderi Engine’s combustion cycle is completed once per revolution. Besides the improvements in efficiency and emissions, test results have shown that the Scuderi Engine is capable of producing more torque than conventional gasoline and diesel engines.