A research alliance consisting of General Motors, Bayerische Motoren Werke and DaimlerChrysler plans to invest more than $1 billion to develop a new hybrid transmission and related systems that backers say will leapfrog the market-leading technology offered by Toyota. For the past 18 months, about 500 engineers at the three automakers have been jointly developing the next-generation hybrid-engine technology, which combines a battery-powered electric motor with a conventional gasoline combustion engine, company representatives said Friday on the sidelines of an auto industry trade meeting. The so-called dual-mode hybrid technology being developed by the consortium includes an onboard fuel- optimization computer that determines when and at what speeds the two motors will be used for power and how the on-board battery will be recharged. Development of the transmission, which is the core of the project, is expected to cost the partners about $300 million, said Andreas Truckenbrodt, executive director of DaimlerChrysler's hybrid programs. The rest of the investment will be devoted to integrating the new hybrid system with other vehicle components, he said.Read the whole story here.
STEVE TRIPOLI: Carmelo Scuderi moved into retirement in 1994. But he couldn't let go of a problem that had irked him for a long time. He felt that the internal combustion engines in everything from cars and trucks to generators were just too inefficient. He thought they could use less fuel, and spew out fewer emissions. Carmelo played and played with ideas. He had a promising design on paper. Then he got sick.To learn the rest of the story, click here.
Are hybrid cars too expensive for the Third World? While many consumers, investors, scientists, and environmental activists have focused on the importance of building hybrid cars for the U.S. market, it is in the emerging markets that the need for hybrids and other clean air technology may be even greater.Click here to read the whole article.
Last weekend Sal Scuderi was interviewed on Pundit Review Radio on WRKO. With gas prices hitting record highs, the topic was hybrid technology and alternative fuels that may someday be able to move the United States away from its dependency on foreign oil. Full Disclosure: At the time of this posting Kevin Whalen, co-host of Pundit Review, worked for Scuderi's then PR firm and helped to manage this blog.
WEST SPRINGFIELD - What the Duryeas were to the automobile's past, the Scuderis hope to be to its future. America's first manufacturers of gas-powered cars were two Springfield bicycle makers, Charles and Frank Duryea, whose initial effort was a horse-drawn buggy fitted with a four-horsepower, single-cylinder engine they tested on city streets in 1893. Moving forward a century plus, a West Springfield company, the Scuderi Group, has developed a "split-cycle" engine that could become the linchpin of automotive manufacturing for the next century - if its claims are proved when a prototype of the engine is completed and tested in the summer of 2007. If it works as well as computer models say it does, the company says the engine could double the fuel efficiency, compared to current internal combustion engines, and it could reduce smog-forming pollution by 50 to 80 percent. "Right now, there doesn't appear to be any problem that is a showstopper," said Salvatore Scuderi, the president of the company.The reporter, Stan Freeman, not only interviewed Sal Scuderi, he spoke to some engineering professors who say the proof will not be in the pudding, er, prototype.
Other engine specialists who have seen a description of the Scuderi engine are taking the position that the proof is in the pudding. Jaal Ghandi, a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Wisconsin's Engine Research Center, said the concept of the split-cycle engine is not new. "It's an idea that has been around the block, but maybe with a little modern engineering, it can be made a little better," he said. However, he questioned whether it would work as well as claimed, especially the estimate of the improved burn rate. "That claim remains to be proven," Ghandi said. He also questioned whether the heat loss as the compressed fuel crosses from one cylinder to the other would be greater than anticipated, reducing energy efficiency. "The heat loss in the crossing duct is a huge problem and it remains to be seen if that can be solved." Nevertheless, he said there was nothing in the description of the technology he read that says the engine will not succeed. Instead, everything comes down to the performance test of the physical engine being built by Southwest, he said. Salvatore Scuderi said the heat loss in the crossing duct was also a great concern of his, and that the company has designed an insulated duct that seems to solve the problem. He said a patent is pending on that design.To read the full article, click here.
A Massachusetts company has secured key patents in Japan, China and Russia for car-engine technologies that it says could revolutionize how vehicles are powered. “It’s very significant,” said Sal Scuderi, president of Scuderi Group, a West Springfield company that has invented a “split-cycle engine” that could boost fuel efficiency by more than one third while spewing less pollution into the air. The company also has a new “air-hybrid” technology, an offshoot of its changes to the traditional internal combustion engine, that it says could rival current electric hybrid cars now on the market. The family-run company says it deliberately targeted big geographical markets to secure patents - in the expectation that the technologies might be used widely in cars and other engine-powered products in coming years. The hope is to take the new-fangled engines and sell the technology rights to automakers and other manufacturers, said Scuderi. The company is currently building a prototype of the engine, with the hope of unveiling it next year. If it works as it does in computer simulations, Scuderi said he’s hoping major corporations will take notice. The “split-cycle engine” was the brainchild of the late Carmelo Scuderi, who died a few years ago, shortly after he won patents on his invention. Sal Scuderi, Carmelo’s son, said the company is particularly excited about the new hybrid technology, which recaptures and stores excess energy created by the split-cycle engine. The company has already raised $14 million in private and government funding to get its technology off the ground. With gasoline prices now hovering around $3 a gallon, investors have been recently pouring money into new technologies that offer more efficient and cleaner energy-use alternatives.
WEST SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – June 27, 2006 –The Scuderi Group has secured patent protection for its revolutionary Split-Cycle Engine in key global markets including Japan, Taiwan, China, and Russia, the company announced today. The patents are a major step toward complete worldwide protection of the revolutionary Scuderi air-hybrid engine design. The Scuderi patent portfolio now includes seven issued U.S. patents, five U.S. patents pending, and multiple international patents pending in over 45 countries. “Scuderi’s global patent portfolio provides protection for our investors and will enable licensees to establish dominate market positions for the next 15-20 years,” said patent attorney Stephen Scuderi, legal counsel for The Scuderi Group. “Because the split-cycle engine technology can be applied to a wide variety of applications, from automobiles to airplanes to generators, we are determined to protect our intellectual property on a global basis.”To read the full press release, click here. To learn more about the Scuderi engine, watch the video on the company's home page. To listen to the Podcast, press play,
The EPA and UPS plan to evaluate the vehicle's fuel economy performance and emissions during a series of tests in 2006. In laboratory testing, the EPA's patented hydraulic hybrid diesel technology achieved a 60 to 70 percent improvement in fuel economy and more than a 40 percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions, compared to a conventional UPS vehicle. "EPA and our partners are not just delivering packages with this UPS truck - we are delivering environmental benefits to the American people," said EPA Administrator Stephen L. JohnsonRead the whole press release here. The potential impact of The Scuderi Air Hybrid Engine on the diesel market is staggering. Here's why. Today’s Diesel Engines The diesel engine is the most energy efficient of all the internal combustion engines. This high efficiency results in good fuel economy and lower greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, diesel engines have proven reliability, durability and are better suited for carrying large heavy loads. However, diesel engines also have some significant drawbacks such as weight, noise, high emissions of NOx and particulate matter (soot), and high cost. Despite these drawbacks, with today’s soaring oil prices and the demand for higher efficiency, the number of diesel engines is steadily growing. In fact, outside the US auto market, diesel engines are by far the predominant engine of choice. With the diesel engine manufacturers trying to meet the growing demands for better performance, more power and cleaner sources of energy, diesel engines have become very sophisticated high tech systems. Today’s diesel engine consists of multistage turbochargers, high pressure fuel injection systems and complex exhaust treatment systems. All of these systems work to either improve performance or reduce the emissions, but unfortunately they also significantly increase cost. The Scuderi Engine Impact The Scuderi Engine has an even bigger impact on diesel engines than on gasoline engines. Because the Scuderi Split-Cycle Technology not only improves the performance of the engine but reduces the complexity and cost of the engine, the impact is staggering. The Scuderi Technology drastically reduces the cost of diesel systems by eliminating or dramatically reducing three of the most expensive and complex parts of a diesel system. 1.) Turbocharging: Because of the built-in supercharging capabilities of the Scuderi Engine, the need for turbochargers is eliminated. The cost of turbochargers alone can save thousands of dollars per system. 2.) Injectors: Because the Scuderi Engine fires only on half of its cylinders, only half of the fuel injectors are required. The cost of today’s high pressure injectors can amount to over 30% of the base engine cost. In addition, because of the high turbulence created by the air transferring into the power cylinder from our transfer passage, the Scuderi Diesel Engine will be able to use low pressure, low cost injectors instead of the expensive high pressure injectors. 3.) Exhaust: Perhaps the feature with the largest cost impact is the reduction or elimination of the exhaust treatment system. Because of the unique method of firing after top dead center and a very fast moving power piston, the two biggest emission problems for diesel engines (NOx and soot) are eliminated or drastically reduced. Emission reduction has been the greatest challenge for today’s diesel engine manufacturers, with the sophistication and cost of the exhaust treatment systems growing rapidly. The newer urea based Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) exhaust treatment systems can add from $11,000 to over $50,000 to the cost of large diesel engines. In addition, the increased weight and complexity increases the cost of maintenance and repairs. The Scuderi Split-Cycle Engine solves today’s biggest emission problems facing diesel engine manufacturers, while reducing cost and improving performance. The cost savings alone are so dramatic (40 to 50% cost reduction) that diesel engine and equipment manufacturers will be compelled to convert to Scuderi Engine Technology. The cost savings, reduced emissions and performance increase makes the Scuderi Engine Technology the diesel engine design of the future.