Viewing entries posted in 2008
WWLP: Mass. Lt. Gov. Tim Murray Meets with Executives from the Scuderi Group
Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor Tim Murray met with the Scuderi Group in West Springfield. WWLP-TV reported about the meeting - and the Scuderi Group's air-hybrid technology -on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2008:Help is here. Innovation has to be taken seriously.
It's clear given a recent CNN poll that it's going to take a lot for the Big Three to reclaim the trust and faith of the American driving consumer any time soon.
Wirtschaftswoche: 'Miracle of Scuderi'
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The popular German weekly business news magazine Wirtschaftswoche published an article about the Scuderi Group on November 10, 2008 that has received widespread attention in Germany. The following is a translation from the German: Miracle of Scuderi It drives and drives and drives and drives. Since 1876, when Nicolaus August Otto from Cologne, patented the Otto combustion engine, the four strokes principle has not changed from ingestion, compression, burning, and discharge. Despite all attempts by engineers to make the petrol engine simpler, faster, and more economical, the operation mode of engines has essentially remained the same for over 130 years. In addition, the efficiency of this heat-powered engine remained rather modest with its 33 percent. Carmelo Scuderi, an Italian-American from West Springfield, Massachusetts, simply could not accept this low output. Scuderi, a specialist of compressor technology who is credited with the development of the technical basis for the CFC-free refrigerator, started to work intensively with the gasoline engine in the mid- 90’s. His new approach divided the four cycles into two and allocated each of the two cycles into a cylinder. Thus, the basis for the "Scuderi Split Cycle engine" was invented. With this patented idea, the engineer founded the Scuderi Group in 2001. After the passing of Carmelo, his sons began to manage the company. Scuderi Group President Sal Scuderi expanded the engine by adding a compressed air reservoir, rendering it more powerful and turning it into a hybrid system. By end of the year, he will have invested approximately 50 million dollars into the project. The first prototype of the miracle machine, a double-cylinder engine with one liter capacity and 100 hp, should be completed by the end of the year. The aim is very high - the double cylinder engine is expected to consume only half as much fuel as the conventional Otto engine, and the emissions are planned to be about 80 percent lower. The new motor could drive lawn mowers as well as cars and diesel locomotives. The best news is this innovative engine would cost only about 300 Euro more than a conventional diesel engine. But how does this consumption miracle work? A cylinder takes in air, compresses it and pushes it via an elaborate valve system into the second cylinder where it ignites with fuel. Both units are optimally designed for their functions. For example, the compression cylinder builds pressure up to 50 bars, whereas an Otto engine with direct fuel injection only manages three bars. The advantage of this high compression is that the fuel can be ignited in the second cylinder after the upper slack point, which would not need to work against the combustion pressure. "That alone increases efficiency by 20 percent," says Lutz Deyerling, vice president of European operations of the Scuderi Group. In addition, the fuel burns at lower temperatures and thus fewer pollutants result. Without much trouble, the engine can be transformed into an air hybrid. To do that, a compressed air reservoir is installed between the two cylinders. When the driver slows down the car or steps on the brake, the system transports the hot air generated in the compressor cylinder into the reservoir. When the driver accelerates, the car uses the power from the pressure reservoir first. "This reduces consumption by 50 percent," states Deyerling. The proof, however, is still pending. Nevertheless, the US Department of Defense could be convinced. It supports the construction of the prototype at the South West Research Institute in San Antonio (Texas) by funding millions of dollars. For military use and commercial motor vehicles, the generation of compressed air is especially interesting, as it can easily be retrofitted. However, the large German car makers and their subcontractors have withheld their judgment. They want to wait until they have seen the prototype in action. The fact that surplus pressure can be effectively used is also demonstrated in the hybrid drive that Rexroth, a Bosch affiliated company, is currently testing in a garbage truck in Berlin. Here, the engineers have linked a so-called axial piston unit with the transmission shaft. When braking, it pumps oil into a high-pressure reservoir. This power is sufficient for letting the garbage truck roll about 150 meters from a standing position without igniting the diesel engine. Tests have proven that the system consumed about a quarter less Diesel and ran very quietly. That hydraulic hybrid functions so well that Bosch wants to launch next year. "The price is not yet fixed, but the acquisition will amortize itself for the buyers within two to three years," promises a Bosch manager.
Nagoya Day Three: Learning the Scuderi Cycle
The Nagoya Eco Clean Car Fair wrapped up today and was full of more visits from local OEM representatives and others from the Japanese automotive community who have heard about the Scuderi Engine and wanted to take the opportunity to meet those involved and learn more about what is expected to be the world’s most fuel efficient internal combustion engine. Some of those visitors over the past three days have been from the Japanese academic community. Yesterday, professors from the Department of Transportation Engineering from Meijo University in Nagoya met with Vice President and Patent Attorney Stephen Scuderi, who is overseeing the technical development of the engine, to ask questions about the technology and learn more about this new internal combustion process, sometimes called the Scuderi Cycle. Apparently, the Scuderi technology has made it into various engineering and thermodynamic lectures given at the university. Students are being exposed to this new technology, which is the most significant advancement in internal combustion engines since the introduction of the Otto Cycle over 120 years ago. Today, others from the Japanese National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology also met with Stephen to learn more about the breakthrough engine and discuss the potential applications appropriate for this technology. Often considered an automobile engine, the Scuderi Engine is also applicable to most piston-driven environments, such as generators, airplanes, lawn mowers, trains, and military apparatus. After today, the team travels to Tokyo for meetings with a local OEM, its Japanese patent law team, and the Japanese External Trade Organization (JETRO), who is advising the Scuderi Group on doing business in Japan.
Nagoya Day Two: An alternative to The Alternatives
The second day of the Nagoya Eco Clean Car Fair brought more exposure to the new technologies that the automotive industry is looking at to be the next generation of vehicles. And, as the Scuderi Group engineers have learned, the Scuderi Engine can give boosts in power and efficiency to even the alternative fuel-powered cars. One such vehicle on display this weekend in Nagoya is the natural gas-powered car. The base split cycle Scuderi Engine has the ability to operate a natural gas automobile at a higher compression ratio than a conventional engine being powered by natural gas. One of the limitations with conventional natural gas engines is that there is a tendency to prematurely combust more rapidly than a typical gasoline engine. Because the Scuderi Engine operates at higher pressures and fuel is injected very late in the combustion process, it doesn’t give the natural gas much time to combust. These findings have resulted in OEMs looking at the Scuderi Engine as not only a cleaner and more efficiency way to burn gasoline and diesel, it also gives many of the same benefits to other mobile applications using alternative fuels.
Nagoya Day One: Hello Japan!
The Scuderi Group Friday for the first time publicly introduced its breakthrough Scuderi Engine and its air-hybrid capabilities to the Japanese automotive market as part of the Nagoya Eco Clean Car Fair'08. Held in what is considered to be the "Detroit of Japan," the event is anticipated to draw up to 30,000 Japanese automotive engineers and other "green" car professionals through the weekend. Flanked by its engineering experts, the Scuderi marketing team also debuted the Japanese version of its DVD, which can also be viewed now on the company's web site homepage. Crowds on the first day were extremely curious about the engine's design, particularly how it achieves historical gains in fuel efficiency while emitting up to 80 percent less toxins than all the engines on the road today. With the use of interpreters and other Japanese-focused materials, the group was able to engage the people and explain the many aspects of the Scuderi Engine and its revolutionary internal combustion process very clearly. Scuderi's participation in the event is a result of an invitation by the Japanese government and its Japanese External Trade Oganization (JETRO), which searches the world for technologies that could benefit Japanese society. JETRO extended invitation to the Scuderi Group and is also advising the company on continuing to establish its presence in the country.
Podcast: Scuderi Heads to Nagoya Eco Clean Car Fair '08
The Scuderi Group will debut the Scuderi Engine to the Japanese automotive industry next week at the Nagoya Eco Clean Car Fair, Nov. 7-9 at the Port Messe Nagoya (Booth B-7).
The Scuderi Group is attending the event as an invitee of the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), a government-related organization that works to promote mutual trade and investment between Japan and the rest of the world.
In the following Scuderi Group Podcast, Vice President of Marketing and Sales Nick Scuderi talks about the significance of the Scuderi Group's attendance in Nagoya.
Subscribe to the Scuderi Group Podcast
Mass High Tech:Scuderi finds auto part partners for hybrid engine
By Efrain Viscarolasaga, October 10, 2008 As West Springfield-based Scuderi Group LLC moves closer to the unveiling of its air-hybrid internal combustion engine, the company has partnered with some well-known names in the automotive industry to help engineer the engine’s complementary components. Earlier this year, Scuderi announced a partnership with Germany’s Bosch Engineering GmbH for assistance on the timing mechanism of the engine, and last week it announced partners for its engine’s pistons, valves, valve train assembly and belts. The first fully operational prototype for the Scuderi Group’s engine, which executives expect to be the most fuel efficient engine in the world, is scheduled to be completed in November. The company expects to unveil it to the world’s automotive manufacturers through a series of trade shows and conferences over the ensuing six months, culminating with the Society of Automotive Engineers’ World Congress in Detroit in April 2009 and the Engine Expo in Stuttgart, Germany in June. For Scuderi’s “split-cycle” engine design, the firm has teamed up with German automotive supply company Mahle Group for the pistons, Swedish engine developer Cargine Engineering AB for the air-activated valves, Denver-based Gates Corp. for the belts, and Germany-based Schaeffler Group KG for the valve train assembly. Read the rest of the story.
Podcast: Scuderi Group Announces Partners Assisting in the Development of the Scuderi Air-Hybrid Engine
The Scuderi Group today announced several ongoing development partners who are assisting in the research and development of the Scuderi Air-Hybrid Engine. These partners include:Scuderi on the road again. First stop: Munich
PHOTO CAPTION: Stephen Scuderi and Lutz Deyerling explain the valve train model on display at FISITA 08 in Munich. (Photo/Bill Wrinn) Now that the summer season is unofficially over, conference and trade shows are now popping up at a rapid rate. This week the Scuderi Group, led by its European team of Lutz Deyerling and Michael Eisenbeis, is participating in the FISITA 2008 World Automotive Congress in Munich, Germany. Hosted by the Association of German Engineers, FISITA is celebrating its 60th anniversary and is held every two years in different locations. Held two years ago in Japan, it will take place in Hungary in 2010. The World Congress is an event that caters to a smaller number of automotive executives compared to the year's bigger trade shows, but it is attended by the top engineers from the world's largest OEMS. As expected, this made for very high level meetings with automakers from France, Germany, U.S., and Japan, which are also extending to further talks in the next few weeks. The conference carries a large academic component and conducts dozens of sessions covering 12 topics that demonstrate "the vital role of engineers worldwide in solving current and future transportation challenges. This year's congress focuses specifically on solutions for sustainable mobility for people and goods in all areas of passenger cars, truck and bus transportation as well as placing emphasis on the development of the future powertrain systems, conservation of the environment and energy resources - Discussions that have made the Scuderi Air-Hybrid Engine design a very popular topic among conference attendees this week. Later in the week after the event's conclusion, the Scuderi Group will also be holding its Marketing Summit, where members of the global marketing team will gather to finalize plans for the official unveiling of the engine's first prototype in the spring. Following FISITA '08, the Scuderi Group gets ready to attend and/or participate in the Paris Auto Show in October and the Nagoya (Japan) Eco-Clean Car Show in November. - Bill Wrinn