Air-Hybrid Blog

Realistic solutions

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 10:00:00 +0000

Over the weekend the Scuderi Engine was featured on a panel of "breakthrough technologies" as part of the American Renewable Energy Day event held in Aspen, Colo. And while the bulk of the four-day program featured what some might call "pie in the sky" visions of a more environmentally sound world, there was some realistic discussion on how to make that actually happen. That's where the Scuderi Engine came in.

Among the presentations about optimizing algae growth and spotting the Rocky Mountains with wind farms as a way of reducing dependence on foreign oil, the main message delivered from Scuderi Group was straight forward: The fastest way to reduce the greatest amount of C02 is to improve the efficiency of the internal combustion engine. All 100+ million of them that are made every year.

Sal Scuderi provided the conference with an overview of the engine and how its revolutionary combustion cycle could have a significant impact on how the transportation sector impacts the environment. "By implementing this technology," he said, "you're looking at potentially reducing the world's gasoline consumption by almost half."

Sal Scuderi speaks to attendees of the 7th Annual AREDAY.

A technical update on the engine

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 20:53:00 +0000

Followers of the Scuderi Engine are always interested in finding out what the latest news is around the testing and development of the prototype engine. And unfortunately, most can't follow us to the conferences and trade shows to hear our detailed engineering presentations.

Recently, Stephen Scuderi spoke to powertrain engineers at conferences in Budapest and Stuttgart where he gave an update on the engine's progress. A 26-minute video of Stephen's public presentation can be seen here.

As Stephen describes, the prototype engine continues to be tested, analyzed and optimized by Southwest Research Institute and the other development partners. And it continues to meet or exceed the earlier computer simulation predictions.

There are two very important data reports that are nearing completion - the Engine Map and the Air-Hybrid Study. The Engine Map contains the results of the tests completed on our prototype, proving the concept of firing after top dead center and showing the advantages of the split-cycle arrangement. The Air-Hybrid Study is a computer simulation that incorporates our Split-Cycle Air Hybrid Technology into specific vehicles. When completed, it will demonstrate the reductions in both fuel consumption and emission levels that are achievable with the Scuderi technology. Because the Air-Hybrid Study incorporates the actual data from the Engine Map, the result will be the most highly detailed and credible analysis to date.

Engines of the year

Thu, 24 Jun 2010 09:43:00 +0000

The Engine Expo in Stuttgart wrapped up today, with the climax of the event being the prestigious International Engine of the Year Awards that occurred Wednesday.

Taking place in the forum right next to the Scuderi stand, the ceremony drew the top executives of engine development and gave out a total of 11 awards given to those manufacturers judged to have achieved excellence in their powertain engineering.

Volkswagen's 1.4 liter TSI Twincharger secured overall honors. It boasts almost 180 bhp despite its small capacity thanks to the use of both a turbocharger and a supercharger. The engine is currently powering a wide range of VW models including the Golf, Scirocco, Eos and Tiguan.

Even though downsizing was the running theme among the winners, it wasn't all about being small. At the other end of the engine capacity spectrum, Mercedes-AMG won the Best Performance Engine category with its 6.2-liter V8 engine as well as the Above 4-Liter title.

The team at the Scuderi booth had a great vantage point as well as great visibility among the engineers attending the ceremony. Needless to say, most attendees made their way over to the stand afterwards to view the Scuderi Engine and learn more about the revolutionary Scuderi Cycle engine.

The Scuderi booth bordered the forum and provided great visibility for The Engine.

The Engine of the Year Awards draws a lot of interest from both media and engineers around the world.

The winning engines were on display alongside the Scuderi booth (to the left but not picured) while the

ceremony took place.

Back in Stuttgart

Wed, 23 Jun 2010 09:43:00 +0000

This week, the Scuderi Engine is on exhibit at Europe's premier engine trade show, Engine Expo. Held annually in Stuttgart, it is a three-day "feast" of automotive technologies.

As usual, the stand and related activities made for a busy first day. With the Scuderi Engine's development making great progress, Scuderi Group Vice President and Patent Attorney Stephen Scuderi presented to attendees the latest technical update from Southwest Research Institute. One of the highlights of Stephen's presentation was the news about the latest development regarding the crossover passage, which hit the newswires this week.

Situated alongside the Engine Expo Forum, the Scuderi technology had a steady audience all day. Engineers from all over Europe and Asia inspected the prototype model on display and took advantage of the opportunity to talk at length with engineers building and testing the engine as well as Scuderi Group management. Even with live World Cup matches being televised in the booth, The Engine still attracted more onlookers than those watching The Game.

The show continues today with the highlight being the presentation of one of the most coveted engine design trophies, The International Engine of the Year Awards. Security has intensified since the wining engines were brought into the hall and kept under black covers until the winners are revealed later today. Just about every chief of powertrain development will be on hand to witness the ceremony.

Stephen Scuderi presents the latest engine developments to the engineers attending the Engine Expo Forum

The Engine attracted crowds all day.

Cindy Fioretti explains to engine to the engineers.

Dream vs. Reality

Wed, 02 Jun 2010 05:00:00 +0000

2010 has been the year of the electric vehicle (EV). No doubt about that.

As this blog has pointed out in the past, electrification of the automobile is the marquis topic at every automotive event taking place. And for good reason. Given the challenges of petroleum dependency and the issues surrounding atmospheric greenhouse gases, the global engineering community is obligated to figure out a better way. That's what engineers do.

But after a while of listening, looking and reading, it becomes very clear: internal combustion is still what really sells and will not be phased out in our or our children's lifetime. While the technical challenges alone are significant, questions continue regarding supply base development, electrical grid capability, government incentives for development, customer acceptance, recycling and many others.

At the FISITA World Congress event in Budapest this week, it has been interesting to read the body language of those touting the future of the EV. In one session yesterday, a panel presented different OEM and supplier strategies for proliferating the market with electrified automobiles. Yes, zero emissions is ideal and not having to burn fossil fuels would be a big help to the health of the planet. But technical limitations and environmental impact make it an extremely hard sell.

One presenter from one of the world's largest auto suppliers, after pointing out how the amount of time needed to "fill up" a standard car takes several hours, bluntly stated that the possibility of ever reaching a point in the near future where a driver can charge their vehicle in less than an hour "is rather unrealistic."

Still, hopes appear high based on the hurdles the engineering community has overcome over the past 200 years. It just seems that it's going to take a couple more centuries until the EV is a sound economic, environmental, and desired product.

The Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid on display this week at FISITA

The path to great efficiency

Mon, 31 May 2010 09:00:00 +0000

There is an interesting development coming out of Southwest Research Institute, the independent lab in San Antonio, Tex., that is building and testing the Scuderi Engine. Engineers working on the prototype have found that, when operating under low load conditions, the pressure - and ultimately the efficiency - increases, and becomes more repeatable from cycle to cycle, when one of the two crossover passages is shut off.

The engine prototype has two crossover (Xovr) passages that connect the two cylinders, which separate the four strokes of the pistons. Each Xovr passage has a crossover compression (XovrC) valve on its upstream end and a crossover expansion (XovrE) valve on its downstream end which control flow through the Xovr passage. In one cylinder intake and compression occurs while combustion and exhaust take place in the other. Fuel is injected in the downstream end of the Xovr passages just as the XovrE valve opens. Compressed air then travels at sonic velocity from the XovrE passage to the combustion cylinder, where combustion occurs.

In tests of the prototype running at near idle load and speed (i.e., less then 2 bar load and 700 rpm) to loads of up to 4 bar and speeds of up to 1600 rpm, shutting down one of the two crossover passages yields a coefficient of variance (COV) as low as 1.4 percent. Typically, a conventional Otto Cycle engine will produce COV rates ranging from 2.5 to 4.0 percent. COV is a measure of the variability between each combustion cycle. Higher COV figures correlate with lower efficiency and less complete combustion.

Moreover, the very low COV in the Scuderi Engine indicates that the combustion mix (oxygen and fuel) is even more complete and robust than a conventional engine. This makes the engineering team at Scuderi confident that, when fully mapped and analyzed, the efficiency of the engine will be even higher than previously predicted.

Stephen Scuderi revealed this finding today in a presentation given to automotive powertrain executives in Budapest, Hungary at the 2010 FISITA World Automotive Congress. Held every two years in a different location around the world, the event brings together executives that oversee and manage engine development.

The Scuderi Group will make an official announcement about the crossover passage development in the next couple weeks, as well as provide an audio podcast explaining it in more detail. In the meantime, executives visiting the Scuderi exhibit were very impressed with the new data and continued to show strong interest in eventually applying the technology to their vehicles.

Stephen Scuderi gives his presentation today in Budapest.

Timing seems right on Obama fuel standards

Mon, 24 May 2010 14:22:00 +0000

President Obama's announcement last week of a new planning process to set fuel efficiency goals is getting applause from automakers. The long-term plan builds on rules set last month for 2012-16 light vehicles, which require average fleet fuel efficiency of 35.5 mpg by 2016.

The president did not specify any fuel efficiency goals. Instead, he set up a planning process involving the federal agencies, the industry, the states and environmental groups, according to Automotive News. The administration plans to announce by September its plan to set light-vehicle standards. The auto industry and the labs likes this because it gives them time to continue important research and development in a more realistic way to meet the tough standards.

With all this activity and encouragement for electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, research and development in internal combustion engine technology continues at an urgent pace. It's apparent in our engagement with government officials that making the gasoline and diesel engine better is a critical step to addressing emissions, fuel efficiency and dependency on fossil fuels.

And while it becomes more and more a part of these discussions, the Scuderi Engine is looked at as potentially the biggest advancement in ICE technology in over a century that could reduce fuel consumption and emissions to historic levels. As the media and government continue to promote the long-term future, it is assuring to know that not everyone has lost sight of the short term.

Sticking with what gets you there

Mon, 10 May 2010 13:18:00 +0000

VW Chairman Ferdinand Piëch

The Frankfurt office alerts us today of an interesting article coming out of one of the major business magazines in Germany, Focus. Our apologies for not yet having this article in English, but for the time being it is available in German and discusses Volkswagen's dwindling love affair with the electric vehicle.

The headline, “Piech is cancelling the electric powertrain”, pretty much gets to the heart of the matter. VW Chairman Ferdinand Piëch comes right out and says “VW´s one and two liter vehicles (means one or two liter fuel consumption per 100 kms) that are in the pipeline will be much more efficient than electric vehicles”. In other words, the fling is over. Time to move on.

Many have seen this coming for a while and go as far as applaud Ferdinand's "brave Knight" approach to doing what is right for VW instead of continuing to force something that yet does not fit for the company or the industry. Readers of the article also offered their thoughts on the matter:

“There were electric vehicles a 100 years ago and our ancestors were already smart enough to realize that these do not make any sense”. Another reader goes on to say: “It is much easier to produce an electric engine, which is just a bunch of copper cables than a fuel efficient Diesel or Gasoline engine, which requires a lot of smart engineering. This is also the reason, why a Volkswagen never has to fear any competition from electric vehicles made in China. The Chinese are 30 years behind in fuel efficient engines, that´s why they try to compete with electric vehicles.”

When down means up

Wed, 14 Apr 2010 19:46:00 +0000

Downsizing has been a popular method among auto makers for years as a way to increase efficiency by forcing more oxygen into the combustion process, which allows the engine to be designed smaller and thus take more weight off the overall size of the vehicle. Unfortunately, downsizing has it limits and the physics of it all will only allow the reduction to only go so far.

At this year's World Congress it's very noticeable that downsizing has become one of the last ways - if not the very last way - to make the conventional Otto Cycle engine more efficient. At the Ford booth, for example, its EcoBoost engine is front and center.

With the Scuderi Engine, the same results can be achieved without adjusting the size of the engine. Because of the high internal pressures, the engine is always naturally boosted allowing for increased efficiency and consistently high torque (same as a Diesel engine) in a much smaller package.

For the Scuderi Group team, it was another busy day with the streams of visitors coming through the booth from start to finish. Being "Hug an Engineer Day," it was a convenient location to celebrate. Especially when your senior engineer is celebrating a milestone. Happy Birthday Stephen Scuderi.

Stephen Scuderi being interviewed about the engine. To watch click here and

select the Scuderi interview from the menu of videos.

A new look for World Congress

Tue, 13 Apr 2010 07:53:00 +0000

Like everything else associated with the car industry, the Society of Automotive Engineers World Congress itself has gone through a noticeable downsizing. This year’s event – the annual gathering in Detroit of auto engineers that kicked off today – presented an entirely new look.

Gone is the expansive trade show floor showcasing every supplier on the planet. Also missing are the giant stands along with much of the glitz of years past. Now, as the industry as evolved, so too has the World Congress.

This year the show floor is purposely smaller, with each exhibitor having the same size booth. To boost the quality of the expo, SAE only allowed “innovative” products to be displayed, leaving many of the standard supplier companies out of the show. Admission is now charged.

“Green” and “sustainable” continue to be the most overused buzzwords in promotional material and many advertises its commitment to the environment. You see less of the radical innovations here this year, but you are constantly bombarded with images of blue skies, flowering fields, and the notion that if some of these products ever get put to use, everyone will breath easier.

Over at Scuderi, the good ol’ internal combustion engine continued to be the star of the show. The booth, situated between the Honda, GM, and Ford Motor stands, saw a steady flow of visitors throughout the day. The smaller booth fills quicker, causing the crowds to huddle around the glass to watch the pistons work through their split cycle arrangement. Often, onlookers are forced to the isles to wait a turn to get a closer look at the paired cylinders in action.

Stephen Scuderi briefs Ford Motor Vice President of Global

Engineering Paul Mascarenas on the new Scuderi Cycle.

Cindy Fioretti and Lutz Deyerling explain how the engine works.

The cost of efficiency

Fri, 02 Apr 2010 13:21:00 +0000

New U.S. fuel efficiency standards approved Thursday call for better engine efficiency and emissions over the next six years. No doubt, this is great timing for auto makers and the Scuderi Engine.

For decades, OEMs have spent billions trying to figure out how to make the internal combustion engine more efficient and less toxic to the environment. And forecasters continue to believe, with the current conventional technology still in place, that engine manufacturers will need to invest millions more to meet the tight government standards. But now with the advent of the Scuderi Cycle combustion process, a less-costly solution now exists.

Rough estimates show that while it will cost OEMs thousands of dollars more per vehicle to meet the future standards with the Otto Cycle engines, costs would be considerably less with an engine running on the Scuderi Cycle. According to government calculations, the rules will force auto makers to raise the cost of vehicles up to almost $1,000, which they expect will save the consumer over $3,000 in gas purchases over the life of their vehicle.

If using the Scuderi Engine to comply with standards, it is believed that it would only cost OEMs a few hundred dollars more per engine and would give the driver more immediate paybacks at the pump. With the higher efficiency there would be less fuel consumption on a daily basis, which could cut fuel consumption to almost half over the life of the vehicle.

For more on how the Scuderi Engine can achieve better efficiency, click here.

Climbing the Hill

Fri, 26 Mar 2010 09:35:00 +0000

The Scuderi Engine made its way to Beacon Hill in Boston yesterday and was introduced to state government officials and press during a ceremony inside the Massachusetts State House. State Rep. John Scibak, vice chairman of the Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies, formally addressed the audience that gathered at Nurse's Hall, just outside the Governor's Office.

As an effort to promote Massachusetts-based innovation and development, the committee chose Scuderi Group as an example of a local technology pioneer making a global impact. This is the first time the committee has featured a company in this fashion.

"We are very pleased to have the Scuderi Engine here today. It's a great company and a great innovation that merges economic development and environmental service," he said. "Massachusetts is very proud of your accomplishments."

State Secretary of Energy Ian Bowles attended the presentation and also commented on the Scuderi success.

"It's been a pleasuring meeting the Scuderi family and seeing the results of their work, which we've been following for some time now," he said. "We see a lot of opportunity for this technology."

Several Scuderi Group representatives and members of the family were in attendance. Sal Scuderi thanked the audience for their interest and support and gave a brief tutorial on the engine's features and its significance to the automotive industry.

"When fully developed, efficiency gains in the Scuderi Engine are expected to be up to 50 percent while only emitting up to 80 percent less NOx than a conventional engine. All this occurs while maintaining the power and torque of a Diesel," he commented.

To watch excerpts from yesterday's presentation, click here.

Sal Scuderi addresses the
State House crowd

Being consistent is the name of the game

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 11:30:00 +0000

In honor of the start of March Madness...To use a basketball analogy, you could say the Scuderi Engine demonstrates explosiveness in the lane with unprecedented consistency at the line. This week's official announcement of the engine's coefficient of variability (COV) could also be considered another landmark victory for Team Scuderi.

Testing of the naturally aspirated, one-liter gasoline engine at Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, TX, continues to meet or exceed the initial computer simulations. The current testing program, which maps the engine from idle to 4000 rpm, measures how the engine operates under a variety of driving speeds up to full throttle - or "full load."

While a COV of 2.5 - 4 percent (the measurement indicating how much combustion varies from rotation to rotation), is right around the same levels of a conventional Otto engine and even sometimes better, but the important point here is that it happened when firing AFTER top dead center. In the Scuderi Engine, combustion starts around 12 degrees in the rotation after the piston has reached top dead center and completes the burn at approximately 23 degrees in the crankshaft's rotation. The fast flame speed reduces temperatures and lowers emissions.

One story out this week from Car Magazine UK spotlights the Scuderi Engine and how the combustion is accomplished. One of the graphics on the page nicely illustrates eight key points in the new Scuderi Cycle.

Engine showing very consistent combustion

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 18:06:00 +0000

As the engine map nears completion, we continue to be pleased with the prototype's progress. Next week there will be an official announcement regarding the Scuderi Engine's "Coefficient of Variability," or COV, which is used to measure how consistent the combustion is from rotation to rotation of the crankshaft. The naturally aspirated prototype is measuring between 2.5 and 4 percent. The conventional Otto engine typically shows a similar COV, and sometimes higher. But what makes this data point more significant is that the Scuderi Cycle COV is done Firing After Top Dead Center.

How does this happen? In a new podcast, Scuderi Group Vice President and Patent Attorney Stephen Scuderi explains this element of the engine's operation and peek into the engine's current development stage.

Stephen Scuderi

Geneva gets its jolt

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 09:00:00 +0000

If you've seen one auto show, you've seen them all. Right? Well, on the show circuit this year, we're starting to see a pattern here...

This dispatch today from the Geneva Auto Show coming out of Reuters describes the scene and sentiment similar to what we've been hearing on the floors of the car shows in Detroit, Washington, Paris, Frankfurt, and now, last week's automotive spectacle: Hybrid and electric cars are the stars of the motor shows, but the expensive and limited technologies could take more than a decade to really hit the roads. And even then, the market showing will be minimal. Internal combustion engines is still the most realistic path to emissions rules compliance in the near future.

As Chang-Ran Kim and Christiaan Hetzner report in the article, among the various debuts of the new electric vehicles, "most of the automakers gathered at the Geneva Auto Show said the most practical road to meeting Europe's 130g/km C02 emissions target by 2015 was to improve conventional gasoline engines, downsize their cars, or offer more diesel engines, which are 20-30 percent more fuel-efficient than their petrol cousins."

An interesting read if you've ever wondered, "Why Diesel?"

Checking in on the engine

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 15:00:00 +0000

One of the great things about participating in the events that we do is having the opportunity to speak with the engineers and give updates on the engine's progress and what's been happening in the lab. At this year's SAE Hybrid Symposium in San Diego, we were fortunate to speak with Lindsay Brooke of Automotive Engineering International magazine. With testing continuing to match or exceed the initial computer simulations, this article gives a good synopsis of the the work occurring at Southwest Research Institute.

Click here to read his article.

The Scuderi Engine under test in the lab.

Speeding down the superhighway

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 11:30:00 +0000

A big element of this year's Washington Auto Show is the "Advanced Technology Superhighway" that is set up to feature the innovative technologies of today that will power the automobiles of the future.

While the Scuderi Engine exhibit anchors the "Advanced Petroleum" section, other new and exciting technologies are on display. There are clean diesel cars, ethanol optimized, electric vehicles, and one of the most interesting: the truck that is powered by organic trash.

But while all of these technologies help to increase efficiency and reduce C02, the reality is that their high costs make them extremely difficult for the driving consumer. Most of who can't justify the expense these vehicles carry.

That's where the Scuderi technology offers yet another advantage. A Scuderi vehicle would be close to the same cost of a conventional auto. This is significant because it gives automakers the ability to give their customers a drive cycle that is more powerful, far more efficient, and less polluting, but at a fraction of the cost of what would be required with other "new" technologies.

A public view

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 15:47:00 +0000

Our second day here at the Washington Auto Show and SAE Government Meeting brought with it crowds of local automotive enthusiasts - mixed with the agency officials - to see the latest vehicles and talk automotive policy.

The Auto Show exhibit welcomed various officials, including U.S. Congressman Edward Markey (D-MA), senior member of the House Energy Committee. Taking in all the energy-saving innovations featured on the show floor, Mr. Markey stopped by the booth to see the model of the newly-proven thermodynamic process, the Scuderi Cycle.

"This is exciting technology that shows a lot of promise," he said. "We'll be keeping an eye on your progress."

U.S. Rep. Edward Markey and a congressional aide discuss the new Scuderi Engine.

Washington is seeing green

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 20:00:00 +0000

Today was Public Policy Day at the Washington Auto Show where policy makers and government officials seemed to see only one color: Green.

Like many of the auto events we attend, electric vehicles, biofuels and hybrids continue to be the main promotional themes. However, like the auto industry itself, the name of the game is still petroleum and internal combustion engines. The 750,000 square feet of exhibition space here is holding over 700 new models from more than 42 domestic and foreign manufacturers. Most of which run solely on gasoline or diesel fuel.

Anchoring the show's new "Advanced Technology Superhighway," the Scuderi Engine attracted a lot of attention because of its air-hybrid capability and the promise of historic reductions in C02. Officials from the EPA, Transportation and Air Quality, Defense Department as well as Congressional staffers came by the exhibit to see the engine.

"This is very interesting technology," said one transportation official. "We need to stay updated on this."

Stephen Scuderi introduces the Scuderi Engine to the Washington motor press.

Podcast: Advantages of the Air-Hybrid Design

Thu, 24 Dec 2009 14:17:00 +0000

In the following podcast, Scuderi Group President Sal Scuderi talks about some of the advantages the Scuderi Engine's Air-Hybrid Design, how it compares to electric hybrids, and how it can be used.

Click here to subscribe to the podcasts