( Air-Hybrid Blog )
Viewing entries tagged with 'Environment'
Sal Scuderi Speaking at Boston University
Here's an excerpt of Sal Scuderi's presentation at Boston University on February 28th:Scuderi Group Position Statement on Likely State Emissions Regulations Waiver
President Barack Obama is expected to grant a waiver allowing California and some other states to enforce their own greenhouse-gas emission standards on autos. According to the LA Times, this move would obligate automakers to produce cars that are far more efficient than those called for under current federal standards. The Scuderi Group recognizes that automotive manufacturers are under tremendous pressure due to the current global economic crisis and sharply lower sales of vehicles. With more stringent fuel emissions regulations now likely, the industry will face even greater challenges in the months and years ahead. Now more than ever, the Scuderi Group believes that auto manufacturers must embrace technological solutions that are cost-effective and practical, yet offer significant improvements in terms of both greater engine efficiency and lower emissions. The Scuderi Group offers the Scuderi Engine as a practical alternative to electric hybrids, hydrogen-powered engines and other existing and nascent engine technologies. The Scuderi Engine incorporates a unique split-cycle piston design that promises both efficiency gains and reduced emissions. No costly batteries or electric systems are required. Equally important from the automotive industry’s bottom line perspective, minimal retooling will be necessary to manufacture the Scuderi Engine. A prototype of the Scuderi Engine has already been assembled. The working prototype will be unveiled at the Society for Automotive Engineers World Congress in Detroit this April. We strongly believe that our timing couldn’t be better – for the health of the planet and for the global automotive industry at large.Markey To Chair Key House Energy Subcommittee
By Kate Galbraith, The New York Times, January 8, 2009 Edward J. Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat known as an advocate of higher fuel-efficiency standards in automobiles, is set to become the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and the Environment, according to a report in the Boston Globe. The elevation is good news for environmentalists. My colleague John Broder has described Mr. Markey as "a frustrated advocate for automobile fuel efficiency and energy conservation legislation in his 15 terms in Congress." Read more at www.nytimes.com.Scuderi Group Position on CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) Standards
The Bush administration has elected not to issue final rules for CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) standards for the 2011 – 2015 automotive model years as previously planned. A written statement issued by the U.S. Department of Transportation said that “recent financial difficulties of the automobile industry will require the next administration to conduct a thorough review of matters affecting the industry, including how to effectively implement" a new energy law requiring tougher standards. The Scuderi Group – developers of what is expected to be the most fuel efficient internal combustion engine – welcomes this development. The incoming Obama administration has consistently expressed firm commitments to both responsible environmental initiatives and to a vigorous domestic automotive industry. The Scuderi Group believes that with the implementation of innovative new technologies like the Scuderi Engine, each of these ambitious and vitally important objectives will reinforce the other. The first prototype of the Scuderi Engine is scheduled to be officially unveiled in April of 2009.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.
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
The McCain Challenge: Is the best battery ... an air tank?
Republican presidential contender John McCain is calling for a 300 million dollar government prize for the person who can design a better electric car battery. But could the best battery for hybrid engines actually be … an air tank? McCain says the prize would be awarded for "the development of a battery package that has the size, capacity, cost, and power to leapfrog the commercially available plug-in hybrids or electric cars.” But what about air? Instead of using an electric battery, the Scuderi Air-Hybrid Engine stores energy in a small air tank that’s attached to the engine, in the form of compressed air that’s generated by the engine itself. In this podcast, Scuderi Group President Sal Scuderi talks about the McCain challenges - and the special advantages of the Scuderi Air-Hybrid Engine over conventional electric hybrids.
Subscribe to the Scuderi Podcast.
Kelley Blue Book survey shows high demand for environmentally friendly vehicles
According to the latest Kelley Blue Book Marketing Research studies, the vast majority (nearly 90 percent) of car shoppers say they are concerned about the future of the environment. Among the survey respondents, 80 percent believe that individuals should make lifestyle changes in order to reduce CO2 emissions. Furthermore, 75 percent of shoppers say they have made changes to further the betterment of the environment, with the top lifestyle changes mentioned being recycling (54 percent), cutting back on driving (46 percent) and purchasing a fuel-efficient car (31 percent). Read more on www.kkb.com.FAZNET: Cars to Plug (Translated from the German)
By Henning Peitsmeier, July 22, 2008 An idea is electrifying car users: mobility out of a socket. In times of high gasoline prices many car drivers, including commuters and low-income earners, are dreaming of an alternative to the gas-guzzling conventional combustion engine. Who would hold it against them? Since the price of a liter of gasoline has soared to levels above €1.50, calls for plug-in electrical cars have resounded throughout the land. In theory, they not only save the owner money but also the environment – at least if the electricity is generated by wind, sun or nuclear power plants ... Read the full article here.