Aquarius’ Engines unique patented one-cylinder design has only one moving part – as opposed to conventional engines – simplifying manufacturing processes and production costs.
According to the firm, the engine can allow cars to travel more than 1,600 kilometers (990 miles) on a single tank of fuel, more than double current distances.
Such efficiency is vital as countries seek to reduce carbon dioxide emissions — a main cause of climate change. Car engines are a major source of CO2 emissions. Aquarius’s technology works by stripping back the traditional engine under the bonnet.
It replaces the combustion engine with its multiple pistons thrusting up and down with a single piston that goes side-to-side. It has fewer than 20 parts and a single action, the company said. In tests by the German engineering company FEV, the Aquarius engine’s efficiency was more than double that of traditional engines.
The engine would work best as part of a plug-in hybrid system, with manufacturers looking at “the idea of putting a smaller, inexpensive, range extender” alongside a battery and motor.
But he said Aquarius’s radical design, and the changes it would require to manufacturing lines, might make companies in a risk-averse industry hesitant.
The technology can also be used to make more efficient back-up generators and other products, the company says. Aquarius is currently seeking its third round of funding and is aiming for $40-50 million.
Franco Gonzalez, senior technology analyst at the IDTechEx analysis firm, said Aquarius was entering the competition late and playing “catch up”.
“Automotive companies take seven to 10 years to implement a new technology,” he said.
“So Peugeot would need to accelerate their implementation very, very fast to at least catch up to what Tesla, BYD, Nissan and other companies supporting the electric car model are achieving.”
Nextbigfuture notes that there are many other substantial niches for a super-efficient, light, simple and cheap engine.
SOURCES- Aquarius Engines, India Times
Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.
Known for identifying cutting edge technologies, he is currently a Co-Founder of a startup and fundraiser for high potential early-stage companies. He is the Head of Research for Allocations for deep technology investments and an Angel Investor at Space Angels.
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This is an idea from the 1940s, but if they have some kind of breakthrough to make it more feasible, I welcome it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free-piston_linear_generator
This is an idea from the 1940s but if they have some kind of breakthrough to make it more feasible I welcome it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free-piston_linear_generator
This is an idea from the 1940s, but if they have some kind of breakthrough to make it more feasible, I welcome it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free-piston_linear_generator