Random Thoughts of Chris Tilley

A car engine that has 2-3 times the efficiency of a normal engine? These guys are well on their way to doing it. The engine uses the Brayton cycle. It is actually a very simple system although you'll have to go to their website to figure it out. It took me a while to understand what they are doing. Click on the engine to animate it.

Lets look at this using their 2-3 times efficiency and todays cars. The Toyota Prius currently gets 67 MPG multiply that by 2-3 and we get 134-201 MPG. If we use the Toyota Sienna for a minivan it gets 35 MPG multiply that by 2-3 and we get 70-105 MPG in a minivan. Combine this with more advanced batteries and a plug in hybrid and we could do our daily commutes for months without filling up.

It is also going to be easier on emissions even without taking in to account the reduced amount of gas because it uses a much more efficient method of burning. That is to say it more completely burns the gas.

It is going to have about 10% the number of part a conventional engine has. Which means easier to make and maintain. Everything is rotational so no vibrations which means less wear. There is less friction so again less wear.

It is also going to be much smaller than a conventional engine. That means less weight and less weight mean better mileage. Combine this with some of the other idea out there to reduce weight and you get even better mileage.

I think these guys in combination with some other groups could put together a serious entry for the automotive X prize.

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