Very solid article on the Scuderi Engine in Wired Magazine,

Wired Magazine
New Engine Combusts Old Ideas

If your next car gets twice the gas mileage of your current vehicle, and belches out only a fraction of the pollution, you may have Carmelo Scuderi to thank.

So how does the Scuderi engine ‘combust old ideas’?

…Scuderi began by splitting the heart of the internal combustion engine — the chamber where air is compressed, mixed with fuel and then ignited — into two separate cylinders, linked by a passage. Air is compressed in the first cylinder, and then shot through the passage into the second cylinder, where it mixes with the gas and burns.

Computer-generated models are universally used in the automotive industry to design new engines and other parts, and are considered extremely accurate in predicting performance.

Those models show the combustion in a Scuderi engine will be not only more powerful than conventional engines; it will also, surprisingly, be cooler. That means it will spew out far fewer pollutants than today’s engines do.

The Scuderi engine could even boost mileage by recapturing energy normally lost during braking, as do hybrid cars. “Unlike current electric hybrids which store the energy in a battery, we are able to store energy in the form of compressed air,” says Sal Scuderi. That can be done by simply adding a small air-storage tank, which costs far less than the generators and banks of batteries gas-electric hybrids need.

While working models of the Scuderi engine won’t see the light of day until next year, the radical design is already attracting a lot of attention in the automotive world. The company is in talks with big automakers, and when it showed off the new engine at a major automotive-engineering conference in Detroit earlier this year, the Scuderi booth was mobbed.

To read the full artilce, and to watch a video expalining how the Scuderi engine works, click here.

A very interesting article in Great Britain’s The Engineer Magazine detailing the innovative work on both sides of the Atlantic around the concept of an Air Hybrid Engine.

Research is taking place on both sides of the Atlantic into innovative air-hybrid engines that promise to be lighter, cheaper and more environmentally-friendly than existing electric-hybrids.

A collaborative project between researchers at Brunel University -which has a patent on the design - and car manufacturers Lotus and Ford is to begin early next year to develop a prototype that could turn a conventional combustion engine into an air compressor.

…The Scuderi design dedicates one side of the engine to combustion and the other two pistons as a dedicated air compressor. Gas is compressed in the compression cylinder and transferred to the power cylinder through a gas passage. All this unique design needs to be converted into an air-hybrid is the addition of an air tank, according to Steve Scuderi, one of the firm’s founders.

Scuderi is honest in his assessment of the drawbacks of an air-hybrid design but is certain that the technology’s advantages make it an exciting alternative to electric-hybrids.

‘While electric-hybrids can take energy and hold it for a longer period of time the problem with air-hybrids is that the energy is stored as heated, compressed air. This, of course, means that as the tank cools the energy dissipates,’ he said.

However not only are the batteries in electric-hybrids big, heavy and difficult to dispose of, they also take a long time to store the energy, according to Scuderi.

In his view, air-hybrids have a big advantage because the energy can be pumped up quickly then discharged in massive amounts. He also believes that his firm’s design would be far more effective than the work being undertaken by Lotus and Ford with Brunel university.

‘They have to switch their pistons between combustion engine mode and compressor mode which costs efficiency - we don’t have to do that,’ he said.

To read the full article, click here.

Hybrid Owners of America Launched to Organize Half a Million U.S. Gas/Electric Vehicle Owners, Encourage ‘Hybrid Friendly’ Federal and State Policies

Lifting of Federal Tax Cap on Hybrids Urged, Along With New Federal
Incentives for Plug-In Hybrid Conversions and Employers Promoting Hybrid
Purchases to Reduce Global Warming.

WASHINGTON, Aug. 17 /PRNewswire/ — A new and 100 percent independent group — the Hybrid Owners of America (http://www.hybridownersofamerica.org) - - is being launched today to organize and advocate for the interests of the roughly 500,000 Americans who are saving money on gas, reducing America’s dependence on foreign oil, and reducing global warming pollution by driving hybrid cars and other gas/electric vehicles.

In addition to tracking federal, state, local and private sector incentives to keep hybrid car owners armed with the latest information, HOA is encouraging hybrid vehicle drivers to get involved by urging Congress and the White House to embrace a five-point “hybrid friendly” agenda: lifting the current cap on the federal tax break for hybrid purchases; creating a new federal tax incentive for those who undertake a plug-in hybrid conversion; promoting a new federal tax break for corporations that provide direct incentives to employees who buy hybrids; rewarding U.S. automakers that undertake more hybrid research and production with
assistance in dealing with health care and other high-cost issues; and conversion of 30 percent of the federal car and truck fleet over three years to hybrids.

Hybrid Owners of America Project Director Scott Stapf said: “Everybody wins when there are more hybrid vehicles on the road. The bottom line is that hybrid vehicle purchases should be encouraged because they empower typical Americans with a direct way to reduce our nation’s addiction to Middle Eastern oil, save money at the gas pump and cut global warming pollution. By working together, hybrid owners can protect their own interests while also serving the greater good promoting U.S. national security and protecting the environment.”

To read the full press release, click here.

Concern about Fuel Efficiency and Energy Independence Drive Interest in the Scuderi Group’s Air-Hybrid Engine

Development of Gas and Diesel Prototypes Moving Forward; Company Secures Additional Patents in Key Global Markets; Private Funding Approaches $15 million

WEST SPRINGFIELD, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Aug. 15, 2006–Driven by ongoing concern about fuel efficiency and energy independence, The Scuderi Group announced today that they are seeing tremendous interest in their breakthrough internal combustion engine from investors and potential licensees around the world. The company also announced that they are making significant progress in the development of gas and diesel prototypes of the air hybrid engine as well as numerous other business initiatives.

Every day it becomes more apparent that the energy crisis facing the United States is a long-term problem with no easy fixes. The increasing need for hybrid technologies and alternative fuels is driving tremendous private sector investment into research and development. The Scuderi Group strongly believes today’s private sector development will eventually reduce our dependence on foreign sources of energy.

“Scuderi’s contribution towards energy independence will dramatically improve the overall efficiency of the internal combustion engine. We are moving forward on several tracks, including building gas and diesel prototypes of our air-hybrid engine, which are expected to be completed by late 2007. Our fundraising campaign has been a major success, and we continue to protect our intellectual property and engineering breakthroughs through the aggressive acquisition of global patents. This is an exciting time for the company, and we are very pleased to provide this update on our business today,” said Sal Scuderi, president of The Scuderi Group.

To read the full press release, click here.

To learn more about The Scuderi Group, click here.

GM, BMW and Daimler pool efforts on hybrids

A research alliance consisting of General Motors, Bayerische Motoren Werke and DaimlerChrysler plans to invest more than $1 billion to develop a new hybrid transmission and related systems that backers say will leapfrog the market-leading technology offered by Toyota.

For the past 18 months, about 500 engineers at the three automakers have been jointly developing the next-generation hybrid-engine technology, which combines a battery-powered electric motor with a conventional gasoline combustion engine, company representatives said Friday on the sidelines of an auto industry trade meeting.

The so-called dual-mode hybrid technology being developed by the consortium includes an onboard fuel- optimization computer that determines when and at what speeds the two motors will be used for power and how the on-board battery will be recharged.

Development of the transmission, which is the core of the project, is expected to cost the partners about $300 million, said Andreas Truckenbrodt, executive director of DaimlerChrysler’s hybrid programs.

The rest of the investment will be devoted to integrating the new hybrid system with other vehicle components, he said.

Read the whole story here.