A deal with Navistar could help developers of the OPOC engine bring the super-efficient technology to market.
EcoMotors International, the Michigan-based start-up company backed by Bill Gates and Silicon Valley venture capitalist Vinod Khosla, has signed a new development agreement with major truck and engine builder, Navistar International of Warrenville, Ill.
Like other traditional vehicle builders, Navistar is under intense pressure to improve fuel-economy and reduce emissions and Dan Ustian, the truck firm’s chairman, president and chief executive officer, said EcoMotors’ technology shows promise of helping to deliver the kind of improvements needed for the future.
“We continue to be on the cutting edge of technology and our development agreement with EcoMotors once again demonstrates our commitment to develop new, innovative approaches to the commercial vehicle industry,” said Ustian “Our company has a long history of pushing the envelope to deliver state-of-the-art, customer-focused solutions and we see great promise in EcoMotors’ breakthrough engine design,” Ustian said.
Known as an OPOC engine – short for opposed piston/opposed cylinder — developers claim it can run on either regular unleaded gasoline, diesel or natural gas, and not only boosts fuel economy but also reduces the number of parts needed compared to a conventional gas or diesel powertrain.
The technology has actually been around for some years, and was even used to power some Soviet-era tanks. But EcoMotors contends it has found a way to update the OPOC to meet modern needs for clean, efficient and reliable power.
Microsoft founder Gates announced a $23.5 million investment in the venture, last August, along with Silicon Valley entrepreneur Khosla. But lining up a major manufacturing alliance has been seen as the next critical step for EcoMotors.
Don Runkle, the former General Motors and Delphi Corp. executive who serves as the Detroit start-up’s chief executive officer, indicated the agreement with Navistar is a major breakthrough for EcoMotors, which is trying to interest vehicle manufacturers in its patented technology,
EcoMotors first product targeted for a commercial vehicle application is a turbo-diesel version of the OPOC engine developed by the fledgling company, Runkle said.
“For customers such as Navistar, this remarkable engine technology represents a competitive advantage that enables not only enhanced environmental sustainability, but also greater profitability. Our engineers are working to effectively rejuvenate the internal combustion engine for the 21st century,” Runkle said.
Investor Khosla sees the Navistar-EcoMotors alliance as a reflection of the enormous potential of the company’s technology.
The technology, he suggested, is a potential “game-changer,” adding that, “The only truly disruptive technologies are those that can provide not only rapid payback but also economic and carbon benefits to large segments of the world’s population without the need for subsidies or massive infrastructure investments.”
The EcoMotors design has very high power density, at nearly one horsepower per pound, resulting in an unprecedented lightweight and compact engine, according to Runkle.
But the technology still has to be validated for use in high-demand transportation applications – no easy task. That has been the downfall for a variety of other once-promising technologies, such as the sterling and Wankel engines. Once seen as the future of the industry, the Wankel rotary is now used in only a few limited applications, such as the Mazda RX-8 sports car.
The PatOP engine (at http://www.pattakon.com/pattakonPatOP.htm ) with a basic module comprising one only cylinder and two only opposed pistons is better balanced than the two-opposed-cylinders four-opposed-pistons basic module of the OPOC engine of EcoMotors.
The PatOP engine provides some 20% additional time, as compared to the OPOC of EcoMotors, for more efficient injection, penetration, vaporization, and combustion of the fuel spray (at high revs the additional time enables higher peak power, at medium-low revs the additional time enables better efficiency and lower emissions).
The PatOP engine has constantly zero total force on the main bearings of the crankshaft (the connecting rods of the two opposed pistons remain constantly parallel, have normal size and are heavily loaded only in tension, i.e. they are pulling-rods).
The PatOP engine intergrades a “volumetric”, piston-type scavenging-pump that enables a flat torque curve in a wider rev range. The turbo-charging is an option.
The PatOP engine takes the thrust loads away from the hot cylinder walls and away from the ports, enabling far lower lubricant consumption and better lubrication, just like the giant cross-head Sulzer engines; because the PatOP is a cross-head engine, yet a short one (for 79.5mm bore and 64+64=128mm stroke, the PatOP is only 500mm long); the inner-exhaust piston skirt of the OPOC of EcoMotors cannot help thrusting heavily onto the hot cylinder wall, over the exhaust port openings, increasing lubricant consumption and decreasing piston / cylinder life.
Can somebody from EcoMotors or Navistar tell what are the advantages of the OPOC engine over the PatOP?
Or over the OPRE engine (at http://www.pattakon.com/pattakonOPRE.htm ) ?
Thanks
Manousos Pattakos
The PatOP engine (at http://www.pattakon.com/pattakonPatOP.htm ) with a basic module comprising one only cylinder and two only opposed pistons is better balanced than the two-opposed-cylinders four-opposed-pistons basic module of the OPOC engine of EcoMotors.
The PatOP engine provides some 20% additional time, as compared to the OPOC of EcoMotors, for more efficient injection, penetration, vaporization, and combustion of the fuel spray (at high revs the additional time enables higher peak power, at medium-low revs the additional time enables better efficiency and lower emissions).
The PatOP engine has constantly zero total force on the main bearings of the crankshaft (the connecting rods of the two opposed pistons remain constantly parallel, have normal size and are heavily loaded only in tension, i.e. they are pulling-rods).
The PatOP engine intergrades a “volumetric”, piston-type scavenging-pump that enables a flat torque curve in a wider rev range. The turbo-charging is an option.
The PatOP engine takes the thrust loads away from the hot cylinder walls and away from the ports, enabling far lower lubricant consumption and better lubrication, just like the giant cross-head Sulzer engines; because the PatOP is a cross-head engine, yet a short one (for 79.5mm bore and 64+64=128mm stroke, the PatOP is only 500mm long); the inner-exhaust piston skirt of the OPOC of EcoMotors cannot help thrusting heavily onto the hot cylinder wall, over the exhaust port openings, increasing lubricant consumption and decreasing piston / cylinder life.
Can somebody from EcoMotors or Navistar tell what are the advantages of the OPOC engine over the PatOP?
Or over the OPRE engine (at http://www.pattakon.com/pattakonOPRE.htm ) ?
Thanks
Manousos Pattakos