x
Over the last 2 decades the future of the internal combustion engine has continued to look bleak with electrification seeming to be that way forward. But even that option was never the ultimate solution when you consider the bigger picture of climate change and global warming. As is often the case, the desire to achieve a concensis approach to tackling this "wont ago away" issue is often undermined by selfcentered "tribal interests". As a guess the three biggests producers of CO2 or methane contrinutors to global warming are fossil fuelled power producers and transport plus livestock. A high percentage of "green solutions" eg electric cars, solar and wind power and currently hydrogen are produced using fossil powered energy. My recent blog about the future use of Ammonia as the next best "green fuel" resulted in a disappoint conclusion simply because of very slow ignition times and extremely high compression ratios (100:1) needed for CI engines (combustion ignition engines, eg desiel).
Happily there have been breakthroughs in the process of creating Hydrogen (Link) much more cheaply than the current mass market processes but it will still be some years before we can tick the "green fuel" box for hydrogen as a transport fuel.
Fortunately an Israeli company has potentially solved the problem of electification meets hydrogen with significant size reductions and the need for less batteries. The potentail solution is called the Aquarius Engine and yes you can humm along to the tune of "The Age of Aquarius" if your DOB is pre 1980!!. Here are a few key details and two links to the company website.
Aquarius Engines
Aquarius Engine is a Two Sided Free piston Linear engine (FPLE), generating two positive work events with a single piston each time, connected to two Linear Generators.
.png)
I think this is exciting news and I look forward to a much greener future with respect to transportation and stand alone generators.
