Apr 8, 2008

Getting Steamed

Hybrids, Flex-Fuel vehicles, “clean diesel” -- these are the technologies being bandied about by those seeking “green” solutions to our transportation issues. But could our energy solutions include a technology that dates back at least 300 years? One company seems to think so. Clean Power Technologies Inc., developer of a unique heat-recovery and hybrid-power system to reduce vehicle emissions, has hired steam technology specialist Dampflokomotiv - und Maschinenfabrik DLM AG as a consultant for the further development of the company’s Clean Energy Storage and Recovery (CESAR) technology.

The CESAR technology is designed to increase vehicle fuel economy and reduce emissions by capturing, storing and reusing otherwise wasted heat from the exhaust of a conventional internal combustion engine. A heat exchanger captures waste energy, which is then stored in the form of steam in an accumulator for on-demand use either in the same “primary” engine or in a secondary vapor engine. Power can be produced solely by the secondary vapor engine even after the primary combustion engine has shut down.

The CESAR system can be used to power auxiliary truck systems, such as trailer refrigeration and cab cooling or heating, in regulatory “no-idle” and “quiet” zones. In addition to initial truck applications, CESAR can be further applied in Clean Power’s innovative passenger-car applications.