EpiQair liquid air engines to power the world
The EpiQair engine offers the most direct route to terminating the combustion of fossil carbon - the essential prerequisite for any serious programme to achieve climate stability. EpiQair technology encompasses the complete cryogenic air cycle, using surplus renewable energy to liquefy air, creating two stable energy stores, one cold at about -200C and the other hot at about 150C derived from the heat of compression generated during the liquefaction process. For regeneration, these two sources supply a novel rotary expansion engine converting the energy, including the liquid-to-gas phase change energy, into shaft power at levels of power density higher than is possible with internal combustion engines.
The high power density means a new generation of highly compact engines whose small size means low unit production cost despite expensive manufacturing processes. This will attract a strong market pull effect, driving adoption of the full range of automotive vehicles having zero emissions and no carbon footprint.
The breakthrough making this possible arises from the unique design of Epicam’s paired rotors which achieve either compression or expansion by the displacement which occurs upon interaction between lobes and pockets without physical contact between the rotors or their housing. The result is an expansion engine without significant internal friction. Piston engines could be used in conjunction with liquid air but 80% of the available expansion energy would then be needed to overcome friction so the output power is too small to be of practical use. By contrast, the EpiQair engine’s rotors enable high rotational speeds and very high cycle frequencies. With expansion of 400 to 1 in only a quarter turn and up to 9 cycles per revolution, at speeds up to 20,000 RPM this can yield 2,000 HP or 1.5MW from an engine small enough to be contained in a briefcase. It will supply all transport applications from large heavy goods vehicles and ships to small personal vehicles.
The positive/negative displacement action of Epicam’s rotors is fully scalable from individual small wind turbines to large wind farms for low cost energy storage to supersede all types of chemical batteries. When deployed to the scale that would supplement 10% of global wind and solar capacity with sufficient storage to eliminate intermittency, this technology will provide sufficient controlled air movement to make it attractive for combination with CO2 filtration. This will render the system sufficiently carbon negative to offer a direct means of modulating global atmospheric climate control by reducing the CO2 level in the atmosphere.
EPICAM Ltd