More on Kamen's ambitious plans for the Stirling engine
Dean Kamen may be best known as the man behind the iconic and oft-maligned Segway Personal Transporter, but his fertile mind is always full of interesting ideas. Lately, the inventor has turned his attention towards vehicles with four-wheels, batteries and on-board range extenders. We already know that Kamen's extended-range electric vehicle is based on the chassis of an older Ford Th!nk and that it carries around a Stirling engine that's capable of recharging the batteries, but there's more than just the need for alternative forms of transportation pushing this project forward.Kamen reportedly hopes that selling sufficient quantities of his REVOLT serial hybrid will allow the Stirling engine's price to drop enough that it can help provide needed electricity to billions of people all around the planet. Possible sources of heat to keep the Stirling engine merrily turning a generator include any number of combustible fuels like gasoline, diesel, natural gas or even animal waste – a fuel we're not likely to run out of any time soon.
[Source: The Christian Science Monitor]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Dave 6:10PM (4/30/2009)
I'd say these guys are way ahead of him:
http://www.stirlingenergy.com/
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Scott 1:53PM (5/01/2009)
Last I heard ( within 1 yr ago) the folks at Stirling Energy are struggling to keep a unit running for more than 40 hrs without mechanical failure.
Why else is it that an invention that is 200 years old has very, very few, if any, actual functional working examples beyond a toy that sits on a tea pot
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shimon 1:04PM (5/06/2009)
An interesting idea but Stirling engines are overall inherently less efficient than a ICE when a liquid or gas fuel is used to heat there hot side. It makes more sense therefore so use an ICE as the device to drive the generator. That said, the hot side heating process of the stirling engine is far far more flexible to new fuels than an ICE so there are some benefits to be had here. What is also important is the potential role of new lower temperature gradient stirling engines.
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