720158Research design and development of a novel auxiliary power unit (APU) incorporating advanced fuel tolerant Wankel rotary engine technologyClosedGRD Development of PrototypeInnovate UKThe company is proposing to research, design & develop a fuel tolerant compact lightweight fuel efficient 5kw auxiliary power unit incorporating a novel wankel rotary engine (WRE) with direct injection stratified charge technology. The current state of art involves 3 cylinder diesel or petrol engines which are bulky & weigh on average around 160kg. The major focus for this project is auxiliary power units for heavy duty tractor, trailer trucks, portable lightweight military applications, range extenders for city cars & some industrial & commercial uses. The auxiliary power unit offers long haul truck drivers amenities like air conditioning/heating during rest breaks without the need to idle the truck engine. The technology could eliminate 11 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year from idling the truck engine as well as providing a fuel saving of $6,000 on average per each truck. With US legislation now in force that stops the idling of engines for more than 30 minutes and with APU’s only having 5% penetration the market potential is considerable. In the electric vehicle (EV) market, lack of range causes range anxiety for users which is the fear that the vehicle has insufficient battery charge & thus range to reach its destination. With EV’s the range of the vehicle is generally between 50km-100km. The proposed APU technology has the potential to double this range & therefore significantly reduce range anxiety for the UK and globally. Environmental benefits based on very low adoption rates for the technology are still significant 67,000 tonnes of CO2. The technical problem facing the market is the availability of a reliable compact lightweight fuel tolerant, fuel efficient engine to power the APU/generator set capable of optimal power output of 5kw at a competitive price. The proposed concept has both the potential to meet both the technical and cost objectives necessary for successful exploitation.