CryoPower

This Innovate UK fund was the first stage of funding that led to the development of the successful Cryopower Engine and the Dolphin N2 company.

Heavy duty vehicles, such as long haul trucks, represent a significant challenge in terms of the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions. An essential element of the transportation mix of modern industrialised society, they are inherently less amenable to the type of electrification and hybridisation strategies that are already contributing to reduced carbon emissions and potential long-term sustainability for the light vehicle sector. A key global imperative was therefore the substantial improvement of heavy vehicle engine efficiency.

The CryoPower engine concept focuses on a split-cycle combustion process instead of refining existing four-stroke engine technology. The engine divides these four strokes between two paired cylinders: one for intake/compression, and another for power/exhaust. The concept is based on a split cycle, temperature controlled system, which increases engine efficiency.

This first stage funding brought in heat exchanger specialists HiFlux and an advisory panel drawn from the heavy-duty engines and vehicle sector, with the aim of bringing the engine to market. The initial research allowed a move forward to the design and rig testing of critical components stage in the development of a new engine with the potential to reduce carbon emissions in heavy-duty vehicles.

The early development work carried out on the test rig installed at the University of Brighton not only validated the potential but also, crucially, demonstrated the highly impressive low-NOx emissions credentials of the CryoPower combustion process.

By fundamentally readdressing the underlying thermodynamics of the internal combustion engine, the split-cycle cryogenic injection combustion concept offers the prospect of very significant improvements in thermal efficiency and hence reduced carbon dioxide emissions.

Test results showed CryoPower offered near-zero emissions capability, in some cases offering lower tailpipe NOx emissions than in the surrounding air and with potential to remove pollution in towns and cities.

The CryoPower Cool Combustion process enables recovery of otherwise wasted exhaust heat which is then cooled via the injection of a small amount of liquid nitrogen. The liquid nitrogen acts as both a coolant and an additional source of energy, reducing emissions and improving fuel efficiency.

This game-changing technology offers unprecedentedly high efficiency and near-zero emissions - in some cases, actually cleaner than ambient air. Cryopower's extreme efficiency translates to a fuel economy improvement of 30 per cent.

The Cryopower concept focuses on a split-cycle combustion process; instead of refining existing four-stroke engine technology, the engine divides four strokes between two paired cylinders: one for intake/compression, and another for power/exhaust. Using isothermal compression to control temperature, this engine concept was originally conceived as a means of enabling otherwise unachievable improvements in fuel economy and reduced CO₂, targeted at achieving at least 60 per cent brake thermal efficiency, making it significantly more fuel efficient than current engine technology.

The technology proved suitable for use with heavy duty engines running on diesel or a range of other liquid or gaseous conventional, bio- or synthetic fuels ranging from long-haul trucks, to stationary power, off-highway equipment, and self-powered and multi-mode railway traction.

This initial funding led the way to the StepCO₂ grant and, later the founding of the Dolphin N2 company.