AN 'ECO-ENGINE' FOR THE 21ST CENTURY - ENABLING ZERO CARBON HEAVY-DUTY TRANSPORT
The R6-H2 engine (rotary 6 phase, hydrogen fuelled) can deliver a step change in zero-carbon power for the hardest to reach medium & heavy-duty transport sectors, as a hydrogen fuelled rotary range-extender (mobile electricity generator), with similar efficiency to a fuel cell and similar power density to a turbine, for less than one tenth of the cost of either by 2030.
The R6 thermodynamic cycle is capable of superseding the 19th century Otto and Diesel cycles and the R6-H2 engine is predicted to be the definitive hydrogen engine for the 21st Century, because it is capable of >50% brake thermal efficiency, 5:1 power-to-weight ratio and $20-40/kW cost by 2030. A single 40kg R6-H2 engine married to a high speed motor-generator can produce a continuous 200 kW supply of electricity, sufficient to power a 40-tonne truck and multiple R6-H2 engines in series can replace turbines to power a new class of zero-carbon, long-range VTOL air taxis.
The R6-H2 engine is mechanically simple with only four major moving parts: the shaft and two interlaced rotors, connected by a thrust plate. The R6-H2 engine is predicted to be the definitive hydrogen engine for the 21st Century because its revolutionary rotary architecture and 6-phase thermodynamic cycle (patent EP3765711, 2022) eliminates the problem of engine knock (detonation) and enables high load homogenous charge compression ignition (HCCI) hydrogen combustion with >50% brake thermal efficiency and near-to-zero NOx emissions without aftertreatment.
Its 6-phase thermodynamic cycle completes in three pairs of phases in each rotation of the shaft: (1) intake/ 2nd compression (2) 1st compression/ power (3) scavenge-EGR/ exhaust.
The R6-H2 engine has strategic potential to support the UK Hydrogen Strategy by slashing the capital costs of new and retrofitted hydrogen-electric powered vehicles for land, air and sea, driving demand for hydrogen fuelling infrastructure and achieving national ambitions for net zero, global H2 market leadership and regional economic levelling up. As per the Ministerial foreword, “Our ambition for hydrogen goes beyond decarbonisation. It also means a focus on supporting industry to develop sustainable, home-grown supply chains, create high quality jobs, and capitalise on British innovation and expertise. It means incentivising private investment and looking to increase export opportunities. It means strengthening our industrial heartlands, boosting our economy and driving national growth.”
The mission behind R6EV Ltd is to revive the legacy of Rolls-Royce in its deprived inner-city birthplace in Manchester. The story is a 30-year saga of the regeneration of Hulme and Moss Side, home to over 43,000 people and the geographical heart of the African Caribbean community in Manchester. These communities still suffer some of the highest unemployment and poverty in the UK. R6EV Ltd dedicates 50% of profits to sustainable development (including the relief of poverty and the improvement of the conditions of life in socially and economically disadvantaged communities) and has associations with the Manchester Innovation Activities Hub and the Royce Hydrogen Accelerator.
“The UK has missed the boat on batteries, a sector dominated by China and the Far East, but we can be global leaders in the production and supply of hydrogen – an economy said to be worth $2.5tn in revenues by 2050.” – Jo Bamford.
R6EV Ltd. has benefitted from support by:
