Slick Sheet: Project
West Virginia University Research Corporation (WVURC), along with its partners at ANSYS, Inc., Sustainable Engineering, Wilson Works, and Stryke Industries, will develop a CHP generator for residential use based on a two-stroke, spark-ignited free-piston internal combustion engine (ICE). Traditional internal combustion engines use the force generated by the combustion of a fuel (natural gas in this case) to move a piston, transferring chemical energy to mechanical energy, which when used in conjunction with a generator produces electricity.

Slick Sheet: Project
Wisconsin Engine Research Consultants (WERC) and its partners Adiabatics, Briggs and Stratton, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison will develop a generator using an internal combustion engine (ICE) that incorporates an advanced spark-assisted homogeneous charge compression ignition (SA-HCCI) system. Traditional internal combustion engines use the force generated by the combustion of a fuel (e.g. natural gas) to move a piston, transferring chemical energy to mechanical energy. This can then be used in conjunction with a generator to create electricity.

Slick Sheet: Project
Tour Engine, in collaboration with Wisconsin Engine Research Consultants (WERC) will develop a miniature internal combustion engine (ICE) based on Tour's existing split-cycle engine technology. Traditional ICEs use the force generated by the combustion of a fuel (e.g. natural gas (NG)) to move a piston, transferring chemical energy to mechanical energy. This can then be used in conjunction with a generator to create electricity. Unlike a normal combustion engine, a split-cycle engine divides the process into a cold cylinder (intake and compression) and a hot cylinder (expansion and exhaust).

Slick Sheet: Project
Sunpower, in partnership with Aerojet Rocketdyne and Precision Combustion Inc. (PCI), proposes a high-frequency, high efficiency 1 kW free-piston Stirling engine (FPSE). A Stirling engine uses a working gas such as helium, which is housed in a sealed environment. When heated by the natural gas-fueled burner, the gas expands causing a piston to move and interact with a linear alternator to produce electricity. As the gas cools and contracts, the process resets before repeating again.

Slick Sheet: Project
West Virginia University Research Corporation (WVURC) and their partner, Infinia Technology Corporation, propose to demonstrate an advanced Stirling power generation system for residential CHP applications. A Stirling engine uses a working gas housed in a sealed environment, in this case the working gas is helium. When heated by the natural gas-fueled burner, the helium expands causing a piston to move and interact with a linear alternator to produce electricity. As the gas cools and contracts, the process resets before repeating again.

Slick Sheet: Project
Sencera Energy and Ohio University will develop a novel kinematic Stirling-Brayton hybrid engine using flexure based volume displacement in lieu of a conventional piston-cylinder Stirling engine. A Stirling engine uses a working gas housed in a sealed environment, in this case the working gas is helium. When heated by the natural gas-fueled burner, the gas expands causing a piston to move and interact with an alternator to produce electricity. As the gas cools and contracts, the process resets before repeating again.

Slick Sheet: Project
NanoConversion Technologies, along with researchers from Gas Technologies Institute (GTI), will develop a high-efficiency thermoelectric CHP system. This is a solid-state device that uses heat to create electricity and contains no moving parts, thus creating no noise or vibrations. Instead, this thermoelectric CHP engine uses a novel concentration mode-thermoelectric converter (C-TEC) to harness the heat of the natural gas combustor to vaporize and ionize sodium, creating positive sodium ions and electrons that carry electric current.

Slick Sheet: Project
Metis Design Corporation (MDC) with Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory will develop a Brayton cycle engine for residential use to produce heat and electricity. To begin the cycle, air is drawn into the system where it is compressed and pressurized. This compressed air is then heated in a recuperator and introduced in to the combustion chamber. Fuel is injected in to the combustion chamber and subsequently the air-fuel mixture is ignited.

Slick Sheet: Project
MAHLE Powertrain with partners at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Louthan Engineering, Kohler Company, and Intellichoice Energy will design and develop a CHP generator that uses an internal combustion engine with a turbulent jet ignition (TJI) combustion system. Similar to an automotive internal combustion engine, the proposed system follows the same process: the combustion of natural gas fuel creates a force that moves a piston, transferring chemical energy to mechanical energy used in conjunction with a generator to create electricity.

Slick Sheet: Project
Brayton Energy will develop a 1 kW recuperated Brayton cycle engine to produce heat and electricity for residential use. To begin the cycle, compressed air is preheated in a recuperator before adding fuel, then the air-fuel mix is ignited in a combustion chamber. The high temperature exhaust gases then expand through the turbine, providing some of the work that drives the compressor and also produces electricity in a generator. Major project innovations include the use of a rotary screw-type compressor and expander that operate in a sub-atmospheric Brayton cycle i.e.