LiquidPiston Achieves Key Milestone for U.S. Army Development Program’s 25hp Rotary Engine
April 18 2024 - 10:15AM
LiquidPiston, Inc., a leading innovator of efficient internal
combustion engine technology and hybrid power systems, today
announced that a fully integrated version of its 25hp XTS-210
heavy-fuel rotary engine has begun testing.
This milestone follows the successful completion
of initial dynamometer testing of the engine core and enables
parallel development of products powered by the engine, including a
compact man-portable 10kW electric generator being developed under
a U.S. Army contract awarded to LiquidPiston.
LiquidPiston will share updates on the newly
integrated XTS-210 at two important upcoming industry conferences.
Representatives from the company will be at Booth #3226 at
XPONENTIAL, a drone-focused event being held April 22-25 in San
Diego, and Booth #2000 at SOF Week 2024, a defense industry event
being held May 6-10 in Tampa, FL.
“LiquidPiston is moving the XTS-210 from the lab
to the real world,” said LiquidPiston co-founder and CEO Alec
Shkolnik. “Integrating the engine core with the balance of plant
components, including the supercharger, fuel and oil pumps, and
other ancillary systems marks a major milestone in the development
of the engine.”
“Upon successful completion of this development
and testing phase, the XTS-210 will be able to power a broad range
of vehicle and off-vehicle power systems. This includes a
first-of-its-kind hybrid eVTOL UAS and a lightweight and
man-portable 10kW generator to support the DoD’s increasing
critical operational energy needs by delivering unmatched power
flexibility and portability to the warfighter.”
The LiquidPiston 10kW genset will be
approximately one-quarter the size and weight of the currently
fielded Advanced Medium Mobile Power Source (AMMPS) 10kW generator
system. Given its smaller footprint and power electronics,
LiquidPiston’s genset platform can replace multiple existing
generator power classes, greatly simplifying generator procurement
and logistics for the U.S. Army and other DoD agencies.
XTS-210-powered 10kW generators will leverage
LiquidPiston’s patented High Efficiency Hybrid Thermodynamic Cycle™
(HEHC) design, offering several key benefits:
- Lightweight – Up
to 75 percent lighter and smaller than the currently-fielded
AMMPS.
- Easy to transport
– Can be man-portable, instead of requiring a truck,
trailer, or forklift.
- Space-efficient –
Occupies only ~9 cubic feet of space.
- Heavy- / Multi- fuel
capable – Designed for jet fuel, the
engines have also been operated on gasoline, diesel, propane and
hydrogen.
LiquidPiston’s XTS-210 engine is the result of
decades of engine research and development, coupled with more than
10 contracts secured with the U.S. Department of Defense and over
$20 million awarded in development funding, including a $9 million
DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory award for a Compact Efficient
Rotary Engine announced in November 2022 and an $8.3 million award
from DEVCOM C5ISR Center for the development of a Light Weight High
Efficiency Generator announced in July 2023. The XTS-210 is also
being integrated into a hybrid eVTOL UAS for an Army demonstration
that will occur later this year.
About LiquidPiston
LiquidPiston, Inc, a technology startup based in
Bloomfield, CT, is leading the power systems industry’s development
of internal combustion engines that are scalable (from one
horsepower (HP) to over 1,000 HP), compact (delivering 1.5 HP/lb),
and capable of efficiently utilizing fossil or renewable fuels. The
company’s patented High Efficiency Hybrid Cycle™ (HEHC) and engine
architecture innovation support next-generation fuel-energy
conversion solutions for hybrid power systems, including for UAS,
mobile power generation, and APU applications.
To learn more, visit www.liquidpiston.com.
High resolution image here.
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/75868a05-09f3-4c36-8284-877f95920919
Media Contact
Jack McHugh
jack@propllr.com