Dual-Fuel™ R&D

Clean Air Power continues to deliver on its strategy to develop and patent significant elements of Dual-Fuel™ to ensure future protection of its technology to deliver an efficient, cleaner and lower cost alternative to conventional diesel fuel.

 

• Dual-Fuel™ Engine Having Multiple Dedicated Controllers Connected by a Broadband Communications Link
• MicroPilot™ - the Next Generation Dual-Fuel™ Technology
• European Grant - Dual-Fuel™ Engine Having Multiple Dedicated Controllers Connected by a Broadband Communications Link
• Method and Apparatus for Controlling Transition between Operating Modes in A Multi-Fuel Engine

 

Clean Air Power Announces Australia Grant:- Dual-Fuel™ Engine Having Multiple Dedicated Controllers Connected by a Broadband Communications Link (granted under Australian Patent 2003208949) covers future development of Dual-Fuel™ technology.

This Australian patent applies to a Dual-Fuel™ engine control system comprising of  at least two controllers communicating within a Controlled Area Network (CAN).  The CAN is the state-of-the-art "computer network" that enables one electronic control unit (ECU) to speak with another ECU, including any controller in the vehicle that is capable of communication within the CAN.  Currently, all vehicle system communication is managed by CAN technology. 

By patenting the use of the CAN communication protocol for Dual-Fuel™ applications, Clean Air Power has a competitive advantage and has protected its future products against competitive systems.   The use of the CAN gives Clean Air Power systems the benefits of the industry's standard communication protocol and delivers the optimum technical approach for system integration.

Clean Air Power holds corresponding patents in US and Europe under Patent No. 6,694,242 and 1,485,599, respectively.

 

MicroPilot™- the Next Generation Dual-Fuel™Technology (US Patent 6,598,584 and EU Patent 1,234,966 titled "Gas-Fueled, Compression Ignition Engine with Maximized Pilot Ignition Intensity)

In addition to the current Dual-Fuel™ technology, Clean Air Power is constantly looking to the future, developing new solutions to reduce emissions and costs. One such offering is MicroPilot™, which is the subject of a milestone technical paper that showed how engine emissions can be dramatically reduced by lowering the quantities of diesel pilot injections.

This pioneering work showed that smaller diesel pilot injections comprising 1-2% of the total fuel, can reduce NOx emissions by over 80%, whilst also reducing CO2 emissions.

The MicroPilot™ engine produces low emissions that are realized by a spark-ignited lean-burn natural gas engine, retaining the high efficiency and power density of a diesel engine. With recent advances in diesel fuel injection technology, the Directors of Clean Air Power believe that MicroPilot™ could be applied to heavy-duty engines within the 2010 deadline.

The Company intends MicroPilot™ engines to be compliant with Euro V and beyond, taking the Dual-Fuel™ solution into the next decade.

 

Dual-Fuel™ Engine Having Multiple Dedicated Controllers Connected by a Broadband Communications Link (granted under Patent EP 1,485,599) covers future development of Dual-Fuel™ technology.

This European patent applies to a Dual-Fuel™ engine control system comprising of  at least two controllers communicating within a Controlled Area Network (CAN).  The CAN is the state-of-the-art "computer network" that enables one electronic control unit (ECU) to speak with another ECU, including any controller in the vehicle that is capable of communication within the CAN.  Currently, all vehicle system communication is managed by CAN technology. 

By patenting the use of the CAN communication protocol for Dual-Fuel™ applications, Clean Air Power has a competitive advantage and has protected its future products against competitive systems.   The use of the CAN gives Clean Air Power systems the benefits of the industry's standard communication protocol and delivers the optimum technical approach for system integration.

The corresponding US patent 6,694,242 was granted in February 2004.

 

Method and Apparatus for Controlling Transition between Operating Modes in A Multi-Fuel Engine was issued on 18th September 2007, US Patent 7,270,089

This patent discloses the additional engine control method for a smooth transition between operation modes in a Dual-Fuel™ or other multimode engine. Smooth transition between operation modes is crucial to the success of any multi-fuel engine. 

 

The corresponding patent applications have been filed in Europe and Australia.