Energy Consumption

Energy & Work

In the most basic terms, machines convert energy to work. Machines, such as cars and trucks, have been converting petroleum to the work of moving people and goods globally for over 100 years using an outdated inefficient internal combustion engine. That era is about to end.

The Imminent Crisis

Globally, we burn about $2 Trillion of petroleum annually. While politicians and scientists debate the cause of global warming, none disagree that the use of petroleum pollutes our environment, and as cheap reserves near depletion, that the cost of oil will rise substantially. The depletion shortage is expected to start by 2014-5.

Economists agree that high priced oil negatively affects every facet of society. By example, a one cent rise in the price of fuel costs the USA transportation industry $350,000,000 , which is passed on to the consumer. What happens then when petroleum fuel rises from $4 to $20 a gallon? Higher consumer prices result in lower consumption, and lower consumption results in fewer jobs. Fewer jobs result in less tax collected for health, education, and security.

 “Oil really is our economic jugular” states Anne Korin, co-director of the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security in 2008. Thirty years ago the United States imported 25% of its oil and now imports 62%. What happens to an economy and society when 2/3 of the fuel it now consumes has been depleted?

Political experts agree that the billions of dollars spent on buying oil from unstable sources is a transfer of wealth which threatens the security of every industrial country. Oil now accounts for half of the United States trade deficit , a percentage viewed as unsustainable to the world’s largest economy.

Globally, the G8 superpowers see the 2009 financial crisis as a minor economic tremor compared to what will happen with the imminent depletion of cheap oil reserves. In order to avoid global economic collapse “The world needs a shift as radical as the Industrial Revolution ………..one of the greatest tests humankind has ever faced” reported the McKinsey Global Institute June 23, 2008.

Paradigm Change

The key to petroleum replacement is a change in the transportation paradigm, which now consumes 60% of all petroleum world-wide in the movement of people and goods.  Rapid depletion is noted by David Greene of Oakridge National Labs in 2008, “95% of all vehicles are fueled by petroleum and 25% of all petroleum ever consumed was consumed in the last 10 years”.

To replace petroleum however requires a new engine, one which can replace any current engine in any current vehicle, and deliver the same power. To date though no hybrid, electrical, or fuel cell alternative can broadly replace all existing vehicle engines with the same performance.

Is the electric vehicle a viable alternative? A global lithium shortage is expected to start by 2013, leading the world’s largest vehicle manufacturer to label electric alternatives, including hybrids, as nothing more than “hype”. Electric vehicles are limited by their ability to store energy, and so are limited to niche markets. Further, according to the USA National Research Council, the real health and environmental costs of making electric cars can be 20 percent greater than conventional cars. The study concludes that emissions from operating and building electric cars in 2005 cost about 0.20 cents to 15 cents per vehicle mile traveled. In comparison, gasoline-powered cars cost about 0.34 cents to 5.04 cents per vehicle mile traveled.

In respect to hybrid performance, the Toyota Prius is rated at 50MPG and requires a complete battery change-out every 100,000 miles for $4-5,000. By comparison the VW Polo diesel with the same size motor is rated at 74MPG and is designed to last 250,000 miles.

In respect to electric vehicles, the Tesla purportedly has a 244 mile range. In real world conditions however, using a radio, heater for the cold weather, wipers for the rain, four passengers, stop & go traffic, highway on-ramp acceleration, a few hills, cold batteries, and a rear window defroster then the range quickly drops to 20 miles or less, making the stated range  grossly overstated.  That is followed by an 8 hour battery recharge.

The Solution

Following an international technical search by NERAC to confirm its unique engineering, the highly efficient bottom-cycle ZED (Zero Emissions Design) engine offers a solution which can re-power transportation now and into the next century.

The ZED design is derived in part from current engines so it is inexpensive to manufacture. It replaces a standard engine without changing the design of the vehicle platform, which ensures that it can be integrated quickly and inexpensively into current vehicle production.

The ZED engine is fully scalable, and therefore can be used in any application where a gasoline or diesel internal combustion engine (ICE) is currently used. Applications include everything from a lawn mower to train locomotive, bulldozer, farm tractor, car, heavy truck, crane, mining rock hauler, military tank, or airplane.

The ZED engine is designated AFC (All Fuel Capable) which means that it can uniquely transition from any current carbon fuel (gasoline, diesel, CNG, propane, methane) to zero carbon hydrogen with no modification. Fueled with hydrogen and fully engaging its Edber-Cycle heat scavenging system, the ZED engine produces approximately twice the horsepower and torque of the same size regular gasoline motor.