Newhaven company's steam-powered idea

9:54pm Thursday 5th June 2008

Comments (11)   Have your say »

It may not be everyone's idea of a futuristic technology but good old fashioned steam power is set to make a return to combat soaring fuel prices.

The return of steam power could see people's car fuel costs fall by 40% thanks to a new system designed to recycle energy.

Newhaven-based company Clean Power Technology say their steam-powered lorry will be on the road by March next year and a steam powered car within three years.

Company chief executive Abdul Mitha said: "When you look at existing alternative fuel technologies they all have something in common.

"They all survive on government subsidy, they all require new infrastructure and they all require new distribution systems. When you take all that into account there's no net gain."

The secret to this steam revolution is research into harnessing a diesel or petrol engine's wasted energy, using a technology called clean energy storage and recovery (Cesar).

Clean Power was established in April 2006 to further develop Cesar at its base in Newhaven's Eplan industrial estate. Tests on steam hybrid engines show it uses 40% less fuel.

Chief technology officer Mike Burns said: "A lorry with a 15-litre engine typically running at full power and at maximum load and torque uses 84 litres an hour.

"Of that, 33% of that energy is used in cooling the engine, tyre friction uses 4% and 27% is used to actually move the vehicle. Thirty-six per cent of the energy is lost through the exhaust system."

Most of the energy lost through the exhaust is through heat. The company has developed its technology to recover 35% of that lost energy to create super-heated steam which is then used to drive a modern steam engine which is attached to the internal combustion engine.

While the company first started testing its technology on a Mazda RX8 sports car, it has been concentrating on using it in refrigerated trucks, which use a separate engine for its refrigeration system.

It has won the backing of a major US supermarket interested in making up to 80% fuel savings using the system.

In the prototype truck, which is due to hit the road in March next year, the exhaust heat from the truck's main engine is used to power the refrigerated trailer.

Clean Power claims that 80% of fuel used to power the containers could be saved.

The company said it plans to mass produce its refrigeration power unit by mid 2010 while a steam hybrid car should be road tested in the next 36 months.

Do you think that steam power might provide answer to global warming? Tell us what you think below.