LiquidPiston awarded SBIR grant from the U.S. Army to develop its X-Engine for UAVs

BLOOMFIELD, Conn. - LiquidPiston, Inc., a developer of advanced rotary internal combustion engines for diesel and jet fuels, announced it received a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I grant from the U.S. Army for the development of its X-Engine as a hybrid-electric propulsion platform for UAVs.

The company was also named one of 12 winners in the U.S. Army xTechSearch 3.0, a prize competition to award and accelerate innovative technology solutions that can help solve key Army challenges, for its X-Engine configured as a high-efficiency auxiliary power unit (APU). These new aviation applications of LiquidPiston’s X-Engine technology demonstrate the versatility of the X-Engine system and its ability to provide compact, fuel-efficient power for manned or unmanned aircraft using military-grade heavy fuels such as JP8.

The X-Engine, a rotary engine that operates on the company’s patented High-Efficiency Hybrid Cycle (HEHC), is the perfect power source for a hybrid-electric propulsion platform because of its compact size and fuel efficiency. UAVs with Vertical Take Off and Landing (VTOL) capabilities enable the Army to launch and land UAVs on a small area and set up and stow quickly while the X-Engine hybrid-electric power system allows minimization of heavy, low energy density onboard batteries. The X-Engine, configured as a parallel electric hybrid, also provides UAVs with the unique ability to cruise in “quiet mode” using electric-only power, with the ability to restart the engine mid-flight, enabling more efficient fuel usage and stealthier missions. The ability to do this on jet fuel has not previously been demonstrated in other vehicles currently fielded.