Obrist invents 'Champagne Engine': A Two-Stroker with Smoother Operation Than a Twelve-Cylinder
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Obrist invents 'Champagne Engine': A Two-Stroker with Smoother Operation Than a Twelve-Cylinder
- "Runs so smoothly that a filled champagne glass stands perfectly still on it."
- Champagne engine in action: https://youtu.be/2z_s87ca8Qw?si=LLS8Mq33_xMONCfj
- Use in the HyperHybrid: Drive with an electric motor but refuel like a combustion engine.
Lindau/Germany, Lustenau/Austria – 25 July 2024 – A compact two-stroke engine in a car that runs smoother than a twelve-cylinder, the benchmark for smoothness in combustion engines – this is the invention from the German-Austrian industrial group Obrist Group. The company likes to demonstrate its "Zero Vibration Generator" (ZVG) mini-engine with a filled glass of champagne on top, because the refined liquid shows no movement at all when the two-stroke engine is running. The "champagne engine" is used in the HyperHybrid concept being promoted by the group.
The "trick" here: The mini-engine is not connected to the vehicle's drivetrain at all, but is used solely for power generation, feeding an electric motor that drives the vehicle via a compact buffer battery. "HyperHybrid combines the advantages of electric mobility with the simplicity of the familiar refuelling process, thereby solving the problem of range anxiety that is inherently associated with electric cars," explains Frank Obrist, who has been developing the HyperHybrid concept with his team since 2011. The vehicle runs on conventional fuel (petrol or e-fuels) from any gas station. Fuel consumption is very low at around 1.5 litres per 100 kilometres, and the range (without refuelling or recharging) is over 1,000 kilometres. Therefore, unlike pure electric mobility, this hybrid does not require a new charging infrastructure. It also eliminates the need for the large and heavy battery packs required for electric cars, and the significant environmental impact inevitably associated with their production.
Zero Vibration Generator and Buffer Battery are the Core Components
Because the 45 kW, 110 kg "champagne engine" is used only to recharge the vehicle's buffer battery and power the air conditioning when needed, it does not need to rev up like a conventional car engine. Instead, it always runs in the optimum rev range, if at all. The engine's design principle is deliberately simple: technically, it is a one-litre naturally aspirated engine with multi-channel fuel injection. There is no need for variable valve timing, which is common in drive engines.
The two crankshafts operate in opposite directions, eliminating any vibrations. A rubber-damped gearbox on the second crankshaft minimizes the noise generated by the gearbox. An integrated flywheel compensates for all the inertias of the rotating parts, including external forces outside the engine, such as the oil system with the oil pump. As a result, and with complete encapsulation in a soundproofing box approximately the size of a shoebox, the engine operates virtually noiselessly and vibration-free.
In addition to the "Champagne Engine," the buffer battery represents a second core component of the HyperHybrid concept. The compact battery pack consists of two layers of stacked cylindrical cells in a vacuum maintained by an integrated pump within the battery. A two-centimeter thick insulating layer ensures consistently favorable temperature conditions. The entire mini-battery weighs just 98 kilograms, about 85 percent less than the battery block in, for example, a Tesla Model Y. Nevertheless, with 17.3 kilowatt-hours, it provides the HyperHybrid with a purely electric range of over 80 kilometers; enough for 90 percent of everyday trips.
The Obrist Group describes its concept as production-ready and considers it an alternative to purely battery-electric mobility. While the "Champagne Engine" installed in the vehicle does produce carbon dioxide (CO2) when operated with gasoline, it generates very little due to its low consumption. In contrast, the so-called "CO2 backpack" of conventional electric cars, which is the CO2 burden associated with the production of large battery blocks, is almost entirely eliminated with the HyperHybrid. If the "Champagne Engine" is powered by sustainably produced e-fuels, the CO2 balance actually reverses: the production of the synthetic fuel can remove more CO2 from the atmosphere than is released during its later combustion in the mini-engine. The Obrist Group refers to this as a "CO2-negative" or "climate-positive" approach.
The HyperHybrid concept has good prospects for use in Europe, provided that the planned ban on internal combustion vehicles in 2035 includes an exemption for cars running on e-fuels. In Germany, the percentage of those interested in electric cars has fallen from 34 to 29 percent over the past two years, according to a recent McKinsey survey. Nearly a quarter of electric car drivers regret their decision to switch to electric mobility. A critical factor appears to be the e-infrastructure: only seven per cent consider the existing charging network to be adequate - an obstacle that the HyperHybrid would eliminate in one fell swoop. Apart from that, Obrist's concept remains interesting for the rest of the world: only about one fifth of all vehicles worldwide are on European roads.
Obrist Group: Founded by inventor and entrepreneur Frank Obrist, the Obrist Group focuses on innovations for global, sustainable and CO2-reducing energy concepts. The spectrum ranges from the global supply of renewable energies and atmospheric fuels (aFuels) to innovative CO2-negative (i.e. climate-positive!) drive concepts for the automotive industry. With over 200 patents, the Obrist Group is one of the world's most important innovators in the field of sustainable energy concepts.
Further Information: www.obrist.at
Press Contact: Thorsten Rixmann, Global Director Marketing & Communications, Tel. +43 660 5642275, E-Mail: t.rixmann@obrist.at
Press Agency: euromarcom public relations, phone +49 611 973150, E-Mail: team@euromarcom.de
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