LiquidPiston, Inc. develops internal combustion engines based on an innovative thermodynamic cycle, increasing average efficiency over conventional diesel engines from less than 20% to more than 50% under typical operating modes. LiquidPiston engines are compact, quiet and powerful, with a lower total carbon footprint for environmental sustainability. The engines are also multi-fuel capable.
History
The original LiquidPiston technology was developed by Dr. Nikolay Shkolnik. A serial inventor and innovator, Dr. Shkolnik began his career after receiving a PhD in theoretical physics from the University of Connecticut. He first started thinking about combustion engines and thermodynamics while completing his studies. Some twenty years later, Dr. Shkolnik was working as the Program Manager of the Clean Energy Group at Gen3 Partners, a technology innovation and consulting firm. In that role, Dr. Shkolnik developed fuel cells, super-capacitors, batteries, and other energy technologies, but he understood that a more efficient engine could compete with fuel cells and other technologies on well-to-wheel efficiency, while being cheaper to make and more compact. In 2003, Dr. Shkolnik developed and patented the original “Liquid Piston” combustion engine. At this time, his son, Alexander, was just beginning his PhD training at MIT. Together, Nikolay and Alexander made numerous improvements to the original engine idea, and realized that what is truly important is the underlying thermodynamics, called the High-Efficiency Hybrid Cycle. There may be numerous engine embodiments that might be able to execute this cycle. In fact, Nikolay and Alexander invented and analyzed over 120 design implementations before settling on the rotary engine design that is now undergoing testing.
In 2004, LiquidPiston won a prestigious award in the MIT $50K business plan competition (its now called the $100K). However, it was not until the company received an SBIR award from the Army in 2007 that Nikolay began working with the company full time. During that contract, the company built a functioning compressor which was capable of attaining 600 PSI, without a single seal. The venture community took notice, and LiquidPiston received investment in September of 2007 to develop the engine.
