BLOOMFIELD, Conn., July 27, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- LiquidPiston, Inc., a leading innovator of efficient engine technology and hybrid power systems, today announced that it has been awarded an $8.3 million contract by Parsons Corporation (NYSE: PSN) to revolutionize battlefield power generation for the U.S. Army. With this contract, the company will integrate its recently launched high-performance rotary X-Engine™, the XTS-210, into a lightweight, compact 10 kW generator set to be field-tested by the Army, delivering unmatched power flexibility and portability to the warfighter.
The LiquidPiston generator set (genset) will be approximately one-quarter the size and weight of the currently fielded Advanced Medium Mobile Power Source (AMMPS) generator system. Given its smaller footprint and inverter type operation, LiquidPiston’s new genset could replace multiple existing generator power classes with a single genset platform, greatly simplifying Army genset procurement and logistics.
“For our troops to successfully operate around the world, having a reliable, lightweight power source is imperative,” said Col. Kathy M. Brown, Project Manager, Expeditionary Energy & Sustainment Systems, U.S. Army. “By significantly reducing the challenges of delivering essential power to our personnel, often operating in remote or contested terrain, this new capability will help improve military effectiveness and protect American lives.”
Leveraging LiquidPiston’s patented High Efficiency Hybrid Thermodynamic Cycle™ (HEHC) and compact, heavy-fueled rotary engine, the new genset will offer several key benefits:
- Lightweight – 75 percent lighter and smaller than the currently-fielded AMMPS
- Easy to transport – can be man-portable, instead of requiring a truck, trailer, or forklift
- Space-efficient – occupies only ~9 cubic feet of space
- Fuel-efficient – targeted to use up to 8% less fuel
Current military mobile generators are too heavy and inefficient for modern use cases, which also makes them a potential hazard; during the height of the combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, approximately one-half of American casualties were sustained while moving fuel to the front. With the power density of LiquidPiston’s 10 kW genset, nearly 4x the power could be deployed to the battlefront for the same transport volume as currently-fielded gensets; this would reduce the frequency of refueling and therefore the risk to the troops.
“Imagine the possibilities that are created when soldiers no longer have to haul a massive and inefficient generator on a towed trailer. This generator can have a revolutionary impact on the lives – and the mission success – of our armed forces,” said Dr. Alec Shkolnik, co-founder and CEO of LiquidPiston. “This award demonstrates a deep commitment by the Army to help LiquidPiston develop an ultra-light and portable power generation system, first for military applications and later for a range of commercial applications in the over $4B global portable generator market.”
LiquidPiston’s award supports an existing $14.9 million Other Transaction Award (OTA) prime contract for U.S. Army Expeditionary Intelligent Tactical and Expeditionary Power that was awarded to Polaris Alpha Advanced Systems, a Parsons Company, by the Department of Defense Ordnance Technology Consortium (DOTC) in 2022. Through this contract, Polaris Alpha Advanced Systems is providing research and development to deliver reliable, adaptable, and reconfigurable power that meets extended power needs for the growing number of tactical electronic devices utilized in increasingly complex and remote battlegrounds.
LiquidPiston’s generator solution is the result of decades of engine research and development, coupled with more than 10 contracts secured with the U.S. Department of Defense and over $20 million awarded in development funding over the past 24 months, including a $9 million DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory award for a Compact Efficient Rotary Engine announced last fall and a $8.3 million award from DEVCOM C5ISR Center for the development of Light Weight High Efficiency Generators. It will serve as a building block that will yield a family of modernized Tactical Electric Power (TEP) sources with similar efficiency and size reduction benefits.
To learn more about LiquidPiston’s genset, please visit https://www.liquidpiston.com/xts-210-engine-liquidpiston-2.
About LiquidPiston
LiquidPiston, Inc., a technology startup based in Bloomfield, CT, is leading the power systems industry’s development of combustion engines that are scalable (from one horsepower (HP) to over 1,000), compact (delivering 1.5 HP/lb), and capable of utilizing efficient fossil or renewable fuel. The company’s patented High Efficiency Hybrid Cycle™ (HEHC) and engine architecture innovation support next-generation fuel-energy conversion solutions for hybrid power systems, including for UAS, mobile power generation, and APU applications.
To learn more, visit www.liquidpiston.com.
Media Contact
Jon Keller
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