Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems (IDS), a business of Raytheon Company, has placed an initial purchase order for multiple engines from Cyclone, developer of the Cyclone external combustion engine. (Earlier post.) This contract is valued at approximately $400,000. The work will be performed at Cyclone’s facility in Florida.
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| Mark V 100 hp engine. Click to enlarge. |
These initial purchased engines, named the MantaRay, are based on the company’s Mark V engine and patented technology. (Earlier post.) The MantaRay represents one of several engine models and projects on which Cyclone and Raytheon are collaborating.
Among those joint projects was the development of a prototype compact 10 hp (7.5 kW) external combustion engine for use in various power applications based on a Mark II engine, designed to run on both traditional fuels and a monopropellant called Moden Fuel, which can combust in the absence of oxygen. (Moden Fuel was originally developed by James R. Moden, Inc. to power US Navy torpedoes.) Testing in 2009 showed thermal efficiencies of more than 30%, results that exceeded original engineering calculations. (Earlier post.)
The Cyclone Engine is an all-fuel engine with the power and versatility to run everything from waste energy electric generators and solar thermal systems to cars, trucks and locomotives. Invented by company founder and CEO Harry Schoell, the patented Cyclone Engine achieves high thermal efficiencies through a compact heat-regenerative process, and runs on virtually any fuel—including bio-diesels, syngas or solar—while emitting fewer greenhouse gases and toxic pollutants into the air.
The Cyclone engines are currently in late stages of development.