AUTONEWS

Horse and INNengine sign agreement to develop revolutionary range extender for electric cars

Many electric car manufacturers are simplifying things by adding range extenders to electric car batteries, thus ensuring greater efficiency and less complexity than a plug-in hybrid.

The technology is known as EREV (Extended Range Electric Vehicle), but it usually uses common combustion engines, such as car or scooter engines, and is not necessarily something made just for this function.

However, a Spanish startup called INNengine is drawing attention to its small internal combustion engine that promises to revolutionize its method of working.

Weighing 70% less than a small gasoline car engine, the Net-0 was originally designed for use in drones and small aerial vehicles, but its compact size and efficiency caught the attention of Horse.

Using four cylinders packed into a properly balanced cylinder, the Net-0 has a volume of 700 cm³ and delivers 120 horsepower and 24.8 kgfm with gasoline, but without changes, it can also run on gaseous hydrogen.

In its operation, the Net-0 is so stable in vibration that a 1 euro coin stands upright and rotates slightly on the small propeller when it is working.

There are 2 identical/reciprocal cam-tracks whose profile defines the engine´s cinematic and whose projection forms the main shaft which is hollow and split.

The piston-groups’ linear stroke is transformed into rotational movement by their interaction with the cam-tracks and their opposed-piston configuration opens and closes exhaust ports before intake ports and creates uniflow scavenging.

It can be said that the INNengine Net-0 works closer or similar to an electric motor, which guarantees its efficiency and comfort in a car, as well as stability in a drone.

Weighing 38 kg with only a stationary electric generator, the Net-0 seems ideal for electric cars functioning as a range extender.

In this case, a small fuel tank and power lines would ensure its operation, while the INNengine guarantees low pollutant and noise emissions.

With 22% lower consumption than an equivalent engine and 60% fewer parts, the INNengine Net-0 has only one operating time and its pistons are connected directly to the output shaft.

The engine is still under development by INNengine in Granada, Spain, but Horse is already ensuring the continuity of the project with a view to its use in vehicles.

Mundoquatrorodas