Technically, the combustion engine in any hybrid vehicle is a range extender, but the term commonly refers to gasoline-fueled generators that are used to charge an electric vehicle’s battery pack but ...

There is no longer any doubt that internal combustion engines are on the way out the door. Most of us now believe that the doom of the ICE will be the electric cars, with their motors and batteries.

A revolutionary new internal combustion engine doesn’t go in circles, at all. Developed by engineers at the German Aerospace Center’s Institute of Vehicle Concepts, the Free Piston Linear Generator is ...

It’s pretty obvious that electricity is the future for our cars. But as any EV owner now can tell you, it has some limitations. Range and charging times are their biggest limitations, but the Toyota ...

Sandia National Laboratory led by Sandia researcher Peter Van Blarigan that has been testing physical components of free-piston engines which could be 50% efficient. This is about twice as good as ...

Antony Ingram April 30, 2014 Comment Now! Despite the recent advent of usable, talented electric vehicles, combustion engines are likely to persist for quite some time, often as a component in plug-in ...

An engine with no crankshaft, where the pistons float on air? It’s not a dream; it’s a free piston engine and it might be the next major advance in car tech. When we think of automotive technology of ...

We all know how a conventional internal combustion engine works, with a piston and a crankshaft. But that’s by no means the only way to make an engine, and one of the slightly more unusual ...

Antony Ingram April 30, 2014 Comment Now! The concept of range-extended vehicles--electric cars with a gasoline generator to extend their range--is an intriguing way of combining the benefits of both ...

In partnership with Woodward, Inc., a global leader in controls in Fort Collins, CO, the team is developing a free-piston linear generator as an alternative internal combustion technology. It utilizes ...

History makes fools of us all sometimes, none more so than when we dismiss certain ideas out of hand, only for them to come back years later and eat our words. That's why we're always intrigued by ...

Pistons are an engine-building element we like to brag about, but you won't catch many of us boasting about having cast pistons. Cast pistons are for wimps. Many of us like to talk up hypereutectic ...