First Major Change to Internal Combustion Engine in 110 Years

09/16/96

Business Wire has reported that Rosen Motors announced the first hybrid electric powertrain for automobiles to successfully use a flywheel-turbine combination.

Rosen says its new TurboFlywheel, with unusually long range, nearly zero emissions, and sports car-like acceleration, promises a mix of characteristics that neither conventional internal combustion-powered cars nor battery-powered cars can offer separately.

Calling the new product "the key to the 21st century automobile," Benjamin M. Rosen said, "this powertrain is the first major shift in automobile technology since the invention of the internal combustion engine."

Harold A. Rosen said, "We are the leader in developing the world's first practical solution to the most challenging problems confronting automobile manufacturers: how to meet stringent future clean air laws around the world and significantly improve fuel efficiency without sacrificing performance." Rosen Motors expects its approach to substantially enhance performance in terms of acceleration and range.

Rosen Motors is currently testing its TurboFlywheel in a passenger car on a dynamometer. Ultimately, the company expects that cars powered by its powertrain will produce emissions equivalent to those caused by battery-powered cars recharged by fossil-fuel-burning utilities. Rosen-powered cars, depending on their weight and aerodynamics, will have a range of 45 to 80 miles per gallon and accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in six to seven seconds.

"One of the most extraordinary aspects of this powertrain is the simplicity it will bring to the car. The turbogenerator has only one moving part, eliminating the need for a conventional radiator and a mechanical transmission. It's also maintenance-free, except for the need for an occasional air filter changer," said Harold Rosen.

The Rosen hybrid electric powertrain does not simply extend the range of a battery-powered vehicle. Rather, it selects an ideal blend of flywheel and turbine-generated power for a gasoline-fueled car. The flywheel supplies surge power for acceleration and absorbs energy from regenerative braking for reuse. In conventional cars all the energy spent braking is energy lost.

The Rosen system will also enable consumers to use existing gasoline stations just as they do now. "Consumers around the world will be able to drive super clean cars as soon as the first Rosen-powered autos are available," said Harold Rosen. "You just fill it up with unleaded gasoline from your neighborhood gas station and go."

Benjamin M. Rosen and brother Dr. Harold A. Rosen, founded Rosen Motors in 1993 after years of success in technology venture capital and communications engineering, respectively. In 1992 Computerworld magazine listed Ben Rosen, chairman of Compaq Computer and chairman of Sevin Rosen Funds, a venture capital firm, as one of 25 people in the computer industry who "changed the world."

Harold Rosen is recognized as the father of the geostationary communications satellite, the world's first practical commercial communications satellite. He has won numerous prestigious engineering awards, including 1995's Draper Prize, the world's top award in engineering.

Ben and Harold Rosen also direct Capstone Turbine Corporation, which supplies one of the key elements of the new Rosen TurboFlywheel, the gas-turbine generator. Capstone Turbine develops small gas turbine-driven electric generators (turbogenerators) for both mobile and stationary power.

Rosen Motors, located in Woodland Hills, CA, is a privately funded developer of hybrid electric powertrains for automobiles and flywheel systems for stationary power applications. The company employs approximately 60 people.

Paul Dever -- The Auto Channel