New engine prototype could potentially decrease auto emissions up to 90 percent

Previously:<p><a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2704614" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2704614</a><p><a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2425762" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2425762</a><p><a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2337237" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2337237</a>

This article is from 2011 and mentions a 25-kilowatt version by the end of the year. Anyone know of any updates?

It's basically a low RPM centrifugal turbine engine. which is actually perfect for recharging batteries since it's not as dangerous to have in the car a as an axially vented turbine, which runs at much higher RPM and temperature.

It always irks me how those news of ground-breaking improvements in this and that actually never translate into improvements in greenhouse gases emissions or cleaner air (or do 10 years later in another form without my being aware of it maybe).<p>There's already a few companies (one of them is Tesla Motors, an American company) working on cars that actually cut emissions dramatically and do in fact put a dent into the polluting, gas-guzzling model of the "modern" car paradigm.

Here is one with a company behind it <a href="http://www.liquidpiston.com/default.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.liquidpiston.com/default.html</a><p>But they don't have an animation<p><a href="http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/news/auto-blog/liquidpistons-hyper-efficient-engine-turning-the-rotary-inside-out-13817971" rel="nofollow">http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/news/auto-blog/liquidpi...</a><p>This is a picture of all the steps: <a href="http://www.gizmag.com/liquidpistol-rotary/24623/pictures#7" rel="nofollow">http://www.gizmag.com/liquidpistol-rotary/24623/pictures#7</a><p>But I cannot understand from that.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding, but it sounds like a normal rotary (Wankel) engine you can buy from Mazda right now. They have some benefits, but they're not a magical cure-all - everyone except Mazda dropped development of them. Wikipedia for the lazy: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wankel_engine" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wankel_engine</a>

&#62; The Wave Disk Generator uses 60 percent of its fuel for propulsion; standard car engines use just 15 percent. As a result, the generator is 3.5 times more fuel efficient than typical combustion engines.<p>" ... oh, did I mention that I flunked math?"<p>60 / 15 = 4, not 3.5.

I don't understand the point of this. I can decrease auto emission 100% by buying from Tesla.