1. New Technologies for Low-
grade Heat Power
Engineering

2. Novel technology for low-grade
heat conversion into electricity
For solar power
stations: higher
efficiency and
lower BOM
For thermal power For geothermal power
plants: power capacity plants: Flexible deployment
increase and co-generation and better scalability of power
by waste heat recycling capacity

3. Introduction: Heat Conversion Idea
We reverse the “roulette wheel” of the gas cycle in hydraulic accumulators. To gain
some more fluid power in each conversion cycle instead of losing it in conventional
recuperative cycles in accumulators

4. Core technology – Thermo-
Pneumo-Hydraulic Conversion
(TPHC)
Novel heat engine based on
hydraulic accumulators and
heat exchangers:
Transformation of heat from any
external source of energy
directly into fluid power.

5. Core technology (for fluid power people)
stage 1
stage 2
oil flow
stage 3 stage 4
hot gas flow
cold gas flow

6. TPHC cycle put simple: Stroke 1
Heat
exchanger
Gas
Compression HOT
COLD
Liquid Liquid
Total power in

7. TPHC cycle put simple : Stroke 2
dQ1
heat in
Heat
w Ga
exchanger
s flo s
flo
Ga w
Gas
Gas transfer Gas
COLD HOT
Liquid
Liquid
Total power out
Heat in

8. TPHC cycle put simple : Stroke 3
Heat
exchanger
Gas
Expansion
COLD HOT
Liquid
Liquid
Total power out

9. TPHC cycle put simple : Stroke 4
dQ2
Heat out
Heat Ga
f low exchanger s flo
G as w
Gas Gas transfer Gas
COLD HOT
Liquid
Liquid
Total power in
Heat out

10. Competing technologies
• Thermo-Electrical Conversion (TEC)
• Evaporative cycle conversion:
– Water Rankine Cycle (WRC),
– Water-Ammonia Rankine Cycle (Kalina cycle),
– Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC)
• Stirling Cycle Engines
None of competing technologies offer a
combination of:
• High efficiency in wide temperature range
• High power density
• Low installation and operation costs

11. Key Competitive Advantages:
Manufacturing and operation
• Simplicity of operation: one part always hot,
another always cold (like external combustion
engine)
• Simplicity of manufacturing:
• Mostly standard and modified standard fluid
power components used
• Low BOM: steel, nitrogen and oil are not in
deficiency, no need of scarce materials

12. Key Competitive Advantages:
Efficiency
• Low operational temperature gradient: 80
degree temperature difference between hot and
cold media enough for operation
• Wide temperature range: coolant temperature
from - 50 to +100 C
• High power density
• Low energy transformation losses: Directly from
gas expansion into Fluid Power

13. Competitive technologies
comparison
advantages disadvantages
Water high power capacity, reasonable operable for T>450C, complexity of
Rankene efficiency the system, bulky equipment, high
cost
Water- higher efficiency (compare to WRC) higher complexity (compare to
Ammonia WRC)
Rankene
Organic higher efficiency (compare to WRC), each system is optimized for
Rankene operable for T<450C specific working temperatures, low
power density
Thermo- compactness, direct conversion to low efficiency, high BOM, rare
Electric electricity, very wide range of materials required
Conversion temperature differences for
utilization, wide range of power
capacity
TPHC higher efficiency (compare to ORC), unconventional technology, fluid
operable for 80C<T<350C, wide power experience required for
range of coolant temperatures, high maintenance
power density, low BOM

14. Efficiency estimate
Technology Tmax(Tmin) C Pmax/Pmin ηGAS ηtotal
TPHC 100 (15) 2 20% 15 %
TPHC 300 (15) 3 40% 32 %
ORC 120 (20) 13% 10 %
ORC 300 (30) 25% 20 %
TEC 100 (15) 3%
TEC 300 (15) 8%
ηGAS – efficiency of gas cycle ηtotal – total efficiency
ORC – Organic Rankine Cycle, TEC – thermoelectric conversion
Expected total efficiency of TPHC (our system) is
much higher than that of TEC and comparable to that
of ORC at the same temperature differences

15. Market estimate*
• Almost 250 quadrillion BTUs of low temperature energy is
considered waste worldwide
– Industrial sites (chemical, paper, food, etc – 76,000 sites)
– Commercial buildings including schools and high rise –
200,000 sites
– Other sites such as wastewater treatment plants (16,000)
• Geothermal recourses (only crustal heat) 7.5▪107 quad BTUs
• Solar flux (reached the surface of the Earth ) about 10 5 TW
Potential market of waste heat conversion devices
in the US only is a US$26Bln opportunity or over
US$75Bln worldwide.
Adopted from http://www.smartstartvf.com/download.cfm/en_rotors.pdf?AssetID=260

16. Current status of the Project
• Proof of concept achieved by testing a lab
bench prototype of the heat engine
• Key performance parameters verified
experimentally
• 7 PCT applications pending, 2 US patents, 3
Utility models (Germany), 6 Russian patents
• Validation pending in USA, Canada, China,
Korea, Taiwan, India, UK, Germany, France,
Switzerland, Austria, Sweden, Finland

17. Proof of concept: lab bench
engine assembly
hot heat
exchanger
cold hot
accumulator accumulator

18. Strategy
Round Round
1 2
Waste
Waste Pilot
heat
Waste
Testing different scales and conditions
heat Licensing
industrial
heat
Lab bench proto
Whole system proto
industrial
industrial
Applications
We are here
Yet more patents
Waste
Waste Pilot
More patents
heat
Waste
heat
commerci
heat Licensing
commerci
al estate
commer-
al estate
cial estate
Pilot
Solar
Licensing
Pilot
Geotherm
Licensing

19. Project Team
Leonid Sheshin Sergey Ryadnov Yurii Yavushkin Dr. Igor
- Project - Chief System - System Rozhdestvenskiy -
Manager, 12 Designer, 25 Tester, 40 years Business
years of years of of experience in development
experience in experience in mechanical consultant, 20 years
experimental mechanical engineering of experience in
physics, 30 years engineering, 12 theoretical physics, 6+
– in electronic years - in fluid years experience in
engineering, 7 power tech startup consulting
years - in fluid
power