Ian Bruce
Aliso Viejo, CA (USA)
Role(s):
Founder/Owner/Principal
Rotavi, Inc.
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Startup
Location:
Aliso Viejo
Industry:
Transportation
Year Founded:
2008
Number Employees:
1-10 people
Description:
Rotavi will be producing a spec for small, highly efficient, biofuel optimized engine for both direct-drive and hybrid applications.
While much of the VC community is focused of biofuels, Rotavi is working to create a much more efficient way to use them. For example, a typical 4 cylinder engine is about 30% efficient -- that is, 70% of the gasoline that runs from the tank to the engine is simply wasted as heat, parasitic drag, friction, and raw fuel expelled out the tailpipe. By contrast, the Rotavi engine is as much as 60% thermally efficient, can be air cooled, and is designed to easily recirculate exhaust gasses back to the engine to be re-burned -- reducing NOx, CO, and HC pollutants even further.
Mechanical simplicity is also a key Rotavi feature. Although the engine has 12 cylinders, it only has 7 moving parts, 2 exhaust ports, 2 intake ports, and only 2 spark plugs. This breakthrough design allows for as much as 4 horsepower for each pound of engine weight. That is, a 100HP engine could weigh as little as 25-30 lbs.
By contrast, a typical 100HP engine can have as many as 80 moving parts, and hundreds of precision manufactured components. Many mass-market engines in use today can require as much as 3lbs of engine for every single unit of horsepower they generate. Worse, more fuel is wasted dragging an unnecessarily heavy engine along for the ride. Using a substantially smaller, and lighter engine means an even greater overall vehicle performance than a simple comparison would indicate.
International demand for small engines is a $200B ballgame, with the Chinese, Indian and Indonesian markets alone accounting for more than 22 million small capacity engines annually. Combine this with the increasing CARB and EURO restrictions on CO2 output, as well as the recent EPA mandates on non-road sub-25HP engines beginning in 2011, and you’ve got an unparalleled adoption opportunity.
Although Rotavi’s business model is licensing the engine technology to transportation manufacturers, the Company will also be producing a line of branded 100 - 200mpg scooters and motorcycles as a technology showcase.