TEC engines emphasize high efficiency, compact size, and quiet, clean operation. Ecotera intends to develop a series of engines that meet performance goals for markets ranging from electric power generation to hybrid electric vehicles. The TEC engine is ideally suited for markets requiring low to moderate sized power units including:

distributed energy combined heat and power concentrating solar power village power/remote power hybrid electric vehicles biopower/biofuel/bioenergy

aircraft space missions cogeneration person portable power recreational power backup power/disaster relief

In developed countries the TEC engine could meet the large consumer, construction, recreation, remote community and military market demand for small, portable power generators. Diesel and gasoline generators with low efficiency, high noise levels and high emissions currently dominate this market niche. Ecotera's clean energy technology can also be configured to generate portable electrical power from a solar, biopower, or hydrogen system.

In developing countries, the TEC engine could make clean, sustainable electricity accessible to remote communities and villages that currently do not have access to electrical power infrastructure.

If used in a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), an engine based on the TEC concept could be over 25% more fuel efficient, eliminate the need for oil changes, and combine heating, cooling, and power needs into a single unit that would be smaller and lighter than competing engines in a comparable output range.

• Distributed Energy Resources - With distributed energy resources, both supply and demand-side energy can be located on-site or nearby the location where it is used. This provides an opportunity for greater local control and more efficient waste heat utilization to boost efficiency and lower emissions. Distributed generation devices are generally small, modular, and come in sizes that range in capacity from kilowatts to megawatts. The TEC engine has a combination of key features that are not readily available for small to medium sized off-grid electric power generators.
  DOE Distributed Energy Program

• CHP - Combined Cooling, Heating, and Power - CHP applications will provide the maximum overall TEC engine system efficiency. A TEC microturbine unit can produce electrical power, and environmental heating and cooling for building interiors as well as heating building water supplies. The CHP capacity can be configured for other applications such as hybrid electric vehicles and aircraft.
  DOE Combined Heat and Power Program

• Concentrating Solar Power - The combination of Solar Dish and Stirling Heat Engine is the most efficient way to convert solar energy to electricity. With the addition of the TEC turbine, the heat into power conversion process would be more efficient - enabling more cost-effective, high power generation of electricity from solar sources. The solar trough is currently the most cost-effective way to use concentrated solar thermal energy, and the TEC turbine is well suited for use in this type system.
  U.S. Department of Energy's Solar Technologis Program - Concentrating Solar Power
  U.S. Department of Energy's Concentrating Solar Power program - Sunlab

• Village Power/Remote Area Power - TEC power is ideal for isolated communities. Units are energy efficient, compact, and quiet. The combustion chamber can be configured for solar thermal, biofuel, and biomass as will as conventional fossil fuels. The engine compartment can be hermetically sealed to reduce noise and environmental contact. The power output can be configured to deliver a mix of electricity, mechanical shaft energy, and heating and cooling.

• Automotive/Hybrid Electric Vehicles - Microturbines are being used as power sources for electric motors that provide power for the next generation of vehicles. A microturbine is about half the size of a conventional internal combustion engine and produces 1.5 to 2 times the power for a given output range. The combination of reduced size and weight, fewer parts, less maintenance and higher reliability makes the TEC microturbine engine a compelling choice for use in the transportation sector. TEC engines can provide shaft power, electricity, and heating and cooling for vehicle operation. Constant output shaft power can be augmented for peak power needs by battery/motor units that can be recharged by TEC electricity. The engine can be adapted to simultaneously provide interior heating and cooling.

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• Biopower/Biofuel/Bioenergy - Bioenergy is the second largest renewable source of power. An executive order calls for a threefold increase in the generation of bioenergy power by the year 2010. This will be the equivalent of reducing the consumption of oil by 45,000,000 barrels a year and a corresponding decrease in greenhouse gas emissions of 20 tons per year. The TEC engine is particularly well suited for using various biofuels, since the TEC engine uses heat from an external combustion process. The TEC engine could be configured to convert heat from biofuel, biomass, landfill gas, and flare gas from oil fields into mechanical or electrical power.
  DOE Biopower Program

• Aircraft - The closed cycle gas turbine TEC engine can provide power for a wide range of military and commercial aircraft with up to 25% higher fuel efficiency and as much as 10 times higher power density than existing aircraft engines. This can significantly impact aircraft fuel requirements, range, useful payload, and environmental emissions. Other features include very high fan speeds resulting in strongly attenuated engine noise and high ratio of power to overall weight allowing smaller runways and even commercial vertical lift aircraft. TEC engines could be configured to provide auxiliary power and environment controls such as heating and cooling inside the aircraft.

• Space Missions - The TEC engine's high efficiency and power density reduces mass allocation for power on spacecraft. The TEC engine's ability to operate with a variety of thermal energy sources, including methane, solar thermal, and reactor waste heat, increases mission flexibility. The advanced heat rejection design and reliable, quiet operation are additional benefits of TEC power supplies on spacecraft as well as in all other applications including satellite power source, LEO/Low Earth Orbit, and deep space power applications. Devices similar are being investigated as high power source for lunar and other applications in the NASA Dynamic Solar Power Program.

• Cogeneration - The TEC engine could be combined with existing power sources that have significant heat as a by-product, or use heat in the process of generating electricity. Advanced solid oxide fuel cells make a good fit in combination with a TEC turbine. Existing coal and steam plants, which have heat as a byproduct or "waste" heat, are another good fit. With TEC technology, the "waste" heat can be converted into a considerable source of additional power, thus making the whole energy producing system more efficient and powerful.

• Person Portable Power - In the field, at work, and at play there is an increasing need for lightweight, high efficiency person-portable power supplies for telecommunications, computing, power tools, night vision equipment, etc. Analysis suggests that a 500-watt TEC unit weighing less that 8-kg will run continuously for a day on the thermal equivalent of one gallon of gasoline.

• Recreational Power - Imagine a power-source for a recreational vehicle or portable generator that is practically silent in operation with almost zero noxious emissions. The operating characteristics of the TEC closed cycle microturbine will allow for quiet generation so you can enjoy the comforts of home and the peace and quiet of nature.

• Backup Power and Disaster Relief - Microturbine generators combined with a battery or fuel cell system can provide immediate, instantaneous, and long term backup power requirements for hospitals, data centers, municipalities, fire and medical emergencies, and business applications where uninterrupted reliable power is required for mission-critical operations.

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