The seven seat people carrier from Ford called the S-Max recently received an update from Langford Engineering in the form of a liquid fueled micro turbine engine used as a range extender converting the vehicle from a conventional power train to an EREV setup.
The vehicle, a crossover from Ford available in the UK, was outfitted with the turbine engine by Langford Performance Engineering. The Capstone C30 micro turbine provides 30 kW of energy and is integrated into the vehicle for use as a range extender.
"The Ford modified by Langford is an extremely practical solution and one that Langford has been working on for over two years," said Jim Crouse, Capstone's Executive Vice President, Sales and Marketing. "The design characteristics of Capstone's turbine permits ultra low emissions, high fuel economy, multi fuel capability, no coolants or lubricating oil, and little to no maintenance in an automotive application," added Crouse.
The C30 setup is easily adaptable to numerous different power train setups and could see use in any of a number of vehicles on the market today.
Langford hopes to market the vehicle and provide demonstrations to industry execs in an effort to eventually commercialize the product and bring it to market at an acceptable price point.
Early testing shows that the combined system in the S-Max can travel up to 80 miles per gallon and travel 40 miles on electricity alone. When the batteries become depleted, the turbine comes to life and recharges the lithium-ion battery pack onboard.
The company is searching for an suitable automotive partner in the U.S to mass produce a product using this power train setup and is looking to secure funds from the Obama stimulus aimed at getting more electric vehicles on the road in the near future.
Source: Langford Performance Engineering
