About

engineer working

The Vision

Here in the quiet farming region where I live, I am working to create a hybrid air-electric power generation system. That system I named 'HybridAire', has the potential to power many areas of the world, and make the entire world a better place to live in.

I consider myself very lucky to live here in Australia, with its relatively clean air, healthy soils, pristine waterways and amazing beaches.

With the HybridAire system currently under development, I truly hope to be able to share this cleaner living with the entire world, so that people can breathe easy, each and every moment of their day, no matter where they live. This is what drives me daily, to be able to help others, through the beneficial use of technology.

 

Where did this all start?

For several years, with a helping hand from my late father, I looked into various applications, from obscure devices such as the Joe Cell, the Adam’s Motor Generator, Don Smith’s Magnetic Resonance System, and the Tesla Switch, to Hydrogen Generators.

However, the more I looked at these different devices, one key component stood out to me to truly become the starting point for developing the HybridAire system... AIR – that stuff we all breathe each moment to stay alive.

The most abundant and free option we have available to humanity 24/7, is AIR. It is all around us 24 hours each day and can be readily stored by various means. The solar energy contained within air can be stored and used to do work. Air is more abundantly available than the rain and rivers are for hydro, the sun for photovoltaic, or the wind for wind turbines. Air is available to us at all times wherever we can breathe normally on the planet.

Even after taking into consideration other unique and alternate options, such as hydrogen fuel cells, numerous battery options, or even salt-water as used in the Quant e-Sportlimousine, it became more and more apparent that air, as used for centuries in industry and in Air-cars/locomotives back during the 1800’s, is the real key to being our most self-sustainable option for the future of our planet.

 

Questions I asked myself:

  • Why do I want to create just another air motor?
  • Don’t we already have plenty of air motors already in use in industry and in homes?
  • What makes the HybridAire so special that it could truly make a difference in the world?
  • Won’t it still need some fossil or nuclear fuel to power it?
  • Will it run for more than 2 seconds, 2 minutes, 2 hours, 2 days? How long would it run?
  • Can it be manufactured easily?
  • How small or large can I make it?
  • Could it be 3D printed for home or personal use?
  • Would it be useful in vehicles?
  • Would it be beneficial to marine life if used in boats?
  • Why was I chosen to develop and build this, and why now in my life?

The current air motors used in industry to drive pumps or starter motors, provide incredibly high torque for mining or marine applications. Those air motors used in very high speed applications such as dental drills or high-speed machining, have one thing in common. All of those motors are of a single use air application.

This single use is characterised by compressed air being stored in a suitable air receiver vessel at the required pressure, that was powered by some kind of petrol, diesel or electric motor, to generate the compressed air. This air, once expelled out of the air receiver vessel, travels via some form of air line to the air motor. Once at the motor, the air generates the work required from the motor and is then usually exhausted into the ambient air.

And that is all - one single use. Without capturing any of that exhausted air, this seemed like a significant waste of time, energy, and effort to me.

So then, what if that exhausted AIR from the motor could be captured and sent back to the air compressor unit? Well, an Australian invention called E.A.R.S. (Exhausted Air Recycling System) that was developed back around 2005-2006, can do that to a certain degree.

E.A.R.S. captures the exhausted air from the motor, typically a hand-held air-powered tool, then sends back that exhausted air via a special valve arrangement to the intake of the air compressor unit, where it is again compressed with the incoming air.

Are there any benefits from E.A.R.S. then? Yes, there absolutely are benefits! These are as follows:

• Reduces tool exhaust noise
• Reduces airborne contaminants
• Uses up to 40% less energy
• Generates up to 80% more air volume
• Increases compressor and tooling life cycles

This great Australian innnovation however, is not the same as the HybridAire system currently under development.

Other compressed air motor systems have been developed by inventors, and three of the more well known American examples of these include the Bob Neal Motor, Bill Pruitt air car, and the Leroy Rogers Motor. Additionally M.D.I. and Tata have created an air car motor system that rely on very high pressure stored within air receivers, that are then used to drive a custom-made, yet noisy motor.

Another Australian air invention is the Di-Pietro motor, which offers another compressed air motor alternative, though has not been widely accepted, though does offer good potential.

These also, are all different to the HybridAire system. But there are two question that I'd like to answer:

 

Could HybridAire provide CAES or Micro-CAES?

The ability for the HybridAire system to utilise compressed air to generate a suitable level of propulsion or power to drive a generator, means there is potential for use with a Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES) system.  Additionally, when this is considered at a household or small business level, then the application of Micro-CAES is one area that could benefit the wider community.

Is it possible to set-up a Micro-CAES unit that may provide power to a residential subdivision? That is just one question that I aim to test with a Micro-CAES system. Micro-CAES is typically considered less than 1.0 MW in power, whilst it's larger commercial brother CAES, is usually found to be within the 50.0 MW to 300.0 MW.

For example, A typical residential subdivision in NSW, Australia uses an After Diversity Maximum Demand (ADMD) of about 5 kVA to 7 kVA per house. For a standard subdivision of 100 to 250 homes, the estimated electrical power requirement (capacity) ranges from 0.5 MW to 1.75 MW.

With this general power requirement, the aim is to develop and then to set-up a residential subdivision HybridAire Micro-CAES system, that would feature a suitable amount of compressed air storage to drive the HybridAire system, ultimately delivering around 2.0 MW of power capacity per subdivision.

With the larger commercial CAES systems, typically relying on either undergound salt caves or similar, or above ground with many compressed air storage tanks, these systems can provide power to 50,000 or more houses, or to large businesses. Once the Micro-CAES system is developed and successfully tested, then a commercial CAES system could then be considered.

 

Could HybridAire be an internal combustion engine replacement?

The aim of the HybridAire system under development is to offer a potential alternative to the internal combustion engine in the future, to help significantly reduce both our reliance on fossil fuels, and the pollution generated by them.

The HybridAire system, in combination with traditional lightweight or custom built air receivers, is being developed so that it could fit most automotive vehicles, with potential to be retrofitted into many existing vehicles. The larger the vehicle, the greater the air storage capacity available to the HybridAire system, which in turn, could increase the potential efficiency and output of the system.

In retrofitting, or designing a traditional family car, for example, there would be several key changes that are made to the vehicle where a HybridAire system would be installed. First, all of the fuel storage and supply components for the internal combustion engine (ICE) will be removed, along with the exhaust system, cooling system, and finally the engine would be removed.

Once this process is completed, the HybridAire system would then be installed, tested, and undergo local compliance for road use according to the local road authority rules. Similar retrofitting processes are already well underway around the world, by smaller operators who already convert ICE vehicles to battery electric vehicles (BEV's) or other petrol/diesel engines, and vice versa.

 

Where is this all headed from here?

I see the future as being both bright, clean, and positive, and will continue to develop this system for the overall benefit of humanity and this beautiful planet we live on. Stay tuned, and in the meantime, check out the Future Applications page if you are wondering what else the HybridAire system could possibly be used in . . .