Automotive

Such is the promise of the gas turbine engine that as far back as 1955 the TRUE magazine Automobile Yearbook reported that “A list of the manufacturers attacking the turbine problem reads like an international Who’s Who in big-time car production”. However, these early efforts were thwarted by the dual problems of turbine lag (the 1 to 2 second delay from “stepping on the gas” to the car accelerating) and poor fuel efficiency at low speed and idle. 
The advent of all-electric drive in a serial HEV (hybrid electric vehicle) overcomes both these problems. Electric motors provide considerably more torque (and hence acceleration) at low revs than even a piston engine; and a gas turbine driven generator can be operated continuously at its optimum speed – with any excess power being used to charge the vehicle’s batteries.


A Bladon Jets axial flow turbo-shaft engine directly coupled to a high speed generator is the perfect on-board power source (or “range extender”) for an HEV. Requiring no water-cooling system, oil or catalytic converter, it will provide vehicle weight savings of up to 15% – with a consequent reduction in fuel consumption and carbon emissions – compared to a piston engine. Further environmental benefits will be gained from its fast warm up (a few seconds, as opposed to several minutes for a conventional engine), cleaner combustion and lower manufacturing energy requirements.