The world's first commercially viable Ultra Lightweight Range Extender (ULRE) lets your hybrid engine keep going without those annoying stops to recharge your batteries... and it could fit in your glovebox.
The world's first commercially viable Ultra Lightweight Range Extender (ULRE) lets your hybrid engine keep going without those annoying stops to recharge your batteries... and it could fit in your glovebox.
JLR's new partnership with the Isle of Man's Bladon Jets could signal nothing less than the future of low-carbon engine development and, perhaps maybe something equally important, the resurgance of the British automotive industry.
Bladon Jets is a micro gas turbine company located on Britain's Isle of Man. Its patented breakthrough axial flow technology enables the production of highly efficient, small gas turbine engines that, it so happens, are ideally suited for use in hybrid electric vehicles. That put them in the lead for the hotly contested £15 million funding competition organized by the UK's Technology Strategy Board to support the advancement of the mass adoption of low carbon vehicles. The ULRE could be a significant piece of technology in the evolution of the next generation of electric vehicles, and so it naturally partnered with Jaguar Land Rover to develop a device fitted to hybrid gas/electric cars that charges batteries on the go. JLR will oversee the design of the ULRE's packaging for vehicle integration.
What's behind all of this is more than just a new green technology... it's part of a broader effort to stimulate technology-enabled innovation and to help boost UK growth and productivity.
Paul Barrett, Bladon Jets' executive chairman said that winning the Technology Strategy Board award was a significant event not just for his company but also for the future of low carbon vehicle development in the UK.
"We are delighted to be working with our partners Jaguar Land-Rover and SR Drives on this project and look forward to seeing our micro gas turbine engine play a major role in the renaissance of the British automotive industry," he said.
God speed, gentlemen!
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