Achates Power, Inc

Achates Power is the developer of radically improved internal combustion engines that increase fuel efficiency, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and cost less than conventional engines.

The company has 10 concurrent customers whose contracts encompass five different engine applications:

• Passenger vehicle,
• Light commercial vehicle,
• Heavy commercial vehicle,
• Military and,
• Marine/stationary power

The Achates Power Opposed-Piston Engine (OP Engine) allows global original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to achieve the world’s most stringent current and future fuel efficiency and emissions standards, which include, EPA 2010, Euro 6 and Tier 3/LEV 3, among others, without additional cost or complexity.

Tomorrow’s cars and trucks need to be significantly more efficient, emit even less harmful emissions and do so without becoming unaffordable for customers and/or unprofitable for manufacturers. Pure electric vehicles and their fuel cell powered counterparts are unaffordable to the average car buyer; as such, they will remain a market novelty.

The global transportation industry needs a fundamental, step-function improvement in the internal combustion engine efficiency that powers and will power 99.9% of the nearly 100 million vehicles that will be produced and sold year-in and year-out for decades to come.

The demonstrated performance of the Achates Power OP Engine responds directly to the global transportation industry’s needs. The Achates Power OP Engine offers a dramatic improvement in performance compared to conventional engines.

Leading engine and vehicle OEMs from around the world understand this and have put us to work designing and developing engines for their vehicles.

Capabilities

Fuel specific oil consumptionAchates Power’s state-of-the-art facility in San Diego, California, uses advanced computer-based design and analysis tools to fully characterize the unique nature of the Achates Power Opposed-Piston Engine and to allow rapid optimization during the development process.

The Achates Power fuel lab rivals those of leading OEM fuel injector manufacturers and includes laser Doppler anemometry and laser induced fluorescence to characterize fuel spray, and a cutting-edge fuel bench for mapping fuel injectors.

The company’s facility has three dynamometers with complete instrumentation to record all necessary engine parameters and test cell conditions. Over 6 GB of data can be taken from each engine run including that generated by 150 thermal sensor sites, some of which are located inside the pistons and transmitted wirelessly for recording.

Combustion engineMeasurement equipment includes:

A real-time Dekati mass monitor for particulate matter
California Analytical Instruments chemiluminescence gaseous emissions measurement device
DaVinci real-time sulfur trace oil control measurement device
AVL smoke meter
AVL combustion noise meter
Bosch opacity meter

Strategy

Achates Power engine photoAchates Power is actively engaged with nearly all of the leading passenger vehicle and commercial truck original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and suppliers in the world. The company is also working in the military, maritime and stationary power industries through its contracts with the U.S. Army and Fairbanks Morse Engine.

Achates Power’s revenue stream comes from the following:

Engineering Services: Achates Power offers engineering , and engine design services based on our proprietary technology. Customers then manufacture these engines for use in their own applications.
Technology Licence: Achates Power also offers a technology license for access to designs, expertise, tools, control software and patents. With this technology license, Achates Power earns a royalty for each engine sold by using our license.
Since the Achates Power Opposed-Piston Engine uses standard materials and processes, it can take advantage of the common manufacturing methods, tools and facilities currently employed by OEMs around the world. With a relatively modest re-tooling expense, the Achates Power OP Engine can be produced in existing engine manufacturing plants