Tweet
News 4 April 2005ORBITAL ANNOUNCES NEW LICENSEEPerth, Australia: Orbital is pleased to announce a new licensee of its direct injection (DI) technology.Gobler-HirthMotoren KG (Hirth) of Benningen, Germany has entered into a licence to use Orbital's air-assist DI on a new range of 2-stroke engines to meet the growing global demand for heavy fuel engines. Hirth has been in business since 1917 producing highly regarded 2-stroke aircraft engines for ultra-lights, helicopters, hovercrafts, fire pumps, amphibious aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).Hirth plans to offer a family of heavy fuel engines that can operate on kerosene based fuels to support a worldwide push to eliminate the use of gasoline in speciality engines in civilian and defence fields. Potential applications of this family of engines include UAVs, generators, compressors and water pumps.Orbital's air-assist DI enables spark ignition engines to reliably operate on kerosene based fuels. A better power to weight ratio is achieved compared to using diesel compression ignition engine alternatives. Orbital has successfully applied this same solution on a range of outboard engines for the US Department of Defence and UK Ministry of Defence.The Orbital equipped Hirth heavy fuel engine was recently demonstrated to a number of potential customers in Europe. It was also displayed at the Australian International Airshow at Avalon in Victoria and will be displayed in June at AUVSI's Unmanned Systems North America 2005 Exhibition in Baltimore, Maryland USA.Orbital also confirms that it has been engaged by Powerski International Corporation (Powerski) to adapt Orbital's air assist direct injection technology to Powerski's patented Supertorque XT™ Marine Engine for application in their Igniter 330 Jetboard. Powerski, based in Southern California, develop and market unique high performance motorised surfboards. The application of Orbital's technology will enable Powerski to meet global emissions regulations including those of California."We have indicated over the past months that Orbital's direct injection technology would continue to find acceptance in technically demanding niche applications, " said Mr Peter Cook, the Chief Executive Officer of Orbital. "These new markets support that view and continue to demonstrate the value of our core technology."
Comment