Commercial potential and business strategy

The Carnot engine can transform:

- Thermal Energy into Mechanical Energy
                     And/or

- Mechanical Energy into Thermal Energy


That being said, we are going to review the possible and profitable applications

1. Possibles Applications

A) Propulsion

Automobile propulsion

Hybrid automobile propulsion

Maritime propulsion

Aircraft propulsion

B) Power Generation
Biomass

Geothermal

Concentrated Solar Power (CSP)

Nuclear

Other heat source (waste, industry)

C) Heat Pump

2. Realistic and Profitable Applications

Among all the possible applications listed above, some may not be found feasible at a reasonable cost. We need to focus on marketable and profitable uses.
The success of commercializing the Carnot engine lies on 3 elements:

- The market need and size
  Is there a market?
- The competitive environment
  Is this market virgin or crowded?
- The market access
  Is this market accessible on a technical standpoint?

Let’s make a quick assessment of these possible markets:

A) Propulsion Market

Due to its high efficiency and simplicity, the Carnot engine may be a good candidate in the propulsion area. Nowadays, with oil price soaring and environmental regulations, the fuel consumption has become a real deal and producing better fuel efficient vehicles represent an important challenge.
However the Carnot engine is not suitable as a direct engine in automotive application. It is not design to provide fast startup time and acceleration response but Carnot engine as part of a hybrid electric drive system may be able to bypass the design challenges or disadvantages of a non-hybrid Carnot propulsion systems. A hybrid Carnot Engine may also be use in ships and aircrafts, its external combustion capacity would be appreciated in the maritime world (muti fuel capacity). As for airplanes, this engine gains efficiency with altitude due to lower ambient temperatures, is more reliable due to fewer parts and the absence of an ignition system, produce much less vibration (airframes could last longer) and uses safer, less explosive fuels.
However, introducing the Carnot engine in the propulsion world would require a substantial work of optimization, rules compliance, and integration studies.

B) Power generation 

Within the next 20 years, the primary energy demand is going to rise by 40% while the electricity consumption will soar by 70%.

More than 90% of our energy demand comes from thermal primary energy

Now or Later, the vast majority of power generation comes from thermal process

The Carnot engine is a heat engine that can retrieve heat from any sources. It will be suitable for both direct electricity generation on power plant sites and indirect power production on industrial or secondary heat source (Data Centers, Heavy industries which emit unexploited heat flows, etc.).
The engine integration will be pretty simple on these sites and it can be used on a wide range of low to medium temperatures. Biomass, CSP and geothermal energy could benefit of a major gain of productivity due to the low temperature flows emitted by these facilities. Unlike the other technologies (Rankine Cycles, Steam turbines, etc.), the Carnot engine is tailored to work on this temperature range.
Our device can open new applications and markets segment for some renewable energy.

C) Heat pump 
As seen previously, the Carnot engine has unique characteristics. Its reversible cycle and high efficiency make this system particularly suitable for heat application such as heat pump.
The system may be worked upon by an external force, and in the process, it can transfer thermal energy from a cooler system to a warmer one, thereby acting as a heat pump rather than a heat engine.
Most of household energy is consumed by heating, causing it to be the largest portion of monthly utility bill. With the price of oil and gas at record levels, the heap pumps market has been very dynamic the past 10 years.
The simple design of our engine coupled with its high coefficient of performance (COP) would make the Carnot engine perfect for this application.

Conclusion

The unique characteristics of our Carnot engine make it suitable for a large range of applications. However, we have narrowed down our commercial ambition to the easiest and most profitable markets. Power generation and heap pump markets tend to offer the best commercial potential considering the market demand, level of competition and ease of technical integration.

Commercial priorities depending of technical and commercial parameters