Duryea Technologies says that it has developed an integrated hybrid-electric supercharger that aims to provide a low-cost performance and emissions solution for the consumer and commercial vehicle industries.
“The costs and limits of available technologies have led to three options: performance, fuel economy or emissions,” says Duryea founder Dan Sodomsky. “The electric supercharger avoids this trade-off and enables powertrains capable of satisfying multiple market demands.”
Unlike conventional superchargers, a battery, not the engine, powers the Duryea electric supercharger. Duryea Technologies says this allows its supercharger to take full advantage of enhanced combustion to improve performance and fuel economy at low engine speeds, where mechanically driven superchargers and exhaust-driven turbochargers are ineffective. For manufacturers, this is important for engine downsizing. Duryea claims its electric supercharger can increase low-end torque by up to 100%.
Duryea also says that independent testing has verified its electric superchargers can eliminate particulates and achieve nearly undetectable levels of NOx.
“Before our design, there hasn’t been an electric motor available with sufficient speed and power and low-voltage electronics able to handle high current,” continues Sodomsky. “This technology is the foundation for many applications and benefits. Our electric supercharger efficiently converts as much as 7 kW of battery energy to pressurized air to achieve 40 kW of engine performance. That’s a breakthrough.”
