Steam reduces CO2 emissions

SteamTrac recovers heat from internal combustion engine exhaust to produce superheated steam to assist the engine via a piston expander.

Developed by Voith, fuel savings of up to 10% have been achieved. The system has been applied to marine engines as a demonstration and a barge sailing between Rotterdam to Duisburg carrying raw materials for ThyssenKrupp steelworks has reduced fuel consumption by 10% saving 40000 litres of diesel and reducing CO2 emissions by 106t since being applied.

SteamTrac has also been fitted to a Diesel locomotive in Germany achieving 6-10% of fuel savings depending on driving cycle.

The next stage is to produce a more compact unit for use in road vehicles.