Microturbine company Bladon Jets opens new engineering center
02 February 2012
Microturbine company Bladon Jets has opened its Engineering Center in Coventry, UK. The new centre houses advanced manufacturing and development facilities to help the company prepare its products for volume production. Bladon Jets is working with car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover on the development of a micro gas turbine engine to operate in a plug-in hybrid car. (Earlier post.)
The Engineering Center was formally opened by Ratan Tata, chairman of Tata Sons, which is an investor in the company through its UK subsidiary Tata Ltd.
Bladon Jets says that its small, light and clean-burning power units are ideally suited to the needs of a number of fast-growing market—among the most significant of which are electrical power generation and range extenders for electric vehicles.
Having developed the patented manufacturing technology which makes it possible to produce the micro power units, Bladon Jets is currently working with its partners and suppliers to commercialise products for these volume markets.
The Bladon Jets Engineering Center houses the design tools, analysis equipment and production machines required to develop and produce micro jet engines. Key technologies include the Electric Discharge Machining (EDM) spark erosion machines which are capable of creating ultra-high-precision turbine components required for the micro jets. These components are machined from solid metal, with an accuracy of +/- 5 microns.
A clean burning, efficient, ultra light weight micro jet may be ideal as genset for extended range PHEVs if Tata-India can reduce noise and manufacturing cost enough.
Posted by: HarveyD | 02 February 2012 at 10:30 AM
The elephant in the room when we talk about microturbines is cost. i would be more optimistic if Bladon Jets announced their pricing goals for several of their units. Can they produce something for less than $1000? I doubt it.
Posted by: citizen | 02 February 2012 at 01:41 PM
Tata and Bladon will be well aware of the cost targets they need to hit.
Posted by: Davemart | 02 February 2012 at 01:59 PM
I should have added that Tata are masters at taking out cost.
Look at the Nano.
Posted by: Davemart | 02 February 2012 at 02:27 PM
Good point, Davemart. if anyone can get the cost down, Tata will do it.
Posted by: citizen | 02 February 2012 at 02:33 PM
HarveyD brings up a great point, which you notice very quickly if you watch any youtube clips of the engine...N O I S E !
Posted by: ejj | 02 February 2012 at 03:31 PM
The noise can be converted into manure and spread on the streets because so much horse-power is being wasted without the usual obvious result of having horses.
Actually multiple units from Bladen can be built to heat the boiler of a steam locomotive whilst they generate electricity for railway traction motors and the hybrid batteries from GE. The steam is used to also run steam turbo-generators to also power the motors, but direct use of the steam to run some wheels might be more interesting. This is a highly efficient combined cycle locomotive, as only u subset of the 100 or so units need be run as power is required. The steam can provide quick bursts of high power when needed. ..HG..
Posted by: Henry Gibson | 03 February 2012 at 07:18 PM