FAQ
What is the difference between the X Engine and a traditional Wankel engine?
Our patented X-Engine solves the problems of the rotary engine without sacrificing the benefits. It’s simple - having only two moving parts, has practically zero vibration, is extremely compact and lightweight, and can run on heavy fuel, gasoline, and even gaseous fuels like propane and hydrogen.
We turned the traditional Wankel inside out. Traditional Wankels have a triangular rotor in a "peanut" shaped (trochoidal) housing. We have a peanut-shaped (trochoidal) rotor within a tri-lobed-shaped housing. By turning the rotary "inside out", the X-Engine has stationary apex (tip) seals that can be directly lubricated. Furthermore, the long, skinny, rotating combustion chamber of the Wankel - becomes a stationary combustion chamber within the housing that can be optimized for better fuel-air mixing and combustion. In this way, we address many of the challenges of the old Wankel rotary including sealing, cooling, lubrication, emissions, and efficiency.
We turned the traditional Wankel inside out. Traditional Wankels have a triangular rotor in a "peanut" shaped (trochoidal) housing. We have a peanut-shaped (trochoidal) rotor within a tri-lobed-shaped housing. By turning the rotary "inside out", the X-Engine has stationary apex (tip) seals that can be directly lubricated. Furthermore, the long, skinny, rotating combustion chamber of the Wankel - becomes a stationary combustion chamber within the housing that can be optimized for better fuel-air mixing and combustion. In this way, we address many of the challenges of the old Wankel rotary including sealing, cooling, lubrication, emissions, and efficiency.
How does the engine scale to fit different size/power requirements?
Very well. We can scale rotors to a larger size and combine multiple rotors. We are initially focusing on smaller single-rotor X-Engines because of the demand for compact, multi-fuel capable engines in many military and commercial applications.
How many patents do you have?
We currently have 82 patents covering a wide variety of subjects and applications.
How many horsepower can your engines scale up to?
We are currently focusing on the vast < 500 HP market segments, but we have done conceptual designs up to 2000 HP. The platform architecture is scalable.
What are the tax implications of an equity crowdfunding investment?
We cannot give tax advice, and we encourage you to talk with your accountant or tax advisor before making an investment.
What industries are you currently focused on?
We are focused on military, aerospace, and industrial/commercial application markets.
Can the engine be used in aircraft?
Yes, for direct or hybrid electric propulsion for Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), and as Auxiliary Power Units (APUs) or Supplemental Power Units (SPUs) for larger manned fixed-wing aircrafts and rotorcrafts.
Are you targeting the nascent vtol passenger vehicle market, i.e. flying taxis?
Absolutely! This is a key emerging target market and we believe that our engine architecture is uniquely suited for these applications, particularly to enable range extension and hybrid electric propulsion systems using a variety of fuels, including low-carbon fuels. The energy density of hydrocarbon fuels is 40-50X that of today's most advanced batteries.
Do you plan on licensing your technology?
Yes, that is one of several potential revenue streams.
What is the exit plan for the company?
The plan is to build a successful, valuable company. Exit opportunities like an acquisition or IPO could follow in due course.
What are the roadblocks to automotive adoption?
The biggest obstacle to penetrating the automotive market is the emissions certification cycle. We can get products out to the military market because of their national security power requirements and we expect to leverage those application use cases and X-Engine designs to participate in a variety of vehicle (including land vehicles) hybrid electric propulsion applications using a range of fossil and low carbon fuels in the future.
What types of fuels can the LiquidPiston engine run on?
LiquidPiston is compatibile with a range of fuels including Diesel, gasoline, jet fuel, propane, and even hydrogen. We fully expect the X-Engine will be able to burn low-carbon fuels, such as bio-fuels and Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF).
Why Diesel?
Many diesel and heavy fuel applications require a small compact engine. Especially military and aerospace applications.
How do you plan to use the proceeds from this funding round?
We are undertaking this capital raise to fund R&D and other initiatives not funded by our current DoD contracts, such as Hydrogen as a future fuel for commercial applications and the expansion of our engineering, test cell, and machine shop facilities.
What is the current valuation of the company?
LiquidPiston is currently valued at $184M.
What is the minimum investment size?
The minimum investment size for this current round is $1,000.
How many investors do you have already?
Over 9,000 and growing!
How has the stock price changed over time?
On March 09, 2022 we enacted a stock split, we effected a ten-for-one (10:1) forward “stock split.” As a result of this split, each share of the Company’s Common Stock was split into ten (10) shares of Common Stock. This 10:1 stock split means that effectively the share price is reduced by 10x (while the number of shares is increased by 10x). Therefore, if you paid $54 per share in the last reg A campaign, this means that post-split, you will hold 10x as many shares, but at an effective share price of $5.40 per share.