The 1970’s

MTI joins with Carrier Corp to form Turbonetics and Partners with Ford on $100M Project

MTI conducts $100-million project on automotive stirling engines.

 

Joint venture with the Carrier Corporation – Turbonetics

  • The Turbonetics division as started in 1970 as a joint venture with the Carrier Corporation and spun out of the Turbomachinery Division of MTI.  This business line’s first product was the COMPACK Centrifugal Compressor which won the John C Vaaler Award from Chemical Processing magazine for its innovative design.
  • During the 1970’s MTI’s Tubonetics division pioneered the development of a line of high-efficiency, energy-conserving steam turbines used in the oil and gas, chemical, pharmaceutical, metals and mining, and pulp and paper industries.

Collaboration with Ford Motor Co. for Stirling Cycle Engine

  • In 1978, MTI began work on the Stirling Cycle Engine, which offered exceedingly high efficiency and the ability to use of a variety of energy sources, including solar, nuclear, and solid, liquid and gaseous fuels. In the largest technology development program in MTI history, the company partnered with Ford Motor Co. on a $100 million project funded by the U.S. Department of Energy to place a Stirling engine in an automobile and achieve a 30% improvement in fuel efficiency while maintaining performance.