Plasma Ignition System Can Increase Engine Efficiency By 20%

In 2019, Ars Technica reported on a new advanced ignition system from Transient Plasma Systems that replaces the conventional spark plugs in a vehicle's engine with an ignition module that uses very short duration pulses of plasma to ignite the fuel/air mixture within the cylinder. Now, about three years later, the system is "almost ready for production after validation testing has confirmed its potential to increase fuel efficiency by up to 20 percent when fitted to an existing engine." From the report: TPS's plasma ignition system is designed to drop into existing cars with very little modification. An ignition module replaces the regular spark plugs, and there's a power module to control it, but otherwise the only other modifications are in software, as the engine requires remapping to take advantage of the new technology. "A lot of the OEMs we've been working with are freezing their engine designs, they're saying, 'No more new engine block, we might change some parts out, but we're freezing the design.' So it has to basically just drop into the holes that already exist, which this technology does," [said Dan Singleton, founder and CEO of TPS]. [...] The final stage of testing for TPS's system is to prove its durability, but Singleton expects this won't be a problem. "The technology uses all solid-state, high-voltage switches -- these are switches that are used in applications where they're run for millions and millions of shots. If you just did an analysis of the parts, you would say no problem, right? The testing that still needs to be done is, once you've put it into a package where it's going to go to altitude and extreme heat, extreme cold, you just have to do some design validation and tweaking," he said. [...] As for when we might see the first cars fitted with plasma ignition on the road, Singleton was optimistic. "We are currently in discussions with a couple of Tier 1s and OEMs that are interested in acquiring the technology or working with us to take this to market. The most aggressive timeline that one of those companies has told us is that they could get it to market in 18 months from the start of a deal. That's aggressive. And typically it takes longer in automotive to do testing, but if they say they can do it, this is their world, not mine. So 18 months, I would say, from the start of a partnership," Singleton said. Why develop a new internal combustion engine technology when we're going all in on electric vehicles? Here's what Singleton told Ars: "[W]e do think that the future is going to be EVs. But the question is, what do we do while we're ramping up? And I think if you look at the data, it's pretty compelling that the best thing you can do is to start getting CO2 emissions down now. So that's really where we see this fitting in is if you put this technology to market immediately. That's what our data shows is that there's immediate, meaningful CO2 reductions." Ars also notes that "it's going to be many years before countries like the US stop selling new internal combustion-powered vehicles and longer still until they're no longer allowed on our roads."

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