13 May 2024
RNS
Reach
Libertine Holdings
PLC
("Libertine" the "Company" or
the "Group")
Libertine announces Strategic
Partnership Agreement with Vieletech Inc
Libertine Holdings PLC (LSE AIM:
LIB), a developer of Linear Generator technology, has entered into
a Strategic Partnership Agreement with VIELETECH Inc ("Vieletech"),
a provider of research engine controllers, to commercialise
Libertine's OpenFPE research engine systems for advanced combustion
development.
The purpose of the Strategic
Partnership Agreement is to enable both companies to collaborate on
business development, customer-oriented specifications development,
technical development and commercial contractual development with a
view to establishing OpenFPE research engine sales in the US and
globally. The agreement sets out the understanding, intentions and
scope of activities of Libertine and Vieletech in connection with
this purpose. The nature of the Strategic Partnership Agreement is
largely non-binding and any revenue generating activities would be
subject to further agreement in the form of a binding Contractual
Framework Agreement and Statements of Work.
Libertine's OpenFPE proposition is a
turn-key free piston research engine solution for advanced
combustion development and renewable fuels research programmes,
combining a single cylinder Linear Generator module with the
necessary power electronics, motion controls and auxiliary systems.
OpenFPE has been designed to enable combustion system components to
be modified or swapped, and to improve research and development
productivity with tools for system modelling, data acquisition and
analytics.
Vieletech, Inc.
(www.vieletech.com)
builds and supports research engine controllers for government,
academic and industrial applications around the world. Vieletech
was formed by the team behind Drivven Inc. and National Instruments
Powertrain Controls, and to date well over 2000 technical
publications have been created using Vieletech and Drivven
controllers.
Libertine and Vieletech have entered
into the Strategic Partnership Agreement to deliver prospective
commercial sales of the OpenFPE research engine system to leading
research organisations in the US and globally.
The OpenFPE system builds on the
first phase of combustion testing of Libertine's intelliGEN
performance validation prototype in 2023 and makes use of
intelliGEN enhancements that are now complete, having been
validated in motored testing. Subsequent generation OpenFPE systems
are expected to incorporate Vieletech's MICE/MICESTRO embedded
controller hardware and POSLINK communications protocol, which may
also be incorporated into next-generation Linear Power System
products using Libertine's intelliGEN or HEXAGEN platform
technology.
Sam
Cockerill, Chief Executive of Libertine,
said: "OpenFPE changes the game
for combustion researchers. It is the first ever research engine
that offers real-time compression ratio control, multi-fuel
capability and a customer-configurable combustion system. It
provides research organisations a valuable shortcut to advanced
combustion calibration using free piston technology, making use of
the intelliGEN platform that has been years in the
making.
"Matt and his team at Vieletech have
supported the development of controllers for Libertine's intelliGEN
and HEXAGEN platforms since 2017. OpenFPE packages the intelliGEN
platform in a new format that has been designed specifically for
research organisations. Vieletech works with some of the world's
leading research organisations and has deep expertise and
demonstrated capability when it comes to specifying, integrating
and supporting systems for these customers.
"Now that we have completed
intelliGEN platform performance enhancements we are looking to put
this technology to work in research labs around the world. This
agreement is a natural progression of our relationship with
Vieletech and leverages the strengths of both companies to grow our
OpenFPE sales."
Dr.
Matthew Viele, CTO of Vieletech said: "Vieletech's core architecture is built around a large Field
Programmable Gate Array doing low level tasks and a real-time CPU
doing complex math. We leverage the National Instruments LabVIEW™
language for its ease of use and reliability which allows us to
support all sorts of special engines and engine accessories that
could not have been practically tested without our controllers,
drivers, and supporting systems.
"Of all the engines we have run, the
most promising is the free piston linear generator. We had
done some work with free-piston engines before 2017 when we started
working with Libertine, but mostly at a device driver and hardware
level. When Sam approached us about doing deeper support of the
engine effort we jumped at the opportunity.
"It has been a pleasure working with
Libertine in the background supporting their work with software and
control system hardware. We look forward to expanding our
partnership by directly supporting full research engine
deployments."
For
more information, please visit www.libertine.co.uk
or
contact:
Libertine Holdings PLC
|
via Tavistock
|
Sam Cockerill, Chief Executive
Officer
|
|
Gareth Hague, Chief Financial
Officer
|
|
|
|
Tavistock (Public Relations and Investor
Relations)
|
+44 207 920 3150
|
Rebecca Hislaire
|
libertine@tavistock.co.uk
|
Saskia Sizen
|
|
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About Libertine
Founded in 2009, Libertine provides
technology platform solutions for Original Equipment Manufacturers
("OEMs"), enabling efficient and clean power generation from
renewable fuels, and more effective energy storage devices and gas
compressor systems. Libertine was admitted to trading on the AIM
market of the London Stock Exchange in December
2021.
Libertine has created two technology
platforms, each using the same core technology elements, which the
Company provides to its OEM customers for their development of
Linear Generator and Linear Motor products:
- The intelliGEN™ platform enables the creation of clean, highly
efficient and fuel-flexible Linear Generator products
including:
• Heavy-duty hybrid powertrains of trucks, buses, tractors,
construction and mining equipment;
• Medium
and light-duty hybrid powertrains of commercial vehicles operating
over longer distances;
• A
proportion of the passenger automotive market where vehicle use and
recharging constraints are a barrier to battery electrification;
and
• A wide
range of off-grid, portable power and distributed power generation
applications.
- The HEXAGEN™ platform enables more effective energy storage,
thermal power generation, waste heat recovery and gas compression
products including:
• Stirling Engine power generators and thermal energy storage
systems;
• Linear
motor reciprocating compressor (LMRC) systems for hydrogen
refuelling stations; and
• Organic Rankine Cycle waste heat recovery systems.
These two platforms are a result of
over a decade of development and performance validation of
Libertine's proprietary core technology elements including its
linear electrical machines, controls and developer
tools.
The potential market for Linear
Generator products goes well beyond the distributed power
generation applications where Linear Generators are already in
commercial use today, complementing intermittent renewable power
with clean, on-demand power generation. Linear Generators also have
the potential to complement battery electrification in hybrid
powertrains, providing on-board power generation to address the
practical and economic barriers to rapid adoption of clean electric
propulsion using battery electric powertrain technology
alone.
Working with OEMs from an early stage in the development cycle
ensures Libertine's technology is effectively integrated into OEM
products, maximising the performance and economic benefits provided
by Libertine's platform technology. Libertine has developed a
portfolio of over 30 granted patents in addition to a significant
body of technical know-how generated since the Company's formation.
The Company's senior management team and board includes executives
with decades of deep technical experience in the automotive and
energy industries.
About Vieletech
Inc.
Vieletech (www.vieletech.com)
is a US company providing research engine controllers to some of
the world's leading research organisations. Vieletech provides
control hardware, software, and systems integration for advanced
combustion development and other research and development
applications. Vieletech is a National Instruments alliance member
and provides software that is primarily written in LabVIEW and
control hardware that is designed to interface with National
Instruments cRIO FPGA targets. Vieletech
also support the C and Simulink™ programming languages.
Vieletech has supported engines on 6
continents and over two dozen countries from 6 stroke engines to
optical engines, to novel rotary concepts. Supported engines have
run both conventional liquid and gaseous fuels as well as a large
variety of alternative fuels.
Vieletech's new MICE line of
distributed engine controllers will extend its research caliber
control and instrumentation into low-volume production applications
that require under-hood support.