Rian goes back to the steam age for new engine

A CORK student who pioneered a project that could save motorists €500 a year has won a major European award for his work.

Rian Edman, 22, from Macroom, Co Cork, has been named Best European Mechanical Engineering Student 2011 for his work exploring the capacity and performance of a six-stroke engine. A student at Cork Institute of Technology, he aims to harness energy lost in the form of heat from combustion engines through exhaust fumes.

“In a normal car, the energy created by combustion of fuel is mostly wasted. There is an efficiency rating of between 20% and 30% for modern cars.”