A research record across partners.

Past partnerships

United States Army

Under US Army contract, Hansen Engine designed and fabricated components applying ceramic engineered materials for a portion of the Hansen Engine Rotary Valving System. Working prototypes were built and run in a single-cylinder research engine; results and analysis were delivered to the Army. The contract was completed successfully, and the company remains in good standing with respect to all subsequent audits.

The company’s most intensive efforts have focused on a new means of enhancing the fuel economy and performance of downsized engines. As manufacturers reduced cylinder counts for fuel savings, they gave up responsiveness and power — usually restored with turbochargers. Hansen Engine’s engineering team created a different kind of supercharger to meet that need.

State of Minnesota

Early demonstration of the supercharger was partially funded by a fund associated with Minnesota Technology, Inc., a quasi-state business development entity, and by The Development Corporation of Austin, Minnesota. The technology, augmented by funding from private investors, was then demonstrated through two subsequent SBIR grants from the US Army. The single-cylinder demonstrations established the feasibility and real-world performance of the continuously variable displacement supercharger.

US Department of Energy

Variable-valve-timing was introduced to the Hansen Engine Rotary Valving System with demonstration support from the US Department of Energy. Prototypes were designed, fabricated, and installed on single-cylinder research engines for dynamometer testing. The novel variable-valve-timing capability let the engine operate across its full load range without a conventional throttle, demonstrating fuel savings of up to 11% relative to throttled engines — work that led to subsequent interest from General Motors following the company’s SAE Technical Paper No. 940813.