Historical Photo of the Month - October 2008

Hydrogen Engine ("Clean Car")
Photograph Number P-14116Ac

The Civil Systems Project Office was established in 1970 with the goal of solving problems relating to medical engineering, public safety, urban land use, and transportation. The organization evolved in the following years to include a variety of tasks related to energy and the environment. With funding from NASA, other government agencies, and automobile companies, JPL worked with industry partners to develop and test a variety of automobiles using electric (battery) power and alternative fuels, as well as hybrids.

JPL engineers worked with Caltech's Engineering and Applied Science Division in 1973 to develop an internal combustion engine that used a mixture of hydrogen gas, air, and gasoline vapor to reduce emissions and decrease fuel consumption by 25-40% in a standard automobile engine. The hydrogen was created by combining gasoline, air, and water vapor in a hydrogen generator. The system also included a fuel atomizer, a water tank, and a fuel-air control device. The system used about 5 gallons of water for every 15-20 gallons of gas. Harry Cotrill, left, was JPL project manager for the Hydrogen Engine System Project. Jack Rupe, right, was technical advisor and head of the group that researched and tested the engine.

For more information about the history of JPL, contact the JPL Archives for assistance. [Archival and other sources: photo index; JPL Civil Systems, SP 43-1, March 1974; Lab-Oratory September/October 1973; Lab-Oratory January/February 1974.]