The magnesium injection cycle (MAGIC) is an

engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power ...

design under development by

Mitsubishi Corporation is Japan's largest trading company (sogo shosha) and a member of the Mitsubishi keiretsu. As of 2022, Mitsubishi Corporation employs over 80,000 people and has ten business segments, including finance, banking, energy, machinery, chemical ...

and the

Tokyo Institute of Technology is a national research university located in Greater Tokyo Area, Japan. Tokyo Tech is the largest institution for higher education in Japan dedicated to science and technology, one of first five Designated National University and selected as ...

that uses

magnesium Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg and atomic number 12. It is a shiny gray metal having a low density, low melting point and high chemical reactivity. Like the other alkaline earth metals (group 2 of the periodic ...

and

water Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as ...

to generate power."-Free Engine Powers Up"
Mitsubishi website"Clean Magnesium Energy Cycle Hints at Fossil Fuel Freedom"
by Steve Levenstein, July 27, 2007, InventorSpot.com"TIT & Mitsubishi Prototypes Pollution-free Engine Excluding Fossil Fuel"
by Motohiko Hamada and Nikkei Monozukuri, techon.nikkeibp.co.jp The engine also makes use of solar powered lasers.

Overview

The joint project, initiated in 2005 and still in the experimental stage, developed a prototype

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide ( chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is t ...

()-free engine in 2006 that ran successfully without the need for

fossil fuel A fossil fuel is a hydrocarbon-containing material formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the remains of dead plants and animals that is extracted and burned as a fuel. The main fossil fuels are coal, oil, and natural gas. Fossil fuels ma ...

s. The chemical reaction between magnesium (in a powder form) and water at room temperature produces high-energy

steam Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporizatio ...

and

hydrogen Hydrogen is the chemical element with the symbol H and atomic number 1. Hydrogen is the lightest element. At standard conditions hydrogen is a gas of diatomic molecules having the formula . It is colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-to ...

. The hydrogen is burned at the same time to produce additional high-energy steam. These two steam sources

power Power most often refers to: * Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work" ** Engine power, the power put out by an engine ** Electric power * Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events ** Abusive power Power may a ...

the engine. The energy cycle produces no carbon dioxide or other harmful

emissions Emission may refer to: Chemical products * Emission of air pollutants, notably: **Flue gas, gas exiting to the atmosphere via a flue ** Exhaust gas, flue gas generated by fuel combustion ** Emission of greenhouse gases, which absorb and emit radi ...

. The only by-products of this reaction are water and

magnesium oxide Magnesium oxide ( Mg O), or magnesia, is a white hygroscopic solid mineral that occurs naturally as periclase and is a source of magnesium (see also oxide). It has an empirical formula of MgO and consists of a lattice of Mg2+ ions and O2� ...

. The magnesium (a common metallic element) is separated from the oxygen through a solar-powered laser process (the development of which is already well advanced) and is reused over and over again as fuel.

Output

Despite its small

dimension In physics and mathematics, the dimension of a mathematical space (or object) is informally defined as the minimum number of coordinates needed to specify any point within it. Thus, a line has a dimension of one (1D) because only one coord ...

s (approx. 5 cm in

diameter In geometry, a diameter of a circle is any straight line segment that passes through the center of the circle and whose endpoints lie on the circle. It can also be defined as the longest chord of the circle. Both definitions are also valid f ...

and 13.5 cm in height), the engine can generate a heat output of several tens of kW from which power is obtained. The engine is intended for use in

cogeneration Cogeneration or combined heat and power (CHP) is the use of a heat engine or power station to generate electricity and useful heat at the same time. Cogeneration is a more efficient use of fuel or heat, because otherwise- wasted heat from elec ...

, automobiles, ships, and many other areas. A statement in 2006 claimed that further research was planned to achieve

commercialization Commercialization or commercialisation is the process of introducing a new product or production method into commerce—making it available on the market. The term often connotes especially entry into the mass market (as opposed to entry into ...

within the next three years. No updated timeline has been released.

Personnel

The engine development was led by Professor Takashi Yabe with the help of Professor Ikuta and others of Tokyo Institute of Technology with the cooperation of Ono Denki Seisakusho, K.K., a precision manufacturer located in

Shinagawa, Tokyo is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. The Ward refers to itself as Shinagawa City in English. The Ward is home to ten embassies. , the Ward had an estimated population of 380,293 and a population density of 16,510 persons per km2. The total are ...

. Professor Yabe performed experiments of the technology in 2007 at the Hokkaido Toyako G8 environmental summit hosted in Chitose,

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

References

{{reflist Engine technology

Overview

Output

Personnel

See also

References