# LiquidPiston First wholly new combustion engine / cycle in 85+ years ## Elevator pitch Engines are dirty, and physics tells us we can do better! We've developed an optimized thermodynamic cycle and built a fundamentally new combustion engine that's cleaner, cheaper, quieter, and smaller. Compared to piston engines, our "X" rotary engine can be ~5-10x smaller and lighter than a Diesel, and up to 2x more efficient than a gasoline engine. An electric vehicle using LiquidPiston combined with a small battery pack could have a lower CO2 footprint compared to plug-in electric vehicles. - Canonical URL: https://wefunder.com/liquidpiston - Entity ID: wefunder:company:8965 - Last updated: 2026-06-15T05:00:06Z - Generated at: 2026-06-16T03:34:31Z ## Quick facts - Raised $1.29M from 727 investors on Wefunder in 2017.  - Since then, DARPA awarded a Phase 2 $2.5M development contract in October 2017, a follow-on to our 2 DoD contracts, totaling $5.5M in non-dilutive funding.  - New engine architecture could improve fuel efficiency by up to 2x over a gasoline engine while reducing size and weight by up to 10x over a diesel engine. - 45 patents issued or pending in the U.S. and internationally. - Our 70cc "X mini" engine is a 3-5hp gasoline engine the size of a honeydew melon. Measured 50% increased efficiency over comparable per-cylinder displacement gasoline engine. The engine is being inserted into a 2kwe hybrid electric generator for A - Our 750cc "X-4" engine is a 40hp rotary Diesel X engine "Alpha" prototype, which ultimately may fit in an 11" box while weighing just 40 pounds. We are proving it's efficiency and power. - Completed $1M "seedling" program with DARPA in 2015. - $460 billion total addressable market; starting with military industry and handheld engine. ## Active fundraises - wefunder:fundraise:18458: 4(a)(6) successful (USD) - wefunder:fundraise:5486: 4(a)(6) successful (USD) ## FAQ 1. **Can you explain, in a nutshell, how you're different than the failed Wankel rotary engine? Also is your valuation based upon your "potential" military contracts, or something else as it does seem quite high for a seed round investment stage. Thank you!** - Thank you for these questions. For difference between a Wankel, please have a look at: http://liquidpiston.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Wankel.png 1) we have high compression ratio, constant volume combustion and over-expansion - thermodynamically much more efficient. The Wankel engine uses standard Otto (spark ignited gasoline) cycle, whereas we are an optimized Diesel. 2) The Wankel is an engineering beauty - simple and elegant, low vibration and high power density - BUT - it was always p... 2. **Hi Guys, I saw you featured on Jalopnik a few months ago. Very cool. Interesting that you all bring up the challenge of bringing fuel to the front lines in the military application, and military being your market entry point. Earl Energy, out of Virginia/Maryland area, is foun...** - Hello - thank you for the pointer to Earl. We are currently looking for partnerships with established manufacturers / suppliers that specialize in military equipment. We will release some news shortly about two recently signed defense contracts, which include partnering with two large Primes that currently produce a variety of military systems including generators and hybrid applications. 3. **What are the challenges around the seals between chambers? Have you solved them or is more work necessary? Is seal material similar to Wankel, or significantly different?** - Seals have traditionally been a challenge of the Wankel Rotary engine. The first issue is significant blowby that stems from a) leakage pathways at the interface at the corners between the apex seal and the face seal; also b) the apex seals crossing the spark plugs; and also c) the apex seals "chatter" as they are moving at high speeds against the housing. Also, the seals are a challenge to lubricate - oil must be sprayed into the charge, and most of this oil burns, while only a fraction goes... 4. **What is the emissions profile and how will this be addressed?** - We have been focused to-date on engine performance - power and efficiency, and getting the engine to a state where we can power an application (see go-kart video). We have not started work on emissions. In principal, we have addressed the major hurdles the Wankel engine faced in regards to emissions (by having an optimized spherical combustion chamber; and by direct lubrication of the seals, avoiding burning of oil). We also have a longer duration / constant-volume combustion process - with m... 5. **How will the continuing improvement in battery technology impact the need for internal combustion engines generally, and more specifically how will that impact the need for your product?** - That's a great question. In some cases, our technology is complementary with a battery. Consider a range-extended electric vehicle as an example. Customers are used to 300 miles of range; they want the ability to rapidly refuel/recharge; and they want low cost of ownership. We also want to reduce the CO2 footprint of the vehicle. In an all-electric solution, typically a battery has to make several trips around the world before it makes its way to a vehicle (though Tesla is trying to change th... ## Team - Victoria DiBacco (employee) - Alexander Shkolnik (CEO) - Nikolay Shkolnik (CTO) ## Q&A - Q: Can you specify how many shares were outstanding at the time of the conversion event on 9/25/2020. - A: Yes - there were 1,385,723 shares and options outstanding as of Sept 24 2020. Thank you! - Q: I'd like to know for those of us that invested some time ago, what are the plans for the company to distribute shares to its investors and when and if there is a time horizon as to whether the company is going public? I want to start getting returns on investments I've made. - A: Steve, the company intends to raise an A round, at which time the convertible note will convert into shares. Returns are generated only at certain times, for example if there is an IPO, sale of the company, or a paid cash dividend. With small private companies, this is a long term investment. Thank you for your support! - Q: You said: "On our most recent engine, we were able to run it for about 15 hours. Our next goal is 50 hours, which is the basic requirement for EPA certification as a handheld engine." What was the failure mode at 15 hours, and what changes do you anticipate will allow you run to 50 hours? - A: Hello Grant - Durability was not a focus until recently, as we have been focused on proving the power and efficiency of the engine. We previously were designing and building our own gears in house. This was mostly for speed of prototyping. Now the gear is our durability bottleneck as it shows wear after 20 hours. We have contracted a professional gear company to design and make new, significantly improved gears for us, and these will be tested shortly. - Q: I think it's fair to ask how you see the end-game as it relates to the structure of your company for investors to understand where you plan to take our capital. Do you hope to repay the note immediately if you are able to execute contracts at a certain pace or are you looking to be acquired in a liquidity event for your IP or revenue? - A: We look to make a return for investors (and for all employees who are share holders) through: 1) a liquidity event such as an IPO, or sale of the company (or sale of piece of the company); or 2) if the company is swimming in cash and an acquisition does not make sense for some reason, we can pay investors back through dividend payments. Please note that executing contracts can build revenues, but the margins for this are low. To have cash for dividends, it would come primarily from royalty and license payments, which are almost 100% profit. We can determine to re-invest such profits into the company to grow it bigger, or to payout shareholders (including investors and the team - we are in the same boat). Your Note is intended to be converted into equity (stock) at some point - at a $25M valuation - your potential return will be based on the increased value of the equity. You should think of this more as an equity investment than a debt investment. The reason its done as a convertible note is for the protection of the investor - if the next venture capital round come at a lower valuation for some reason, then note holders will convert at the same valuation as the next investor (this is called "anti dilution" protection). We are anticipating to raise money in Spring 2017, hopefully at > $25M valuation, but until we cross that bridge, we won't know for sure. - Q: What was the conversion price of the Liquid Piston convertible note to shares? - A: The Conversion Price is specific to which offering you participated in (there were notes issued at different valuation caps). The conversion price is found by the formula: Price_per_share = Valuation_CAP/ shares_outstanding, or Valuation_CAP/1,385,723. The final number of shares you will have will be provided in your official notice. (thanks for the patience, WeFunder will be sending soon). Thank you! - Q: For months WeFunder has been stating shares in Liquid Piston will be distributed in two weeks. It is coming up to two months since then. Not even told what the conversion price is. - A: Sorry for the delay, they are working on it.... - Q: Can we please have an update on the conversion of the notes? I understand you're busy with work, but it's been quite a while since the new StartEngine Reg A+ round was closed. - A: Hello Olle - My apologies for the delay on this. The Automatic Note Conversion was triggered by the first closing of our Reg A round in Sept 2020, so everyone's Notes have already officially converted on the books. We've prepared notices for investors, which Wefunder will distribute. This has taken some months to prepare - I appreciate everyone's patience. Thank you for your investment and support! - Q: I would like to invest. When are going to open up for more funding? - A: Please stay tuned via our facebook page, and startengine.com/liquidpiston thank you! - Q: I really want to invest in your company, when will you open up another round of funding - A: Please stay tuned via our facebook page, and startengine.com/liquidpiston thank you! - Q: Wondering if there will be another round of funding coming any time soon? - A: Please stay tuned via our facebook page, and startengine.com/liquidpiston thank you! - Q: How do you keep the engine cool? - A: Two versions - one is air cooled with fins and a fan; the larger engine is liquid cooled with a water jacket and oil cooling of the rotor - Q: Alex, By your answer I can see why your having trouble raising money for your fantastic engine. Gearheads/knuckleheads go into their garage and power Go Karts with unusual engines. Even Henry Ford's first car (Ford Quadricycle) was a garage build, and until he (Ford) won the 1909 New York to Seattle cross country race (under stress), Ford was just another tinker/inventor (there were hundreds of would be car manufacturers). You may have gotten noticed for your Go Kart, but not in the way you think or needed. Leaving the military and their motivations out of this .. "Certification for emissions" is doublespeak (especially to investors anxious for you to get to the meat of your intent) and of little consequence to an African village or any third world application. They (African village) need what you are promising .. efficient (fuel), small, powerful, long-running (MTBO), cheap to maintain (few moving parts) .. this is the gauntlet (stress) that will prove the worth of what your invention is supposed to provide (you only need one or two and should be an offshoot/civilian version of your product with DARPA). That will get you the serious notice you want and need As for aerospace development (again doublespeak), while seeming a perfect application for your engine, the regulatory hurdles (FAA and EASA) is a huge black hole to pour money into (ask Mistral Engines (www.mistral-engines.com) about their slog/multi-year aviation rotary engine efforts .. also ask them about how you/Liquid Piston and Mazda have screwed up their investment/future, after spending tens of millions from 2001 to present). Your best effort for a segment use of your tech (for direct drive) is a marine version of your diesel engine .. no regulatory hurdles, engine size will be a miracle/godsend for the replacement market (and welcome by marine engineers/architects for new designs), rotary inertia for the abstract inertia forces of the sea (a right angle configuration of two engines might give a secondary gyro stabilization effect), high fuel efficiency sensitivity, MTBO and few moving parts (a real game changer) . Timing is everything (the 4th dimension is a killer to ambition) and your engine would have been great for the small engine market, however the tide of electric engines is a force you can't compete with, the best will be ancillary APU and the market is ill-defined at present (with exception of Train engines/locomotives, but that is a mature large engine APU market). As for our dependence on oil resources, the paradigm shift to electric propulsion and the myriad of tech that will spin a generator to power those electric motors is the reality to deal with .. I could care less about saving fossil fuel resources (but it will be nice/efficient). Your tech (and its job) will end the reign of the primitive (100+ yo), complicated, thrashing piston internal combustion engine, redeeming all the promises of rotary engines made over the decades, bringing real value to billions of lives all over the world. When the Wankel engine was promoted/invested in .. visions of millions of car engines were the bonanza/market .. time has moved on (4th dimension), and the car market is headed in another direction (ask Mazda about their Wankel efforts in the face of coming electric cars). Your amazing tech has real-world application and merit. You need to get serious (i'm sure your military sponsors are deadly serious) .. You need to S#%TCAN the Go Kart and find a real application to demo the assets/advantages of your engine. As reference/parallel, a crowdfunding/Indiegogo campaign for a new tech was initiated (and fulfilled/oversubscribed) bringing real results to a potential billion+ people all over the world killing their dependence/poverty cycle on fossil fuels and they PR'd it in an African village to shine the (spot)light (pun intended) of their tech to the investment world https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwEmgwrVUag If you noodle around on YouTube you will find many garage tinkers with crude gravity lights .. Riddiford and Reeves stepped up and defined its parameters and its need/benefit turning a novelty into a real product/movement to benefit mankind. Much like Ford, "putting it on the line" separates the great men from the boys whining about "certifications for emissions" or "it's a long, extensive process". Don't defend your mistake (Go Kart) .. don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good .. Greatness is at your feet and the 4th dimension haunts you! - Q: 1) Please explain why Adams Capital Management called back its convertible note back in November 2015. 2) At what valuation did Management buy out previous shareholders and debtors, including Adams Capital Management, back in January 2016? 3) What was the company's valuation in the priced round dated February 2015? - Q: How small can a LiquidPiston (LP) rotary be and still have breakthrough advantages over other engines at that scale? Could a stack of LP "micro X" or "nano X" engines be integral to a device (e.g., a laptop) and power it using methanol? - A: Hello Walter - the LP engine can scale down, but as for any engine, the performance drops with scale. There has been prior work in developing MEMS based micro Wankel rotary engines - so its possible, but this is not on our near term pipeline. Thanks! - Q: like to know for those of us that invested some time ago, what are the plans for the company to distribute shares to its investors and when and if there is a time horizon as to whether the company is going public? I want to start getting returns on investments I've made.