ENGINE INVENTOR BRINGS DREAM TO MARKETPLACE
Max Jarman
The Arizona Republic
Oct. 7, 2005 12:00 AM
Brian Hageman has built oil refineries and nuclear power plants and sold real estate in Phoenix and objets d'art in Scottsdale.
But for the past 10 years he has been following his dream as an inventor.
At a small warehouse in Phoenix, the self-styled engineer is perfecting an engine that promises to reduce the cost of pumping oil, generating electricity and desalinating water, among many other applications.
In the Kansas oil fields, for example, a prototype is pumping oil for substantially less than a conventional electric "grasshopper" pump.
Hageman's Natural Energy Engine™ uses hot and cold water to drive a piston that can be used to pump liquids or turn a wheel.
The hot and cold water expands and contracts pressurized carbon dioxide to push and pull the piston.
Patented invention:
Hageman, who has patented the device in the United States and 20 other countries, said he is close to announcing a version of the engine that can be licensed to manufactures.
The water can be heated using natural gas, solar panels or natural forces within the earth.
In September 2005, the Federal Laboratories Consortium recognized the invention with its annual Outstanding Technology Development award. The consortium is a nationwide network of federal laboratories that links laboratory science with opportunities in the marketplace.
The consortium honored Hageman's company, Deluge Inc., and the Department of Energy's Rocky Mountain Oil Testing Center for their collaborative work pumping oil from a well at the Naval Petroleum Reserve near Casper, Wyoming, using geothermal water as the sole source of fuel.
The partnership with Deluge presented a unique opportunity to synthesize fossil and renewable energy technologies, said the center's manager Doug Tunison.
Deluge has targeted the petroleum industry as an initial market for its product, but also is working on a water desalination unit that utilizes its pump. Other projects include electric generators and even a car powered by the company's Natural Energy Engine™.
Engine idea sparked:
Hageman, who has been tearing things apart and putting them back together since childhood, got the idea for his engine in 1976 while working as an engineer building an oil refinery in Saudi Arabia. While pressure-testing pipes, he noticed that pressure continued to build after pumps were turned off. He realized that external heat caused the liquid in the pipe to continue to expand.
Hageman came to Arizona in 1980 to work on building the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station near Phoenix. In 1984, he constructed a working model of his thermal hydraulic engine in his Phoenix garage, based on his observation in Saudi Arabia.
When the Palo Verde job ended, Hageman returned to school and obtained an associate's degree in business from Glendale Community College. He pursued careers in real estate and as a Scottsdale art dealer before giving it up to follow his dream as an inventor.
In 1996, he formed Deluge Inc. to commercialize the Natural Energy Engine™. He continued to develop the product in incubator space at Arizona State University.
Hageman raised money to fund the research by selling stock in his company to private investors. He estimates that 450 people have invested almost $10 million in the company over the past nine years. Eventually, Hageman said, he would like to take the company public.
In the meantime, Deluge has formed an oil production company to generate revenue to fund further development of its hydraulic engines.
The subsidiary is negotiating for mineral rights in Oklahoma and Wyoming which it intends to develop into producing wells using its engine to pump out the oil.
Reach the reporter at max.jarman@arizonarepublic.com or (602) 444-7351
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