MAI is developing a compact power plant based on the Stirling engine, which will be able to generate up to 10 W of electricity due to the natural temperature difference between soil and air.
The project is designed for autonomous weather stations, communication facilities, navigation buoys, and radio beacons operating in remote areas of the Arctic. The development is being carried out by Nikolai Kushnaryov, a student of Institute No. 2 "Aircraft, Rocket Engines and Power Plants" of MAI.
The installation is based on a classic Stirling engine, which converts temperature differences into mechanical work. In the Arctic version, the lower part of the structure is supposed to be placed in the ground, and the upper part is equipped with a radiator and brought to the surface. At a shallow depth, the soil maintains a relatively stable temperature, while in winter the air cools significantly. This difference creates conditions for a continuous engine operating cycle without a separate fuel source.
MAI also proposes to refine the design to improve efficiency. The mechanism uses a slider crank, which allows increasing the time the piston spends in extreme positions and increasing the output per working cycle.
To cool the upper part of the installation, it is considered to place the radiator at an angle of 30–45 degrees to the horizon, taking into account atmospheric "transparency windows" through which thermal radiation more efficiently escapes into the surrounding space.
The installation will receive a battery to maintain power under adverse conditions, and its operation will be controlled by temperature and RPM sensors. Currently, the project is at the stage of assembling a prototype. If the calculated parameters are confirmed during testing, such a system will be able to provide autonomous power to low-power Arctic facilities without regular fuel delivery.