Orbital Corporation Limited , formerly Orbital Engine Corporation Limited pioneered by Ralph Sarich

Ralph Sarich

Ralph Tony Sarich is a Western Australian multi millionaire businessman and qualified engineer of Croatian descent—his parents came to Australia in 1930 from the Šibenik area. He was responsible for developing the Orbital Engine in 1972...

, is an Australian company based at Balcatta

Balcatta, Western Australia

Balcatta is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia. Its Local Government Area is the City of Stirling. It is a primarily middle-class suburb made up of mainly Italian Catholic, Greek and Macedonian Orthodox families, as well as many families from other European Orthodox religions. It is also one of...

, Western Australia

Western Australia

Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

, that aims to provide clean engine technologies and alternative fuel systems with reduced environmental impact from gas emissions and improved fuel economy.

Consulting services

Design, manufacturing, development and testing facilities have been established at the Balcatta facility. Orbital has developed infrastructure in engine design and modelling, numerical analysis, computational fluid dynamics, combustion and fuel system development, rapid-turn-around prototyping, and engine-management system software and hardware design.

Autogas systems

A subsidiary, Orbital Autogas Systems, produces a retrofit LPG system applicable to a range of vehicles. Orbital Liquid LPG injection (LLi) is claimed to be the latest generation in automotive LPG fuel systems, promising substantial fuel savings, improved fuel consumption and reduced pollution. Injection of LPG into the engine as a liquid rather than a vapour is claimed to improve engine volumetric efficiency, producing more power from less fuel.

Variable-fuel engine

A technology named FlexDI™ purports to improve emissions and fuel consumption in internal combustion engines designed to accept any common fuel type. The invention is being promoted to marine, recreational and light commercial vehicle markets including autorickshaws.

In 2003, the company was awarded a Banksia Award

Banksia Environmental Foundation

The Banksia Environmental Foundation is an Australian organisation created in 1989 to support and confer recognition on individuals and organisations that make a positive contribution to the environment. The Foundation launched the annual Banksia Environmental Awards in the same year...

for its innovative combustion technology—winning in the category 'Leadership in Sustainable Product Design'.

Further reading

• Sydney Morning Herald, October 26, 2005. Orbital turns to its next big hope - rickshaws. By Matt O'Sullivan
• Powersports Business, December, 2004 Orbital expects improvement in 2005.
• Hoover's – Factsheet on Orbital Corporation Limited
• Scootering USA – December 10, 2007. Bajaj Provides Update on the Launch of the Direct Injection Autorickshaw

External links

• Orbital Corporation Limited Official site.
• Orbital Corporation Limited Official Chinese site.
• Synerject Official site.
• Orbital Autogas Systems Official site.
• FlexDi Official site.
• FlexDi Official Chinese site.