Remember we had written a blog pondering if the Jaguar XJ will be first hybrid car to be fitted with turbine jets just a couple of days ago? Well, it seems that the truth is out and Jaguar XJ will be fitted with the turbines.

In a recent development Island-based micro gas turbine company, Bladon Jets has announced a partnership with Jaguar Land Rover to develop a device fitted to hybrid petrol/electric cars that charges batteries on the go.

This is a good news for us auto enthusiast in India as the Jaguar Land Rover group is now owned and controlled by Tata Motors of India and the day may not be far when Tata Motors brings this technology to India built in their cars for us to experience the feeling in the near future.

Well getting back to the story this Ultra Lightweight Range Extender (ULRE) battery charger allows a hybrid vehicle to travel further without the inconvenience of stopping to charge the vehicle’s batteries. The ULRE could be a significant piece of technology in the evolution of the next generation of electric vehicles.

Bladon Jets is leading a consortium that has been awarded funding from the UK government’s Technology Strategy Board to develop the ULRE. The objective of the consortium, which includes luxury car maker Jaguar Land Rover and leading electrical machine company SR Drives, is to produce the world’s first commercially viable ULRE.

Backing for the project was secured in a hotly contested £15 million funding competition organised by the Technology Strategy Board to support the advancement of the mass adoption of low carbon vehicles and is a key part of its wider programme to stimulate technology-enabled innovation and to help boost UK growth and productivity.

The ULRE will incorporate a Bladon Jets’ patented axial flow gas turbine engine coupled to a high speed generator utilising SR Drives’ technology. Design of the ULRE’s packaging for vehicle integration will be overseen by Jaguar Land Rover.

This exclusive technology if goes right in every which ways, will not only lead to the renaissance of the British automotive industry but also the global automotive scene. This could be the future of low carbon vehicle development.

Bladon Jets is a world leader in the development of micro gas turbine engines. Its patented breakthrough axial flow technology enables the production of highly efficient, small gas turbine engines that are ideally suited for use in hybrid electric vehicles. The SR Drives Group is based in Harrogate UK and comprises two operating companies which are Switched Reluctance Drives Ltd (SRDL), and SR Drives Manufacturing Ltd (SRDML).

Both companies are wholly owned subsidiaries of Emerson Electric Co of St Louis, Missouri – the world’s largest manufacturer of electric motors. The Technology Strategy Board is an executive non-departmental public body established by the UK government in 2007 and sponsored by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). The activities of the Technology Strategy Board are jointly supported and funded by BIS and other government departments, the devolved administrations, regional development agencies and research councils.