The first practical small-scale cogenerator,developed by the team of Don Pickard andFrank Dileo, efficiently provides the energyneeds of abattalion-levelfield kitchen.Cogeneratorsproduce heat andelectric powerfrom oneprocess 80percent moreefficiently thanseparate heatersand generators.Instead of usingdry saturated orsuperheated steam as in a conventionalRankine cycle, a high temperature two-phasemixture of steam and water is injected into anexpander. The alternator coupled to theexpander produces electrical power, while theremaining heat is used for cooking andsanitation.The Natick Soldier Center team has beeninvolved in the discovery and exploitation ofcogeneration for the past five years. Theyjoined forces with engineers at YankeeScientific, a Medfield, Massachusetts-basedcompany, to adapt the liquid injection cogeneration (LIC) process to field kitchens.The resulting prototype was a success and ledto the two largest home HVAC manufacturersexpressing an interest in the cogenerator. Thetechnology was formally transferred whenYankee Scientificand ECRInternational formeda joint venturecalled ClimateEnergy LLC todevelop and marketthe technology. In2001 the technologywas fully developedand tested withkitchen appliances,and it was integratedinto a fullyfunctioning kitchenin 2002.Electric power generation using small-scalecogenerators offers significant environmentaladvantages and other benefits when compared toconventional power plants—less fuel is burned,the fuel burned is cleaner, and the fuel is burnedover a broad area, unlike the concentratedpollution produced by power plants.