• The global conversation regarding electric vehicles has drastically shifted in the last year. Suddenly, the era of government‑mandated transition seems to be ending. For the first time in decades, the driving force of the EV market is being returned to car buyers—not politicians.   
• Behind the change was the removal of the legal framework that proclamed CO2, the lifegiving gas in Earth aptmosphere was a deadly pollutant needing to be regulated. This legal change effectively removed the US government's authority to demand CO2 cuts.  It is estimated this will remove a $1.3 trillion drag on the US economy.  
• This change has prompted other nations to re‑evaluate their regulation on CO2.  In just a few months Angola, Argentina, Australia, China, Germany, France, New Zealand, India, Indonesia, Russia, and the UK have reduced or even halted their CO2 emissions laws. Many governments have also lowered—or eliminated—subsidies to the EV sector.
• The Resulting Delema for Automakers
  Despite heavy discounts, often below manufacturing cost, EV sales have dropped by as much as 70% in some regions. Manufacturers of EVs are searching for solutions.
• Over 20 EV makers have announced plans to follow the lead of Porsche, who use a small 4‑stroke engine as a range extender for an EV prototype. 
• That prototype was built at the very end of the 19th-century, just over 126 years ago, by Dr. Porsche himself. 
• Its about time for EV manufactures to abondond this 19th century engine technology to provide On Board Electric power for their high-tech 21st century EVs? 

Kamtech’s OBE 1 does just that!   At its core is the Rad Cam Engine—a compact, highly efficient design developed in the 21st-century with the aid of Artificial Intelligence.  

The Rad Cam is Optimized for today’s mobility needs.  Its use of special materials, and an advanced energy management system makes it vastly more energy efficient than any engine based on the Otto cycle's,19th century, 4-stroke engine concept. The Rad Cam engine is also scalable, and modular, which gives it the potential to revolutionize EV manufacturing.

Kamtech OBE1 represents a new chapter in automotive innovation, securing a brighter future for both EVs and the companies that build them.

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 1,000 ways that won’t work.” —Thomas Edison

Every transformative technology passes through three phases: concept, development, and commercialization. For the 4‑stroke automotive engine, that journey spanned 37 years—from its 1861 patent to 1898, when the Benz Motorwagen became the first mass‑produced car with an IC engine.

Kamtech’s On‑Board Energy (OBE1) system has followed a similarly demanding path. Fueled by persistence rather than full‑time resources, the mission was always clear: conserve energy and build a cleaner, more peaceful world.

🔎 Early Inspiration
In 1991, Jim Duncalf, owner of an engineering company and former lecturer for the Illinois Department of Energy,  discovered an article on the 1925 Fairchild Camenz Engine. This cam‑centered design was simpler and more reliable than contemporary radial or inline aircraft engines, which often failed after just 50 hours.  More importantly, it clearly had the potential to be more thermally efficient than crank engines.

But this early radial cam had a weakness, which lay in the manually machined cam, which produced severe torsional vibration—too much for the wood‑and‑fabric aircraft of the day. But by 1960, Sherman Fairchild himself had pioneered silicon integrated circuits, paving the way for CNC machining that could produce precision cam shapes. Duncalf realized the fatal flaw of the radial cam could now be solved—and set out to build a team to design such an engine.

⚙️ Building Momentum
The first supporter was Professor Antoni K. Oppenheim, who had long argued for replacing the Diesel/Otto cycle. His guidance, rooted in decades of combustion research, shaped the project until his passing.

To refine the engine’s layout, Duncalf consulted Smokey Yunick, the legendary mechanic. By 2001, two spatial prototypes of the radial cam’s mechanical components were built. Soon after, Mark Beierle of Earthstar Aircraft became the first licensee, and together they developed three generations of running prototypes—culminating in a production version that flew successfully.

In 2006, two years before Tesla’s first electric Lotus, Duncalf approached co‑founder Martin Eberhard about using the Rad Cam as a range extender. The offer was rejected due to government pressure, but the vision endured.  Government subsidies for EVs eventually grew into billions of USD, but the EVs had to be plugged into an electric utility. 

🌏 A New Chapter in Vietnam
Momentum returned in 2012 when Vietnamese entrepreneur and the most educated person ever to attend MIT, Tue Nguyen offered to partner and fund Rad Cam's further development, provided the project was moved to Vietnam. After 14 months of efforts, the firm was not capable of producing parts to the needed tolerance, however his involvement had kept the project alive.  

Encouragement soon came from young engineer Phạm Duy Tùng, who convinced Duncalf to keep the project in Vietnam. Shortly afterward, Professor Huỳnh Thanh Công joined, offering expertise in fuel injection and combustion, and inspiring the team to persist.

History proves one truth: success is born from relentless iteration.

🚀 Ready for the Future
After years of redesigns, rebuilds, material changes, and—most recently—AI‑assisted refinements, the Rad Cam engine concept is now ready for a manufacturer to license it.  It is a proven concept that is compact, efficient, and modular; it outperforms conventional 4‑stroke engines in:

• Ease of manufacture
• Thermal efficiency
• Durability
• Cost

Proven in light aircraft, adapted for electric vehicles, and refined through six prototype platforms and hundreds of modifications, Kamtech’s OBE1 is ready to reshape mobility.
🔗 Join us in powering the future—on the road and beyond.

While Professor Oppenheim had spent his life defining what needed to change in the dynamics and methods of the combustion process, he offered no suggestions on how to address the mechanical dynamics involved. 

When Duncalf shared his goal to develop the Professor's ideal radial cam engine, his fellow engineers often posed two questions they said could not be overcome.

The first question: “What kind of cam profile will provide the best piston dynamic yet not cause the engine to destroy itself?”  

The second question: “Given the tiny contact point of the cam followers, what would keep them from shattering under the explosive load of combustion?”  After many negative comments from several qualified engineers, Duncalf turned to his childhood hero.

Smokey Yunick’s career was legendary, spanning groundbreaking work with Hudson, Ford, and General Motors. More than an innovator, Smokey was a force of nature—known for bold ideas and relentless pursuit of performance.

In less than a week, after getting Duncalf's question and drawing, Smokey had prepared viable answers to both questions, and his explanations became the foundation for the Radial Cam engine patents.  

He also emphasized that moving away from the crank’s dynamic could greatly increase efficiency in spark‑ignition two‑stroke engines, while simplifying management of HCCI designs, as it lengthens the dwell time close to TDC. 

His obsession with reclaiming waste heat and improving fuel economy directly shaped the Rad Cam engine. His recommendations on thermal management—favoring intelligent heat control over brute‑force cooling—were radically different from traditional thinking.  Smokey's ideas continued to shape the development team's thinking until this very day. 

More than his technical brilliance, it was Smokey’s fierce, unwavering belief in the project that inspired the team. As one colleague recalled: “When Smokey believed in you, you had no choice but to rise to it.”   We kept in touch with Smokey as long as we could. 

Mark Beierle, owner of Earthstar Aircraft Company, was the first licensee of the Rad Cam engine. Leading his team through multiple prototype iterations, he played a crucial role in refining the design. 

The final prototype—a production-ready version—provided undeniable proof that Professor Oppenheim’s theories on combustion dynamics, documented in his papers and books, were correct. Together, Duncalf, Yunick, and Beierle transformed Oppenheim’s concepts into a functioning engine with a thermal efficiency approaching 50%—a groundbreaking achievement in powertrain innovation. 

Beierle’s expertise in engine design, his relentless dedication to building and testing, and his determination to see the Rad Cam succeed were instrumental in turning it into a practical and efficient power source capable of revolutionizing the EV sector. 

Had the economic crisis of 2008 not disrupted funding opportunities just as he was seeking seed capital, the project may have moved forward at an even faster pace. His efforts proved the viability and robustness of the Rad Came engine and laid the groundwork for the development of Kamtech's OBE 1 design.

Phạm Duy Tùng, a graduate of HCMC University of Technology and Engineering, was perhaps the most influential figure in convincing the patent holder to keep the project rooted in Vietnam. Despite his youth, Tùng brought years of hands‑on experience with automotive and motorcycle engines—skills honed from his family’s vehicles and a lifelong passion for mechanics.

In 2013, a patent was filed for an improvement in the rod‑guide system. To test this and other innovations, Tùng helped design, build, and evaluate a one‑off prototype. The results of those trials became foundational to the current design.

His contributions went far beyond formal education. Many of his ideas were born from hard‑won, practical experience—insights that helped the team avoid costly mistakes during development. Tireless and committed, Tùng’s role was indispensable. Without his dedication, there would be no Kamtech OBE 1.