Alfred Büchi the inventor of the turbocharger

The marine industry was the first to benefit from his innovative development work. In the same year, two ships were fitted with 2,000hp turbocharged diesel engines. Büchi was able to license the technology to manufacturers in Europe, America and Japan.

But he never stayed still for long, and �continued to tweak and tune his design, filing yet another patent in 1932 for a “controlling and regulating device for compound internal combustion engines with exhaust turbines”. He was improving his idea in increments.

The automotive industry proved slow to take on turbocharging technology, however. This may seem surprising today, especially as turbocharged diesel engines are omnipresent in the market and OEMs are increasingly looking to charge gasoline engines.

Racecars did not adopt the technology until the 1930s, and it was the end of the decade before it was introduced on commercial vehicles.�The first turbocharged truck engine was produced by the Swiss company Saurer in 1938.

No matter what vehicle the technology is used in, the fact that efficiency is enhanced is down to Büchi’s determination to improve the combustion engine.

It is a legacy that continues to have an impact on the industry today, as turbochargers are used in the downsizing of gasoline engines and to help OEMs to improve their powertrains.