A regenerative heat engine may include a first compressor configured to compress an air stream, a regenerator configured to preheat a compressed air stream received from the first compressor, a combustion system configured to generate a combustion gas stream by igniting a mixture of the preheated compressed air stream from the regenerator and a pressurized fuel stream, a flow control mechanism configured to divide the combustion gas stream received from the combustion system into a first combustion gas stream and a second combustion gas stream, a first turbine configured to receive the first combustion gas stream and drive the first compressor, where a first exhaust stream from the first turbine fed into the regenerator, a second compressor, a second turbine configured to receive the second combustion gas stream and drive the second compressor, a heat exchanger configured to receive a second exhaust stream from the second turbine and cool the second exhaust stream, and an external load coupled with the second turbine.