Volvo Penta has developed an electric driveline for leading fire service vehicle manufacturer Rosenbauer’s pioneering fire truck, named “Revolutionary Technology” (RT). The truck was officially launched at an event in Austria. The RTs will now be sent to fire departments in Berlin, Amsterdam and Dubai to begin real-world customer testing.... Read more →

Tula Technology is presenting its diesel Dynamic Skip Fire (dDSF) technology (earlier post) at the 4th Future Diesel Powertrain Summit China 2020 on 24-25 September 2020 in Shanghai, China. In addition to providing an overview of dDSF technology, the presentation will address the Cummins-Tula 15L Heavy-Duty dDSF Project as well... Read more →

Airbus has revealed three concepts for the world’s first zero-emission commercial aircraft which could enter service by 2035. All of these concepts rely on hydrogen as a primary power source—an option which Airbus believes holds exceptional promise as a clean aviation fuel and is likely to be a solution for... Read more →

Bosch and Weichai Power have increased the efficiency of Weichai truck diesel engines from their current level of roughly 46% to 50%. In increasing the efficiency by four percentage points, we have jointly reached a new milestone. Even though the diesel engine is nearly 130 years old, its development continues.... Read more →

BYD has introduced the Song PLUS mid-size SUV at a launch event in Chengdu. The announced ICE versions of the SUV comes in four configurations, ranging from 115,800 to 143,800 CNY (US$17,133 to 21,263). BYD intends for the Song PLUS to attack the mainstream SUV market in China synergistically with... Read more →

LiquidPiston, Inc., a developer of advanced rotary internal combustion engines for diesel and jet fuels (earlier post), received a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I grant from the US Army for the development of its X-Engine as a hybrid-electric propulsion platform for UAVs. The company showcased its X-Engine powered... Read more →

For the past four years, the US Department of Energy’s Co-Optima team (earlier post) has focused research efforts on turbocharged (or “boosted”) spark-ignition (SI) engines, which is the dominant combustion approach for light-duty vehicles such as passenger cars and light trucks. This research involves identifying the fuel properties and engine... Read more →

Audi is adding a new member to its A3 family: the A3 Sportback 30 g-tron natural gas vehicle. Operation with natural gas or biomethane makes the compact model economical and more climate-friendly with low emissions. Sales in Germany and other European countries begin in fall 2020 at a base price... Read more →

The newly-formed partnership between Ricardo North America (Ricardo) and Achates Power Inc. (API) of San Diego, Calif. (earlier post), has received its first assignment: an Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) grant to improve overall efficiency and reduce emissions in full-size pickup trucks. Ricardo, engineering specialists in advanced propulsion, software, thermal... Read more →

Reaction Engines Ltd and Rolls-Royce plc announced a new strategic partnership agreement to develop high-speed aircraft propulsion systems and explore applications for Reaction Engines’ thermal management technology within civil and defence aerospace gas turbine engines and hybrid-electric systems. We have been working closely with Reaction Engines for the past two... Read more →

FCA US LLC is voluntarily recalling an estimated 58,016 vehicles in the US to update certain powertrain software that will help prevent engine stall. An FCA investigation discovered the tone wheel in a small percentage of engines may, over time, lose magnetic material. Should this occur, it may disrupt signal... Read more →

Daimler AG and its subsidiary Mercedes-Benz USA LLC (MBUSA) have reached an agreement in principle with US authorities to settle civil and environmental claims regarding emission control systems of approximately 250,000 diesel passenger cars and vans in the United States. The involved US authorities are the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),... Read more →

Hermeus Corporation, an aerospace start-up developing Mach 5 commercial aircraft, has won a $1.5-million SBIR Phase II award with the US Air Force and the Presidential and Executive Airlift Directorate to work toward hypersonic travel for the Department of Defense. This award comes under an Other Transaction For Prototype Agreement... Read more →

Although intermetallic alloys potentially have high strength in a high-temperature environment, they generally suffer poor ductility at ambient and low temperatures, hence limiting their applications in aerospace and other engineering fields. Now, researchers led by scientists of City University of Hong Kong (CityU) have discovered that adding a small amount... Read more →

Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Co., a unit of Korea Shipbuilding, has been given the green light for its ammonia-propelled ships from Lloyd’s Register. Hyundai Mipo Dockyard intends to commercialize the ammonia-propelled ships by 2025 in cooperation with global engine maker MAN Energy Solutions and Lloyd’s Register. Ammonia has been attracting attention... Read more →

Mercedes-Benz AG is grouping all drive system competencies across the group in the new unit “Mercedes-Benz Drive Systems” within the company. The transformation of Mercedes-Benz AG and its products in line with CO2-free mobility for the future brings with it significant changes for the drive system in particular. Therefore, the... Read more →

More than 14 tonnes of CO2 was saved in a two-year trial involving just 11 urban trucks and vans running on green hydrogen dual fuel. That is one result of the Low Emission Freight and Logistics Trial (LEFT) project to investigate the practical deployment of hydrogen powered vehicles in the... Read more →

Baker Hughes and Snam have successfully completed testing of the world’s first “hybrid” hydrogen turbine designed for a gas network. The test paves the way to implement adoption of hydrogen blended with natural gas in Snam’s current transmission network infrastructure. The test took place at Baker Hughes’ facility in Florence,... Read more →

Jaguar Land Rover has now produced more than 1.5 million Ingenium engines at its Engine Manufacturing Center in Wolverhampton, UK. The UK manufacturer is now adding a new straight-six diesel to the family. The advanced Ingenium family, which includes a range of diesel, gasoline and electrified engines, are built to... Read more →

Porsche already uses 3D printing technology in prototype construction, manufacturing spare parts for classic sports cars and in other areas. Now, in cooperation with its partners MAHLE and Trumpf, Porsche is now establishing a new milestone in the use of additive manufacturing processes for highly-stressed drive components. For the first... Read more →

An author partnership from MAHLE Powertrain in the US has been recognized for its work on pre-chamber ignition, presented at the Institute of Mechanical Engineers’ Internal Combustion Engines and Powertrain Systems conference in December 2019. Pre-chamber ignition has been investigated since the early 1900s as a technology which promotes rapid... Read more →

A team at Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) is proposing a new combustion mode—intelligent charge compression ignition (ICCI)—for ultra-high efficiency and low emissions simultaneously. A paper on ICCI is published in the journal Fuel. ICCI aims to realize flexible and controllable in-cylinder charge stratification fed by two complementary fuels: gasoline... Read more →

As suggested in 2018, (earlier post) the 2021 Jeep Gladiator is now available with the 3.0-liter EcoDiesel V-6 engine. The expected fuel economy ratings will deliver the highest driving range on one tank of fuel yet for Gladiator. The new 3.0-liter EcoDiesel V-6 engine, rated at 260 horsepower and 442... Read more →

LEVC (London Electric Vehicle Company) is launching the VN5, its new electric light commercial van. Available to order now, first VN5 deliveries will commence in RHD form in Q4, with LHD models available from March 2021. Based on the same architecture and proven eCity range-extender technology as LEVC’s TX electric... Read more →

Norsepower Oy Ltd., the leading global provider of auxiliary wind propulsion systems, and SEA-CARGO, leading logistics provider in the North Sea market, announced an agreement to install two of Norsepower’s largest Rotor Sails (earlier post) on board the SC Connector, a sidedoor Ro-Ro. The agreement also marks the installation of... Read more →

BASF is launching an engineering plastic that is particularly suited for automotive parts that come into contact with hot oil. The new polyethersulfone (PESU) Ultrason E0510 C2TR shows very good tribological properties, high oil resistance and excellent dimensional stability also with broad ranges of temperature fluctuations. The injection-molding grade with... Read more →

Ricardo North America (Ricardo), engineering specialists in advanced propulsion, software and thermal management, has added to its powertrain design and development expertise with the launch of a team in Southern California and a partnership with opposed-piston engine developer Achates Power. The announcement follows Ricardo’s recent partnership agreement with Excel Engineering... Read more →

Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. and Sunwoda Electric Vehicle Battery Co., Ltd. will begin studying joint development of next-generation vehicle batteries for Nissan’s e-POWER vehicles. (Earlier post.) The two companies will also discuss the development of an efficient production system to ensure stable supply capacity for jointly developed batteries. Nissan and... Read more →

Mercedes-AMG is moving ahead with electrification through innovative developments while also benefiting from motorsport know-how. An electric exhaust gas turbocharger, which in future will be used for the first time in a series production model, is already in the final stages of development. Developed in partnership with Garrett Motion, this... Read more →

UK-based ULEMCo has worked with Yorkshire Water to produce what is believed to be the first water tanker anywhere to operate on hydrogen fuel. The new 7.5 tonne bowser has been converted from a standard truck to use hydrogen dual fuel, an approach that allows fleet managers to transition more... Read more →

Scientists, engineers, and analysts with the US Department of Energy’s Co-Optimization of Fuels & Engines (Co-Optima) initiative are examining how simultaneous improvements to fuels and engines can improve efficiency and reduce emissions and costs for the entire on-road fleet, including light-duty (LD), medium-duty (MD), and heavy-duty (HD) internal combustion vehicles... Read more →

Ricardo Inc., the North American operating arm of UK-based Ricardo plc and specialists in advanced propulsion, software and thermal management, signed an agreement to partner with Iowa-based Excel Engineering, which includes the sale of Ricardo’s Michigan engine testing and prototype facility. The agreement allows Ricardo, with offices in Detroit, Chicago,... Read more →

Researchers at KAUST’s Clean Combustion Research Center have developed a method to predict and to avoid undesirable combustion events in advanced engines, such as knocking and super-knock. In a recent study, published in the journal Combustion and Flame, they report that their predictions implicate the composition and temperature of the... Read more →

WinGD (Winterthur Gas & Diesel) has received type approval for the biggest and most powerful LNG-fueled engines yet built. Class society Bureau Veritas awarded the approval for WinGD’s dual-fueled 12X92DF engines, the first series of which is currently being built by China State Shipbuilding Corp (CSSC) and will power nine... Read more →

Southwest Research Institute engineers have developed the next generation of clean diesel engine technology to reduce hazardous nitrogen oxides (NOx) and carbon dioxide emissions while minimizing fuel consumption. Working with regulatory agencies, vehicle manufacturers and suppliers, SwRI combined engine modifications with integrated aftertreatment technology and control strategies to reach near-zero... Read more →

Researchers at the US Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) have developed an onboard separation system that could support increased fuel economy and lower greenhouse gas emissions as part of an octane-on-demand fuel-delivery system. A paper on the team’s exploratory research, which was supported under the DOE’s Co-Optima... Read more →

The VW diesel scandal began on 18 September 2015. On the opening day of the Frankfurt International Motor Show (IAA), the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a Notice of Violation: VW diesel engines with 1.6 and 2.0 liters displacement (type code EA 189) contained illegal software designed to manipulate... Read more →

A team of researchers at the Institute of Technological Sciences at Wuhan University has demonstrated a prototype design of a propulsion thruster that utilizes air plasma induced by microwave ionization. Such a jet engine simply uses only air and electricity to produce high temperature and pressurized plasma for jet propulsion.... Read more →

The technology group Wärtsilä is developing the combustion process in its gas engines to enable them to burn 100% hydrogen fuel. Wärtsilä has researched hydrogen as a fuel for 20 years, and has tested its engines with blends of up to 60% hydrogen and 40% natural gas. This development is... Read more →

A team from the University of Central Florida (UCF) and the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) has demonstrated continuous detonation in a rotating detonation rocket engine (RDRE) (earlier post) powered by H2/O2 propellants. The results show continuous five-wave co-rotating detonations at various equivalence ratios and flow rates demonstrating the potential... Read more →

ARPA-E announced up to $28 million in funding (DE-FOA-0002337) for a new program, ULtrahigh Temperature Impervious Materials Advancing Turbine Efficiency (ULTIMATE). The ULTIMATE program will develop and demonstrate ultrahigh-temperature materials that can operate in high temperature and high stress environments of a gas turbine blade. Projects will specifically target gas... Read more →

Researchers from Saudi Aramco and KAUST (King Abdullah University of Science and Technology), with a colleague from Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China, assessed the effects of adopting 4 hybrid architectures on the life-cycle GHG emissions of a novel high-reactivity fuel in an advanced compression-ignition engine (GCI). Their paper appears... Read more →

Cummins Inc. and Tula Technology, Inc., developer of Dynamic Skip Fire cylinder deactivation technology (earlier post), collaborated on a significant technical demonstration of diesel Dynamic Skip Fire (dDSF) cylinder deactivation. By using dDSF software to control cylinder deactivation in a diesel engine, Cummins and Tula demonstrated significant reductions in emissions... Read more →

MAN Energy Solutions has won the order to supply six MAN B&W 9S50ME-C9.6 Tier II-compliant main engines for three 238-meter hybrid RoRo vessels intended for operation in the Baltic Sea. The customer is Finnlines, the Finnish shipping company and part of the Grimaldi Group. The vessels will have a cargo... Read more →

In a three-year Business Finland BioFlex project, VTT—the Finnish state-owned research agency—and partners are exploring how suitable fuel oils made from biomass and waste plastics are for power plants and ship diesel engines. The aim is to determine the most ecologically and economically sustainable way to replace fossil fuels. We... Read more →

The all-new SEAT Leon offers five different powertrain technologies: gasoline (TSI); diesel (TDI); mild-hybrid (eTSI); plug-in hybrid (eHybrid); and compressed natural gas (TGI). SEAT is a member of the Volkswagen Group. In total, there are eleven different mechanical variants, with power outputs ranging from 90 PS with the 1.0 TSI... Read more →

For the past four years, the Co-Optimization of Fuels & Engines (Co-Optima) National Laboratory consortium has focused research efforts primarily on turbocharged (boosted) spark-ignition (SI) engines for light-duty vehicles. This research involves identifying the fuel properties and engine parameters that mitigate knock and emissions, while maximizing boosted SI efficiency and... Read more →

Brought to the US market for the first time in the 2020 Audi S6 and S7, Audi’s Electric-Powered Compressor (EPC) comes paired to the 2.9-liter, twin-turbocharged TFSI V6 engine. It consists of an electric motor with a small turbine that helps quickly build turbo boost pressure, sharpening throttle response and... Read more →

The technology group Wärtsilä has initiated combustion trials using ammonia. The research will help the company to prepare for the use of ammonia as a fuel that can contribute to reducing both the shipping’s and energy sectors’ greenhouse gas emissions. (Earlier post.) As part of the tests, ammonia was injected... Read more →

DEUTZ presented its latest developments in the field of sustainable off-highway drive systems at CONEXPO in Las Vegas. (The show, originally scheduled to run from 10-14 March, closed one day early as concern over the COVID-19 outbreak began to mount). DEUTZ combines diesel, gas, hybrid, electric and hydrogen technologies to... Read more →