Garrett Motion’s industry-leading electric turbocharger (E-Turbo) expertise will be leveraged to simulate, design and prototype E-Turbos to help achieve the stringent post-Euro VI targets set for on-highway commercial vehicles.
Operating under the umbrella of the European Automotive Research and Development Council (EUCAR), the LONGRUN consortium brings together 30 automotive suppliers and manufacturers – including Garrett – with the unified goal of researching and developing solutions for more efficient and environmentally friendly long-haul engines for heavy vehicles. Trucks and buses duty.
Garrett is one of the key technical partners alongside LONGRUN consortium members IVECO and DAF, and will apply his market-leading expertise in E-Turbo technology to help develop engine prototypes, drivelines and pilot vehicles optimized for 10% and 30% energy savings. Low exhaust emissions and up to 50% thermal efficiency.
The LONGRUN (Long Distance Powertrain for Heavy Duty Trucks and Buses) consortium will work together to design technology and fuel roadmaps in time for the expected review of CO2 emission standards for heavy vehicles in 2022. This includes the development of eight demonstration models (three engines), one hybrid drivetrain , two buses and three trucks) packed with innovations in hybrid electric drives, improved ICE and aftertreatment systems, electric motors, smart assistants, on-board energy recovery and storage devices, and power electronics.
“The post-2022 standards will be a major milestone on the path to achieving the EU’s 2050 net-zero greenhouse gas emissions target,” said Elaine McDowall, Garrett vice president and general manager of commercial vehicles. “The latter can only be achieved through large-scale structural and technological improvements, and for our part, we are pleased to be pioneering turbocharger innovations that can help transform environmental performance in the commercial vehicle space.”
The role of Garrett engineers will be to simulate, design and develop a prototype electronic turbocharger to help achieve the stringent post-Euro VI targets for the WP4 (FPT) and WP5 diesel engines.
“For this project, our focus will be on developing and applying E-Turbo technology to improve engine and vehicle system performance including fuel economy and energy management.” explains Peter Davies, senior director of powertrain at Garrett. “There are challenges of course in topics such as rotor dynamics and thermal and mechanical loads on components, but we come to the program with a proven track record in this area.” Garrett has published several articles on its fleet of E-Turbo passenger cars (Q7 and A-Class) and is co-launching the world’s first “E-Turbo” passenger car with Mercedes-AMG. “There are obviously different technical challenges in applying E-Turbo architectures to on-highway commercial vehicles, but what we have learned so far and our rich heritage of CV, will certainly lead us to success in the LONGRUN programme.”
Turbochargers have been central to the energy efficiency of CV engines since the 1980s, and with engineering advances allowing the addition of a high-speed electric motor on the shaft, to create the E-Turbo, they have become an integral part of the hybrid system as well. This setup enables electric boosting, turbo mounting, and improved aftertreatment thermal management, unlocking the potential of Garrett technology to help reduce CO2 and NOx emissions, and provide record brake thermal efficiency. An overall energy saving of 10% is expected from the LONGRUN pilot vehicles
In the project with FPT Industrial / IVECO, Garrett is involved in the development, integration and testing of the energy recovery subsystem, where the E-Turbo acts as a generator in normal operating conditions, and as an electric motor in transient conditions to accelerate the compressor. This improves energy efficiency and helps the motor reach the desired operating point more quickly. The energy collected by the E-Turbo will be supplied directly to the E-Motor which provides additional torque to the driveline, reducing the load on the engine and thus reducing fuel burn and out-of-engine emissions required by aftertreatment. Cleaning.
In the second diesel engine project, Garrett E-Turbo technology aims to contribute to improving brake thermal efficiency by four points to 50%. This includes multiple technologies including the use of Garrett’s highly efficient E-Turbo and engine modifications to take advantage of the E-Turbo’s full potential.
“These are exciting and important projects that will drive the development and adoption of E-Turbo solutions in the on-highway space and help move the needle forward on technologies that deliver sustainable benefits beyond the automotive sector,” Davies said.
To learn more about Garrett’s electrical boosting solutions, click here.
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement no. 874972.
