Engine Technology International - January 2021

JANUARY 2021
V12
SYMPHONY
12 cylinders, 3994cc
displacement, naturally
aspirated and a 12,100rpm
redline… That’ll be
Gordon Murray’s T.50
supercar Cosworth heart!
Exclusive details inside
OILS
FUELS, TS
BRICAN
A ND L U
am
a te d to th e bloodstre s,
dedic en t
s p e c ial o n e-off issue t-generation developm
A ne x
f th e e n g in e, covering native tech solutions
o alter
tu r e c h all enges and
fu
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Everything you need to know about Renato Andorf, lubricant specialist Having finessed the boxer engine
Hyundai’s breakthrough engine at Mercedes-Benz, reveals why closer design since 1923, BMW has created its
technology that answers a 133-year R&D partnerships with lubricant most powerful two-cylinder ever used
automotive industry challenge developers are becoming a top priority in motorcycle series production
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CONTENTS
IN THIS ISSUE January 2021
04

40 34
TECH INSIDERS FEATURES

04. CHARACTER DRIVEN “The engine 26. CLOSE TO HOME 40. FUTUREPROOF
ETI gets the full story on the analog Mercedes-Benz lubricant As the industry electrifies,
development process behind the 3.9-liter hardware and specialist Renato Andorf specialists in lubricants
V12 from Gordon Murray and Cosworth
engine oils need outlines the company’s
tightening relationship
and fuels are meeting the
challenge with a diverse
11. LIF T OFF to be developed with lubricant suppliers range of new-gen products
Hyundai targets improved performance
and emissions with variable valve tech for as compatible 46. WINNING FORMUL A
which the industry has waited 133 years Shell’s global OEM
tribological technical manager, Dan
15. BIG T IME
BMW Motorrad looks to its technology past
‘partners’” Arcy, details the extensive
testing process behind
and present in the design of its two-cylinder development of diesel
Big Boxer engine for the new R 18 motorbike truck oil specifications
20. PERSONALIT Y PROFILE 50. FAKE IT TO MAKE IT
ETI talks to Sophie Duzelier, vice president Synthetic hydrocarbon
for powertrain system design at Groupe PSA
26 fuel technologies could
deliver a drop-in solution
REGULARS 32. DRIVING FORCE for the decarbonization
Significant advances of transportation globally
18. ENGINES ON TEST in e-drive technology are
22. TAYLOR forcing the industry to 54. GO THE DISTANCE
24. JOHNSON rethink system design Thanks to increasing
powertrain complexity,
68. FINAL WORD
34. ANOTHER WAY development and testing
Can alternative fuels be a of oils and lubricants is
valuable component in the more demanding than
strategy to transition to ever. How are suppliers
low-carbon transportation? meeting the challenge?
Engine Technology International.com / January 2021 1

CONTENTS
65
PRODUCTS & SERVICES Editorial
Editor in chief: Dean Slavnich
Deputy editor: Sam Petters
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Editor’s note
As the days roll into months and the months into years, I feel my or even someone more embedded within a team, like the lead
hearing is becoming ever more selective. Or perhaps I’m actually just engineer for the new three-cylinder engine family. But ask for the
more acutely aware of what’s no longer being discussed very much in tribology department’s head of engineering and you get a blank look.
our industry. I’m talking about the very lifeblood of the engine: oils, “Tribology? No, no sorry,” is what their expression seems to say.
fuels and lubricants. Why that is the case I won’t delve into too deeply here, but I feel
It’s been a long, long time since I attended a new engine tech day on the whole it’s because this part of engine R&D isn’t seen as sexy.
or powertrain media workshop session with a car maker where any It’s just not in vogue and it probably never will be.
significant time was spent discussing Which is why, at the end of a very
tribology. It’s all ‘performance this, long, challenging and torrid year for
emissions that, look at how much weight “It’s been a long, long time since everyone, we’ve carefully worked on
we’ve saved from the block and, hey, we’re I attended a new engine tech day this special issue of Engine + Powertrain
using turbos and e-compressors and look Technology International, as a dedication
at this very clever piston design here’ or powertrain media workshop to the automotive industry’s very own
kinda talk at a new engine reveal. The
poor engineers that make sure everything
session with a car maker where expert alchemists.
Following this note, and our usual
literally flows as it should – the lifeblood any significant time was spent up-front section of new engines (pay
experts, as I like to call them – hardly get particular attention to the brilliant
a look in. discussing tribology” deep-dive into Gordon Murray’s T.50
In fact, in my mind, at a big car company Cosworth atmo V12 on page 4), there’s a
with a huge engine and powertrain development team, I imagine raft of content covering all aspects of fuels, oils and lubrication, from
the engineers and designers in open-plan offices with floor-to-ceiling what the future holds, trends, challenges, testing and development
windows, light flooding in and expensive coffee machines brimming. to where these developers will head if (when?) the battery-electric
Deep down below, several levels into the basement in a dark room powertrain fully takes over.
with just one dimly lit light bulb are the poor tribologists, mastering Oh, and on page 26 there’s a very special interview with one of
the science and art of friction, viscosity, lubrication and the wear of those tribologists that I imagine work in the crypt of a car maker’s
interacting surfaces. engine and powertrain development site. (He doesn’t, of course, and
It’s not really like this, I know, but in my mind’s eye that’s how not only did we – the media – get access to such an engineer, he had a
I see things. lot of very interesting things to say. Thank you to the Mercedes-Benz
The comms and marketing people at car makers are, on the whole, press office!)
super-helpful when requesting a media interview with, say, the I hope you enjoy this special issue.
VP of engine development, the director for powertrain innovation Dean Slavnich
2 Engine Technology International.com / January 2021

Tech Insider / COSWORTH GMA V12
DRIVEN
BY
PERFEC
WHEN GORDON MURRAY PENNED THE
M cLAREN F1, HE RAISED THE BAR AGAINST
WHICH EVERY SUPERCAR HAS SINCE BEEN
JUDGED. HIS LATEST PROJECT LOOKS SET TO
REPEAT THIS FEAT THREE DECADES LATER
ECTION Engine Technology International.com / January 2021 5

Vital Statistics
Cosworth GMA V12
Layout: NA 65° V12

Power: 672ps
Torque: 467Nm
Transmission: 6-speed
H-pattern manual
Maximum RPM: 12,100
Hybrid: 48V ISG
Words: Lawrence Butcher

espite an ever-evolving game of the 250 and 365 GTB/4 Daytona: “I am a great fan of the
D
supercar one-upmanship, the car 1960s Ferrari 3-liter V12 by Colombo.”
that has caused arguably the greatest However, the 3.9-liter, 65° V12 that will grace the rear
stir of 2020 – if not the past decade – of the T.50 is far removed from the V12s of old. Developed
isn’t the most powerful, or even the and manufactured by UK-based Cosworth Engineering
fastest, but it is certainly the most and drawing on the company’s motorsport heritage, it
focused: Gordon Murray’s T.50. redlines at 12,100rpm and has a peak power of 672ps,
His stated goal is a simple one: to create the greatest making it a truly 21st century engine.
driver’s car. Every element of the experience, from the
steering feel to the gearshift, the weight of each control INFORMAL ROOTS
to the engine note, has been honed with this target in According to Bruce Wood, managing director of
mind. In Murray’s words, “I have absolutely no interest powertrain at Cosworth, there was no traditional
in chasing records for top speed or acceleration. Our tender process for the engine, more a series of informal
focus is on delivering the purest, most rewarding driving conversations with Murray and his team, following which
experience of any supercar ever built.” the project got underway in mid-2018. Murray admits
But what engine for a car whose creator is looking to that there were initially three companies considered.
bookend the supercar era, the last truly analog driver’s However, “Cosworth was the obvious choice,” not least
car? As Murray put it to Engine + Powertrain Technology because at the time of the meetings it was in the process
International, “I wanted a V12 from day one. For me this of delivering the engine for the Aston Martin Valkyrie,
is the most characterful and evocative engine layout a car with a different ethos, but also requiring a very
and it fits our goal of producing the ultimate driver’s high-revving, naturally aspirated V12. At 6.5 liters
car.” Among the inspiration behind this call, he says, it is of larger capacity than the T.50’s, and has hybrid
is the engine that powered such legendary machines as assistance, but its development made Cosworth unique.

There wasn’t a hard and fast engineering brief either.

Murray had settled on a capacity of around 3.9 liters, but,
notes Wood, “Gordon has commented many times that it
was not just about chasing numbers, and that approach
rather defines the car, or at least our role in it. It wasn’t
a case of, here’s a table of numbers that everyone has to
achieve, it was a more analog process than that, more
emotion-driven than just stark numbers.”
For example, he highlights, “We were clear we wanted
to put a significant distance in terms of engine speed to
anything else out there, which is where the 12,000rpm
number came from. That meant power was never going
to be a problem, because if you’ve got four liters running
at 12,000rpm, you’re going to have enough power.”
It should be noted that the power-to-weight target
Murray initially set for the car was 610ps/ton, which it
I wanted a V12 from
comfortably exceeds. day one. For me this
PACKAGING AND AESTHETICS is the most characterful and
Factors such as the V-angle and crank height of the evocative engine layout and
engine were driven by the packaging demands of the
chassis. The placement of the exhaust, says Wood, it fits our goal of producing
consisting as it does of six individual primaries on
either side, pushed the design toward the narrowest
the ultimate driver’s car”
Gordon Murray, chairman,
possible bank angle, but, “There’s also an awful lot to
Gordon Murray Automotive
fit in the center of the vee.” The 65° angle was the ideal
compromise, and a crank center height of 85mm met the
designer’s desires in terms of CoG.
Murray wanted only the intake plenums and exhaust
system to be visible from above when the two butterfly-
hinged engine covers are open, highlighting attention to
the aesthetic as well as engineering detail as a recurring
theme running through his work. “Sometimes, it doesn’t
seem to matter what an engine looks like,” muses Wood,
who nearly pursued a career in industrial design. “But
for Cosworth this has always been very important. I’m
a firm believer that good engineering also looks great. It
was nice to have that opportunity where the appearance
mattered as much to Gordon as it did to us.”
To achieve the clean looks, there are no belt-driven
ancillaries, with drive for the various pumps taken
directly from the block. “It actually worked out quite
H-PAT TERN BOX

TRANSMISSION
Coupled to the engine is “Maximizing the driver’s
an Xtrac-developed, 6-speed, connection with the T.50
H-pattern transmission. It is was central to our decision
an entirely bespoke creation making,” he explains. “So,
and as with every other part matching the V12 engine
on the T.50, lightweighting to a short-shifting manual
is key. For example, it uses gearbox was an easy decision
a thin-wall cast-aluminum to make. Xtrac has produced
casing, a very expensive a clever adjustable detent
and complex manufacturing system to help develop
process favored in high-end the gearchange feel. We
racing transmissions. have built a gearchange
In the context of a modern development rig to enable
supercar, an H-pattern box workshop development of the
may seem archaic, but again, gearchange feel. My target
Gordon Murray’s focus is on [for feel] is similar to the
driver engagement rather Mk1 Cortina GT and better
than outright performance. than the McLaren F1.”

nicely for us,” says Wood. “Sometimes you end up with

drives at both ends of the engine: the cam drive at the
rear end, to keep its noise away from the tub, and the
auxiliaries at the front, to accommodate underfloor
tunnels. That’s very much the race car style, but [due
to the use of a fan] the T.50 has small tunnels, so we
could put the pumps at the back of the engine as well
and only use one drive.” Not only did this solution meet
the aesthetic requirements, it also reduced the overall
engine length and reduced weight.
Murray confirms that all aesthetic targets were met.
“I was after engineering art and Cosworth delivered.”
HIGH RPM RELIABILITY

We’ve ticked the box To a company such as Cosworth, which is responsible
to say the combustion for the first 20,000rpm Formula 1 engine, meeting the
12,000rpm target was within its comfort zone in terms
system can deliver on of the reciprocating components. Elements such as
emissions, but it’s still bearings are of course sized to meet the running life
requirements (6,000km oil changes and an 80,000km
a two-year job to finesse service life) and parts like the titanium connecting rods
are straight out of the motorsport playbook.
everything to perfection” The addition of a Cosworth 48V integrated starter/
Bruce Wood, managing director generator (ISG) had to be considered when it came to
for powertrain, Cosworth
the crankshaft and block design, contributing as it does
significant inertia at the nose of the crank. “That had to
be factored in right from the very start; the cranktrain
dynamics were all modeled with that in place. The
system uses a two-stage gearbox and there is a compliant
element within that which is tuned to prevent the inertia
doing anything nasty,” explains Wood.
The pistons are particularly noteworthy, being forged
from a metal matrix composite rather than aluminum
alloy. “Due to engine speed and power density, and
because it is a road engine with quite a heavy ring pack,
we were right on the limit of what we could achieve with
a monolithic material,” says Wood. Cosworth has been
developing MMC pistons for several years with materials
partner Materion, and is comfortable with their use. “It
gives a bit of design freedom,” Wood adds, “although we
make the pistons and do you get through cutting tools!”
DRIVEABIL IT Y IS KEY
INJECTING POWER
The GMA V12 employs port rather than direct injection and there
are multiple reasons for this, says Bruce Wood. Most significantly,
DI engines produce considerable volumes of particulates, with the
filters required to remove these being large and heavy, something
that wouldn’t fit with Murray’s gram-counting concept. Secondly,
DI on a naturally aspirated engine is not great for power. Having a
centrally mounted injector robs available valve area and, as Wood
points out, “Port injection is lovely for power, you have fuel
suspended in the air path for much longer than if you’re squirting
it straight in the cylinder.”
With driveability a key consideration, not only was the calibration
of the injection system and port design of great importance, but cam
timing was also vital. Here, the deployment of a VVT system helped
considerably, though Wood admits, “Getting VVT to work at 12,000rpm
was the tricky bit.” One way to achieve this was by using a separate
oil system for the VVT, which operates at a much higher pressure
than the rest of the lubrication circuit.

OBD COMPL IANCE

EMISSIONS
With the T.50 due to be sold across the globe, its engine has to be fully emissions BELOW: Much of the V12’s
compliant in the European and US markets. Although a tall order, “Our confidence early development work
was undertaken on a three-
going into this was hugely influenced by the Valkyrie, which has a much bigger bore,” cylinder mule engine in
says Bruce Wood. “While that’s great for power, thanks to the piston speed and valve order to test elements such
area, it is the enemy of emissions. The GMA has a smaller bore so we knew it would as emissions compliance
be easier, albeit we had to meet US Federal emissions
as well [which the Valkyrie didn’t].” On this last point,
he notes that it is more the complexity of the OBD
compliance element that is the challenge.
Hitting the targets required a careful balancing
act with the combustion chamber and port design,
explains Wood. “The requirements for emissions are
diametrically opposed to those you want for power. For
the latter, you want laminar flow and controlled barrel
turbulence in the combustion chamber. For emissions,
you want mixed flow and as much turbulence as you
can get in the chamber. So it is a conflict between the
port shape you want for emissions and for power. Huge
amounts of work went into that.”
Extensive work was undertaken on a three-cylinder
mule engine, representing a quarter of the V12, which,
coupled with simulation, meant Wood and Cosworth
were comfortable they could hit the targets. “We were
running the mule six months before the V12, and that
gave us early visibility that we could hit the emissions.”
The MMC pistons run in plasma-coated bores, a

process that Cosworth completes in-house, having been
using linerless blocks since its CA F1 engine of 2006.
“We used it in race engines,” says Wood, “and then more
in road engines, particularly the high-performance ones.”
BELOW: The 48V ISG provides power
to the rear-mounted fan, used to
The engine runs conventional valve springs and,
influence the car’s aero behavior. It given its operating RPM, optimization of these and the
also aided packaging of other pumps rest of the valvetrain was vital to attaining reliability.
and drives at the rear of the engine “If you’re going to have a failure, clearly the valvetrain
is the most obvious place,” notes Wood.
Of course, Cosworth has gone to great lengths to
prevent this being an issue. Close attention has been
paid to the cam profiles, particularly the transition
between the ramps, while the valve springs – sourced
from a long-time supplier in Japan – are made with
triple vacuum remelted steel. “It’s all about getting the
parts as light as humanly possible and then getting the
springs right,” Wood summarizes. “They will always fail
from an inclusion, they don’t just fail randomly, so you
need that wire to be as clean as possible to prevent that.
Then you spend a great deal of time finessing the cam
profile. That was all a big, big piece of work to get right.”
The result of Cosworth’s efforts is truly impressive;
a fully emissions-compliant, naturally aspirated engine
that can rev to the stratosphere and packs just shy
of 172ps/liter. The first GMA V12 engine fired up on
the dyno in July 2020, and from now until customer
car deliveries begin in 2022 Cosworth is focusing its
attentions on fine-tuning the calibration, to ensure
Murray’s demands for impeccable driveability are met.
Wood concludes, “We’ve got a team of seven
calibration engineers working on it and the very first
mule car is dedicated to calibration work. Even though
we’ve ticked the box to say the combustion system can
deliver on emissions, it’s still a two-year job to finesse
everything to perfection.” 

Tech Insider / HYUNDAI CV VD
ABOUT
TIME
espite growing momentum behind
D
electrification as a route to greater
efficiency, Hyundai is still pursuing
incremental improvements for its
core powertrain technology. Further
optimization is targeting 50% thermal
efficiency using new technologies, and Dr Byoung-Hyouk
Min, a powertrain engineer based at the company’s R&D
center in Namyang, South Korea, stresses that there’s no
single solution yet.
“Long-term stabilization of oil prices at a low level,
limited charging infrastructure and gradual reduction
of government incentives has slowed the attraction
toward electric vehicles,” he comments. “For the future
HYUNDAI MOTOR GROUP HAS DEVELOPED powertrain portfolio, expanding electric technologies
is particularly important, but efficiency enhancement
A RELATIVELY LOW-COST VARIABLE VALVE of conventional powertrains is also essential and will
DURATION TECHNOLOGY FOR ITS GASOLINE happen in parallel with electrification.”
Continuously Variable Valve Duration (CVVD)
ENGINES, CLAIMED TO OFFER FUEL ECONOMY is the latest tool in that arsenal, with Hyundai’s first
AKIN TO THE ATKINSON CYCLE WITHOUT THE four-cylinder gasoline applications launching this year.
A claimed world-first, this is a proprietary technology
RECOGNIZED PERFORMANCE DRAWBACKS that enables the inlet valve opening duration to be varied
based on operating conditions. Min says this provides
Words: Alex Grant thermal efficiency akin to a long-duration Atkinson cycle
unit at part throttle, but without the torque compromises
under load.

Tech Insider / HYUNDAI CV VD
Around 10% fuel

economy improvements
will be accomplished by the
new Smartstream engines”
OPTIMUM VALVE DURATION

“Similar to the Atkinson cycle, the benefit of the
CVVD system is that pumping loss reduction can be
decreased in high load area, which is becoming more
important due to the real-world driving homologation,”
continues Min. “At full load the WOT torque throughout
the engine speed region is significantly superior owing
to the scavenging and the optimum valve duration. The
low-end torque in particular could be improved by the
shortened valve duration set.”
Because the lobe rotates at an inversely proportionate
speed to the rest of the cam profile, the average rotating
SYSTEM SIMPLIFIED ABOVE: Continuously speed of the cam and shaft are identical, regardless
“One of the main motivations behind the development Variable Valve Duration of operating conditions. Min claims this offers a high
of CVVD was to simplify the previous variable valve allows the inlet valve degree of variation, of between 150° and 290° crank
opening duration to
actuation system,” he explains. “The CVVD tech was be varied based on the
angle, with an effective compression ratio between
invented with efficient kinematic working principles, operating condition 4:1 and 10.5:1. The system can also be used to promote
so that it comprised a relatively small number of quicker warm-up of the three-way catalyst, reducing
components resulting in better controllability and cost BELOW: Hyundai’s CVVD harmful emissions on startup – particularly useful for
efficiency compared with conventional variable valve system will see first stop/start systems and hybrids.
actuation systems.” application in the 1.6 Planned applications are broad, including 48V mild
The system features individual cams for each cylinder Smartstream T-GDi. hybrid and plug-in hybrid powertrains, which makes
The four-cylinder will
and a separate camshaft, which are connected by pairs it an increasingly important asset as momentum grows
generate up to 182ps
of sliding linkages within two wheels. These wheels are and 264Nm of torque
behind electrification. Min continues, “Around 10% fuel
housed within mechanisms that slide at right angles economy improvements will be accomplished by the
to the shaft using a worm drive, actuated by a 140W new Smartstream engines. These innovative powertrain
electric motor fitted at the opposite end of the head designs will be the very first step toward Hyundai-Kia’s
to the timing chain. Offsetting the center point of the sustainable future powertrain strategy.” 
cam changes the lengths of the linkages, which in turn
affects its rotational behavior relative to the shaft.
Sliding the mechanism in one direction slows the cam
rotation as the lobe opens the valve, which lengthens the
duration. Suited to low loads and constant speeds, this
keeps the valve open from the beginning to almost the
end of the compression stroke, which reduces pressure-
related pumping losses and improves efficiency.
Under higher loads, the mechanism slides in the
opposite direction, which rotates the lobe more quickly
past the point where it opens the valve, and shortens
the duration. In turn, this reduces the overlap from the
previous combustion cycle and maximizes the inlet air
within the cylinder, improving engine performance.

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Tech Insider / BMW BIG BOXER
BIG
BMW MOTORRAD GOES BACK TO ITS ROOTS
WITH MAMMOTH NEW R 18 CRUISER ENGINE
THINK
Words: Graham Heeps
here’s no turbocharger, high-pressure
T
direct-injection, Bi-VANOS valvetrain
or even water cooling. Technically
speaking, BMW Motorrad’s all-new
boxer two-cylinder has little in common
with current BMW passenger car ICEs.
But the comparatively simple, air-cooled boxer engine
for the new R 18 cruiser motorcycle has had just as much
engineering passion lavished upon it as any of the latest
M powerhouses.
The R 18 is a technical and design throwback to
classic BMW motorcycles like the R 5. BMW says it has
reverted to the essentials: “purist, no-frills technology
and the boxer engine as the epicenter of riding pleasure,
combined with ‘good vibrations’”.
At its heart is the so-called Big Boxer. The motor is new
from the ground up but continues an almost 100-year
tradition of air-cooled boxer engines. At 1,802cc and with
91ps on tap, it is BMW’s biggest and most powerful yet.
“It was clear from the beginning that the engine size
needed to be tailored to the segment,” says Josef Miritsch, Vital Statistics
head of air-cooled boxer series at BMW Motorrad. “To be
taken seriously in the cruiser segment you need to be able BMW Big Boxer
to offer an engine size of somewhere around 1.8 liters.” Layout: 2-cylinder boxer
The BMW Big Boxer walks a fine line between heritage Displacement: 1,802cc
design and appearance, and modern engine technology Bore: 107.1mm
and performance.
“The R 18 is a bike with strong emotional appeal,” Stroke: 100mm
Miritsch expands. “The historical visual aesthetic Power: 91ps @ 4,750rpm
Torque: 158Nm @ 3,000rpm
Weight: 110.8kg (including
gearbox and intake system)

Tech Insider / BMW BIG BOXER
and impressive dimensions must also

be reflected in the exhaust sound and
resonance. The performance must be just
as you would expect from an 1,800cc, boxer-
engined cruiser, with excellent torque and
power delivery throughout the RPM range
(idle speed is 950rpm, redline 5,750rpm).”
POWER BALANCE
“Subjective factors played a huge role in the
development process,” Miritsch explains.
“But a modern engine must also fulfil all
the legislative requirements for the coming
years. No one factor can be considered less
important, so all of these aspects received
our highest attention.
“It was our own goal to have historical
touchpoints on our R 18 wherever possible,
which is why, for example, we chose the
combination of boxer engine with an open-
PUSHROD VALVETRAIN
HISTORY REPEATING
The overhead valve (OHV) configuration is straight
from history, however, having been used by BMW
from 1925-95. The Big Boxer’s valvetrain was
inspired in particular by the engine deployed
ABOVE: As per BMW
boxer tradition, torque
in the R 5/R 51 (1936-1941) and R 51/2 (1950-1951).
is transmitted from the Unlike other BMW OHV designs, this engine had two
gearbox to the R 18’s camshafts driven by the crankshaft via a sleeve-
rear wheel via an open, type chain.
nickel-plated propeller As in the R 5, the two camshafts in the new Big
shaft with universal joint,
shaft and rear-axle drive
Boxer are positioned to the left and right above
with bevel and ring gear the crankshaft, resulting in shorter pushrods,
running driveshaft. minimized deflections and notably lower linear
We also had to comply LEFT: The Big Boxer is a expansions. The two intake and exhaust valves
with regulations, and have flexible performer, with in the cylinder head – 41.2mm on the intake side,
over 150Nm of torque
incorporated features such as 35mm for the exhaust, all steel – are actuated in
available from 2,000-
twin spark ignition with optimized timing 4,000rpm. A “generously pairs via fork toggle levers.
and a four-valve cylinder head to achieve sized” mass flywheel “The twin-camshaft design helps to reduce the
compliance standards.” ensures smooth running moving masses of the valvetrain to get better lift
What BMW describes as “a modern as well as resonant sound curves for the valves,” adds Miritsch.
combustion chamber architecture” is also In a further evocation of BMW boxers
central to torque and emissions performance. main bearing at the center to keep things from years gone by, the valve clearance
“A modern engine is always characterized vibration-free, despite the large cylinder compensation (0.2-0.3mm) is via manual
by the narrow valve angle and the more or volume. The I-shaft connecting rods are
screw adjustment – one adjusting screw
less spherical-lens form of the combustion of the same material and mounted on plain
with one lock nut per valve.
chamber,” Miritsch continues. “We achieved bearings. The cast-aluminum pistons have
this with an inlet valve angle of 21° and an two compression rings and an oil wiper ring;
“We did consider a hydraulic valve
outlet valve angle of 24°. We also created a they run inside NiCaSil-coated cylinders. clearance adjustment system, but it put a
separate air-intake duct for idle on one intake A two-stage oil pump provides lubrication lot of moving masses into the valvetrain,”
valve side and intensively pursued optimal and additional cooling. he explains. “The boxer is intentionally
tumble behavior – with top figures compared A BMS-O engine management system ties designed for easy valve adjustment access
to other naturally aspirated engines.” the old and new together. Miritsch says that and our tests showed us that there is no
the main focus for controls development need to adjust valve clearance very often,
GREAT EXPECTATIONS was driveability: “the seamless transition which brought us to our decision to stick
The retro look of the ribbed cylinders and from idle through wide-open throttle”. Fuel to manual clearance adjustment.”
cylinder heads conceals moving parts that consumption and emissions requirements
are designed to meet modern expectations also had to be fulfilled, but, “The key issue
for smooth, torquey cruising performance. for us was always that the engine provides
The crankshaft is forged from quenched the rider with the most direct and visceral
and tempered steel and has an additional riding experience.” 

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ENGINES ON TEST
HONDA E
Rear-mounted e-motor
The best thing about the Honda e?
It really is as good as it looks. Vital Statistics
Okay, style is very subjective; what’s E-motors: 1, rear-mounted
deemed attractive is in the eye of the Motor type: Synchronous
beholder. We fully understand all those permanent magnet
cliches when discussing the outer form, Range: 220km (WLTP)
and they’re especially true when the
Power output: 154ps
conversation moves on to automotive
design. But we’d challenge anyone to Torque: 315Nm
say (and truly believe!) that this isn’t
one cool hipster set of wheels. looks, and the reaction it generates
For me, it’s VW Golf Mk II 1980s from other road users. What of the
realness, but brought straight into the powertrain, and how does it drive?
21st high-tech-battery-electric-vehicle Before we get to those important
century, with a seamless combination points, one more thing if I may: Honda
of Japanese design quirks and super- designers have made sure that the
neat Honda touches. inside of this car matches the originality
“That’s a real-life Mario Kart, right?!” of the exterior. Through a combination
was what one young teen shouted in of classic minimalist design and high-
my direction when I stopped at a red tech additions, like a digital dashboard
light. He and his group of friends then that has five full-width screens, digital
clicked away with their phone cameras side camera mirror technology and a
and insisted I drive away slowly from center camera mirror system, the inside
the traffic lights so they could video of the e blends classic calming lounge
the entire thing for more snackable with a modern digital-age feel. Sitting
and engaging social content. And behind the wheel of the Honda e is just
having spent an entire day driving the a lovely place to be, and it’s just as nice
e, I can confirm that that fandom wasn’t if you’re in the passenger seat.
an isolated one-off reaction. Yes, we But back to those two important
must temper all this with the fact that questions: what of the powertrain
at the time of testing the Honda e it was and what’s it like on the road? For
properly ‘new-new’ on UK roads, having the former, you have an impressively The second aspect to the But the powertrain is just one part
literally just gone on sale. But still, compact high-performance rear- e-powertrain is the 35.5kWh water- of the engineering story behind the
seeing so many people beam and give mounted electric motor that provides cooled lithium-ion battery pack, Honda e. Making it ‘as good as it looks’
a thumbs up as I drove past them was 136ps and 315Nm for the entry-level positioned centrally at a low level are some other key elements, like the
a new behind-the-wheel experience for Honda e and then 154ps and the within the wheelbase under the fact that the car comes from a new,
me. This felt like automotive street cred same amount of torque for the Honda floor of the car, helping to realize a small RWD EV platform, meaning that
on a new level, surpassing (in its own e Advance model. For the type of car 50:50 weight distribution and give a all that instant torque is so much fun
way) even those scintillating drives in the e is – shape, proportion and weight, tremendous feeling of low center of on the road. The car feels light and
the likes of a Ferrari 488 GTB, McLaren plus how it’s most likely going to be gravity and assured handling when responsive on the open road but also
720S and Lamborghini Huracán. used – this is ample power, with the driving. Perhaps even more importantly, at home in congested town centers and
But enough of what I think of the e’s instant torque making the Honda brisk the battery ensures a just-right driving city traffic. Some of that comes down to
squat stance, modern-yet-retro cool and responsive. range of 220km. the use of Honda’s variable-gear-ratio
MINI JOHN COOPER WORKS GP It’s finally here: the third-gen JCW And the BMW/Mini team have gone
2.0 four-cylinder
GP. The hot hatch that answers the above and beyond to strip weight from
question ‘what would it feel like to the GP3. The back seats, gone. Rear
shove 300-plus-PS under the hood of wiper, gone. Wheels, the lightest in
a Mini?’ Admittedly, it’s a question that the BMW era. As for the transmission,
Vital Statistics probably hasn’t been asked by many, there’s no manual (apparently, Mini just
Cylinders: 4 but it’s interesting nonetheless. doesn’t have a manual that can handle
Cubic capacity: 1,998cc So, what engine makes this the most the torque). Instead, the GP3 is fitted
Bore/stroke: 82 x 94.6mm powerful Mini ever? Essentially, it’s the with an 8-speed DCT with mechanical
Compression ratio: 9.5:1 2-liter turbo from the BMW M135i. Of limited-slip differential.
course, there have been tweaks – the The result of all this power, and
Power output: 310ps
GP3’s variant has a new intake and the concerted weight-saving effort,
Torque: 450Nm exhaust, and a bigger sump. So in this is – unsurprisingly – a quick car. The
application you get 310ps and 450Nm GP3 will still go from 0-100km/h in
of torque out of it. 5.2 seconds. Impressive stuff.

ENGINES ON TEST
VOLVO XC40
Vital Statistics
1.5 three-cylinder plug-in Cylinders: 3
Cubic capacity: 1,477cc
How do you make an already brilliant Bore/stroke: 82 x 93.2mm
compact SUV package even better? Compression ratio: 10.5:1
Well, in the case of the Volvo XC40 you
Power output: 265ps
add some state-of-the-art e-powertrain
technology to make the product more Torque: 425Nm
environmentally friendly and more
economical in real-world everyday use,
and boost its overall power delivery for
an all-round better drive.
The XC40 T5 model essentially does
all of the above and more. It combines
a PHEV engineered system with a 1.5
three-cylinder gasoline engine and
a 10.7kWh lithium-ion battery pack, impressively rapid 6.0 seconds. The car Inside you get that high-quality
meaning you get 83ps from the e-motor, behaves on the road just like one would cabin feeling you’d expect from any
a further 182ps from the ICE and some expect from an upmarket, compact and modern Volvo.
43km of zero-emission travel. Adding well-engineered SUV, with the steering WLTP fuel economy level is rated
more poke to the development is being precise and the drive smooth. at between 2 l/100km and 1.7 l/100km
265Nm torque from the in-line B3154T5 As a package, it’s suited to accelerate and emissions are 47-55g/km. If you’re
turbo unit and a further 160Nm from the quickly from a busy urban junction right in the market for a compact PHEV SUV,
e-motor, meaning 0-100km/h takes an through to top speed on the motorway. look no further than the XC40. (DS) 
Vital Statistics
KIA SORENTO Cylinders: 4
1.6 four-cylinder hybrid Cubic capacity: 1,598cc
Bore/stroke: 75.6 x 89mm
The midsize SUV space is a crowded body, more versatility and a three-row Compression ratio: 10.5:1
and super-competitive segment these interior space. Power output: 229ps
days but Kia’s new Sorento, now in its The new architecture also means
Torque: 350Nm
active steering system, which operates fourth gen, more than holds its own. Sorento, for the first time in its 18-year
a dual-pinion variable-ratio electric A big part of that ‘standing tall’ in history, can accommodate electrified
power-assisted rack-and-pinion setup the face of some fierce competition powertrains. From launch, the first 5.8l/100km, give or take. With Sorento
to boost dynamics. The Honda e has a comes from the engineering prowess hybrid offering comes in the form of a based on a new platform, Kia engineers
steering lock-to-lock of 3.1 and a turning that underpins Kia’s flagship SUV. It’s powertrain that combines Kia’s sweet were able to position the battery
radius of only 4.3m – just the ticket for had a great start in life because it’s the 1.6 T-GDI engine (now with CVVD tech, beneath the passenger compartment,
those narrow inner-city streets. first vehicle to roll off Kia’s new-gen see page 11) with a 44.2kW e-motor meaning there’s been no impact on
For me, the Honda e isn’t just one SUV platform, code-named N3, which and a 1.49kWh lithium-ion polymer cabin or luggage space.
of the standout BEVs of 2020, it’s one of is based around a compact engine bay battery pack. IC engine and motor The tech-focused cabin is a really
the outstanding cars launched this year. structure and shorter front and rear combined channel out an ample 229ps pleasant place to sit – perhaps one
We’re all the better for seeing a Honda e overhangs but with a 35mm longer and 350Nm torque with CO2 emissions of the nicest interiors that the Korean
on our roads. (DS)  wheelbase. This results in a larger (spec-pending) of 158g/km and around OEM has ever created.
Sorento Hybrid behaves exactly as
you’d want an SUV of this type to act on
Take it onto UK roads and it leaves the road: it’s hugely refined, stable and
no doubt that the GP3 was developed feels assured.
for the track. Sitting lower and wider Completing the line-up from launch
than its predecessor, the GP3’s setup for the new Sorento is a diesel offering,
is focused and the ride is firm, so you which makes use of Kia’s always-
feel every little bump in the road. Yet impressive 2.2 four-cylinder but now
despite its flaws, the GP3 is great fun. features an aluminum cylinder block,
But with only 3,000 being made, this reduced friction and more powerful
is not a car that many people will drive. 2,200 bar injectors. The ‘Smartstream’
And that’s a shame because the GP3 is motor is able to produce 201ps and
a FWD hot hatch that is high tech and 440Nm of torque.
fast yet feels like a throwback. The only Next up will be a plug-in hybrid
complaint is that BMW couldn’t lend Mini derivative that is bound to take the
the manual from the M2, to make the GP3 Sorento to another level in the midsize
an even more engaging drive. (SP)  SUV arena. Watch this space. (DS) 

PERSONALIT Y PROFILE
WHAT CAREER DID YOU WANT WHEN I began the second period of my career
YOU WERE GROWING UP? in 2008, when I joined PSA’s planning and
As a teenager I really wanted to become a strategy division. I became the automatic and
scientific researcher and a professor. I was dual clutch transmissions program manager,
really fascinated by Marie Curie. She was a so it was beyond pure engineering work.
committed woman who had emigrated from I was then appointed executive assistant
Poland to France to be able to study science. for the powertrain and chassis division of
She was also the first woman to be appointed the R&D department. I was back in R&D. And
professor at the Sorbonne University in Paris. in this role I directly contributed to the GM
It was an inspiration for me. and PSA merger project, which was a great
Some years later, I studied electrical experience. I learned a lot about business
engineering and then completed a PhD in negotiations, legal contracts and intellectual
automatic control systems. During my time property rights.
doing the PhD, I had the opportunity to apply In 2014, as I had an electrical background,
my research work to the industry. It made I was appointed to a new job managing the
me appreciate the challenges that come with electrification ramp-up for system design
working in the industry. So, at that time, I activities. This job included development
gave up the idea of becoming a researcher of the PSA PHEV and BEV powertrains.
and switched to a career in the industry. Since 2018 I have been in charge of the
Profile: WHAT WAS YOUR CAREER PATH TO

powertrain system design division.
GET TO WHERE YOU ARE NOW? WHAT ARE THE BEST AND WORST
Sophie Duzelier I started my career at PSA in 2000, as ASPECTS OF YOUR JOB?
a control designer engineer in the R&D The automotive industry offers new
Job title: Vice president, department. First, I worked on several challenges nearly every day, and at PSA
powertrain system design advanced projects such as dual clutch we are completely in that mindset. I love
transmissions and hybrid powertrains. working with passionate and involved people
Company: Groupe PSA Then I was made responsible for system all over the world to tackle these challenges.
development of an automated manual And, of course, I also feel really satisfied
transmission for middle-range vehicles. when a vehicle with a new powertrain is
This product was launched in 2006. praised by customers and the media.
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PERSONALIT Y PROFILE
“Legislators banning technologies affordable products. A number of questions

also remain over green electricity supply and
raw materials sourcing.
is a problem, in my opinion. Legislators WHAT IS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE
should just specify a requirement and FOR PSA AT THE MOMENT?

I think the main challenge is to produce the
most flexible range of powertrains possible;
let engineers propose the solution” a range that will be able to bring clean and
affordable products to the market at the
right time. Therefore, I think maintaining
DO LEGISLATORS HELP OR HINDER I don’t have the same answer today that I flexibility and agility levels is the most
YOUR WORK? would have had 20 years ago. Now, my dream challenging thing for PSA.
Both. On the one hand, legislators provide powertrain would be non-pollutant from
a frame to any engineering work. But on the cradle to grave, it would be highly efficient, WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CAR?
other hand, requirements are often frozen silent and also fun to drive, so torque is I’m from a family that loved Citroën cars;
late, so this is not always compatible with immediately available. my father and my grandfather have always
development procedures. That’s a new driven Citroëns. My grandfather, for
challenge because we have to be agile and WHAT WILL BE POWERING A TYPICAL example, had the famous Traction Avant
adapt to vehicle trends. Often we will work FAMILY SEDAN IN 2040? in the 1940s. So that meant my first car
on several scenarios, and in the end choose As an engineer, my thinking is quite logical. was also a Citroën, an AX K.Way. It was
the scenario that fits the legislation. Fossil fuels will be banned in many areas very light –642kg or something like that.
Legislators banning technologies is a by 2040, synthetic fuels are yet to emerge,
problem, in my opinion. Legislators should hydrogen fuel cell technology offers poor WHAT DO YOU DRIVE NOW?
just specify a requirement and let engineers performance compared with batteries that The horsepower that I get from my car has
propose the solution. directly use electrical energy, and there are changed a little bit from back then. Now
also constraints with hydrogen storage. So, I have a Peugeot 3008 PHEV, 300ps. It’s a
WHAT WOULD BE YOUR DREAM I think the most likely power scenario for a pleasure to drive in pure electric mode in
POWERTRAIN TO DEVELOP? sedan in 2040 will be pure electric. But we urban areas. It also offers low consumption.
The whole industry now has a responsibility have to work to improve range, charging And, really, it provides fantastic dynamic
regarding environmental preservation, so speeds and costs to provide really clean and performance – it’s so safe to overtake. 
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FEV-Anzeige-Half-Page-Engine-Powertrain-Magazine-183mmx115mm _EN_H2-ICE.indd 1 20.10.2020 12:32:36

OPINION
Michael Taylor
“You’re a young engineer with ideas.
And energy. And a love of combustion
engines. Where do you go now?”
I
magine, if you will, that you’re a young engineer RIGHT: As OEMs
arriving at the gates of a great fantasy land called devote more and
Sindelfingen, as part of the latest intake of brains at more of their R&D
budgets to electric
a fictitious German car company. Let’s call it Daimler.
vehicle development,
Daimler, for the sake of this story (because it’s the chance to create
obviously inconceivable in real life), doesn’t make any truly innovative ICE
actual Daimlers. It makes things called Mercedes-Benzes. tech is diminishing
It also, for the sake of setting this scene, used to make
a much smaller thing called a Smart, which was going
to change the automotive world for 25 years and never
did, so Daimler got rid of only half of it because nobody
wanted all of it.
So, think back to when you were younger. Before your
slide rules left creases in your fingertips.
The trained brain has a brilliant idea about the
combustion engine and how to make it not only carbon Now, he warns, the last big combustion-power research
neutral, but carbon and NOX negative so that it can destroy and development spending has been done and we’re just
the emissions – and even allergens – of other cars, trucks, making current engines compliant with regulations.
fireplaces and industrial sites. Disheartened, you drink until the entirety of southern
This technology was inspired by black holes and the Germany runs out of beer and then need spaghettification
spaghettification of matter as it enters the event and of your own to regain your normal body shape and mindset.
apparent horizons. Apart from some metallurgy that’s But don’t worry! Your bold thinking, creative concepts
a bit tricky, the only other thing it needs to make it work and innovation are just the right fit over at BMW, and its
is a large enough concentration of mass… and M-B SUVs senior management welcome your ideas and tell you it’s
are heading in exactly the right direction for that. lucky you weren’t here a couple of months ago because
I mean, it’s serious, breakthrough stuff so don’t laugh. Klaus Fröhlich would have yelled at you before trying to
Go test it out for yourself. It might actually work. understand your concepts. Then he would have yelled at
So, here you are with a head full of new ideas, pulling you again just because he didn’t understand it.
classical engineering and physics and quantum mechanics You’d have popped over to Audi, too, because you still
together to make a combustion engine that will save the got to drink (responsibly!) beer at lunch, and people
entire planet. there would have told you that the happy days of
You’re aware that Europe, China and the USA YOU SHOULD questionable IC engine development were officially
are making paths away from combustion engine over, but if you came back after 5pm they’d slip
designs, but there’s a whole big world out there that HAVE BEEN HERE you in the side gate.
won’t be ready for electrification for decades, so So, here’s the thing. Maybe Daimler has and
they need something now, right?
Right.
Confident, you walk into Ola’s oddly open-plan
office and show him the working proof made from
20 YEARS maybe Daimler hasn’t slipped past the tipping
point on combustion versus electric development.
Only it would know.
But it has, actually, told the world that’s what it’s
nonmeltanium. AGO WHEN TIMES WERE GOOD done; that it’s effectively halted new engine design
Ola tells you that it’s awesome, but his R&D spend and development because it’s happy with what it’s got.
has crossed the threshold and he’s now spending more In all likelihood, the other European car makers
on electric cars than on combustion ones. are approaching that point too – some may have already
And if the goal were saving the world with combustion reached it or (in the case of Renault) may be beyond it.
engines, well, you should have been here 20 years ago And if you’re a young engineer with ideas. And energy.
when times were good and you were three. And a love of combustion engines. Where do you go now? 

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OPINION
Graham Johnson
“Incentives for car owners are all
well and good, but what we now need
are ‘green’ incentives for shipowners
and operators as well as for airlines”
O
ne of my colleagues recently acquired a battery- RIGHT: Emissions
electric Kia Niro. A car enthusiast with a legislation continues
to target the auto
particular passion for 1980s French voitures,
industry, ignoring
he was lured into the Kia for one reason and one pollutants produced
reason alone: it’s free to own! by the maritime and
Free? Well, while the UK government usually taxes aviation industries
employees to own a company car, there is no tax to pay if
that asset is a battery-electric car. No road-fund license and
– for the employee at least – no maintenance or insurance
costs (the company pays those bits). Does a man with a
love of cars desire a Kia Niro? Of course not. It’s perfectly-
competent-but-dull to drive, dull to look at (to my eye at
least) and although it’s practical inside with ample room
for the family and their belongings, its range is limited.
No one can deny that the car is a compromise, but doesn’t
anyone and everyone want a car for free, especially when
the average tax bill for a company car in the UK is circa £4k
(US$5,250) a year? Sign me up! As for the emissions from aircraft, it is reported that
Based on the above facts, you won’t be surprised to know one Boeing 747 flying from London Heathrow Airport
that we are seeing more and more electric cars hit the roads to Scotland’s capital, Edinburgh, would release the same
in the UK. At the start of 2020 sales were up 220% year-on- amount of CO2 as 336 cars emitting 150g/km of CO2 on
year, and now pure-EVs account for 7% of its new-car sales. the same journey. Based on these stats, it is apparent that
One has to assume that post-Covid, that market-sector the focus is in the wrong place – or certainly too much
figure will accelerate quickly as companies loosen the emphasis is placed on personal cars.
purse strings to incentivize staff. Incentives for car owners are all well and good, but
So there we have it: the UK government has found the what we now need are ‘green’ incentives for shipowners
solution to reducing CO2 emissions. Or not. and operators as well as for airlines; incentives that will
The focus on cars rather than the maritime and aviation encourage them to swap to cleaner fuels and cleaner
industries continues to demonstrate that Boris Johnson propulsion. The only thing cutting pollutants from boats
and co. (and, to be fair, anyone who has occupied 10 and airplanes right now is Covid, its economic impact
Downing Street before them) simply don’t understand and border restrictions doing more to reduce emissions
emission control. As it has been reported by some this year than any government has managed in forever.
organizations, we know that 16 cargo ships But Covid will go away, and thus airplanes and ships will
emit as much CO2 every year as every car continue to travel almost without restriction, and certainly
in the world. And that 10 cruise ships emit without any incentive to clean up.
as much CO2 as all the cars in Europe. AT THE START OF 2020 As we’ve seen with cars, it’s clear that the way forward is
to target owners and operators. Legislating lower emission
EV SALES WERE UP standards for flying or sailing won’t be nearly as effective
220%
as making ‘going green’ a worthwhile thing to do.
Perhaps if manufacturers of all forms of transportation
got together to form a plan to lower transportation emissions
as a whole, some common sense could be applied and fair
play established. As it stands, car makers are the only ones
YEAR-ON-YEAR being targeted and indeed punished (we all know the high
cost of developing cleaner propulsion systems). It’s time for
that to change. 
2 4 Engine Technology International.com / January 2021

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OEM INTERVIE W: DAIMLER
The twin-arc spray honing

process gives an improved
tribological surface to the
cylinder. By exposing pores
in the material, this process
allows greater oil retention

F LUID
THINK ING
FACING INCREASINGLY CHALLENGING

FUEL ECONOMY REGULATIONS, DAIMLER IS
FORMING EVER-CLOSER PARTNERSHIPS WITH
LUBRICANT SPECIALISTS TO DEVELOP NEW
PRODUCTS FOR ITS LATEST DRIVETRAINS

T Words:
Alex Grant
he world’s oldest car manufacturer is

embarking on a new era, but it’s not being
closed-minded as it does so. Its line-up of
battery-electric vehicles is launching under
the EQ sub-brand, gradually phasing out
the combustion engine that the company’s
founder was instrumental in popularizing
more than a century ago.
But this step change is not happening
overnight. By 2030, the company expects
around half of its global sales to feature
a gasoline or diesel engines, and Renato
Andorf, lubricant specialist at Mercedes-
Benz, says expectations placed on these
powertrains are tougher than ever.
“We’ve always had challenges for engine
oil development, such as the introduction
“The engine
hardware and
engine oils need
to be developed
of low-ash engine oils at the start of this
century for vehicles equipped with new
as compatible
particulate filters for diesel engines,” he
comments. “As a result, the partnership of tribological
Daimler and Mercedes-Benz with the oil and
additive companies has been close over the ‘partners’”
last few decades and continues to be so.”
Technical challenges result, both directly
and indirectly, from tightening limits on fuel
consumption and the associated requirement
Renato Andorf, for increasingly high-performance and low-
lubricant specialist, viscosity oils. Ensuring an adequate level of
Mercedes-Benz wear protection has meant collaboration with
suppliers is taking place much earlier than in
previous programs.
Andorf continues, “In the development
process, the engine oil is treated similarly
to any other engine hardware component.
For this reason, all new and improved oil
products are developed in close partnership
with companies from the oil and additive
industries. The engine hardware and engine
oils need to be developed as compatible
tribological ‘partners’.”

TRIED AND TESTED

Engine testing takes place at the OEM’s
Stuttgart-Untertürkheim powertrain
development and production facility,
Mercedes-Benz operates 24 multi-axis
dynamometers on a near-constant basis.
These enable every possible engine load
and climate scenario to be tested repeatedly,
from stop-and-go traffic to 2,400-hour
durability runs at angles of up to 40°, which
are particularly suitable for off-road use. Oil
and lubricant development not only requires
validation for conditions where the engine
is under heavy loads; low-load scenarios –
where black sludge generation is common –
are also problematic.
“The impact on fuel efficiency remains
an important criterion for future engine oils,
as this contributes to the CO2 emissions of
the vehicle. New fuel-economy-improved
engine oils need to be compatible with metal
coatings, on bearings for example; as a result,
specific metal coatings may also be required,”
says Andorf.
The latest innovations in low-friction
surface technology is filtering down from
the most high-performance models. Daimler
developed a twin-arc spray honing process
called Nanoslide for AMG powertrains in
TOP: Engine, lubricant and the late 2000s, designed to solve inherent
oil developments are put problems with reduced-weight aluminum
through validation testing at blocks. This lightweight coating for the
the Stuttgart-Untertürkheim
powertrain research facility
cylinder walls removes the need for heavy
cast-iron liners, which can be up to 5mm
MAIN: Mercedes’ OM 654
thick and cause additional friction. It also
diesel motor is one of
the latest engines to be
creates a more effective tribological surface
equipped with Nanoslide than aluminum by exposing oil-retaining
low-friction surface tech pores in the material. Applications have been
LEFT: Oil and hardware broad, now spanning from the OM 654 diesel
development at Daimler is as used in the company’s plug-in hybrids,
closely linked to ensure that to the M 139 high-performance AMG four-
a new oil is compatible with cylinder powerplant that was developed for
the engine and its hardware its high-performance hatchbacks.

“Meeting all
the requirements
is in fact the art of
engine oil development”
BUILT FOR SPEED

Nanoslide is one of many technologies shared
with Mercedes-Benz’s motorsport programs.
The latest Formula 1 cars use 1.6-liter turbo
engines that experience the same hot-running
characteristics as downsized road engines,
and partnerships with lubricant suppliers
are vital and mutually beneficial. Working
with team engineers, team sponsor and
partner Petronas co-developed a synthetic
base oil to suit, later adapting it for road use.
It features stronger oil chains to withstand
evaporation and is designed to dissipate TOP: The turbocharged hybrid oil in 2016, engineered to reduce
high temperatures and avoid any sludging, engine that powers the varnishing and wear on the valvetrain and
which Andorf says is a particular issue for Mercedes-AMG F1 cars piston rings caused by more frequent engine-
applications over 134ps per liter. uses the Nanoslide off driving.
low-friction surface tech
Hybridization, another trend shared with “The requirement is more a strong,
that features across the
Formula 1, adds complexity too. Mercedes- AMG road engine range continuous development of engine oils,
Benz will offer more than 20 plug-in hybrids rather than a breakthrough,” says Andorf,
ABOVE: Petronas worked
by the end of this year, from the A-Class with Mercedes to deliver
adding that the requirements are likely to
to the S-Class. Varied usage – including a synthetic base oil for the continue to become more varied. “Meeting all
the potential to operate at high load from OEM’s 1.6 Formula 1 engine, the requirements is in fact the art of engine
immediately after a cold start, or for engines and later tweaked that oil oil development and the real competence
to be left idle for long periods, which causes formula for road vehicles of oil developers. Focusing purely on only
condensation build-up – places new demands one requirement criterion, without the need
on lubricants. Shared motorsport knowledge to fulfill all remaining criteria, is actually
also enabled Petronas to formulate its first relatively easy.” 

As the inventor, Japan Metal Gasket has led
metal cylinder head gasket development
since 1980, enabling competitivity globally www.jmg.co.jp
The latest cylinder head
gasket models feature:
A secure stopper
design for the
cylinder bore gas
sealing area
to ensure A layer of
reliability fine-grained A resin
stainless steel on anti-friction
the cylinder head surface coating
gasket to ensure that prevents
improved fatigue delamination and
resistance wear of screen-
printed rubber
Japan Metal Gasket Co. Ltd. 3308,Mikajiri, Kumagaya, Saitama, JAPAN | Email: [email protected]
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SUPPLIER INTERVIE W: PH YSIS NE W ENERGY
Competitive
edge
THE POSSIBILITIES THAT
COME WITH ELECTRIFICATION
CONTINUE TO OUTWEIGH
THE CHALLENGES AS THE
AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY
TACKLES THE ELECTRIC
REVOLUTION HEAD-ON
Words:
Karl Vadaszffy
N ew-generation
powertrain design
poses a considerable
challenge to the
automotive industry.
And as legislators
force the industry
to rethink how the
drive system looks, electrification is playing
an increasingly important role. Physis
New Energy, a subsidiary of Ningbo Physis
Technology, is an e-drive systems supplier
with full capability in research, design
and manufacture. The company focuses on
rights. Through this, we can build a quality
operation system to provide support for the
full lifecycle of a product.”
Physis New Energy offers a deeply
integrated design for the e-drive system,
comprising motor, gearbox, inverter, DC/
DC, onboard charger and power distribution
unit, and even bringing other function units
together. Ren explains, “By using a highly
integrated solution, size and weight can be
reduced by 20%, and we can achieve a high
level of quality and maximize cost savings.”
And as the company produces the platform
and modular design for all its products, it can
providing competitive powertrain products, enable advantages of scale, further reducing
including integrated motor, inverter and costs and improving quality.
gearbox systems that offer high performance,
high quality and low cost. GAME ON
Physis CEO Wenjie Ren comments, Ren believes that the expansion of new-
“We have established a full product and energy vehicles on an industrial scale
project development system. This includes will lead to fiercer competition in what
the development process, design guides, is fast becoming a much more competitive
product standards and intellectual property landscape. On one hand, he says, “Companies

SUPPLIER INTERVIE W: PH YSIS NE W ENERGY
“Physis New Energy plans

to continue its promotion of
the continuous innovation
of e-drive system solutions
for electric vehicles”
Wenjie Ren, CEO, Physis New Energy
of car-making forces such as Tesla, Xpeng

LEFT AND INSETS: and Nio has represented this direction of
An integrated design transformation. It is foreseeable that smart
e-drive system developed electric vehicles will appear in our lives more
by Physis New Energy can and more frequently.”
deliver a 20% reduction in
packaging size and weight
In such a significant transition period,
Ren predicts various trends: “For a long
time, traditional-power vehicles and new-
energy vehicles will have to coexist because
traditional-fuel vehicles are preferred by
consumers thanks to their driving habits
and their lack of understanding about EVs.
“Actually, electric vehicles are very close
to traditional vehicles in terms of product
quality, reliability and convenience, even
LEFT: Physis plans to
increase its investment in surpassing them in terms of driving
R&D as well as in innovation pleasure, environmental protection and
of production technologies intelligence. This is also the continuation
BELOW: Physis New Energy and another manifestation of the automotive
has invested in Industry industry’s continuous self-evolution and
4.0 to ensure optimum self-improvement over the past 100 years.”
production efficiency and
enable process innovation STREET SMART
With the popularization of networking
and intelligence technology, real time on-
line communication between vehicles will
be gradually realized, resulting in a richer
online application ecosystem built around
network/vehicle/human life. “At the same
with foreign backgrounds continue to enter time, these technologies will provide fertile
the market, relying on their advantages in key ground for the continuous innovation of
technologies, as well as the brand and scale business models, while electrification offers
effect that squeezes the share of domestic unlimited possibilities” adds Ren.
component companies.” With the intelligent, flexible, large-scale
On the other hand, he explains that development of production equipment,
product development continues to accelerate production is gradually expected to be
and many technology routes exist, which separated from design and sales, which
means companies need to choose the right means, “The upstream and downstream
direction and the most effective response enterprises of the automobile industry chain
very quickly. “This, with the transmission will have to accelerate their development in
of cost pressure from OEMs and the increase an all-round way.
in raw material costs, means the profitability Ren concludes: “As the company moves into
of component companies declines. As a result, of Industry 4.0, while ensuring production these future stages, Physis New Energy plans
it will be a great challenge for them to deploy methods continuously enable process to continue its promotion of the continuous
strategies to survive and ultimately thrive.” innovation to improve production efficiency.” innovation of e-drive system solutions for
So how will Physis New Energy tackle electric vehicles. We will insist on the design
such challenges? First, it plans to continue NEW DIRECTION direction of product platform, modularization
to increase its investment in R&D, production Looking ahead, Ren believes that the and deep integration, and we will continue
and management, seeking differentiated auto industry will undergo a strategic to explore new materials and technologies
competitive advantages through product transformation in four new directions: that can be applied to significantly improve
innovation. At the same time, explains Ren, electrification, intelligence, sharing and product performance, reduce weight as well
“We will make full use of the opportunities connection. “In recent years, the emergence as bring down costs.” 

A LT E R N AT I V E F U E L S

In the mix


DESPITE AN
INDUSTRY AND
GOVERNMENT FOCUS
ON ELECTRIC VEHICLES,
ALTERNATIVE FUELS COULD
BE A KEY COMPONENT OF THE
TRANSITION TO LOW-CARBON
TRANSPORTATION – BUT
ONLY WITH A TECHNOLOGY-
NEUTRAL STRATEGY FOR
THE ROAD AHEAD
Words: Alex Grant

he automotive
industry is facing
a perfect storm. Air
quality concerns
are curbing diesel
demand in Europe and North
America, ever-tightening fuel
“SUPPORT IS NEEDED
economy standards are likely
to cause similar problems for FROM GOVERNMENTS
gasoline engines over the next
decade, and electrification raises AND AUTO MAKERS TO
ongoing challenges with raw
materials supply and charging
infrastructure. Electric is now
SUSTAIN AND GROW
emerging as the end goal, but
other technologies could have
AUTOGAS MARKETS”
a role to play in the meantime. Filipa Rio, sustainable mobility director, WLPGA
These technologies are at least
familiar. Liquefied petroleum gas, or Autogas,
has been used as a transportation fuel since
the 1940s, and usage is growing. The World
LPG Association (WLPGA) highlights that
it’s the most widely used alternative fuel
globally, with 27 million vehicles worldwide
– representing a 40% increase over the last
decade and a four-fold rise since 2000 –
supported by more than 78,000 fuel stations.
However, it’s geographically unequal.
WLPGA data shows over half of the world’s
LPG consumption is from just five countries
– South Korea, Turkey, Russia, Poland and
Italy – and uptake depends on government
support. For example, Italy’s long-established
market slowed notably until tax breaks were
introduced a decade ago. The country’s LPG
vehicle parc has since increased by 150%, to
around 5% of the total – some 2.3 million units.
In South Korea, LPG became available
ITALY’S LPG VEHICLE
to private motorists for the first time earlier
this year – having previously been restricted PARC HAS INCREASED BY
150%
to fleet vehicles – causing an immediate
sales increase. The government is funding an
ongoing project with domestic car makers to
commercialize a ‘fourth-gen’ direct-injection
LPG system, claimed to offer up to a 10% CO2
reduction and compliance with California’s
SULEV standards.
Filipa Rio, WLPGA’s sustainable mobility
TO AROUND 5% OF THE TOTAL –
director, comments, “Support is needed
from governments and auto makers to
sustain and grow Autogas markets. The
SOME 2.3 MILLION UNITS
fuel is an affordable and proven solution
that can play an important role not only in
mitigating greenhouse gas emissions, but
in significantly improving air quality until
such a time when zero-emission vehicles
can be mass deployed. The industry is also
investing in BioLPG, a renewable fuel with
even greater emissions reduction potential.”
NATURAL SELECTION
Natural gas faces similar challenges. Of the
27.4 million compatible vehicles globally,
two-thirds are in the Asia-Pacific region
– particularly China, where compressed
natural gas (CNG) was introduced 20 years
ago to improve inner-city air quality, backed
by significant investment in pipelines and

later augmented by liquefied natural gas

(LNG) for HGVs. That two of China’s largest
markets, Iran and Russia, also have sizeable
THE IEA PREDICTS A natural gas reserves is no coincidence.

In Europe, natural gas accounts for 1.71%
15%
of all registered vehicles, and national policy
steers demand. Tax breaks introduced in
Italy a decade ago made the country by far
the region’s largest market for natural-gas
vehicles, at 68% of registrations and 60% of
transportation-based methane consumption
RISE IN GLOBAL BIOFUEL PRODUCTION according to Transport & Environment, with
almost 1,300 refueling stations. By contrast,
CNG uptake in the UK is minimal, and most
BETWEEN 2018 AND 2023 manufacturers don’t import the compatible
passenger cars sold elsewhere in Europe.
However, development is ongoing.
Volkswagen Group is expanding its line-up
and has consolidated natural-gas powertrain
development within SEAT’s R&D facility in
Martorell. The company says pump prices
mean end users increasingly want CNG as
the primary fuel source, and new models are
incorporating a gas tank to extend the range.
“LOW-CARBON LIQUID
FUELS LIKE RENEWABLE
ETHANOL CAN DELIVER
RESULTS NOW; WE DON’T
HAVE TO WAIT FOR A
IN EUROPE, NATURAL GREATER UPTAKE OF EVS”
Emmanuel Desplechin, secretary general, ePure
GAS ACCOUNTS FOR
1.71%
Natural & bio Gas Vehicle Association
Europe’s EU policy manager, Martina Conton,
says infrastructure needs to be extended to
support wider uptake. In its roadmap to 2030,
produced alongside the European Biogas
Association, the association recommends a
OF ALL REGISTERED VEHICLES three-fold increase in CNG infrastructure and

a ten-fold increase in LNG stations, to 10,000
and 2,000 sites respectively. CNG stations
could offer a progressively greater share of
biomethane as production increases, she adds.
CNG-based transportation could also use
existing pipeline infrastructure. “Large
amounts of energy could easily be supplied,
matching user demand,” Conton explains.
“Since natural vehicles use the same type of
gas and renewable gas as used in heating or
power generation, fueling stations connect to
the existing grid as a standard practice.”
However, support is not exactly universal.
Transport & Environment argues that natural
gas only meets 9.5% of transportation needs,
and widespread use would restrict supply to
other sectors. “Gas vehicles have no benefits
for the climate and they’re a distraction from
our real objective – zero-emission transport,”
notes a T&E spokesperson.

GROWTH SPURT
Ethanol has perhaps the closest alignment “TO REDUCE TRANSPORT
to the range and refueling infrastructure
that end users are familiar with. The IEA EMISSIONS, IT IS REALLY
(International Energy Agency) is predicting a
15% rise in global biofuel production between
2018 and 2023, to 165 billion liters, and
IMPORTANT TO CONSIDER
for two-thirds of that growth to come from
ethanol. Brazil and the USA are the largest
CONVENTIONAL VEHICLES
producers, but recent policy changes are
expected to drive growth in China. AS WELL AS EVS”
Ethanol is already widely used, but mostly Chris Lockett, vice president of global fuels technology, BP
in low concentrations. The USA is the world’s
largest producer and consumer, underpinned
by long-standing efforts to convert federal on Germany, Sweden and most recently France, where
fleets to using it, and the Ethanol Road Fuel policy change created a market for domestically produced
Association says usage of E85 is growing. conversion kits and Ford has released a flex-fuel Kuga SUV.
Scott Richman, the association’s chief Emmanuel Desplechin, secretary general of ethanol
economist, points out that there are around association ePure, says the fuel can complement other
4,700 E85 stations in the country, 600 of technologies: “Low-carbon liquid fuels like renewable
which have gone live since the end of 2017. ethanol can deliver results now; we don’t have to wait
However, that’s a small percentage of the for a greater uptake of EVs. Even in a scenario where
USA’s 100,000-plus fuel stations, according electrification is gaining market share, a large portion
to the latest US Census Bureau statistics. of these vehicles will be hybrid, thereby partially running
“A combination of favorable policies on liquid fuels. Ethanol can help the transition.”
and consumer acceptance has fostered So, although the end goal is electrification, the path to
the market for E85. E85’s historical price get there appears to be diversifying, depending on local
discount has driven a lot of expansion and policies and production. Chris Lockett, vice president of
overall usage. Federally regulated fleets global fuels technology at BP, believes the bigger picture
played an important role in E85 expansion. is important. “To reduce transport emissions, it is really
FFVs [flexible fuel vehicles] had no additional important to consider conventional vehicles as well as
cost and were quickly the alternative fuel EVs. That means producing cleaner and better fuels and
vehicles of choice. They still use a lot of E85 lubricants, continuing to increase the use of biofuels, and
today,” Richman says. improving the efficiency of internal combustion engines,”
Europe has yet to follow suit. The region he says.
has strict policies on sustainable production,
overcoming land use concerns by producing
ethanol from animal feed, and the EU has
E100 “A 5% improvement in the average efficiency of new
ICE vehicles registered in the EU would lead to an annual
reduction in CO2 emissions of 1.8 million tons. That’s the
set a 10% biofuel target by the end of 2020. equivalent of replacing one million new ICE vehicle car
90%
However, usage is relatively low and focused sales with battery-operated EVs.” 
OF NEW CARS IN BRAZIL

Sugar rush CAN RUN ON E100 FUEL
Sugarcane-derived fuel
Alternative fuels and electrification don’t and the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry
have to be mutually exclusive. Brazil is Association (UNICA). The aim was to adapt
the world’s second-largest producer of the car maker’s latest-generation hybrid
ethanol, and long-standing incentives and technology to run on 100% sugarcane-
widespread refueling infrastructure in the derived ethanol fuel, or gasoline, or a
country mean around 90% of new cars combination of both. FLEX FUEL HYBRID: The flexible-fuel hybrid from Toyota
will run on sugarcane-derived ethanol fuel and/or gasoline
there can run on E100 fuel, according to On-road durability and performance
local industry association ANFAVEA. Brazil testing was carried out last year, using in the region, and Toyota says it combines
will also be the first market to offer a flex- a prototype based on the current Prius. the efficiency of electrification with the CO2
fuel hybrid, developed locally by Toyota. A market-specific calibration will then be reabsorption of ethanol production, not only
Laboratory tests for the project began used in a flex-fuel Corolla Hybrid sedan, offering the most efficient car in Brazil but
in 2015 as a collaborative process between due for production in Brazil later this also the lowest environmental impact of
Toyota’s engineers in Brazil and Japan, but year for export to other Latin American any hybrid sold globally. As yet, there are
supported by suppliers, the government markets. It is the first hybrid to be built no plans to offer it elsewhere.

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FUTURE FOR FUELS AND LUBRICANTS

Diversity
agenda
FUEL AND LUBRICANT SPECIALISTS WILL
MEET THE RISE OF ELECTRIFIED POWERTRAINS
WITH NEW, DIVERSIFIED PRODUCTS AND
EXPANSION INTO EMERGING HIGH-TECH MARKETS
Words:
Graham Heeps
A
nalysis from energy believe it will remain an important part
company BP suggests of the work we do. But things will change at
that in a world striving different paces in different parts of the world,
toward the goals of the and electrification will become a much bigger
2015 Paris Agreement, proportion of the global car fleet. It plays
half of the cars in Europe a major role in decarbonization, so that is
and more than two-thirds something we are also looking at alongside
of cars across the world our range of diesel and gasoline lubricant
could still have internal combustion engines and fuel products.”
by 2040. In the same period, today’s global
vehicle parc of around one billion vehicles ICE LUBRICANTS
could double. This shifting market and the demands of
The figures, which appear in BP’s Energy upgraded ICEs will have major consequences
Outlook 2019, are a reality check for anyone for fuel and lubricant companies.
still lingering under the misapprehension “Changes in the mobility sector – both
that internal combustion engines will be on the technical side and in usage patterns
disappearing from road transportation – will impact the product portfolio structure
anytime soon. and volumes of particular product groups
“We will continue to focus on better fuels of all lubricant manufacturers in the next
and lubricants, increase the use of biofuels 20 years,” explains Markus Garb, head of
and improve the efficiency of the ICE,” says global product management for automotive
Chris Lockett, technology vice president for lubricants at Fuchs. “With an increasing
BP’s lubricant business, Castrol. “We still global fleet of fully electric vehicles, demand

for classic engine oils will definitely be

affected. Several studies agree that peak
production of engines globally will be
reached between 2025 and 2030.
“We expect that by 2030 pure ICE-driven
vehicles – without any electrification – will
represent a minority in new vehicle sales,”
he adds. “But there will still be a majority
of hybridized ICEs, which might even call for
newly developed engine oils as the operating
patterns change. With constant start-stop
operation and longer periods where the ICE
remains shut off while driving, not only will
wear patterns change significantly but also
the thermal profile to which the engine oil
is subjected.”
ICE FUELS
A switch to alternative fuels for some
ICEs will also have an impact on suppliers,
leading to opportunities in the production of
compatible lubricant products as well as the
fuels themselves.
“Fuchs sees lots of room in the future
for alternative fuels,” says Garb. “They are
the only long-term and sustainable path
to keeping combustion engines in specific
applications where the high power density
of a fuel is needed for the use case, such as
in heavy-duty on- and off-road applications.
“OEMs have incorporated requirements
for biofuel compatibility into their [lubricant]
specifications. Our experience is that with
the right engine oil, this can be handled very
well, but standard engine oils might struggle
to offer the performance needed.”
Fuchs isn’t a fuels supplier, but advanced
technologies to decarbonize the content of
liquid fuels are on the research radar at BP.
The company is already a large supplier of
biofuels; in 2019 for example, it established a
joint venture with Bunge in Brazil to combine
the two companies’ bioenergy and sugarcane
ethanol businesses.
“We’re looking at different types of
fuels that have lower carbon content,” says “MOVING FORWARD, BIOGAS,
Lockett. “Moving forward, biogas, synthetic,
renewable e-fuels and hydrogen will come SYNTHETIC, RENEWABLE E-FUELS AND
into the mix, particularly when you look at
decarbonizing transportation sectors that
would be considerably more challenging to
HYDROGEN WILL COME INTO THE MIX”
Chris Lockett, technology vice president, Castrol
electrify, such as aviation, marine and long-
distance heavy trucks.”
BP’s hydrogen research involves two
different forms of decarbonized production – ABOVE: The team based at EV CHARGING
blue hydrogen (produced from gas, with the BP’s Lingen refinery trialled Another new arena for BP is the supply of electricity
use of green hydrogen
associated carbon sequestered underground) for EV charging. The company isn’t planning a move
for fuel production in 2018.
and green hydrogen (produced from water The company is currently
into the generation business but in 2018 acquired the
electrolysis using renewable electricity). evaluating the feasibility of Chargemaster recharging network. The renamed BP
“That technology doesn’t exist in scale today developing two European Chargemaster operation claims to be the largest public
and would need to be made economically green hydrogen facilities EV charging network in the UK, with more than 7,000
viable,” notes Lockett, who adds that, in different charge points across the country, including
2018, the company’s Lingen refinery in private homes.
Lower Saxony, Germany, completed a trial BP is rolling out ultra-fast, 150kW charging points
to use green hydrogen for fuel production. on gas station forecourts, too. The nucleus of six sites
Further feasibility studies are currently is already in operation around London and will expand to
underway to build green hydrogen facilities become 50 nationwide, with 100 chargers in all, by the end
at two European refineries. of this year. These will be joined by “hundreds more” by

the end of 2021, according to Lockett.

For cars that can accept fast-charging tech,
these will provide up to 160km of range for
Case for CASE a 10-minute charge.
BP is also piloting ultra-fast charging
under the Aral brand in Germany and has
Overcoming challenges formed a joint venture with the DiDi mobile
transportation platform to build a network
The progression toward connected, autonomous, in China.
shared and electric (CASE) vehicles will present “There’s no doubt that EVs powered
significant durability and reliability challenges to by renewable electricity are crucial in the
lubricant manufacturers. decarbonizing of the transportation sector,”
“In between now and fully autonomous vehicles says Lockett. “But some of the concerns that
consumers may have around range or being
lies more ride-sharing and leased vehicles,” assesses
able to charge their electric vehicles may
BP’s Chris Lockett. “Moving forward it is likely that prevent them from stepping into that space.
vehicles will be in use more than today, when they We’re moving into ultra-fast charging to help
get driven for a relatively small percentage of their life. provide a solution for the large number of
We have to take longer operation into account when people who can’t charge at home. We feel that
we think about the thermal stability and durability this will help enable bigger mass-adoption of
electric vehicles.”
of our lubricants and fuels. The drainage [interval] of
BP isn’t the only traditional fuel supplier
vehicle lubricants has extended over time and we will active in this area. In 2018, for example,
have to apply that knowledge to those more frequently Chevron Technology Ventures joined
operated vehicles.” a diverse group that includes Daimler
and BMW i Ventures as an investor in
ChargePoint, a US-based EV charging
network. As part of a pilot program,
BP IS ROLLING OUT ULTRA-FAST EV charging is now available at
150kW
seven Chevron company-operated
gas stations.
EV LUBRICANTS
Although electric vehicles don’t
require traditional IC engine oils,
CHARGING POINTS ON they represent an interesting new
GAS STATION FORECOURTS market for lubricants suppliers, who
are working to develop the specialist
fluids required to ensure the optimal
performance of EV motors, transmissions
and batteries.
“As we see it now, the new generations
of electric vehicles to be commercialized in
the next three years will demand much more
specialized fluids and greases for electric
drive modules to provide greater efficiency
and low noise,” notes Garb. “Also, we see
a rising demand for thermal management
in BEVs that goes beyond basic cooling of
the motors alone. This represents a lot of
opportunities for lubricant experts like
Fuchs to compensate for expected changes
in the value chain [for ICE lubricants].
“With many different concepts being
presented by OEMs, and with even more
to be expected in the mid-term, it can be
hard to draw general conclusions about
the types of lubricants that EVs will need,”
he continues. “However, it is clear that in
addition to classic requirements like wear
protection, thermal stability and corrosion
protection, many new, sometimes conflicting
requirements will arise in the future that
will be introduced by electrical components
immersed in lubricants or in contact with
them, such as conductivity and compatibility
with a multitude of materials. We will see
insulation materials, coatings, plastics and

more metal alloys than are currently standard,

and lubricants will need to be compatible and
form a system with the hardware used. More
than ever the lubricant will be a constructive
element that cannot be easily interchanged
like a commodity.”
At BP, Lockett identifies three types of
fluids that are required to help hybrid and
electric vehicles operate truly effectively:
greases for electric motors, lubricants for
transmissions and coolants to maintain
the performance of the battery, power
electronics and motor.
“Hybrid and electric vehicles will need
different transmission fluids versus today
because of the electrical components in the
motors being in contact with the lubricant,”
he agrees. “The transmission is operating at
higher temperatures and EV engines operate
at much higher revolutions, which can really
increase the stresses on the oil. The torque
on the gears and the bearings can be higher
so we must ensure we have a robust oil that
can meet those demands, but it also needs to
be compatible with components that conduct
electricity. We already supply these types of
ABOVE: Chevron-backed
transmission fluids to Volkswagen Group, ChargePoint has formed a
SAIC, JLR for the I-Pace, and others. partnership with NATSO, which
“The right thermal management and fluids represents US travel plazas and
play a critical part in both the fast charging truck stops, to deploy its CPE250
and operation of those vehicles,” he adds. chargers at over 4,000 locations
Cradle to grave
The value chain
For Fuchs, the future evolution of its lubricant business is about more than just the
advent of EVs. “We look at the whole value chain,” says Markus Garb. “Our product
range covers all steps and applications, from the manufacturing of intermediate
materials, components and aggregates to assembling the final vehicle and supplying
it with lubricants over the application period. As vehicle concepts change, new
manufacturing processes and materials are developed that will need special
lubricants and related products.
“Fuchs looks at this value chain holistically and can offer products for all steps
within it. Ensuring compatibility between production fluids, anticorrosion coatings
and operating fluids will also play a more important role in the future. We believe
we have an advantage there as we have all the solutions in-house and can offer
compatible sets of products.”
“ENGINE OILS ARE NOT DOOMED, AND WE WILL SEE

NEW GENERATIONS OF EVEN MORE SPECIALIZED
FORMULATIONS IN THE COMING YEARS”
Markus Garb, head of global product management for automotive lubricants, Fuchs

BP Energy Outlook BP Energy Outlook
2019 edition 2019 edition
Final energy consumption in transport: Final energy consumption in transport:

Growth by mode Growth by fuel and mode, 2017-2040
Mtoe Mtoe
600 250
Rail Road
Marine Rail
500 200
Aviation Marine
Road Aviation
400 150
300 100
200 50
100 0
0 -50
2000- 2010- 2020- 2030- Biofuels Electricity Gas Oil
2010 2020 2030 2040
ENERGY CONSUMPTION IN TRANSPORT: ENERGY CONSUMPTION IN TRANSPORT:

Growth by mode Growth by fuel and mode, 2017-2040
According to figures in the BP Energy The transportation sector continues to
© BP Energy Outlook – 2019 edition
Outlook 2019, in the evolving transition (ET)

be dominated by oil, despite increasing
scenario, which assumes a similar evolution penetration of alternative fuels, particularly
in policies, technology and customer electricity and natural gas. Electricity and
preferences as in the past, the demand for natural gas in transportation increase by R&D work at BP’s technology
transportation services almost doubles by broadly similar volumes (120 Mtoe), with the center aims to improve ICE
2040, but quickening gains in engine increased use of electricity concentrated efficiency. The company is also
efficiency mean that energy consumed in passenger cars and light trucks; and the looking at biofuel and hydrogen
increases by only 20%. BP forecasts that the rising demand for natural gas largely within fuel production in the long term
efficiency of the average ICE-powered car long-distance road haulage and marine. The
improves by nearly 50%in the major global use of biofuels increases by just under 60
car markets with substantial gains in the Mtoe, predominantly in road transportation, “We’re looking at specialized coolants and
level of truck efficiency. with some increase in aviation. greases to enable the power and driving
traits of long-range, fast-charging vehicles.”
BP Energy Outlook BP Energy Outlook
2019 edition 2019 edition
BROAD CHURCH
Passenger car parc and vehicle km electrified Efficiency improvements 2017-2040 (%) For fuel and lubricant companies, the key to
Share electriﬁed thriving in a changing mobility landscape
30%
Passenger
car parc
75%
ET (Evolving will be to stay active on all fronts.
transition)
25% Vehicle km LCT (Lower- “Engine oils are not doomed, and we
carbon transport)
60%
will see new generations of even more
20% specialized formulations in the coming
45%
15%
years,” Garb predicts. “In 20 years, Fuchs
will still be a global lubricant manufacturer
30%
10% offering efficient lubrication solutions to
15%
its customers. But getting there will mean
5%
the opposite of standing still: our portfolio
0%
0%
will have changed considerably to cater
2017 2020 2025 2030 2035 2040
ICE cars Trucks Marine Aviation
for new needs. New product groups will
have been introduced and many paradigms
will have been questioned. We are already
PASSENGER CAR PARC AND VEHICLE EFFICIENCY IMPROVEMENTS investing strongly in new technologies and
KM ELECTRIFIED 2017-2040
solutions for new applications, on top of the
EVs continue to grow rapidly, concentrated Despite significant increases in vehicle
investments we have made in our global

within passenger cars, light-duty trucks and efficiency and vehicle electrification, production, distribution and R&D network
public buses. In the ET scenario, the number carbon emissions in the transportation
in the last 10 years.”
of EVs reaches around 350 million by 2040, sector continue to increase in the ET
of which around 300 million are passenger scenario. The BP Energy Outlook’s “We look at things in their totality,”
cars. This is equivalent to around 15% of all alternative lower carbon transportation sums up Lockett. “We think it’s important
cars and 12% of light-duty trucks . The use scenario incorporates emissions-reduction to continue to improve the efficiency level
of electric passenger cars is amplified by measures such as further tightening in ICE of ICE vehicles, which will remain a decent
the emergence of AVs from the early 2020s, vehicle efficiency standards, increased auto percentage of the fleet moving forward. BP
offering low-cost, shared-mobility services, electrification, increased penetration of is also looking at the production of biofuels
predominantly in electric cars. As a result, shared mobility services and biofuels, and and hydrogen fuel in the longer term as well
around 25% of passenger vehicle kilometers new scrappage schemes to improve the
are powered by electricity in 2040, even average efficiency of the global car parc as
as playing up our enabling of electrification.
though only 15% of cars are electrified. well as the pace of electrification. “The optimal solution will be different for
different types of vehicle and transportation.
There isn’t one answer and we are working
across multiple fronts to address all of
those different options that are ahead of us.
The world will still be moving around, and
the current projections are that there will be
more vehicles moving around in the next two
decades, not fewer.” 

T R U C K O I L F O R M U L AT I O N
MILE
THE SHELL TEAM CLOCKS UP MILLIONS
OF TEST MILES IN A BID TO ENSURE THAT
ITS LATEST DIESEL OIL FORMULATIONS
WON’T LET FLEET CUSTOMERS DOWN
B
Words:
Graham Heeps
ased at Shell’s Technology new standard, the engine manufacturers
Center in Houston, Texas, needed something that could handle more
Dan Arcy is a real mine of heat, wouldn’t shear down as much and had
information on heavy truck better aeration control. Those features were
oils. As well as serving as the built into that specification.
oil company’s global OEM “They also asked for something that would
technical manager, looking still meet the same wear requirements, soot
after a raft of truck and handling and improved oxidation control, but
diesel truck-engine makers, in lower viscosities than we had previously
he is chairman of the diesel to provide a fuel economy benefit. That’s
engine oil advisory panel for the American where FA-4 came in,” he continues. “For
Petroleum Institute (API), the trade body that the past 20+ years, 15W-40 had been the
has overseen petroleum standards for more [usual] viscosity grade for diesel oil. We saw
than 90 years. a transition start to take place from 2013-14,
Arcy took a lead role in developing the with all the OEMs factory-filling with 10W-
latest diesel truck oil specifications, which 30. 15W-40 remains dominant, but at Shell
were put in place on December 1, 2016. These we have seen quite a fast transition to 10W-
new oil standards – API CK-4 and API FA-4 – 30 among our customers.”
were the culmination of more than five years Arcy’s group at Shell is responsible not
of development work. only for Detroit-based pickup manufacturers
“API CK-4 was a replacement for API such as FCA North America and Ford – one
CJ-4, with the same viscosity grades,” he of the largest diesel engine manufacturers
explains. “CJ-4 had been around for 10 years in North America because of the 6.7-liter
and did a great job, but with 2017 emission that’s used from the F-250 up to the F-750 –
requirements coming in a month after the but also Class 8 engine and truck OEMs such

as Cummins, Daimler Trucks North America

(Detroit Diesel, Freightliner and Western
Star), PACCAR (Kenworth and Peterbilt),
Volvo/Mack and Navistar/International.
“The reason for the OEMs to move to lower
viscosity is fuel economy,” Arcy says. “FA-4
is out there but not all engine manufacturers
have accepted it yet with their current model
year engines, even though they requested
it! Detroit Diesel is allowing FA-4 all the way
back to its 2010 model year engines. It has a
40% market share, so getting it to change was
a great step forward. Cummins has accepted
it on the X15s for 2017 or newer model years.
Navistar, on its 2017 A26 model engine and
newer, also accepts FA-4. Volvo/Mack is
still only recommending CK-4 plus its own
ABOVE: The 14.9-liter Volvo spec, which is a little beyond. PACCAR
Cummins X15 Efficiency doesn’t accept it yet.”
Series engine, which is
available in the International
LT truck, will accept FA-4 oil
FLEET DOMINATION
Getting manufacturers to switch to a lower
MAIN: Oil-change intervals
viscosity is one thing, but Arcy is quick to
for the International A26 – a
big-bore, in-line-six, 12.4-liter note the importance of large North American
diesel – are up to 112,500km trucking fleets in driving technological
change in the sector.
“Over half of the market can take FA-4, but
a lot of fleets have multiple-colored iron and
no fleet’s going to change until it can use the
oil in every one of its vehicles,” he observes.
“We are starting to see some uptake of FA-4
but it’s about a four-year turnover for the
big fleets so we’re just reaching that tipping
point. I think we’ll see more of them heading
in that direction soon. The early adopters
will go first and then, as with any technology,
some of the smaller fleets tend to watch how
it goes and make sure it performs, before
they make the jump.
“The fleets have a lot of influence in this
area, especially the larger ones,” he adds.
“For example, in the past we’ve worked
with OEMs to extend oil-drain intervals
in response to fleets who want to match
it up with another of their service intervals.
“Fleets switch oils for a number of reasons.
One went to a 10W-30 as part of a corporate
initiative to become more environmentally
responsible. What’s really unique about this
company is that it leases trucks – it doesn’t
pay for fuel, so there was no benefit to
DETROIT DIESEL, WHICH HAS A the bottom line for it to move to a fuel-
economy oil. It wanted to be seen as a
40%
trucking organization that cares about
the environment.”
MILLION-MILERS
Shell follows a three-step testing
MARKET SHARE, IS ALLOWING FA-4 ALL THE program for many of its new oil
developments. Initial virtual testing
WAY BACK TO ITS 2010MY ENGINES of componentry provides a preliminary
understanding of how certain elements will
work together, augmented by screen-type
testing in the lab. Proprietary bench tests
repeatably simulate a certain type of engine
test to give a directional understanding of oil
behavior before the third stage, consisting of
full-engine lab test programs, begins.

“In conjunction with that, we put vehicles

out in the field,” explains Arcy. “For the CK-4
Gas burner
and FA-4 heavy-duty diesel programs, we
accumulated over 50 million miles of testing
Rotella Gas Truck
from our prototypes right up through our final
formulations out in the field. In 2019, Shell launched Rotella Gas Truck, its first
“As a market leader with the Rotella brand, aftermarket oil aimed specifically at the gasoline
we take pride in understanding the level pickup truck sector. “We have such a loyal audience on
of performance. I have fleets out there that the diesel side and a lot of these owners have gasoline
I’ve been working with for years. They put trucks and SUVs as well,” says Dan Arcy. “We looked
anywhere from 250,000 miles to almost at the way truck engines operate when you’re towing
300,000 miles a year on a vehicle. In two to
heavy loads and made sure to maximize our wear
three years, I can get a lot of data. It enables
me to put a number of different formulations performance. When you’re towing, especially when
BELOW: Shell’s Rotella Gas you’re going up hills, you’re putting a lot of stress on
in and see what performs best. You can do
Truck was developed for
the screening, qualifications and engine gasoline applications to the oil, primarily in the form of high temperatures. We
tests in the lab, but I believe you can only ensure an optimal level of put a chunk more anti-oxidant into the new oil to make
feel confident about an oil when you see performance when towing sure we protect against that.”
how it works in the real world.” and to protect the engine
One of the most common questions that from damage due to wear
Shell has faced with the FA-4 oil is whether
it’s able to protect the engine as well as older
specifications. Arcy points to engines that
were torn down after 600,000 miles of field
trials, after which it was impossible to tell the
difference between parts run with 15W-40
CK-4, 10W-30 CK-4 or 5W-30 FA-4.
“We started running trials about four years
before the CK-4 and FA-4 specifications were
licensed,” he explains. “I still have hundreds
of trucks out on the road running those oils
because I want to see how they continue to
perform. I have well over 100 million miles
on the formulations that are out there, and we
will continue that process until the next API
category comes out.
“As part of this work, we’re always adding
new trucks to our fleets to see if any changes
make a difference. We were testing 2012MY
trucks when this work began but we now
have 2020MY trucks to see whether the oil
performs differently in these later models.
The OEMs make little tweaks and we want to
make sure there are no surprises out there.”  BELOW: The Detroit
DD5 mid-range motor is
available to delivery fleets.
The four-cylinder unit has
variable cam-phasing and
uses new CK-4 or FA-4 oils
Unexpected consequences
New applications for diesel truck oils
It’s not just in the latest heavy trucks that never recommended it for them,” he says.
Shell has to continually test the performance “One of the reasons why diesel oil works
of its Rotella diesel engine oils. The oil really well in a motorcycle is because, like
company claims to be number one in the a motorcycle oil, it has no friction modifier.
North American aftermarket for on-highway We knew that we needed to run those tests
light trucks and diesel pickups, but Dan to ensure nothing bad was going to happen.
Arcy has found that the products are often “Another niche market is high-performance
adopted into areas for which they were cars with solid lifters, because the fairly high
never designed. dose of zinc and phosphorus is good for wear
“We found out from motorcycle enthusiast protection. In passenger car oils there’s a
websites that people were saying our truck spec that limits phosphorus to 800ppm, but
diesel oil was great in motorcycles, but we the maximum in heavy-duty truck diesel oil
weren’t running any motorcycle tests and had is 1,200ppm and we’re close to that limit.”

16/17 JUNE 2021
Cologne Messe, gerMany
REDUCE REPLACE RECYCLE
INDUSTRY SOLUTIONS FOR A WORLD

FREE FROM PLASTIC WASTE
Technical innovations & bio-based solutions to help companies
tackle plastic waste and lower their plastic footprint.
120+ 800+
Over 120 More than 800
5
Vertical Industry
Expert Speakers Attendees Expected Tracks
www.plasticfree-world.com
SYNTHETIC FUELS
Fuel
picture
T
Words:
Alex Grant
he decarbonization of transportation,
which accounts for around a quarter of global
greenhouse gas emissions, is as crucial as it
is complex. According to Bosch, CO2 emissions
from traffic need to halve over the next four
decades to meet climate change limits set out
under the Paris Agreement, while advanced
economies need to aim for an 85% reduction.
Already ambitious, those goals face the added
difficulty of competing with growing demand
for personal mobility, which the company
expects will increase by 50% between 2015
and 2030.
Wider electrification is inevitable, but
it’s not the only solution, as Ansgar Christ, ABOVE: With half of the can offer a drop-in alternative with a much
expert for renewable synthetic fuels at Bosch, vehicles on European roads higher energy density than batteries. Shell
explains. “Half of the vehicles that will be on in 2030 expected to have claims its gas-to-liquids (GTL) synthetic
European roads in 2030 have already been a diesel or gasoline engine, diesel, produced from natural gas, offers a
the fuel industry is working
sold, most gasoline or diesel. These vehicles higher energy content than more traditional
on new e-fuel technology
will also have to play their part in cutting CO2 that will facilitate a notable fossil fuels, with a resulting reduction in
emissions, and this can only be achieved with reduction in CO2 emissions well-to-wheel CO2 emissions, while heavy-
renewable synthetic fuels,” he says. duty vehicle trials have shown up to a 37%
These offer a truly appealing alternative; reduction in NOX and 38% less particulate
production methods are proven, and they matter. But production volumes are tiny;
Shell claims the global supply of GTL fuels
can only meet a third of the UK’s demand
for diesel.
At Continental, power-to-liquid (PtL)
synthetic fuel development is being tackled
SYNTHETIC HYDROCARBON FUELS in tandem with modifications to engine
components, and seen as a complementary
COULD PROVIDE A DROP-IN SOLUTION technology for electrification. The company
FOR LOWER-CARBON TRANSPORTATION has road-tested a new 15% oxymethylene
ether (OME) blend, combining renewably
USING TODAY’S ENGINE TECHNOLOGY – electrolyzed hydrogen with CO2 from power
SO WHAT’S HOLDING THE MARKET BACK? stations and steelworks as a feedstock.
Blended at twice the typical concentration of
biodiesel, OME is claimed to offer an 8g/km

SYNTHETIC FUELS
“Synthetic fuels solve

nearly all the problems
that biofuels have been
facing... and enable
100% CO2 neutrality”
Ansgar Christ, renewable
synthetic fuels expert, Bosch
Christ believes reducing feedstock issues

is a significant advantage. “Synthetic fuels
solve nearly all the problems that biofuels
have been facing. They are chemically much
more stable, they do not age. Their chemical
OXYMETHYLENE ETHER structure is basically identical to that of
fossil fuels, which allows a 100% replacement
IS CLAIMED TO OFFER AN without any disadvantages, or a fully flexible
admixture. Additionally, the ‘raw material’
8g/km CO2
of synthetic fuels is electricity, water and
carbon dioxide taken from the air, turning
a greenhouse gas into a resource. There is no
CO2 reduction compared with fossil potential conflict with the food industry, and
fuels. However, considerable changes to this also enables 100% CO2 neutrality.”
engine management, fuel injection and REDUCTION COMPARED However, the business case remains
aftertreatment systems are required for it highly complicated. A study carried out for
to be used unblended. WITH FOSSIL FUELS the German Association of the Automotive
Industry (VDA) by energy and environmental
CARBON CYCLE Source: Continental consultancy Ludwig-Bölkow-Systemtechnik
Fuel production can also become part of the (LBST) and the German Energy Agency
carbon cycle. In Canada, Carbon Engineering (DENA), showed power-to-liquid diesel or
has a demonstration plant that is creating gasoline production costs between €4.50
hydrocarbons from captured atmospheric and €5.00 (US$5-5.57) per liter based
CO2 and hydrogen produced using renewable on 2015 figures, compared with 40 cents
electricity. The result is a diesel alternative for fossil fuels. By 2050, the study suggests
that offers a 3-5% higher energy content, a 50% increase in fossil fuel production costs,
zero sulfur emissions, no soot and a tenfold but predicts that even imported synthetic
reduction in well-to-wheel CO2 emissions alternatives could still be more expensive.
when used pure, though blending is expected LBST managing director Dr Uwe Albrecht
to be used in the short term. Production uses says economies of scale for the fuel itself
the Fischer-Tropsch process, and facilities will help, but that the price disadvantage
can be located alongside remote renewable is largely down to renewable energy costs.
energy sources. Importantly, the components Cost reductions are vital to encourage uptake
are commercially available now as they are in heavy-duty vehicles, as well as marine
repurposed from other industries, enabling and aviation, where the energy density
easier scale-up of larger plants. of batteries makes it a less viable option.

SYNTHETIC FUELS
“These are commercial vehicles and Carbon Engineering has

are cost driven,” he explains. “If you are an installed a demo plant
operator, you might care about the fuels you that creates hydrocarbon
use, but you care more about the economies from captured carbon and
hydrogen. Via the use of air
of the solutions that you apply. So you would
contactors, the company
use the cheaper fuel.” believes that it will be able
to collectively capture one
SUPPORT NETWORK million tons of CO2 a year
Research from the International Council
on Clean Transportation (ICCT) highlights
a similar problem, calculating that 45-65% of
synthetic fuel costs come from the electricity
used and underlining a need for high-level
policy support to stimulate the market. This
would amount to between €1.00 and €1.50
(US$1.11 to US$1.77) per liter, or €300 to
€500 (US$334 to US$557) per ton of CO2
reduced, which the report says is higher than
subsidies provided to biofuels.
However, Stephanie Searle, the ICCT’s
fuels program director, believes they have a
role to play. “Synthetic fuels are significantly
more expensive than gasoline and diesel,
but this isn’t a reason not to support them.
We need the introduction of strong policy
incentives now to start building a low-carbon
fuel industry. Eventually, these fuels should
be cost competitive if the environmental cost
of petroleum is accounted for,” she says.
“Synthetic fuels are significantly
In the meantime, suppliers are focused on
improving the production process. German more expensive than gasoline
and diesel, but this isn’t a
reason not to support them”
Common goals Stephanie Searle, fuels program director, ICCT
Decarbonizing transport
It’s likely that the process of decarbonizing transport
will require a blended approach; a combination of
mechanical improvements, electrification and fuels
with a lower environmental impact. And these don’t
need to be delivered in isolation.
LBST’s study with the VDA highlights that even
markets with a high share of electric and fuel cell
vehicles will require synthetic fuels as part of the
mix. Increasing the provision of low-cost renewable
electricity benefits both; it enables cheaper synthetic
fuel production for combustion engine heavy-duty
vehicles and older cars and vans, while also supporting
further greenhouse gas reductions for plug-ins.
Sunfire takes a similar approach. Its electrolyzers
are modular, scalable and designed to reduce the
reliance on fossil fuels to produce hydrogen. In
turn, this offers a cheaper and greener feedstock for
manufacturing hydrocarbons, including synthetic fuels, Sunfire is currently working
or it can be compressed and used in fuel cell electric on the installation and the
vehicles. It also reduces fossil hydrogen reliance for industrialization of power-
to-liquid plants in Norway.
the steam reforming of conventional gasoline, diesel
The company expects the
and kerosene. first one to go live in 2023

SYNTHETIC FUELS
Join the queue

Scaling up production
With limited production capacity, the short-term
priority for synthetic fuels is likely to be areas where
electrification cannot yet offer an alternative. Despite
an 85% reduction in battery pack costs between
2010 and 2018, according to the latest Bloomberg
New Energy Finance report, their low energy density
is problematic for heavy-duty vehicles.
Albrecht believes policy changes could reflect this:
“When you look at synthetic fuels, aviation has less
mature options to de-fossilize compared with road
transport. So as long as you have a limited production
capacity, and as long as the pressure is equal on
all segments, you would see those that have fewer
alternatives being the ones to say we need it first.”
Alternative fuels also face competition outside
the transport sector. Global Bioenergies has developed
45-65% a production process that makes isobutene using

sugar and starch residues, agricultural and forestry
waste, with plans to use industrial waste gases as
a feedstock later on. However, fuels won’t be the
company Sunfire is OF SYNTHETIC FUEL COSTS COME first application – the company recently received
forming partnerships, investment from L’Oréal, funding R&D for low-carbon
notably including Paul FROM THE ELECTRICITY USED
cosmetics manufacturing and with plans to begin
Wurth/SMS, a provider in
steel plant manufacturing, Source: ICCT production in 2022.
and Neste, which provides Marc Delcourt, chief executive officer of Global
renewable fuels, to industrialize Bioenergies, comments, “We see cosmetics as the first
its solid-oxide electrolyzer technology as mass market for our technology. Our first plant will be
a key component of e-fuel manufacturing. dedicated to cosmetics, and we can use this to scale
The system uses waste heat from industrial
production, then we are prepared for a larger second
processes to perform steam electrolysis,
in turn reducing the electricity used for plant dedicated to jet fuels.”
hydrogen production and improving the
economics of the PtL process.
The company is a founding member of
the Norsk e-Fuel consortium and working
toward industrialization and installation
of PtL plants in Norway, the first of which is no significant hurdles that would prevent doesn’t address the fuel of your combustion
planned to go live in 2023. Utilizing CO2 from the successful production and application engine. And that’s why the current regulation
industrial processes and captured from air, of synthetic fuels. PtL is only limited by the does not foster a widespread use of synthetic
approximately 10 million liters per year of availability of renewable electricity, which fuels,” Albrecht explains.
synthetic and carbon-neutral oil substitutes has enormous potential worldwide and for Such policy changes are urgent. Christ
are to be produced. With further upscaling, which we expect further cost reduction in the warns it could take a decade for production
Sunfire predicts production costs of €1.50 long term. As it is easily transportable it can capacities to be ramped up, adding that
(US$1.67) per liter within five years, and be produced wherever renewable electricity governments need to create a level playing
mass adoption from 2025 onward, albeit is abundantly available.” field for low-carbon technologies as soon as
largely in heavy-duty road vehicle and Albrecht takes a similar view, pointing to possible if this is to happen.
aviation applications. current discussions about encouraging low- or “To meet the Paris climate targets we need
zero-carbon synthetic fuels by incorporating to understand that only 420 to 580 gigatons
POLICY CHANGES them into manufacturers’ fleet-wide CO2 of CO2 can be emitted into the atmosphere,
However, Karl Hauptmeier, senior product targets. Modifications to the EU’s Renewable otherwise the temperature will rise above
manager, electrolysis at Sunfire, says this Energy Directive, recognizing a need to cater the critical 2°C limit,” says Christ. “We now
requires high-level policy changes. “There for the demands of legacy vehicles, could also need to focus on drop-in synfuels exclusively,
has been no market for e-fuels in the past support further uptake, he says. because they allow immediate CO2 avoidance.
due to cheap prices for fossil fuels and a “Fleet CO2 emission reduction regulation If we do not ensure that current vehicles and
missing regulatory framework for e-fuels. is focused on efficiency, so it favors battery infrastructure take part in CO2 reduction we
From a technological point of view there are electric and fuel cell electric drives, but it will miss our climate targets.” 

OIL AND LUBRICANT TESTING
RAPIDLY EVOLVING POWERTRAIN

STRATEGIES ARE REQUIRING A NEW
GENERATION OF SOPHISTICATED,
TAILOR-MADE LUBRICANTS WITHIN
EVER-TIGHTENING DEADLINES. SO
HOW ARE SUPPLIERS KEEPING PACE?
FORMUL A
FOR CHANGE Words:
Alex Grant
ew discussions have truly
united the world’s disparate
manager, consumer engine lubricants,
at Lubrizol. “That’s now five years, which
political viewpoints like is quite a big step change. Manufacturers
climate change. Despite a have had to develop powertrains to meet
couple of notable outliers, CO2 requirements, and a correctly designed
CO2 reduction is a common engine oil specification can enable CO2
goal worldwide, but there is reductions. The pace of change has sped
no silver bullet for achieving up, and the lubricants industry has had
it. Furthermore, varying to keep up.”
regulations, driving conditions and even fuel Market volatility is unprecedented. Within
infrastructure increase the challenges, not the last 10 years, Europe (and to some extent
only for manufacturers but for the lubricant America) has gone through a boom-and-bust
industry too. cycle with diesel, the Chinese market has
“A decade ago an OEM would change their swollen exponentially, and electrification
factory-fill lubricant around once every 10 is very quickly becoming mainstream. But
years,” comments Craig Jones, technology conventional combustion engine technology

“Physical engine testing is

still the most capable method of
reproducing the subtle nuances”
Phil Carden, technical specialist, Ricardo
is evolving too, with the increasing popularity

of gasoline direct-injection (GDI) systems
and new challenges developing more quickly
than regulations.
Jones highlights the ACEA European
Oil Sequences and ILSAC GF-6 standards,
both of which include additional testing for
low-viscosity grades, and both of which have
been delayed. As GDI engines have presented
additional (and not necessarily uniform) low-
speed pre-ignition (LSPI) issues, which can
be exacerbated or mitigated by the additive
pack, OEMs have pushed for their own
benchmarks in the interim.
Electric realities
MAIN IMAGE: Shell is North America’s voluntary API SN Plus
collaborating with OEMs standard, released in 2018, includes testing
now more than ever, with
for LSPI mitigation measures, but Jones says
Shell scientists joining the
E-fluid manufacturers’ R&D teams
it is limited in scope as it only tests fresh
lubricants. SAE-published studies have
ABOVE: There is now a
Although large markets are beginning to indicate highlighted that, in longer drain intervals,
greater focus on oil during
phase-out targets for combustion engines, lubricant the gearbox design process some formulations can cause LSPI issues
as they age. PSA already includes long-term
developers are finding new opportunities to utilize
mitigation requirements in its specifications,
their experience in electric vehicles. Shell launched its and Lubrizol expects such testing to become
first ultra-low-viscosity e-fluid range last May, and the more common.
demands are broader: these not only minimize friction “GDI is a much more severe environment
but also assist cooling, which is vital for improving than the old port fuel injection gasoline
energy efficiency. engines,” Jones continues. “We have seen a
significant increase in GDI engines, and tests
The operating environment is very different.
that need to be run to get an oil approved.
Adam Banks, e-mobility technical expert at Certain additive components used in engine
Afton Chemical, says low-viscosity lubricants oil formulations had a negative impact on
encounter a motor spinning at up to 30,000rpm, LSPI, some had a positive. So you have to go
requiring a focus on anti-foaming properties. through that learning process.”
The ongoing trend toward energy efficiency for
next-generation electric vehicles means these
TEAM GAME
Collaboration is vital. Ian Shannon, general
fluids will play an increasingly important role. manager for B2C lubricants technology at
“The first generation have had what we call a dry Shell, says manufacturer co-development
e-motor, cooled by glycol with a jacket and air gap. has started to become much more common:
The next generation of electric vehicles is going to be “The company is increasingly embedding
direct oil cooled. Although oil does not conduct heat as its own scientists within OEM research and
well as glycol does, because you can apply it directly development departments, and oils are being
designed in tandem with engine components,
actually it works out to be much more efficient. You
becoming an integral part of powertrain
can get more range from a direct oil-cooled battery performance. This closer relationship also
or oil-cooled e-motor,” he says. enables more accurate vehicle oil condition
“Then the next generation after that will be and oil drain algorithms.”
multi-speed [transmissions]. That means some sort Transmission design is taking a similar
of shifting device, and a requirement for friction route, according to Barry James, the chief
technical officer and head of R&D at Romax:
properties in the oil. We developed a prototype product
“In the last five years, instead of an oil
for that, so that we can deliver that transmission being just a grade and considered only as
performance as well as the electric motor cooling.” an afterthought when designing a gearbox,
you now have to consider it as a component at
the start of the process. So there’s much more

collaboration between the manufacturer of As electrification ramps

the gearbox and manufacturer of the oil.” up across the industry,
Good data is the foundation. Romax companies such as BP are
details the frictional behavior early in the having to test for a wide
range of behaviors as well
development process using a mini-traction
as for IC engine inactivity
machine (MTM), which in turn underpins
more accurate simulations. With mounting
pressure to shorten development cycles,
digitization allows a much wider range of
operating conditions to be demonstrated.
James continues, “The use of simulation
has increased enormously. A new lubricant
formula used to require so much testing to
understand its performance in real life and
this is really expensive. The process still
does involve some testing. The MTM is a
physical test; we can’t look at the chemistry
and know the effect of additives. However,
when someone formulates a lubricant sample
in a laboratory now, they’re able to test it
quickly on the MTM and then give us the
New environments
Integration
Progressive electrification of combustion engines
introduces new challenges for lubricant developers,
potentially testing a much broader range of user
behaviors and engines that can spend longer periods
inactive. Castrol’s vice president of OEM technology,
Dave Hall foresees the associated higher fuel and
water levels in engine oil becoming a bigger
focus during development.
“Specification parameters and tests may frictional data, which goes straight into the simulation.
appear to ensure appropriate performance in This close integration of simulation with a simpler
physical test provides a rapid insight into that sample’s
these areas,” he explains. “The OEMs would
performance in real life.”
prefer hybrid and non-hybrid specifications and Simulation has a specific role to play. Patrick Niven,
formulations to be the same, and it may be that senior manager, industry solutions product management
non-hybrid specifications evolve to encompass the at Siemens Digital Industries Software, expects increased
new requirements of their hybrid counterparts.” digitization of the development process as suppliers look
The challenges differ for transmission lubricants. to meet a wider range of operating conditions without
Barry James of Romax says lubricants already have to the attached cost and time penalties of physical testing.
But, he adds, phase changes, material properties and
be suitable for mechanical and electrical components,
computational times are harder to model.
which is reshaping how OEM departments and oil “Materials modeling helps identify candidate
suppliers work together. formulations, while simulation of the applications
“Increasingly the electrical simulation activity in which the lubricant is used help to understand
has an influence on the mechanical engineering. the benefits of improved performance, new application
We are having to integrate those into a multi-physics methods and patterns, minimal coating thicknesses, fill
volumes, etc. Additionally, their contribution to engine-
environment, in that the e-machine, power electronics
out emissions, a hot topic in discussions regarding the
and gearbox need to be engineered together” he says. life of the internal combustion engine, is a growing
“The interaction between the motor and the gearbox interest in simulation,” he explains.
really needs to be done in the same department, on “With reduced investment in conventional internal
the same simulation package in order to get the most combustion engine lubricants there is a growing need
optimized design. Most new companies are operating for increased usage of simulation to fill the void left by
the reduced amount of expensive physical testing.”
departments that are designing them together as
opposed to separate entities.” SIM MODELING
In turn, this is being enabled by increasingly capable
software. Matthias Hensel, senior R&D engineer at

Track to road
Testing
Physical testing remains an important part of formulate products to deliver maximum engine
lubricant development, and Shell’s Ian Shannon performance without compromising on durability.
says the company views motorsport partnerships It also gives us insight into how we can formulate
as a useful proving ground. The company has for future engine designs.”
technical partnerships with teams in Formula 1, The scope of testing also extends to battery-
DTM and the World Rally Championship, and oil electric vehicles. Partnerships with Nissan
formulation is crucial: a fifth of Scuderia Ferrari’s and Mahindra Formula E teams are offering
lap time improvements between 2014 and 2017 opportunities to develop and test e-fluids too.
were put down to the lubricants that the team “We are working with a number of electric vehicle
was using. OEMs to address battery thermal management
Fuel efficiency and technical challenges issues through a fluid management approach. It’s
on track are similar to road vehicles, and an area where we’re actually able to bring Shell
experiences are shared, Shannon says. “The lubricant technology to good use in our e-thermal
teams are employing the same evolved engine fluids,” Shannon continues. “We’re really trying
designs – downsized turbocharged engines – so to leverage that motorsport ‘laboratory’, almost,
in that racetrack environment we’re aiming to and bring that into modern formulations.”
“The long-term prospects of the internal

combustion engine are being questioned widely”
Patrick Niven, senior manager, industry solutions product management,
Siemens Digital Industries Software
Afton Chemical, says that molecular-level simulation oil, additives, combustion products, water
is enabling better understanding of mechanical and and unburned fuel. It must work well with a
chemical interactions. However, the complexities of wide range of surfaces and contact types in
modeling entire powertrains, including the different every engine. The contact surfaces and the
contacts within them, is much harder to do accurately. oil behavior change with time as the engine
“A fully digital development of a lubricant would runs-in and the oil is damaged by oxidation,
require small-scale molecular models to describe the combustion products and shearing.”
behavior of fluid and chemistry for mechanical contact But the automotive industry faces bigger
as well as chemical interactions. At this point the models uncertainties than most. Contraction of
would not even be describing the whole system yet, development times has become common
Motorsport remains a
but only very small subsets independently from each crucial part of lubricant
for most industries, but Niven says those
other. More layers of simulation and modeling would development for companies working with combustion engines face an
be required until the behavior of a lubricant in a system, such as Shell. The demands added issue of potential obsolescence, which
which would be relevant for the application, could be of the track provide an is adding to the uncertainties ahead.
described,” he notes. insight into the durability of “The long-term prospects of the internal
“Such a model would only work if we would understand, a lubricant and the demands combustion engine are being questioned
and have access to, all parameters on all levels describing of future passenger vehicles widely,” he continues. “Assuredly it will
the modeled system.” be around for the next few decades in some
The capabilities of physical testing are also expanding. shape and form, but how much, for how long?
Phil Carden, technical specialist at Ricardo, says the This puts additional pressure on suppliers
company is developing radio-activated surfaces to enable to reduce investment costs in new engine-
more sensitive measurement of friction properties over a specific lubricants as they diversify their
wider operating range. It’s a recognition that even similar technology portfolios.”
engines can exhibit very different fuel economy behavior So although the regulatory landscape
with changes to oil viscosity. and OEM roadmaps are aligned in pursuit
He explains, “Physical engine testing is still the most of CO2 reductions, there remains no perfect
capable method of reproducing the subtle nuances of technical solution for stakeholders to unite
mechanical, chemical and thermal interaction that the oil behind. The only certainty is more change,
is exposed to. Each lubricant is a complex mixture of base and at an ever-increasing pace. 

Products and ser vices / TENNECO
Burner
technology
Can a burner system offer an alternative gateway to improved catalyst
performance and reduced tailpipe emissions with a lower CO 2 penalty?
mpending changes to pollutant regulations in the
I
EU and USA, such as the yet-to-be-defined Euro 7, 1. Tenneco Clean Air’s
Cold Start Thermal Unit
will mandate significant further cuts to vehicle
mini burner technology
emissions, not only within a test cycle but also
under real driving conditions. This means OEMs
will need to considerably reduce emissions following engine start,
in particular cold starts, and during extended low load cycles. This
will necessitate the introduction of technologies that improve either
engine-out emission performance or aftertreatment efficiency. Of
the two approaches, developments in aftertreatment technology
are typically easier to apply to existing vehicles and powertrains, 1
or those scheduled for introduction in the near term.
At the same time, manufacturers are under increasing pressure
to reduce CO2 emissions and fuel consumption, meaning that any
solution for pollutants must have the minimum adverse impact on
powertrain efficiency. The alternative technologies available, such
as cylinder deactivation, heated catalysts (electrical or otherwise)
and additional SCR catalysts for diesels, must therefore be evaluated
in the context of their effect on pollutant and CO2 emissions.
Nick Morley, director of advanced technology development at
Tenneco’s Clean Air business group, believes burner technology,
such as his company’s Cold Start Thermal Unit (CSTU) mini burner,
should be the preferred option for several reasons. “It can address
the challenges of both cold-start and low-load engine operation in
a single solution,” he says. “It is significantly more fuel efficient than
electric catalyst heating, which minimizes the CO2 burden, and it is
readily controllable, which permits greater optimization of catalyst
conversion efficiency.”
MODULAR SYSTEM
Tenneco’s CSTU comprises a combustion chamber mounted halve the light-off time, from around 10 seconds to below 5 seconds in
between the turbo exit and the catalyst, offset from the main gas the case of gasoline engines, and from around 400 seconds to below
path, with its own metered fuel supply, air supply and controlled 200 seconds in the case of diesels. In one example, a heavy-duty
igniter, typically a conventional spark plug. The CSTU is designed diesel, the time to reach 200°C pre-SCR temperature was reduced by
as a fully modular system, compatible with most current exhaust over 70%. During low-load engine operation, when the catalyst must
aftertreatment arrangements. somehow be kept warm to maintain adequate pollutant conversion
Because the burner system is fueled independently of the efficiency, the CSTU can be controlled to produce lower levels of
engine, its function can be tailored precisely to the aftertreatment heat, as appropriate.
requirements, regardless of the engine’s operating state. Using its According to Morley, this dual function differentiates burner
own fuel and air supply, the CSTU can produce a high output of technology from other approaches. “Most other technologies
hot exhaust gas even when the engine has just started or even prior provide only a partial solution,” he says. “Light-off SCR catalysts
to the actual engine start, enabling rapid catalyst light-off. This can work well for cold start but don’t address the extended low-load

Products and ser vices / TENNECO
on a gasoline aftertreatment system indicate that a burner is also

2. System illustration more efficient than electrical heating, using notably less additional
of a potential setup
including mini burner energy. At the same time, the major pollutants, CO, HC and NOX,
were reduced by around 60%, 20% and 90% respectively, compared
with the baseline aftertreatment system.
BURNER CONTROL
With the increasing emphasis on transient emissions performance,
not least because RDE testing permits different driving styles, the
controllability of a burner can be a considerable benefit, as Morley
explains: “Since our CSTU converts energy to heat directly from the
fuel burned, the fueling rate can be adjusted very quickly, without
the thermal inertia associated with other technologies. This allows
the vehicle manufacturer’s calibration engineers to fine-tune the
temperature profile that their catalysts will see, further improving
the pollutant conversion efficiency.”
situation; cylinder deactivation is helpful for extended idle but not so Today’s CSTU has its origins in the work carried out by Tenneco
much in the case of cold start. Burners can achieve both by offering over 10 years ago on a burner for DPF regeneration applications.
a wide range of energy inputs to the system.” Subsequent evolution of the unit into a catalyst heater was aimed at
A dedicated burner system is also a relatively efficient means diesel engines for commercial truck/off-highway applications, and
of converting fuel energy into higher catalyst temperatures. The the technology is now being transferred to the light-vehicle sector.
traditional approach of simply using waste heat from the engine Production intent development for light-duty diesels is currently
to light the catalyst was satisfactory in the past, but increasingly underway, and concept development for gasoline applications
restrictive CO2 regulations make biasing the engine’s calibration began in 2020. 
to increase exhaust heat very inefficient. This trend has been
accelerated by the new test procedures, such as RDE, in which
cold start, down to -7°C, and low-load emissions have become more
significant elements of the test cycle. Simulation studies by Tenneco
501 FREE READER INQUIRY SERVICE
To learn more about Tenneco, visit:

Products and ser vices / ETO GRUPPE
s global industries continue the relentless drive for
A
1. ETO GRUPPE offers 1
high-precision, high-reliability, high-value control
its BLDC drive unit with
in their systems, actuation control suppliers must gearbox in combination
stay one step ahead, providing ever more efficient with a rotary slide valve.
solutions. Nowhere is this trend more apparent The media ports can be
than in the automotive sector, where energy efficiency is a primary freely customized
focus driven by the need for continued CO2 reduction. For 70 years, 2. The BLDC drive unit
with gearbox – designed
the ETO GRUPPE has been producing valves, actuators, sensors and with an integrated spur
modules to meet these increasingly demanding trends. To achieve gearbox to cover high
industry expectations, it is necessary to continually improve existing torque requirements
products as well as adopt the latest in technology for smarter,
integrated solutions. As the originator of single-pin and two-pin
actuators for multiple lift/sliding cam valve technology, ETO has
developed the second generation of the two-pin actuator to improve
cost effectiveness while maintaining the highest possible quality and
technical performance.
Energy efficiency is enhanced by limiting power consumption
to the actuation phase only. At-rest and actuated holding positions
do not require power to be maintained. Bistable magnetic position
control, as used in the two-pin sliding cam control application, uses
permanent magnetic effects to latch in the rest and work positions. 2
This provides for highly efficient power consumption.
HOLISTIC APPROACH
Viewing the system as a whole is one of the keys to achieving optimal
efficiency. Maximizing the traditional electromagnetic actuation
technologies (oil control valves, EVAP valves, cam phasing actuators,
air ride and braking systems) is fundamental in pneumatic, hydraulic
and direct-acting applications and continues to be a focus to enable
optimal system efficiency for ICE, EV automotive and commercial
vehicle applications. By leveraging extensive experience with
electromagnetics, ETO’s addition of stepper motor and BLDC motor
technologies further broadens the product portfolio, facilitating the
seamless integration of a highly efficient motion control system. EV
thermal management applications are an obvious example of the
need for high-level power consumption efficiency combined with
precise positional control.
Efficient
actuation
The latest developments in actuation technology are enabling integration
of smarter, more efficient module, valve, actuator and sensor systems

Products and ser vices / ETO GRUPPE
Integration with actuation control systems is also critical to

best ensure precise system operation and efficiency. Information
exchange between the actuator and the operational control system is
essential at the system level. Be it position, temperature or pressure,
actuation technologies integrated with sensors are becoming more
and more common. ETO’s BLDC motor applications can include
smart control technologies, providing simplified integration into
the existing bus communication system. This further enhances the
diagnostic capability of the system in general.
One of ETO’s challenges for its stepper motor design is the ability
to operate in pressurized applications up to 170 bar in gas and liquid
5
environments. Effective operation in these environments is achieved
by positioning the rotor and bearings inside of a sealed housing.
The gear system can then be attached directly to the output shaft. 125°C is possible. Integrated control electronics can be controlled
This offers customer-specific torque and rotation speeds tailored to 3. The ETO BLDC motor via LINbus. The motor also includes blocking detection. Typical
specific applications and packaging. The motor itself enables typical offers high output and applications are for distribution valves and flap-type actuators that
an extremely flat build
torques of 26Nm at a speed of up to 300rpm. Breakaway torque up require efficient and precise control.
4. ETO GRUPPE’s stepper
to 35Nm and operation in ambient temperatures between -40°C and motor ensures accurate
High-torque application needs are met by using integrated BLDC
operation within the gearbox designs featuring spur gear-drive systems to optimize
ideal operation range output and minimize power consumption. Typical torque outputs
3 5. The ETO GRUPPE of 1,000Nm with speeds up to 30rpm are achievable. Here, possible
two-pin actuator can operational temperature ranges are between 0°C and 135°C. The
be used in various
integrated position sensor ensures positional accuracy, with control
sliding cam systems
to optimize valve lift system communication handled by a LIN interface that translates
angular position. The position information can also be transmitted
to the control system via the LINbus. Possible applications include
proportional or switching valves in thermal management when
used in combination with rotary slide valves. Rotary slide valves
can be very effective in high-flow, low-pressure-drop applications.
Minimizing leakage in the closed position requires pre-stressed
seals, which in turn requires higher torque capabilities, leading to
an ideal application of the ETO drive system.
FLAT-BUILD GEOMETRY
The ETO BLDC motor design approach also offers packaging
benefits, particularly where installation space and serviceability are
at a premium. The company’s objective was to achieve a flat-build
geometry that facilitates installation into tight system environments.
4
Typical torque levels of up to 500Nm are possible, with rotation
speeds up to 6,500rpm. Designed for the challenging under-hood
operating environments of ICE applications, the BLDC motor can
operate in ambient temperature ranges from -40°C to 150°C, and
the system is made to handle robust vibration requirements. The
motor can transmit system information, including rotation speed
and/or direction, directly to control units via a closed control circuit
interface. Currently targeted at cam phasing applications, other
applications are readily achievable.
ETO’s systems can be tailored to customer-specific applications
and challenges. The company has truly extensive experience in
partnering with clients to meet the ever-evolving market segment
requirements. For ETO, actuation technologies born of innovation,
focused on efficient design and execution, and brought to market
by close partnership with customers are the key to realizing efficient
solutions for dynamic, actuation-intense markets. 

To learn more about ETO GRUPPE, visit:

Products and ser vices / VITESCO TECHNOLOGIES
Transmission
efficiency
Hybridization holds the key to improvement in transmission efficiency thanks
to notably finer oil pump flow control and the elimination of oil recirculation
he automotive industry is going through an era On the other side, the mechanical and functional integration of
T
of technology transition. Over the last 10 years, 1. Vitesco’s dual-drive the electric machine and transmission as one device is leading to
pump concept can be
electrification has drastically impacted powertrain retrofitted to existing more challenging packaging concepts, as the electric machine is
development. The popularization of electric and vehicle transmissions taking space away. One benefit of integration is new concepts taking
hybrid vehicles has been driven by an increasing 2. Reduction in CO2/km advantage of transmission oil for electric machine cooling. Here, oil
awareness of well-to-wheel efficiency. Government initiatives aim offered via hybridization conditioning as part of a thermal management strategy is giving space
to ensure a better environment through more stringent CO2 and for an AT compared with to new mechanisms to operate the drivetrain close to its efficiency
a system that features
pollutant emissions policies. Energy generation and distribution just a mechanical pump
sweet spot.
mechanisms are driving drivetrain development, giving space to
a variety of solutions, ranging from electrified combustion engines SYSTEM OPTIMIZATION
(mild hybrid, full hybrid) to full electric propulsion (BEV, REEV, FCEV). As in the case of many other fields of engineering, hybridization
On the fuel side, more and more renewable technologies are under unleashed additional degrees of freedom for system optimization.
development, from biofuels to synthetic fuels. Until the last decade, transmission hydraulic supply systems were
Over the last 30 years, the automotive world has been ruled by directly powered by the combustion engine through a mechanical oil
internal combustion engines with a thermal efficiency not higher pump (MOP). Driven by the substitution of transmission mechanical
than 40% and radiated average noise at idle conditions between devices and recent evaluative standards for vehicle drive cycles
50dB and 75dB. In comparison, transmission systems were (WLTC), a large range of flow and pressure conditions could be
frequently seen as high-efficiency and low-noise-footprint devices. covered by one device.
With a total efficiency over 80%, transmission developers mainly 2
focused on reducing transmission packaging size and shifting
time. By the early 2000s, automated systems arose as a mechanism
to drastically reduce shifting time while providing unique user
experiences through CVT, AT and DCT intrinsic characteristics.
The last decade witnessed how drivetrain electrification
revolutionized transmission development. Once drivetrain topology
allowed electric machines to directly drive the wheels, a higher
transmission system efficiency was demanded to align with the
electric machine’s efficiency (sometimes exceeding 90%). Since
then, two major items have been driving electrified transmission
development: efficiency and packaging.
On one side, electrification is impacting transmission topology
as electric machines are substituting mechanical devices such as
reverse gears and torque converters. This trend is demonstrated
by a new distribution of flow-pressure operation points and the
resulting total hydraulic power demand.

Products and ser vices / VITESCO TECHNOLOGIES
Since the MOP is directly coupled to the combustion engine,

there is little to no control over its flow output. Therefore, the pump
must be sized to cover the transmission demands independently
of the combustion engine’s speed. This guarantees the oil supply
at any operating condition at the expense of a very low efficiency.
The capabilities of the pump are not matched to the demands of
the transmission, resulting in high energy losses due to recirculation:
oil that is brought up to system pressure only to be sent back to the
oil sump.
Oil recirculation is one of the main drivers of transmission losses.
Single MOP operation often leads to low transmission efficiency as
the pump is oversized to cover all hydraulic demands. Thanks to the
electrification of oil pumps, it was possible to optimize the oil supply
system, enabling start-stop and sailing. DUAL-DRIVE PUMP
However, this was not enough; the oil supply system remained 3. The consumption of Taking the hybridization of the oil supply one step further resulted
energy by the oil supply
oversized. The next step was to decouple the hydraulic supply in the concept of the dual-drive pump (DDP). The DDP encompasses
on the WLTC procedure
system from the combustion engine by hybridizing it even further, the benefits of a strongly hybridized two-pump solution but allows
4. The electric oil pump
reducing the size of the MOP and allowing the electric oil pump (EOP) concept developed by for finer flow control with a far smaller footprint. Its main advantage
to have a greater role in supplying the transmission fluid pressure. Vitesco allows a notable is that it offers all the benefits of a strongly hybridized oil supply
Analog to the hybridization of the internal combustion engines, efficiency improvement system but with the intrinsic characteristics of an equivalent
the hybridization of the hydraulic supply system made it possible thanks to a reduction mechanical oil pump, meaning that it can be easily retrofitted to
in recirculation losses
to drastically increase the oil supply efficiency by cutting down existing transmissions. In that way, the DDP represents a shortcut
recirculation losses. to considerably decreasing oil recirculation, resulting in higher
Analysis shows that the higher the degree of hybridization of the transmission efficiency and therefore better fuel efficiency in
oil supply system, the higher its efficiency. A stronger hybridization existing applications without the need for major changes.
enables more flexibility for the oil supply components which, in However, there is a limiting factor to the efficiency gains obtained
turn, translates to true flow on-demand solutions that are able to through hybridization: the available electric power for the oil supply
provide the transmission with just the right amount of oil, bringing system. The stronger the hybridization of the drivetrain, the stronger
recirculation to a minimum. the need to increase the voltage supply level to compensate for
high current demands. As dedicated hybrid powertrain concepts
based on power-split, with one or two electric machines, are more
frequent, the transition from 12V to higher voltages for auxiliary
devices becomes a possibility. The demands in terms of cooling and
4
lubrication of these electric machines and adjacent transmission
devices could then be satisfied by a high-voltage, purely electric
oil pump, providing true flow on demand based on vehicle needs.
The hybridization of different systems opens a wide range of
possibilities to considerably increase vehicle efficiency. Alone, the
hybridization of the oil supply system has the potential to more than
double the efficiency level by virtually eliminating oil recirculation.
This notable efficiency improvement translates in a reduction of up
to 0.9g CO2/km.
In conclusion, constraints and possibilities in drivetrain topology
are changing. By applying an EOP in parallel with an MOP, significant
efficiency gains and function improvements can be achieved.
By integrating the EOP and MOP into a single package (DDP), the
efficiency and capability of current transmission designs can be
improved even further. Finally, by increasing supply voltage, fully
electrified transmission oil pumps can provide maximum efficiency
to drivetrains. 

To learn more about Vitesco Technologies, visit:

Products and ser vices / AVL
Thermal The company is also aiming to reduce simulation effort for

EV modeling by up to 40%. An increase in overall development
efficiency of more than 25% and an increase in the accuracy of
management
model prediction by 30% is also expected. The question is, how
does AVL get there? And how is this vision compatible with the goal
to make test mules redundant?
AVL is developing a holistic simulation environment for all of the
xEV portfolio, thereby allowing the company to account for thermal
Can continued research and development into KPI and externalities on the vehicle level. The system submodels are
integrated and interconnected with AVL model.connect, including
thermal management and HVAC meet challenges electrical components, inverter and e-machines, battery, cooling
posed by electrification and therefore ensure and refrigerant circuit, the cabin model and the control actuators.
efficiency without affecting passenger comfort? Thermal and HVAC experts set up exemplary cooling and refrigerant
circuits as well as an element pool for the straightforward exchange
of circuit components. On the way to achieving full automation, the
nderstanding thermodynamics is the foundation to company plans to develop generic test cases based on vehicle and
U
successful and efficient integration and interplay of As an independent powertrain targets and increased standardization.
all vehicle systems and components. An integrated development partner,
AVL looks to find the
vehicle thermal management strategy balances ideal system solution HOLISTIC VIEW
energy consumption and improves durability and for each vehicle concept AVL specifies the submodels to such an extent that a continuous
overall efficiency. Most of all, it ensures the highest possible comfort adjustment and switching of the parameters and a holistic view
and safety for passengers. of the effects are possible on a vehicle level. The gathered know-
But are efficiency and comfort conflicting objectives? Under how is accumulated for the development of predictive models. The
extreme conditions, range in the BEV can be reduced by up to company can then enhance the model with additional target values,
50% as soon as the heating or cooling system in the passenger such as economy and ecology. In the end, this process will enable
compartment is activated. A challenge posed by electrification, the move from component to system validity – digitally.
therefore, is balancing maximum comfort with minimal energy There is no one-size-fits-all vehicle solution, but with its proven
consumption. A thermal management strategy can only be ‘smart’ and established methods AVL hopes to find the right system design
on the vehicle level, with predictive controls, optimized cabin models for each vehicle’s architecture and each characteristic, no matter
and cooling strategies, heat pumps and isolation. AVL is working to if there is a focus on high performance or on high comfort with
master this complexity in thermal management and HVAC. balanced energy efficiency.
AVL’s team of specialists serve as an independent development
DIGITAL TWINS partner for all powertrain concepts, and the company has a wide-
Within the next three years, the company wants to make physical ranging experience with both ICE and EVs. The company is also
vehicle validation redundant up to the pilot series. The increased researching future technologies such as fuel cells. 
flexibility offered by digital twin technology means that it’s possible
to use proprietary AVL toolchains and development environments
to reliably and rapidly take the next functional leap, reducing
complexity and helping to find unique, optimal solutions.
To learn more about AVL, visit:

Products and ser vices / BORGWARNER
Enhanced
e-compressor 1
Second-generation electrically driven

compressor delivers enhanced function,
durability, efficiency and packaging
uto makers are being challenged to deliver
A
improved fuel efficiency and a superior driving
experience. This means reducing fuel consumption
through downsizing and downspeeding as well as 2
generating better low-end torque and transient
engine performance. These demands are now being achieved
through powertrain electrification methods, such as 48V electrical
systems. Significant breakthroughs in efficiency and function from
high-power electric boosting can deliver enhanced low-end torque
and transient response with no lag.
BorgWarner’s first-generation 48V eBooster, introduced in 2017, permanent boost due to model-based component protection.
has now been succeeded by the Gen2 eBooster, which began series 1. BorgWarner’s Gen2 Thanks to the positive impact of field weakening, power limits at
production in early 2020. The ability to deliver up to 7kW peak power, eBooster system can higher speeds and low voltage can be boosted by 55% for a limited
be fitted to passenger
improve efficiency and allow a 2.5kW continuous power output or commercial vehicles
time. The eBooster has been optimized for a 48V vehicle system with
were key targets during development. Use of a two-stage system typically slightly lower operating voltages at the device. Component
2. Gen1 eBooster cross-
enables coverage of the full load operation with a conventional section (left) and Gen2 protection is possible via derating of the eBooster, dependent on the
turbo, and coverage of low loads with the eBooster offering rapid cross-section (right) maximum tolerable temperatures in critical areas. Extreme thermal
response and efficient boost pressure generation. The compressor 3. Engine performance loads on components are avoided, even during heavy usage.
uses a PM synchronous motor that provides a fast response time and comparison with and The Gen2 eBooster uses an EMC filter between the main PCB and
excellent efficiency and torque density, along with superior NVH. without eBooster tech the DC supply. The choke has been optimized to work as filter in the
common and differential modes using a new concept, combining
NEW GENERATION the differential mode choke and the common mode choke into one
Block commutation of the first generation eBooster was replaced part. The ferrite core is designed to use the outer ring as the common
by sinusoidal commutation for the Gen2 eBooster, enabling it to mode path, and the tongue is combined with the outer ring and a
deliver smoother transitions, less current ripple for efficiency and defined air gap to act as the differential mode path. This enables low
less torque ripple for improved NVH. Lower eddy current losses in DC losses due to the low current density in the bus bars.
the electrical motor allow for higher peak power and continuous BorgWarner’s new Gen2 eBooster is an effective solution for on-
operation. In addition to faster current and speed control, the new highway applications with up to 5-liter displacement. Medium-duty
eBooster technology offers a 40µs cycle time for the PI controller, commercial vehicle engines in on-highway operation can replace
28kHz pulse-width modulation, current measurement for all three much larger engines, without losing out on power or torque, while
phases, hardware and software over-current protection and still maintaining or improving transient behavior.
By supplementing conventional turbocharging, BorgWarner’s
3
Gen2 eBooster provides improved fuel economy. This advanced
solution provides 7kW electrical power through the 48V board.
Continuous operation at 2.5kW is also now possible with more
sophisticated motor controls, enabling improved low-end torque
with steady-state engine operation. This advanced electrically
driven compressor system delivers considerably improved engine
response by supplying boost pressure even at low engine speeds.
BorgWarner’s new-generation eBooster can be fitted to passenger
car and commercial vehicle applications. 

To learn more about BorgWarner, visit:

› All the latest news ‹
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› Industry interviews ‹
› Expert opinion ‹
› Video gallery ‹
› Recruitment section ‹
› Digital edition and
magazine archive ‹
Products and ser vices
Hydrogen engine development

FEV
The hydrogen engine has increasingly is inefficient, such as commercial vehicles,
become the center of attention in the buses, large cars and even trains, as well
mobility industry when it comes to emission- as shipping. The necessary infrastructure
free drive solutions. The discussion about is expected to be in place by the year 2030,
the hydrogen engine as another sustainable stimulating the discussion about the most
form of propulsion with high potential has appropriate use of hydrogen.
intensified significantly. Despite the known advantages, the field
As a CO2-free, renewable energy carrier, of fuel cell development is still relatively
hydrogen can be transported over long young. In contrast, the hydrogen engine
distances and used to store large amounts is a highly robust, low-cost option for CO2-
of energy. The transportation sector can free transportation that can be quickly
be decarbonized by using hydrogen in areas implemented with today’s production
where electrification with heavy batteries infrastructure, and which also makes
it possible to retrofit existing vehicles.
Hydrogen enables lean operation with
high excess air due to very high laminar
combustion speed and wide ignition limits. FEV is able to look back on almost 40
Because of the system’s low exhaust years of experience in this field and many
gas temperatures, the nitrogen oxides successfully completed projects – from
are already below the currently valid limit the development of hydrogen engines for
values without exhaust gas aftertreatment. passenger cars and commercial vehicles
With aftertreatment, NOX emissions can to stationary and off-road engines. 
also be effectively reduced. In addition,
the efficient lean operation results in a
consumption advantage over conventional
combustion engines.
To learn more about FEV, visit:
LEARN MORE ABOUT Visit our website to request exclusive and rapid
OUR ADVERTISERS information about the latest technologies and

services featured in this issue
NOW! www.ukimediaevents.com/info/etm
INDEX TO ADVERTISERS
ATI France SAS................................................................................................... 14 FEV Europe GmbH.............................................................................................21
Automotive Testing Expo Europe 2021............................................. 23, 25 Japan Metal Gasket Co. Ltd...........................................................................31
AVL List GmbH.....................................................................Inside front cover Physis New Energy Technology................................................................... 14
BorgWarner GmbH............................................................... Inside back cover
Plastic Free World Conference & Expo 2021........................................... 49
Chemour............................................................................................................... 17
Sonceboz SA......................................................................................................20
Eaton Corporation.............................................................................................10
Engine + Powertrain Technology International Tenneco...............................................................................Outside back cover
online reader inquiry service..............................................................17, 39 Vitesco Technologies Germany GmbH.........................................................3
ETO MAGNETIC GmbH......................................................................................13 www.enginetechnologyinternational.com......................................... 31, 66

FINAL WORD
Source material
ETI TAKES A LOOK AT DEVELOPMENT OF THE
VW K70 – ONE OF THE BRAND’S MOST IMPORTANT
YET UNDERAPPRECIATED CARS EVER – 50 YEARS ON
Words: Sam Petters
sk anyone to name dropped a more conventional four-cylinder Within a year the Volkswagen K70 was
A
Volkswagen’s most 1,605cc piston unit – developed from its air- unveiled and, remarkably, about the only
important vehicles of all cooled 1,200cc NSU Prinz – under the hood thing that had been altered was the badge.
time, and two that would of the sedan and hastily replaced the ‘Ro’ Built in a new factory in Salzgitter, the K70
be pretty close to the top of for ‘rotary’ with ‘K’ for ‘ kolben’ (piston). was announced as “a new Volkswagen,
that list would be the Beetle The decision to use a piston engine different to all the others made to date”.
and the Bus. Not many would mention the rather than rotary could have been seen The K70 was groundbreaking, yet not a
K70. Yet, in the 1960s, when the Bug and as a compromise for NSU, but the K70 itself huge seller. Critics pointed to a lack of power
Bus were at the peak of their popularity, the wasn’t exactly lacking in tech. It featured a from its 1.6-liter motor as the major flaw, but
K70 arguably did more to change the OEM’s reinforced passenger compartment, crumple even an upgrade to a 100ps 1.8-liter couldn’t
engineering direction than any other. zones at front and rear, front disc brakes and save the K70’s failing demand. A crowded
For years, the Volkswagen team had built safety belts on all seats as standard. And market space that was filled with the likes
commercial success around rear-mounted more importantly, the 1.6 heart was water- of the Ford Cortina and Opel Rekord as
air-cooled engines, and the layout had its cooled and sent power to the front wheels. well as the Audi 100 and VW 411 made for
benefits: it enabled a simpler design, a lighter So, that was it. NSU had its small sedan a tough nut to crack, and across five years
drivetrain and even traction under braking. to accompany the Ro 80. Or maybe not… of production just 211,100 K70s were sold.
But by the time the 1970s approached, the Just as the K70 was about to make its first Ultimately, it was the K70’s own
brand had started to realize the future would major public appearance at the 1969 Geneva technology that led to its final demise.
need to be altogether different. Motor Show, Volkswagen concluded a deal NSU had provided VW with an insight into
Fortunately, that future was already under to buy NSU, and the K70’s unveiling was a water-cooled, front-wheel-drive future.
development at German auto maker NSU. canned. After all, the Audi 100 and the VW And when the Giorgetto Giugiaro-styled
See, while VW had been busy breaking 411 already had the group well represented Passat entered the market in 1973, it featured
sales records for its rear-engined Beetle, in the sedan department. all the powertrain traits that the K70 had
NSU had spent the 1960s experimenting But, for VW, the move to buy NSU made introduced to the brand.
with other motor types, especially Wankel- a lot of sense. It meant it got hold of all the Now, 50 years later, the K70 remains a
type, and it was well on course to introduce Wankel engine info that NSU had gathered relative outlier in the history of Volkswagen.
a small, rotary-engined sedan to sit alongside over years of development – and that was Not many would know that the K70 was the
its Ro 80 – the Ro 70. particularly hot property at the time – plus bridge between the OEM’s rear-engined
Although engine reliability issues put a it got a ready-baked sedan that featured past and front-engined future. It laid the
halt to the rotary Ro 70, R&D didn’t stop. the water-cooled, front-engine, front-wheel- groundwork for the Golf, the Passat and
Instead, the company from Neckarsulm drive design that its own range lacked. domination of the automotive industry. 

A perfect connection.
BorgWarner acquires
Delphi Technologies.
BorgWarner takes mobility to a whole new level. Through this acquisition, we will be even better positioned with a more
comprehensive portfolio of industry-leading propulsion products and systems across combustion, hybrid and electric
vehicles while also strengthening our commercial vehicle and aftermarket businesses. If you want to see how we’re
driving today’s and tomorrow’s propulsion system solutions – stay tuned on www.borgwarner.com/technologies
borgwarner.com
Navigating the Path to Cleaner Mobility
No matter the technical challenge, from small two-cylinder
engines to large bore applications, Tenneco is your partner to
enable cleaner mobility with more efficient, more sophisticated
powertrain and exhaust system technologies that provide
lasting benefits for current and future propulsion systems.
Learn more at tenneco.com.

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IN THIS ISSUE January 2021

TECH INSIDERS FEATURES

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WHEN GORDON MURRAY PENNED THE

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