TUPY, Westport Fuel Systems and AVL to develop Hydrogen-powered combustion engine
The three partners will share their expertise to develop an internal combustion engine for heavy vehicles using hydrogen as fuel.
Tupy (a specialist of casting and machining of structural components), Westport Fuel Systems Inc. (an alternative fuel and low emission transportation technology company) and AVL List GmbH (a company working in development, simulation and testing in the automotive industry) to collaborate to develop a highly efficient hydrogen internal combustion engine (ICE) for heavy goods transportation.
The collaboration will involve combining advanced material and casting technologies with the latest hydrogen ICE technology using high-pressure direct injection (HPDI). It is expected that the first testbed results of the technology will be conducted by early 2022.
Hydrogen has the potential to power vehicles through fuel cell technology or ICEs. Unlike fuel cell technology, hydrogen ICEs can use the existing base engine technology, though powertrain efficiency will be pivotal to ensure affordable hydrogen truck and bus solutions.
For high efficiency and improved fuel consumption of the hydrogen ICEs, Tupy, Westport, and AVL will jointly develop an HPDI H2-ICE. Superior materials, casting and machining technologies will be used to tackle high peak firing pressures.
This year, AVL completed the development of the AVL Hydrogen Engine in collaboration with the Graz University of Technology, while Westport also previously demonstrated successful startup and trials of heavy-duty ICEs based on hydrogen using HPDI.
Fernando de Rizzo, CEO of Tupy, said, “We believe our technical expertise and collaboration with customers and universities enable us to play an important role in decarbonisation.”
David M. Johnson, CEO of Westport Fuel Systems, said, “Hydrogen HPDI offers OEMs a fast, cost-efficient pathway to carbon-neutral technology, without sacrificing performance. HPDI is already successfully powering thousands of trucks today, reducing and/or nearly eliminating greenhouse gases on a proven technology platform.”
Rolf Dreisbach, EVP Truck and Bus of AVL, said, “Our experts are very actively working on CO2-neutral solutions which can enter the market by 2025 – among them is the hydrogen ICE. The fast introduction of this technology will help accelerate the build-up of hydrogen fuelling infrastructure.”
