The growth of xEVs and improvements to ICE vehicles (Part 1)

Further innovations to achieve thermal efficiency of over 45%

2017/07/12

Summary
The direction of powertrain development at the dawn of the age of electrification: (Mr. Tomoda, Toyota Motor Corporation)
Honda's engine technology for the electric vehicle age: (Mr. Niizato, Honda R&D Co., Ltd.)
The first step towards the next evolution in internal combustion engines: (Mr. Hiraku, Nissan Motor)
The continued efforts of the internal combustion engine: (Mr. Yamamoto, Mazda)
Prospects for highly efficient engine systems and goals: (Professor Taisei, Waseda University Research Institute)

Summary

Various forums were held at the Automotive Engineering Exposition 2017 YOKOHAMA, which was organized by the Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan, Inc. and marked its 70th anniversary. Among these, a discussion was held regarding the status of innovations of gasoline engines under the theme of "The World of Powertrains in Passenger Vehicles in 2030." It was two years since the forum was last held, and guests from the industry, government, and academia discussed progress in the development of internal combustion engines.

Representatives from Toyota Motor Corporation, Honda R&D Co., Nissan Motor, Mazda, Robert Bosch, AVL List, Waseda University, and the Japan Science and Technology Agency held lectures, and a panel discussion followed. A net thermal efficiency of 45% will be achieved soon, and the panel discussion featured the theme of "What technology will come next?"

Toyota has implemented gasoline engines with a thermal efficiency of 41% or more in HEVs such as the Prius, C-HR, and Camry; and is currently expanding its lineup of new powertrains based on its TNGA concept globally. Honda has achieved a net thermal efficiency of 45.2% or greater for individual chambers in its i-CVCC sub-chamber rapid combustion system. By using VC-Turbo, Nissan Motor claims it can achieve both a high compression ratio of 18.0 and long-stroke operation by adopting the VC-Turbo engine. Mazda presented its research on reducing cooling loss with the use of heat shields that will be a 3rd step for its SKYACTIV system. Waseda University has been tasked by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism with achieving a target corporate average fuel efficiency in the JC08 mode of 20.3 km/L by 2020, but reports that net thermal efficiency of 50.35% can be achieved in gasoline internal combustion engines.


The "Powertrain for Passenger Vehicle after 2030" panelists	The aluminum-jointed space frame in the NSX. It achieves a natural frequency of 66 Hz
(Photographed by MarkLines at the Automotive Engineering Exposition)