Ricardo
has received $3.4m in funding from the
US Department of Energy(DOE) to take part in two projects that aim to improve the fuel efficiency of light-duty vehicle engines.
The funding, announced by DOE Secretary Samuel W Bodman, comes from $21.5m made available by the DOE for eleven cost-shared research and development (R&D) projects in the same field.
Secretary Bodman said: ‘We expect this research to make significant strides toward maximising an engine's performance in a cleaner, more economical manner. Increasing the use of clean, renewable fuels will not only help reduce our reliance on imported oil, but will also help reduce greenhouse gas emissions for a more secure energy future.’
The two projects in which Ricardo will participate will see the company working respectively with General Motors on engine downsizing through the use of cooled EGR, and with Robert Bosch and the
Commenting on the announcement by the DOE Ricardo, president, Dean Harlow, said: ‘In our efforts on cooled EGR with General Motors we aim to deliver up to 15 per cent fuel efficiency improvements in gasoline combustion and in our work with Bosch and the University of Michigan, we aim to develop flex-fuel technologies capable of delivering gasoline-like levels of fuel economy when running on E-85.’
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