Toward the European 2030 CO2 target with gasoline compression ignition technology and 48 V mild electric hybrid

Abstract

The pressure to reduce CO2 and criteria pollutants of internal combustion engines (ICE) powered vehicles is higher than ever. The existing gasoline and diesel engine vehicles face a critical challenge to adjust to these stringent demands. By combining a clean fuel like gasoline with a high efficiency thermodynamic cycle (compression ignition), it is possible to create a powertrain that is clean both globally and locally thus breaking the historical trade-off between decreasing CO2 and reducing criteria pollutants. Recent works have demonstrated the potential of higher reactivity gasoline (HRG) fuels to reduce NOX and particulate emissions simultaneously when used in compression ignition (CI) engines. After performing the engine calibration using Design of Experiment (DoE), tests on a roller bench were conducted on a vehicle adapted to be operated with HRG. The results show 7% CO2 reduction using HRG fuel compared to the baseline diesel vehicle while 17% of CO2 benefit compared to the best in class SI car of equivalent size and power. Furthermore, vehicle simulations were used to assess the potential of the GCI vehicle technology when combined with a hybrid electric architecture. From the HEV simulation study, the 2030 CO2 target was reached by using a 48 V 1 kWh battery, P2 architecture, and recalibration the internal combustion engine and after-treatment system (ATS) while fulfilling the expected new EU’s pollutant emission standards.