Posted on 01/15/2018 4:49:20 AM PST by taildragger
The developers of a gasoline-engine pickup on display at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit hope to enter the national conversation on fuel efficiency and emissions reductions.
Achates Power, a California-based engine developer, and Aramco Services, the transportation-focused U.S. arm of Saudi Arabian Oil Co., or Aramco, will be jointly testing the truck, a Ford F-150 outfitted with the Achates engine.
The goal is to demonstrate that the truck’s unique 2.7-liter, opposed piston, compression-ignition gasoline engine indeed delivers the 37-mpg fuel efficiency, 270 horsepower, 429 pound-feet of torque and 50 percent emissions reduction that Achates claims for it.
Those numbers, if substantiated in real-world testing, would make the Achates engine a revolutionary powerplant for full-size and light-duty pickups, which today average around 21 mpg.
Federal regulations — which still are subject to change — presently require light-duty pickups to average 33 mpg by 2025, a target the Achates gasoline engine beats by 12 percent.
“If every light truck had our engine, which represent about 40 percent of the market today, the fuel savings and the related reduction in emissions would be the equivalent of eliminating half of all passenger car production, cutting to about 5 million cars a year from 10 million,” said David Johnson, Achates’ chief executive.
“People are looking for reliability, good performance and efficiency, and if you can offer that you have a good chance,” said Michael Held, a Detroit-based automotive industry analyst with AlixPartners.
This is a good time to bring a new engine design into the market, Held said.
Auto companies, especially those with light trucks, “are going through heavy retooling and redesigning, especially in powertrains, to make sure they can meet future standards” for fuel efficiency and clean emissions, he said.
Saudi Aramco, which has a stake in continued use of fossil-fuel engines, is increasing its activities in the passenger vehicle segment and recently invested in Achates as part of the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative. The industry group is an alliance of major oil companies, including Aramco, BP, Shell, Norway’s Statoil, Spain’s Respol and Mexico’s Pemex.
Achates and Aramco plan a series of opposed-piston engine development projects, Johnson said.
The pickup demonstration is the first of the projects. The engine being used was developed by Achates under a $9-million grant from the federal Department of Energy.
The Achates opposed-piston engine can be configured to run on a number of fuels, including gasoline, diesel, natural gas and various biofuels, Johnson said.
It uses the heat from tremendous compression of the fuel, rather than a spark from an electronic ignition system, to explode the fuel and drive the pistons.
In its diesel configuration, the same 2.7-liter, three-cylinder opposed-piston engine being demonstrated in the Achates-Aramco pickup would deliver 42 mpg, Johnson told Trucks.com.
Hood of demonstration truck on display at Detroit Auto Show is cut open to show off Achates' engine. (Photo: Achates)
The engine places two pistons in each cylinder. Each is connected to its own crankshaft. The design, based on the Atkinson-cycle engine developed in 1882, eliminates cylinder heads and valve trains, reducing engine complexity and cost while improving efficiency.
The Environmental Protection Agency has estimated that it will cost about $1,700 per vehicle in additional technology to meet the 2025 federal Corporate Average Fuel Economy requirements for light trucks. The Achates engine can help light-duty trucks meet the 33-mpg goal for less than half that amount, Johnson said.
The engine can be scaled up and down. One project underway is development of an Achates generator for commercial power plants in conjunction with Fairbanks Morse Engine, Johnson said.
Achates also is developing a high-efficiency diesel engine for the U.S. military in conjunction with engine giant Cummins Inc., and is doing additional engine programs for other vehicle manufacturers, Johnson told Trucks.com.
The military engine is a 1,000-horspower, 14.3-liter diesel for military fighting vehicles that also could be modified for use in heavy-duty commercial trucks, he said. It could also be scaled so small — a single two-piston cylinder model displacing about 0.5 liters — that it could be used as an on-board generator in range-extended electric vehicles, said Johnson.
The Achates-Aramco project involves continued refinement of the engine. Each company will be working in separate facilities — Achates in San Diego and Aramco Services in Novi, Mich., outside Detroit. Additionally, the two will jointly test the single pickup that’s been outfitted with a working engine, Johnson said.
The testing and ongoing refinements, coupled with work Achates is doing with several other vehicle manufacturers should result in commercial sales of Achates-engine equipped vehicles “in a couple of years,” Johnson said.
Johnson did not disclose the other partners.
Achates, founded in 2004, has attracted more than $150 million in financing, including private and government investment and payments from project partners, he said.
The private company’s most recent infusion was a $28.9-million investment in October from a number of private entities, including an undisclosed amount from the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative.
Yes old is new. You are so close, good job, Firing occurs when the get to Top Dead Center where the injectors and or ignitors/ spark plugs are. On the downward powerstroke, the air inlet and exhaust outlet ports are uncovered to initiate those two events within the 2 stroke cycle.
I’m not against it.
If it works LETS DO IT!
Any and all concepts are worthy of consideration.
The tractor reference was brought up by another poster. I just continued it.
From what I gather this is an old design updated to modern standards, so we know the basic engineering is practical.
This design, if used in cars could be awesome, don’t you think. A car that has an engine that is more efficient and less complex?
So considering trials and negotiations, three years before they hit the market?
>>From what I gather this is an old design updated to modern standards, so we know the basic engineering is practical.
The 500kw Diesel Generator I used was built in the 1960s.
Knew it would be a matter of time before we saw compression ignition gas engines. I can believe 27MPG. Time will tell on reliability.
RE diesel...I’ve always shied away from diesel but nothing should be off the table, I guess. I’ll be looking for maximum towing capacity, and the diesel looks good. If I can get close to the 11,400 in the 4x4 SuperCrew, short bed configuration, I’d be ecstatic.
Per Ford: “It’s rated to deliver 11,400 lbs. maximum towing, 250 hp at 3250 RPM, and an impressive 440 lb.-ft. of torque at just 1750 rpm.”
It’s due out in the Spring too.
Thanks for the suggestion.
Dodge is finally back producing the 27mpg Diesel. Trucks need better engines. I love the 5.7 I have in my Dodge but I’d much rather have something with a little better mpg.
If this engine can pull off 400+ torque, and around 30mpg, I’m all for it.
Michigan rocks have nothing on this red clay.
In winter it gets hard as concrete and in summer bakes up like bricks.
The Ford 5000 is a nice tractor, a neighbor had one that was a dream.
We seriously considered buying one but decided not to.
All we did at the time was farm so the budget was always tight.
Thanks for the explanation.
Your simple explanation along with the picture makes it clear as day.
I hope this engine proves out and hits the market asap.
Anything that improves efficiency is a step in the right direction.
I’ve learned something today, that makes it a good day!
“The 500kw Diesel Generator I used was built in the 1960s.”
I used to have a Minneapolis Moline, 20 hp maybe, that I used for the small jobs.
Old but a great little tractor.
Not sure of the exact year but it was built in the 50’s before White Motor Co bought it.
I think it was fairbanks-morse who had a similar engine design, albiet a diesel fueled one.
The design also is similar to the EMD and detroit diesel “uniflow” 2-stroke diesels.
With a design that uses the pistons as valves, there’s the issue of oil control, with the engine burning its crankcase oil due to having to keep the rings lubed and sliding past the ports in the cylinder wall.
“2.7-liter, opposed piston, compression-ignition gasoline engine indeed delivers the 37-mpg fuel efficiency, 270 horsepower, 429 pound-feet of torque...”
Those HP to Torque numbers compare very nicely to that of conventional diesel engine numbers.
In the article, it states that it will require another $1,700 in engine modifications to meet 2025 standards.
The real answer is to eliminate these terrorist imposed “standards” by this domestic terrorist gov’t entity.
There is no needs for such nonsense other than to make it impossible for people to afford new cars/trucks in the future ... which is what the gov’t really wants so as to keep people in their place.
Just be careful of towing that much with an F150. That weight will push you around in an F150. I towed a 7 or 8000lb trailer with an F150 and it was on the edge. I don’t care what the specs say. I use an F350 for that trailer with no worries.
You could wait out most gas price spikes, and travel further than most bladders allow, without filling up. Who doesn't want that?
Highspeed rail with a Deltic Diesel opposed-piston!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPUy9a3xi4w
Also marine use.
I used to, back in the days of Magic, Bird and later Jordan.
Some of those games were like watching Frazier-Ali, in terms of hard-fought battles.
But the Pistons, in fact, helped speed the demise of what was a quality sport, much as did Ali did his own, for that matter.
Thank you for that. In some of the F150 configurations, I knew I was cutting it close (trying to stay within 80% of capacity).
But we’re looking at a 7400# (total w/cargo) trailer.
May need to rethink...
Similar concept:
The Piston opposition is under some control this season at 22-20.
I could get behind opposed piston engines as long as the engine is actually opposed to wasting fuel while getting the job done, especially at altitude.
Flr
Wonder what the compression ratio is.
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