Garrett E-Turbo Tech to Boost ‘EU Horizon 2020’ LONGRUN Project to More Efficient On-Highway Trucking
Garrett Motion’s industry-leading electric turbocharger (E-Turbo) expertise will be leveraged to simulate, design and create prototype E-Turbos to help meet the stringent post-Euro VI targets set for on-highway commercial vehicles.
Working under the umbrella of the European Council for Automotive R&D (EUCAR), the LONGRUN consortium brings together 30 automotive suppliers and manufacturers – including Garrett – with the unified goal to research and develop solutions for more efficient and environmentally friendly long-distance powertrains for heavy duty trucks and coaches.
Garrett is one of the key technical partners alongside LONGRUN consortia members IVECO and DAF and will be applying its market leading expertise in E-Turbo technology to help in the development of prototype engines, drivelines and demonstrator vehicles optimized for 10% energy savings, 30% lower exhaust emissions and 50% peak thermal efficiency.
The LONGRUN consortium (LONG distance poweRtrain for heavy dUty trucks aNd coaches) will work together to design roadmaps for technology and fuels in time for the expected revision of the CO2 emission standards for heavy duty vehicles in 2022. This includes developing eight demonstrators (three engines, one hybrid driveline, two coaches and three trucks) bristling with innovations in electro-hybrid drives, optimized ICEs and after-treatment systems, electric motors, smart auxiliaries, on-board energy recuperation and storage devices and power electronics.
“The post-2022 standards will be a milestone on the way to the net zero greenhouse gas emissions target set by the EU for 2050,” said Aileen McDowall, Garrett Vice President and General Manager, Commercial Vehicles. “The latter can only be achieved through wide-ranging structural and technological enhancements, and for our part we are pleased to be leading with turbocharger innovations that can help transform environmental performance in the commercial vehicle space.”
The role of Garrett engineers will be to simulate, design and develop prototype E-Turbochargers to help meet the stringent post-Euro VI targets of the WP4 (FPT) & WP5 diesel engines.
“For this project, our focus will be on the development and application of E-Turbo technology for engine and vehicle-system performance optimization including fuel economy and energy management.,” elaborates Garrett’s Senior Director of Powertrain Peter Davies. “There are challenges of course in subjects like rotor dynamics and thermal and mechanical loads on components but we come to the program with a strong track record in this area.” Garrett has published multiple articles on its fleet of Passenger Car E-Turbo demonstrators (Q7 & A-Class) and is engaged in the launch of the world’s first ‘E-Turbo’ for passenger vehicles with Mercedes-AMG. “Clearly, there are different technical challenges in the application of E-Turbo architectures to on-highway commercial vehicles, but our learnings to date and our rich CV heritage, will certainly guide us to success in the LONGRUN program.”
Turbochargers have long been fundamental to the energy efficiency of CV engines since the 1980s, and with engineering advances that enable the addition of a high-speed electric motor on the shaft, to create E-Turbos, they become an integral part of the hybrid system as well. This set-up enables electric boosting, turbo compounding, and enhanced after-treatment thermal management, opening up the potential for Garrett technology to help lower CO2 and NOx emissions, and deliver benchmark brake thermal efficiency. A total energy saving of 10% is expected from the LONGRUN demonstrator vehicles
In the project with FPT Industrial / IVECO, Garrett is involved in the development, integration and testing of the energy recovery subsystem, in which the E-Turbo functions as a generator in normal operating conditions, and as an electric motor in transient conditions to accelerate the compressor. This improves energy efficiency and helps the engine reach the desired operating point more quickly. The energy harvested by the E-Turbo will be supplied directly to an E-Motor which provides additional torque to the driveline, reducing the load on the engine and hence minimizes the fuel burn and the engine-out emissions that the after-treatment needs to clean.
In the second project with the diesel engine, Garrett E-Turbo technology is aiming to contribute improving brake thermal efficiency by four points to 50%. This involves multiple technologies including utilizing Garrett’s high efficiency E-Turbo and engine modifications to leverage the full E-Turbo potential.
“These are exciting and important projects that will drive the development and adoption of E-Turbo solutions in the on-highway space and help push the needle forward on technologies yielding sustainable benefits that go beyond the automotive sector,” said Davies.
To learn more about Garrett’s electric boosting solutions, click here.
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under Grant Agreement no. 874972.
