ecopowerdrive 2

It is a well-known fact that the segment of non-automotive and small engine propulsion systems has to be included in the worldwide ambitions to reduce fuel consumption and the emission of climate-relevant and environmentally harmful gases. Due to intense research and development effort the emission and fuel consumption level of engines for these applications have been significantly lowered over the last years. These efforts have been focused on standardized operating conditions, as defined by the current legislative regulation specification, and standard fuel types. However, in recent times it turned out that real world operating conditions do have a major influence on emissions and fuel consumption. While this finding led to legislative regulations for heavy duty vehicles and beginning research for passenger cars, up to now no substantial investigations have been performed in the area of non-automotive and small propulsion systems. The same is true for the investigation of alternative renewable fuels in these engine segments.
Therefore, the k-Project ECO-PowerDrive-2 aims at a reduction of regulated gaseous emissions and fuel consumption for small automotive and two-wheeler-applications as well as hand-held and garden equipment. This covers research on extremely downsized compression ignition engines, hybrid-powertrain concepts, spark ignition engines and alternative fuel applications with the main focus on real world operating conditions. The targeted solutions have a mid-term perspective to be implemented in market products. Explicitly defined strategic research projects cover cross-sectional research topics, for example the investigation of dedicated electronic motor management & control functions of these engines.
Based on the well-established research consortium of the actual call-2 k-Project ECO-PowerDrive, an extended consortium consisting of the University of Graz Institute for Chemistry, the Graz University of Technology Institute for Electrical Measurement and Measurement Signal Processing as well as the Upper Austrian University of Applied Sciences and the company partners AVL, BMW, BRP-Powertrain, Emitec, Heraeus, OMV, Stihl and Viking has been formed under the guidance of the consortium leader, the Graz University of Technology Institute for Internal Combustion Engines and Thermodynamics.
The research program spans 4 years and is split into three Areas: ""Combustion & Emission for Small Spark Ignition Engines"", ""Combustion & Emission for Small Compression Ignition Engines"" and ""Hybrid Powertrain for Small Engine Applications"" with 8 specific research topics in total. The composition of the consortium guarantees the consolidation of international research and development competence, with a surplus of R&D potential compared to single research projects, due to conjoint research. The concentration of research interests of the participating company partners leads to the strengthening of Austria as research & development hub and as a production site, thus enabling the creation and preservation of highly qualified jobs in Austria.