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JAC and Ricardo develop production version of HyBoost concept; seeking 30% boost in fuel economy with same performance

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Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Group Co Ltd (JAC) and Ricardo are collaborating on a project to develop the Ricardo HyBoost concept ( earlier post )—a combination of low-cost technologies to deliver improved performance and fuel economy which featured recently in the Ricardo Centenary celebrations —into volume production on a JAC vehicle.

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Google and IEEE launch $1M challenge for downsized inverters

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As a few points of comparison, the Bosch INVCON 2.3 We believe that inverters will become increasingly important to our economy and environment as solar PV, batteries, and similar power sources continue their rapid growth. The grand prize winner will be announced sometime in January, 2016.

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Study Finds Strong Synergy Between Spark Ignition Engine Downsizing and Low-to-Moderate Alcohol Blend Fuels

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A study by engineers from Mahle Powertrain Ltd and BP found strong synergy between spark ignition (SI) engine downsizing and fuel containing low-to-moderate amounts of alcohol, including ethanol and butanol. The researchers found that the combination of technologies allowed improvements in fuel economy over the engine drive cycle.

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Downspeeding and supercharging with transmission optimization can deliver fuel economy improvement over downspeeding and turbocharging

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Researchers from Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) and Eaton have demonstrated the application of downspeeding and supercharging a diesel vehicle, in conjunction with optimizing transmission gear ratios and the shift schedule, to deliver a greater improvement in fuel economy than a downsped and turbocharged configuration.

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FEV’s two-stage VCR system; 5-7% increase in fuel economy using variable length conrods

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downsized, turbocharged) gasoline engine, as operating an engine with higher compression ratios at low load can increase fuel economy compared to operating an engine with fixed compression ratio. In comparison, naturally aspirated engines have a higher compression ratio in the order of 1 to 1.5

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GFEI report finds improvements in average new LDV fuel economy lagging pace required to cut 50% fuel use for new cars worldwide by 2030; policy focus should be on emerging markets

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Vehicle size, a key determinant of fuel economy, has shown a reduction in OECD countries, while the non-OECD trend is toward bigger vehicles. The analysis, an update of an earlier work using data from 2010 and 2011, found that the global average for light-duty vehicle fuel economy was 7.2 Source: GFEI. Click to enlarge. Earlier post.)

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Co-Optima releases capstone report on first 4 years of work

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Co-Optima estimations indicate that significant fuel economy improvements are possible with improvements to RON, S, and HOV. compression ratio, extent of downsizing, etc.). Estimations indicate that fuel economy improvements are possible with improvements to RON, S, and HOV. Source: Co-Optima capstone report.