Quadrennial Technology Review 2015

Chapter 8: Advancing Clean Transportation and Vehicle Systems and Technologies

Technology Assessments

Connected and Automated Vehicles

Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles

Internal Combustion Engines

Lightweight Automotive Materials

Plug-in Electric Vehicles

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF

ENERGY
Quadrennial Technology Review 2015

Internal Combustion Engines

Chapter 8: Technology Assessments
Introduction to the Technology/System
Overview of Internal Combustion Engines and Potential Role
Internal Combustion Engines (ICEs) already offer outstanding drivability and reliability to over 240 million
on-road passenger vehicles in the U.S. Over 16 million ICE-powered new passenger and commercial vehicles
are sold annually, some replacing older vehicles and the remainder adding to the vehicle population. Currently,
on-road vehicles are responsible for about 85% of the U.S. transportation sector’s petroleum consumption which
is about two-thirds of total U.S. petroleum use. About one-third of the U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
come from transportation.1 Increasing the efficiency of internal combustion engines (ICEs) is one of the most
promising and cost-effective approaches to dramatically improving the fuel economy of the on-road vehicle fleet
in the near- to mid-term. The Energy Information Administration’s 2014 Annual Energy Outlook2 forecasts that
even by the year 2040, over 99% of all highway transportation vehicles sold will still have ICEs, hence the energy
security and climate change impact of higher efficiency ICEs will be significant.

Challenges and Opportunities for Internal Combustion Engines

The time it takes for light-duty engine technologies to penetrate the market varies widely—from successful
research and development, it
can take 3–5 years for individual
Figure 8.C.1 Industry-Wide Car Technology Penetration After First Significant Use. Light-Duty
manufacturers to integrate a new
Automotive Technology, Carbon Dioxide Emissions, and Fuel Economy Trends: 1975 through 2014,
EPA-420-R -14-023. technology into their fleet, 5 to 15
years to penetrate industrywide
Credit: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(Figure 8.C.1), and decades to
penetrate the majority of the
vehicle fleet. Extensive R&D
conducted over the previous
decades to improve engine
technologies have recently reached
the marketplace; these include
multi-valves, variable valve timing,
gasoline direct fuel injection,
and smaller displacement
turbocharged engines.3

There is a unique opportunity

to shrink engine development
timescales, reduce development
costs, and accelerate time to
market of advanced combustion
engines by marshaling U.S.

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leadership in science-based simulation and high performance computing to develop predictive simulation and
computational tools for engine design.4 Faster dissemination of energy efficient engine technologies into the
vehicle population results in earlier realization of potential energy security and climate change mitigation benefits.

Technology Assessment and Potential

Performance Advances Figure 8.C.2 Historical Engine Displacement and Power Trends. Light-Duty Automotive Technology,
The increase in internal Carbon Dioxide Emissions, and Fuel Economy Trends: 1975 through 2014, EPA-420-R-14-023.
combustion engine performance Credit: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(smaller engines with more
power) (Figure 8.C.2) has been
largely responsible for the
significant fuel economy increase
even as vehicle weight and size
have increased (Figure 8.C.3),
as indicated by historical fuel
economy trend data collected and
reported annually by the EPA.5

There remain substantial

opportunities to improve engine
efficiency and reduce emissions.
The maximum theoretical ICE
fuel conversion efficiency is
considerably higher than the
approximate 40% peak values
seen today. High irreversibility
in traditional premixed or
diffusion flames limits achievable
efficiencies. Other contributing
factors are heat losses during
combustion/expansion,
structural limits that constrain peak cylinder pressures, untapped exhaust energy, and mechanical friction.6
Innovations in combustion, emission controls, fuel and air controls, and turbomachinery have the potential to
increase engine efficiency to maintain or improve fuel economy.

Technology Needs
The following technology barriers need to be addressed to further improve the efficiency and reduce the
emission of ICEs:7
 Inadequate understanding of fundamentals of in-cylinder combustion/emission-formation processes
and inadequate capability to accurately simulate them, as well as incomplete understanding and
predictive capability for exploiting or accommodating the effects of fuel composition.
 Lack of cost-effective emission control to meet Environmental Protection Agency standards for oxides
of nitrogen and particulate matter emissions with a smaller penalty in fuel economy.
 Incomplete fundamental understanding of, and insufficient practical experience with, new low
temperature catalyst materials and processes for lean-burn engine emission control.
 Lack of integrated computational models that span engine and emission control processes with vehicle
loads to predict vehicle fuel economy improvements.

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System Integration Figure 8.C.3 Historical Fuel Economy Trends. Light-Duty Automotive Technology, Carbon Dioxide
Needs Emissions, and Fuel Economy Trends: 1975 through 2014, EPA-420-R -14-023.
In addition the following Credit: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
barriers need to be addressed
in integrating the knowledge/
technologies into a vehicle
system to achieve the desired
fuel economy improvements:8
 Lack of effective engine
controls to maintain
robust and clean lean-
burn combustion for
boosted, down-sized
engines.
 Lack of understanding
of issues such as
energy demand,
conversion efficiency,
durability, and cost
of new emission
control systems for
engines operating in
novel combustion regimes that need to perform effectively for 150,000 miles in passenger vehicles and
435,000 miles for heavy-duty engines.
 Higher cost of more efficient ICE technologies - advanced engines are expected to be more expensive
than conventional gasoline engines and additional cost must be offset by benefits.
 Inadequate data and models for engine efficiency, emissions, and performance based on fuel properties
and fuel-enabled engine designs or operating strategies.

The co-optimization of engines and fuels could exploit the full potential of high-efficiency, advanced combustion
strategies to use fuel formulations with increasingly significant amounts of renewable fuel components. For
example, more efficient downsized, boosted gasoline engines would be able to operate at higher compression
ratios without experiencing knock by increasing the octane rating of gasoline. Ethanol can increase the octane
rating of the gasoline/ethanol fuel blend, with most of the benefit being realized around 25%–40% ethanol by
volume. Advanced compression ignition engines (i.e., clean diesel engines) and advanced combustion strategies
(e.g., low temperature combustion) as well, could be optimized for fuels with properties obtainable through
renewable fuel routes. Additional greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions are possible through leveraging the lowest
carbon pathways to desired fuel properties.

Potential Improvements
The maximum efficiency of the slider-crank architecture (dominant in current engines) can be increased to
about 60% assuming cost is not a constraint.9 This could potentially double the fuel economy of passenger
vehicles and increase commercial vehicle fuel economy by over 40 percent. Commercially achievable engine
efficiencies are constrained not only by basic chemistry and physics but also by factors such as cost, consumer
driving needs and comfort, need for reliability and durability, and environmental regulations. These factors can
often play a greater role in what actual fuel consumption would be. Practical efficiencies will depend heavily
on the targeted transportation sector. Since fuel use has the largest impact on commercial truck operating cost,

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thermal efficiencies of heavy-duty engines have tended to be as much as 10% higher compared to light-duty
engines for passenger vehicles where fuel economy is only one of the many attributes that buyers seek.

Potential Impacts
Engine efficiency improvements alone can potentially increase passenger vehicle fuel economy by 35% to 50%,
and commercial vehicle fuel economy by 30%, with accompanying carbon dioxide (the primary greenhouse gas)
reduction. On average, over 16 million passenger vehicles with advanced combustion engines sold annually offer
a tremendous potential to improve the fuel economy of the vehicle fleet as the less efficient vehicles are replaced
and retired. Fuel economy improvements offer direct cost savings to the consumer and do not require any
changes to consumer driving behavior, or limit mobility. The recently revised Corporate Average Fuel Economy
(CAFE) standards and the upcoming more stringent emissions regulations (e.g., EPA Tier 3, CARB LEV III)10
are expected to motivate accelerating deployment of engine efficiency improving technologies to increase vehicle
fuel economy.

Successful research and development of advanced more efficient, emission compliant ICEs for on-road vehicles
is estimated to save as much as 1.3 million barrels of oil per day and 2.2 million barrels of oil per day, in 2030
and 2050 respectively. These represent about 55% and 62% reduction from the projected 2030 and 2050 U.S.
transportation oil use, when comparing fuel use without R&D and fuel use with R&D impact. These reductions in
oil use avoid 207 million tonnes CO2 equivalent per year in 2030 and 341 million tonnes CO2e per year in 2050.12

Co-optimization of engines and fuels could potentially reduce per-vehicle petroleum consumption 30% as
compared to the 2030 base case, which is constrained to using today’s fuels. This reflects contributions from both
improved engines (7–14% reduction in fuel consumption) and improved fuels (with substitution of up to 30%
low-GHG biofuel blend stocks). An additional 9–14% fleet GHG reduction is possible by 2040.

Program Considerations to Support R&D

The key research and development needs in improving the efficiency of emission-compliant ICEs for passenger
and commercial vehicles are: combustion strategies that increase efficiency while reducing formation of
emissions inside the engine; aftertreatment (emission control) to further reduce exhaust emissions to comply
with regulations; and technologies that enable overall engine and powertrain efficiency improvements.
Integrating advanced engines with hybrid electric powertrains and optimized fuels will enable operation at
higher efficiencies for even greater vehicle fuel economy improvements and additional fuel savings.

R&D Goals, Metrics, Milestones, and Timeline

To realize the potential estimated energy and climate mitigation benefits, research and development must
achieve the following goals by 2020:13
 Increase the efficiency of ICEs for passenger vehicles resulting in fuel economy improvements of 35
percent for gasoline vehicles and 50 percent for diesel vehicles compared to baseline 2009 gasoline
vehicles.
 Increase the efficiency of ICEs for commercial vehicles by 30 percent compared to a 2009 baseline with
demonstrations on commercial vehicle platforms.

Strategies
A portfolio of advanced combustion engine research and development activities to meet the technology needs
must span: a) fundamental research; b) applied technology development with collaborations among national
laboratories, universities, and industry and its suppliers; and technology maturation and deployment through
competitively selected industry/supplier team awards with cost share. Involvement of industry and its suppliers

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over the span of R&D is needed to ensure that they are invested and will move the R&D accomplishments to
commercial market.

R&D to improve ICE efficiency must focus on advanced engine combustion strategies that will increase the
efficiency beyond current state-of-the-art engines and reduce engine-out emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx)
and particulate matter (PM) to near-zero levels, and integration of enabling technologies into the engine/
powertrain system (Figure 8.C.4). Three major combustion strategies14 that have the potential to increase fuel
economy in the near- to mid-term are: a) Low-Temperature Combustion (LTC), including Homogeneous
Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI), Pre-Mixed Charge Compression Ignition (PCCI), Reactivity Controlled
Compression Ignition (RCCI); b) lean-burn (or dilute) gasoline combustion; and c) clean-diesel combustion.

Figure 8.C.4 R&D on Advanced Combustion Engines Must Improve Fundamental Understanding of In-Cylinder Combustion and Emission Formation,
Emission Control (Exhaust Aftertreatment), and Integration of Enabling Technologies

Low temperature combustion (LTC) strategies offer significant reductions in engine-out emissions of NOx
and PM thus removing or reducing the requirements for exhaust aftertreatment. Lean-burn gasoline engines
have higher efficiencies at part load but require emission controls to meet the more stringent U.S. emissions
regulations. Diesel engines are the primary engine for commercial vehicles and are also well suited for light-
duty passenger vehicles, offering an improvement in fuel economy. R&D has enabled continued diesel engine
efficiency improvements while achieving more stringent emissions standards.

In-cylinder combustion processes will be better understood by exploring use of the fundamental experimental
science base leveraging laser-based diagnostics, high-speed sensing and advanced visualization (Figure 8.C.5).
Control over combustion chemistry and pollutant species formation depends on the knowledge generated in
these experiments.

The scope, speed, and resolution of available measurements (Figure 8.C.6) have improved tremendously the
physical understanding of the in-cylinder combustion processes needed to minimize the fuel consumption and
the carbon footprint of ICEs while maintaining compliance with emissions standards. Improved diagnostic
techniques such laser-induced fluorescence measurements15 will permit: quantitative evaluation of air/fuel
mixture distributions formed from injection of fuels; exploration of the applicability of pilot injection strategies
for low-temperature combustion (LTC) techniques;16 and provide fundamental understanding (science-base)
needed for industry’s development of practical low-temperature gasoline combustion (LTGC) engines,17
including homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) and partially stratified variants of HCCI. Precision
x-ray measurements of the needle lift and motion18 in three dimensions showing significant eccentric motion in
some diesel injectors provide valuable information for improved diesel injector design.

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Figure 8.C.5 The science base of in-cylinder spray, combustion, and pollutant-formation processes for both conventional diesel and LTC has radically
changed how combustion system designers think about the diesel combustion process and how this process is modeled.
Credit: Sandia National Laboratories

Figure 8.C.6 Laser-induced fluorescence measurements can be used to develop a comprehensive picture of the combustion process that can be compared
directly with model results. Notice in particular the good agreement between the measured soot precursors and the simulated fuel-rich zones (dashed
red circles).
Credit: Sandia National Laboratories

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Accompanying this experimental research, computational modeling must build upon the scientific
understanding described above. Figure 8.C.7 shows high performance computing simulation of the complex
air flow into the engine cylinder during the intake stroke. Codes now in-use by engine manufacturers must be
improved with better accuracy
and faster computation to
Figure 8.C.7 Complex In-Cylinder Flow During Intake Stroke in Diesel Engine
advance the state-of-the-
art in simulating advanced
combustion models and be
made available to industry.

Simulation platforms used

by industry could adopt
DOE-developed simulation
components, such as the
expanded LLNL combustion
chemical kinetic reaction/
species libraries19 and advanced
solvers for combustion
chemistry. A four-year license
agreement executed with
Convergent Sciences Inc. will
allow use the LLNL combustion
software20 in CONVERGETM
CFD. The LLNL software uses
a GPU-accelerated algorithm
to calculate thermochemistry
functions an order of
magnitude faster than the central processing unit (CPU)-based version enabling engine design computation
on desktop computers.

Research in parallel must increase emission control systems efficiency and durability to comply with emissions
regulations at an acceptable cost and with reduced dependence on precious metals. Due to the low exhaust
temperature (150°C) of advanced engines, emissions of NOx and PM are a significant challenge for lean-burn
technologies. Numerous technologies must be investigated to reduce vehicle NOx emissions while minimizing
the fuel penalty associated with operating these devices. Filtration systems for smaller diameter PM need to be
durable and with low fuel economy penalties caused by increased back pressure and filter regeneration. Soot
deposition location and resulting soot-loaded wall pressure drops of a catalyzed diesel particulate filter (DPF)
can be predicted using advanced computing simulation21 of flow through the wall surfaces (Figure 8.C.8) and
validated with experiments.

R&D will need to examine approaches that are a substantial departure from today’s need to be processes to gain
larger reductions in combustion irreversibilities. This will lead to the development with industry of combustion
and emission control technologies that offer breakthrough improvements in fuel economy for light- and heavy-
duty vehicles. R&D efforts need to focus on operating the engine near peak efficiency over real-world driving
cycles to improve the overall vehicle fuel economy. For SI engines, this means reducing the throttling losses
with technologies such as lean-burn, high dilution, and variable geometry. Exhaust losses can be reduced with
compound compression and expansion cycles made possible by variable valve timing, use of turbine expanders,
and waste heat recovery. These approaches could potentially increase light-duty vehicle fuel economy by 35% to
50%, and increase heavy-duty engine efficiency by 30%.

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Research and development

Figure 8.C.8 Catalyzed Particulate Filter Air Flow Modeling at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
need to pursue engine hardware
changes to implement advanced
combustion strategies. These
include variable fuel injection
geometries, turbo- and super-
charging to produce very high
manifold pressures, compound
compression and expansion
cycles, variable compression
ratio technologies, and
improved sensors and control
methods. Advanced sensors and
actuators technologies could
be rapidly transitioned to the
marketplace.

Fuel economy improvements

need to be demonstrated by
industry projects that integrate developed high efficiency technologies into vehicles. Integration of a downsized
boosted, lean-burn gasoline engine into a production passenger vehicle demonstrated 25 percent fuel economy
improvement over the baseline vehicle with port fuel injected (PFI) engine while meeting Tier 2 Bin 2 emission
levels.22 Another industry project demonstrated predicted fuel economy increase in a light-duty vehicle on
U.S. cycles with low temperature combustion (LTC) engine can be validated with a vehicle build with realistic
packaging.23 Integration of heavy-duty truck engine technologies into a Class 8 long-haul tractor-trailer (e.g.,
SuperTruck) demonstrated the freight fuel economy increase contribution of engine efficiency improvements24 as
well as that of other technologies that improve the overall vehicle system.

Enabling Science Activities

Advancing engine technology to improve vehicle fuel economy will require industry to accelerate its product
development cycles, even as it explores innovative designs. The co-optimization of engines and fuels adds
additional complexity and opportunities and further highlights the need for efficient product development.

Design processes that over-rely on “build and test” prototype engineering are too slow. The challenge of
accelerating product design and speeding up market introduction of advanced combustion engines present
a unique opportunity to marshal U.S. leadership in science-based simulation to develop new capabilities in
predictive computational design to enhance engine performance (Figure 8.C.9). Predictive computational design
and simulation tools will shrink engine development timescales, reduce development costs, and accelerate time
to market.25

Traditionally, engines are designed to operate on available market fuels, often compromising efficiency
and performance. Approached as a system, engines and fuels can be co-optimized using a science-based
understanding of how engine efficiency and emissions are impacted by fuel properties, and conversely how
engines can be modified to take best advantage of desirable fuel properties.

The majority of the advanced combustion engines will rely on direct injection of fuel sprays into the engine
cylinder. Understanding how fuel properties impact the formation of these sprays, and how the sprays vaporize
and interact with the in-cylinder flows and geometry to form a combustible mixture is crucial. Likewise, the
chemical properties of fuels that dictate their autoignition properties, combustion rate, and pollutant formation
critically impact engine performance. This effort will include building a comprehensive fuel property database

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Figure 8.C.9 Basic science research underpins the ongoing development of numerical simulation tools to model, and advanced laser diagnostics to measure,
turbulent flames in real, in-cylinder engine combustion. The early success of Cummins in computational simulation used for the ISB engine, although fairly
crude by current standards, points the way to more sophisticated, science-based engine design in the future.

and a predictive physics-based fuel property blending model that includes both petroleum-derived fuel and
bio-derived fuel blending streams from a variety of sources. Also needed is a comprehensive chemical kinetic
mechanisms model that is predictive of the autoignition behavior of the fuels. Simulations of components in a
coupled framework of detailed and reduced order computational models will speed up the evaluation of a fuel
composition’s impact on the vehicle efficiency and emissions. The combined set of simulation tools will enable
a more substantial search for an optimized engine and fuel combination that meets environmental and market
goals. Finally, fuels can have important impacts on the overall powertrain system, including after-treatment
devices, air-handling devices, and engine thermal management.

Faster dissemination of energy efficient engine technologies into the vehicle population results in earlier
realization of reduction of petroleum consumption and greenhouse gas emissions since combustion engines will
remain to be the dominant power source for transportation vehicles in the next several decades.

Key Aspects of DOE Role

Case Studies
The following two case studies illustrate how DOE national laboratories’ unique capabilities and expertise are
utilized to transition engine combustion and emission control research from basic to fundamental research
and application by industry of improved understanding into commercially viable advanced combustion engine
technologies. They show the critical contribution of DOE RD&D in: a) designing fuel injectors for more efficient
combustion; and b) discovering new catalysts for more efficient cost effective exhaust emission control.

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Predicting the Influence of injector nozzle needle on fuel

spray development

A robust and predictive nozzle flow, spray and turbulent combustion models for internal combustion
engine (ICE) applications have been developed aided by high performance computing (HPC) tools.
The high-fidelity calculations were performed
by Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) in
collaboration with Convergent Science Inc.

At the top is a three-dimensional transient

simulation of a multi-hole injector with specified
needle off-axis motion (wobble) from start to the
end of injection. The mass flow rates through each
orifice for a five-hole injector (only three orifices are
shown) have been calculated, showing large hole-
to-hole differences in the velocity stream lines (and
hence mass flow rates) at low needle lift positions. The in-nozzle flow simulations captured the mass
flow and cavitation trends very well. The needle wobble is shown to have a profound influence on
cavitation characteristics and mass flow rate from
each orifice. These simulations, validated with X-ray
experiments at ANL, provide unique insights about
the processes governing the fuel injection and liquid
spray formation.

The second image shows the influence of needle

transients on fuel spray development. Dynamically
coupled nozzle flow and spray simulations were
performed to capture the near-nozzle dense spray
region and were validated against X-ray radiography
data from ANL. The simulations predict the spray
penetration and dispersion quite well, especially
in the near nozzle region and during the initial
transients.

The final image captures the plume-to-plume variations in

multi-hole nozzles. A reduced chemical kinetic model along
with a turbulent combustion model was able to capture the
ignition delay and flame lift-off length characteristics quite well.

Credit: Argonne National Laboratory

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BES-developed catalyst shows promise for advanced engine

emission control

DOE investigates advanced low temperature combustion (LTC) strategies, such as the reactivity
controlled compression ignition (RCCI), because of their high thermal efficiency and significantly
lower NOx and PM engine-out emission levels. However, higher hydrocarbon (HC) and carbon
monoxide (CO) emissions require additional controls which are often a challenge with the low exhaust
temperature characteristic of these combustion modes.

More Fuel Efficient* Reactivity ORNL tapped on the large Basic Energy Sciences effort
Controlled Compression Ignition 1 bar that is focused on studying catalysts with very high
(RCCI) gives higher CO & HCs* activity regardless of the specific application for catalyst(s)
that have promise for combustion engine exhaust
CO aftertreatment. ORNL explored the potential of a PGM-
HC free catalyst that demonstrated good stability and very
good low temperature CO oxidation at less than 100°C
NOx PM in dry conditions.
And lower exhaust temperatures* One BES-developed
200 catalyst composed of
at 1500rpm, 1 bar
Temperature (C)

175 copper oxide, cobalt Conventional Diesel

Exhaust

oxide, and ceria RCCI

150 Conv.
(dubbed CCC) showed
125 Diesel RCCI such potential.
100
ORNL investigated
*vs. Conventional Diesel Combustion
the CCC catalyst’s
reactivity under
simulated exhaust conditions and found that it has two exceptional
traits: a) that it maintains high CO reactivity at low-temperatures;
and b) that CO oxidation is unaffected by HC oxidation. The
PGM-free CCC catalyst is in fact more reactive than the best Pd-based catalyst that have been studied
earlier, Pd/ZrO2-SiO2. PGM catalysts, in contrast, are typically negatively impacted by inhibition from
hydrocarbons and competition
for active sites.
O2 10%
H2 O 5.0%
CO 0.4% ORNL continues in working
Inhibition by
NO 0.05% to identify catalysts that have
CO Conversion (%)

HC (C3H6) 0 or 0.1% HCs with PGM

catalysts the potential to be used in
No low-temperature exhaust
Inhibition add
HC CCC without HC environments and to understand
for CCC
CCC with 0.1% HC how these catalysts function so
PGM without HC that more catalysts can be studied
PGM with 0.1% HC that demonstrate similar traits.

Temperature (°C)
Credit: Oak Ridge National Laboratory

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Public and Private R&D Activities

Knowledge outputs from DOE combustion engine research from 1974 through early 2009 made substantial
contributions to downstream innovations in commercial diesel engines and other areas, as documented by the
EERE Linkages Study.26
 Among the knowledge outputs, 109 DOE-attributed patent families (i.e., groups of patents based on
the same invention) were assigned to multiple organizations, including DOE national laboratories,
universities, and companies.
 Many combustion patents of the leading innovative vehicle and engine companies linked back to
earlier DOE advanced combustion patent families, e.g., combustion patent portfolios of three leading
innovative vehicle and engine companies have built extensively on the DOE-funded advanced
combustion research.
 DOE R&D has contributed to more-difficult-to-quantify tacit knowledge in the field of advanced
combustion and emission control research, in addition to its explicit knowledge outputs such as patents,
publications, models and code, research prototypes, and test data.

DOE investments in combustion engine R&D from 1986 to 2007 enabled continued efficiency improvements
in heavy-duty diesel engine efficiencies while achieving difficult emissions standards. An independent study27
showed that without DOE support, efficiencies would been 4.5 percent lower than what industry was actually
able to achieve (Figure 8.C.10).
 Accrued benefits
Figure 8.C.10 Historical Progress in Heavy-Duty Engine Efficiency Illustrates Positive Impact of DOE
(1995 – 2007) from R&D Support
heavy-duty trucks alone
represent a total savings
of about 17.6 billion
gallons of diesel fuel
saved and associated
health benefits from
having reduced diesel
engine emissions. These
benefits continue to the
present time as these
engines continue to be
used.
 The accrued benefits
which were estimated
to total over $70B (in
2008$, undiscounted)
represents an over 70:1
return on government investment in combustion engine R&D.
 At the same time, the fuel savings represent about 177.3 million metric tons of greenhouse gases
(carbon dioxide equivalent emissions) not being released to the environment.

Although not calculated, this R&D had substantial economic benefits as well, as it enabled heavy-duty engine
manufacturers to meet EPA’s strict 2007 regulations which required a 90 percent reduction in particulate matter
(PM) emissions and a more than 50 percent reduction in nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions.

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Public/Private Roles going forward

DOE’s R&D roles have been to:
 Facilitate development of precompetitive technical knowledge base through investments in
fundamental and applied R&D;
 Undertake mid- to long-term pre-competitive research;
 Provide access to unique national laboratory expertise and facilities;
 Help create a national consensus on R&D areas of common public and private interest; and
 Enable public-private partnerships to integrate R&D into industrially useful design tools.

DOE has close communication with industry through a number of working groups and teams, and utilizes these
networks for setting goals, adjusting priorities of research, and tracking progress. Examples of the cooperative
groups are the Advanced Combustion and Emission Control (ACEC) Tech Team of the U.S. DRIVE Partnership
and the Engine Systems Team of the 21st Century Truck Partnership. Focused efforts are carried out in the
Advanced Engine Combustion Memorandum of Understanding (Figure 8.C.11), and the CLEERS (Cross-Cut
Lean Exhaust Emission Reduction Simulation) activity for the Advanced Engine Cross-Cut Team (Figure 8.C.12)
that include auto manufacturers and engine companies, fuel suppliers, national laboratories, and numerous
universities. Innovations coming from the R&D of pre-competitive technologies can be transferred to and
implemented by industry partners as a business case develops for these technologies.

Figure 8.C.11 close collaboration with industry through the advanced engine combustion MOU led by SNL to develop the knowledge base for advanced
combustion strategies and carry research results to products.
Credit: Sandia National Laboratories

Historically, DOE-sponsored heavy-duty engine technologies have been quickly adopted within the commercial
heavy truck fleet where fuel economy and fuel costs are major concerns. Engine and emission control
technologies developed in joint DOE/industry research efforts were adopted by all major engine manufacturers
and mitigated potential efficiency losses that could have resulted from meeting the 2007 emissions standards. At
a company level, technologies can typically be implemented across a range of engine models within the first year.
Nationally, technologies developed for the Class 8 market are typically implemented in three years or less, and
quickly penetrate into the Class 6 and 7 markets because of the similarity of these vehicle classes.

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Figure 8.C.12 CLEERS promotes collaboration and interactions among industry, national labs, and universities to achieve functional models for lean emission
control devices and systems.

Endnotes
1
Transportation Energy Data Book, Edition 33, ORNL-6990 (Oak Ridge, TN: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, July 2014), http://cta.ornl.gov/
data/tedb33/Edition33_Full_Doc.pdf.
2
Annual Energy Outlook 2014. With Projections to 2040, April 2014. DOE/EIA-0383(2014)
3
Light-Duty Automotive Technology, Carbon Dioxide Emissions, and Fuel Economy Trends: 1975 through 2014. EPA-420-R -14-023.
Washington, D.C. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, October 2014, p. 53.
4
A Workshop to Identify Research Needs and Impacts in Predictive Simulation for Internal Combustion Engines (PreSICE), March 3, 2011.
Accessed at: http://www1.eere.energy.gov/vehiclesandfuels/pdfs/presice_rpt.pdf
5
Light-Duty Automotive Technology, Carbon Dioxide Emissions, and Fuel Economy Trends: 1975 through 2014. EPA-420-R -14-023.
Washington, D.C. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, October 2014, p. 53.
6
Report on the Transportation Combustion Engine Efficiency Colloquium held at USCAR, March 3-4, 2010. ORNL/TM-2010/265. Accessed at
http://feerc.ornl.gov/pdfs/Stretch_Report_ORNLTM2010- 265_final.pdf
7
Vehicle Technologies Program Multi-Year Program Plan 2011-2015. Washington, DC., U.S. Department of Energy, December 2010, pp. 2.3-3 –
2.3-4. Accessed at http://www1.eere.energy.gov/vehiclesandfuels/pdfs/program/vt_mypp_2011-2015.pdf
8
Ibid.
9
Report on the Transportation Combustion Engine Efficiency Colloquium Held at USCAR, March 3-4, 2010, ORNL, October 2010. ORNL/TM-
2010/265.
10
Environmental Protection Agency, Tier 3 Vehicle Emission and Fuel Standards Program, http://www3.epa.gov/otaq/tier3.htm. Accessed
October 15, 2015.
• California Air Resources Board, Amendments to the Low-Emission Vehicle Program – LEV III, http://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/levprog/
leviii/leviii.htm. Accessed October 15, 2015.
11
Vehicle Technologies Program Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) Report for Fiscal Year 2015, ANL/ESD-14/3 [http://www.
transportation.anl.gov/pdfs/G/955.PDF].
12
Co-optimization of Fuels and Engines – Accelerating the Path to Economic and Sustainable Fuels and Engines, White Paper, Energy Efficiency
and Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of Energy.

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13
Overview of the DOE Advanced Combustion Engine R&D Program, June 16, 2014, pp. 41.
14
Ibid.
15
Musculus, M. “Heavy-Duty Low-Temperature and Diesel Combustion & Heavy-Duty Combustion Modeling.” FY 2014 DOE Vehicle
Technologies Program Annual Merit Review; June 16-20, 2014, Washington, D.C.; 25 pp. Accessed March 13, 2015: http://www.energy.gov/
sites/prod/files/ace001_musculus_2014_o.pdf
16
Miles, P. “Light-Duty Diesel Combustion – Experiments and Modeling.” FY 2014 DOE Vehicle Technologies Program Annual Merit
Review; June 16-20, 2014, Washington, D.C.; 32 pp. Accessed March 16, 2015: http://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2014/07/f17/ace002_
miles_2014_o.pdf
17
Dec, J. “Low-Temperature Gasoline Combustion (LTGC) Engine Research.” FY 2014 DOE Vehicle Technologies Program Annual Merit Review;
June 16-20, 2014, Washington, D.C.; 26 pp. Accessed March 16, 2015: http://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2014/07/f17/ace004_dec_2014_o.
pdf
18
Powell, C. “Fuel Injection and Spray Research Using X-Ray Diagnostics.” FY 2014 DOE Vehicle Technologies Program Annual Merit
Review; June 16-20, 2014, Washington, D.C.;30 pp. Accessed March 16, 2015: http://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2014/07/f17/ace010_
powell_2014_o.pdf
19
Pitz, W. “Chemical Kinetic Models for Advanced Engine Combustion.” FY 2014 DOE Vehicle Technologies Program Annual Merit Review;
June 16-20, 2014, Washington, D.C.; 28 pp. Accessed March 16, 2015: http://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2014/07/f17/ace013_pitz_2014_o.
pdf
20
McNenley, M. “Improved Solvers for Advanced Engine Combustion Simulation.” FY 2014 DOE Vehicle Technologies Program Annual Merit
Review; June 16-20, 2014, Washington, D.C.; 32 pp. Accessed April 7, 2015: http://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2014/07/f17/ace076_
mcnenly_2014_o.pdf
21
Muntean, G. “CLEERS: Aftertreatment Modeling and Analysis.” FY 2014 DOE Vehicle Technologies Program Annual Merit Review; June 16-20,
2014, Washington, D.C.; 30 pp. Accessed March 16, 2015: http://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2014/07/f17/ace023_muntean_2014_o.pdf
22
2013 ACE R&D Annual Report, p. IV-25]
23
Ibid., p. IV-15
24
Koeberlein, D. “Cummins SuperTruck Program.” FY 2014 DOE Vehicle Technologies Program Annual Merit Review; June 16-20, 2014,
Washington, D.C.; 30 pp. Accessed March 16, 2015: http://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2014/07/f17/ace057_koeberlein_2014_o.pdf
DTNA SuperTruck. http://www.freightlinersupertruck.com/. Accessed October 16, 2015
25
A Workshop to Identify Research Needs and Impacts in Predictive Simulation for Internal Combustion Engines (PreSICE), March 3, 2011.
Accessed at: http://www1.eere.energy.gov/vehiclesandfuels/pdfs/presice_rpt.pdf
26
Linkages from DOE’s Vehicle Technologies R&D in Advanced Combustion to More Efficient, Cleaner-Burning Engines, June 2011, http://
www1.eere.energy.gov/analysis/pdfs/combustion_linkage082511.pdf. Accessed October 16, 2015.
27
Retrospective Benefit-Cost Study accessed at http://www1.eere.energy.gov/analysis/pdfs/advanced_combustion_report.pdf

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Acronyms/Glossary
ACEC Advanced combustion and Emission Control

ANL Argonne National Laboratory

BES Basic Energy Sciences

CAFÉ Corporate Average Fuel Economy

CCC Copper oxide, cobalt oxide, and ceria

CFD Computational fluid dynamics

CLEERS Cross-cut Lean Exhaust Emission Reduction Simulation

CO Carbon monoxide

CO2 Carbon dioxide

CO2e Carbon dioxide equivalent

CPU Central processing unit

DOE Department of Energy

DPF Diesel particulate filter

EERE Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

EPA Environmental Protection Agency

GHG Greenhouse gas

GPU Graphics processing unit

HC Hydrocarbon

HCCI Homogeneous charge compression ignition

HPC High performance computing

ICE Internal combustion engines

LANL Los Alamos National Laboratory

LLNL Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

LTC Low temperature combustion

LTGC Low temperature gasoline combustion

Nox Nitrogen oxide

NREL National Renewable Energy Laboratory

ORNL Oak Ridge National Laboratory

PCCI Pre-mixed charge compression ignition

PFI Port fuel injected

PM Particulate matter

PNNL Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

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RCCI Reactivity controlled compression ignition

R&D Research and development

RD&D Research, Development, and Demonstration

SNL Sandia National Laboratories

17 Quadrennial Technology Review 2015