Ricardo wins funding for US DOE fuel efficiency R&D projects

U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Samuel W. Bodman has announced the Department will award a total of up to $21.5 million for eleven cost-shared research and development (R&D) projects that aim to improve the fuel efficiency of light-duty vehicle engines. Ricardo, Inc. will be actively involved in two of these projects, with a combined DOE funding value of $3.4 million

In announcing this R&D investment Secretary Bodman said: “We expect this research to make significant strides toward maximizing an engine’s performance in a cleaner, more economical manner. Increasing the use of clean, renewable fuels will not only help reduce our reliance on imported oil, but will also help reduce greenhouse gas emissions for a more secure energy future.”

The two projects in which Ricardo, Inc. will participate will see the company working respectively with General Motors on engine downsizing through the use of cooled EGR, and with Robert Bosch LLC and the University of Michigan on advanced flex-fuel vehicle (FFV) technologies.

Commenting on the announcement by the DOE Ricardo, Inc., President, Dean Harlow, said: “We are pleased to have been selected to work with leading research partners on these two high profile fuel efficiency projects. In our efforts on cooled EGR with General Motors we aim to deliver up to 15 per cent fuel efficiency improvements in gasoline combustion and in our work with Bosch and the University of Michigan, we aim to develop flex-fuel technologies capable of delivering gasoline-like fuel economy when running on E-85. We are pleased to be a part of these important research projects which underscore our fundamental commitment in this area: Ricardo is fuel economy.”