Westport Fuel Systems Inc., TUPY and AVL List GmbH are collaborating to develop a hydrogen internal combustion engine aimed at use in the heavy-duty transportation market, using advanced material and casting technologies from TUPY and in concert with high pressure direct injection (HPDI) engine technology from Westport and AVL engine solutions.
Because of hydrogen’s high peak firing pressures, superior materials, casting and machining technologies are required. AVL has successfully completed development of the AVL Hydrogen Engine in collaboration with Graz University of Technology earlier this year, while Westport has also previously demonstrated successful startup and trials of heavy-duty ICEs running on H2 using HPDI.
The first testbed results of this new joint development program are expected by early 2022.
“Hydrogen HPDI offers OEMs a fast, cost-efficient pathway to carbon-neutral technology, without sacrificing performance,” says David M. Johnson, CEO of Westport Fuel Systems. “Our collaboration with AVL and TUPY aims to further demonstrate that an H2 HPDI solution can meet the performance and efficiency requirements demanded by the market, while leveraging billions of dollars of existing manufacturing and engine expertise developed over the past century.”
“Our experts are very actively working on CO2-neutral solutions which can enter the market by 2025 – among them is the hydrogen ICE,” explains AVL’s Rolf Dreisbach. “The fast introduction of this technology will help accelerate the build-up of hydrogen fueling infrastructure. With our expertise in the latest ICE technology, TUPY’s material and casting know-how and Westport’s superior gaseous fuel system technologies, we expect to achieve outstanding levels of power density, efficiency with competitive total cost of ownership.”
