Engine & Environment Anniversary Conference, 2008"120g CO2/km – What about Driving Fun and Costs?"The 20th AVL "Engine & Environment" anniversary conference coincided with the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the founding of AVL in Graz in 1948. During this time AVL has grown to become the largest private and independent company word-wide engaged in powertrain research and development, powertrain instrumentation and testing technology. The conference showed once again the extent to which AVL is engaged in addressing the problems concerning the international automotive industry: climate change, increasingly scarce resources and a political climate which demands the development of vehicles with reduced fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. The end-user, however, expects at least the same performance as before and is prepared to accept only a minimal cost increase.
Right from the beginning a lively discussion of the highest level developed between the 400 conference participants from more than 20 countries. In both the presentations made over the 2 days and the concluding panel discussion, a wealth of aspects were debated which illuminated the far reaching consequences of the conflicting requirements and expectations and also the numerous solutions already available.
One thing became absolutely clear from this conference: there are many good and ingenious concepts to minimize vehicle CO2 emissions which do not compromise driving pleasure. From anticipatory vehicle operational strategies enabled through the application of driver assistance systems, reduced rolling resistance and improved aerodynamics, through to downsizing in combination with turbocharging, direct injection and exhaust gas recirculation, variable compression ratio and down-speeding in conjunction with automatic transmissions, these are just a few of the alternatives available.
That the hybrid, especially the mild hybrid, can play an outstanding role in these concepts was not only clear from the presentation of the conference chairman, Dr. Robert Fischer, but also from the AVL demonstrator turbo-hybrid vehicle displayed in the Helmut-List-Halle. The development of the lithium-ion battery, a key technology for both the hybrid as well as the future all-electric vehicle, was critically scrutinized. Will the future low-cost, safe and efficient battery mean the end of the combustion engine?
This and other questions will be debated in detail during the 21st AVL "Engine & Environment" conference on 10th and 11th September, 2009: Combustion Engine and Electric Drive – Strong Partners or Competitors in the Future Powertrain? |