Skip to main content

Low construction engine emissions project

The University of Hertfordshire is collaborating in a £9 million project aimed at reducing carbon emissions from off-highway machinery. The University of Hertfordshire’s School of Engineering and Technology is part of a specialist engineering consortium working on the project. Benefiting from more than £4 million in funding from the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK Limited (APC), the project includes companies such as Caterpillar subsidiary Turner Powertrain Systems and Torotrak, a developer and supplier o
October 18, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
The University of Hertfordshire is collaborating in a £9 million project aimed at reducing carbon emissions from off-highway machinery. The University of Hertfordshire’s School of Engineering and Technology is part of a specialist engineering consortium working on the project.

Benefiting from more than £4 million in funding from the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK Limited (APC), the project includes companies such as 178 Caterpillar subsidiary Turner Powertrain Systems and Torotrak, a developer and supplier of emissions reduction and fuel efficiency technology.

The aim of the project is to develop a new drivetrain system that will reduce carbon emissions and have better energy storage. This new drivetrain will be used for a range of off-highway equipment.

The three and half year project is expected to begin in December and will focus on developing and commercialising a leading edge hydrostatic, continuously variable transmission with a flywheel-based energy storage system. This is expected to deliver improved performance along with reduced fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. It should also allow manufacturers of off-highway equipment to downsize engines across a wide range of construction machines.

Flywheel-based energy storage technology is ideally suited to off-highway and construction equipment applications because it offers a robust, low-cost way to allow engine downsizing while improving machine productivity.

Staff from the School of Engineering and Technology will provide advanced simulation, modeling and design expertise in the area of computational fluid dynamics, rotadynamics and finite element analysis. The research will also benefit from the University’s High Performance Computing cluster.

Dr Rodney Day, Associate Dean (Research and Commercial) in the School of Engineering and Technology said: ‘This is a fantastic opportunity to collaborate with two leading companies to develop this novel technology for the off-highway market.’

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Hyundai’s hydrogen fuel option for the future
    March 4, 2020
    Hyundai is developing a hydrogen fuel option for the future.
  • Developments in asphalt compaction machines
    July 4, 2012
    Mike Woof reviews the latest compaction market developments In the run-up to the upcoming World of Asphalt event in Orlando, Florida in March, the leading compaction equipment firms are rolling out upgraded and improved machines. With market conditions tough worldwide, customers are also likely to be encouraged with competitive deals on purchasing new machines and replacing ageing fleets.
  • Higher productivity, lower cost asphalt plants
    February 14, 2012
    Manufacturers are producing innovative asphalt equipment, and operators are benefiting from this as Patrick Smithreports. Asphalt plant manufacturers and operators are understandably placing great emphasis on higher productivity but with lower costs. At the same time they are aware of environmental issues and the ever-increasing use of recycled material in mixes.
  • Engine emissions solutions
    January 9, 2015
    Various engine firms can now derate emissions control systems if required – Mike Woof reports With the next stage of the tough emissions regulations now coming into force in North America and Europe, this has had a major impact on the sales of secondhand machines. The fuel delivery systems for these ultra-low emission diesels can only cope with high quality fuels with very low sulphur content. And tests on the effects of low quality, high sulphur fuels on the low emissions engines have shown corrosion and r