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

  • Machine control as a key component of digital construction
    November 22, 2017
    By means of digitalisation and modern communication technologies, building information modelling (BIM) techniques are helping to improve construction site planning, process control and operation flow on jobsites.
  • Geneva has a strong partnership with Birmingham University in the UK
    March 28, 2014
    IRF Geneva's longstanding partnership with the University of Birmingham has been expanded to form one of the sector’s most comprehensive professional development programmes IRF Geneva offers a rich palette of educational and professional development opportunities and resources. Programmes range from scholarships for master degree studies to the regular organisation of targeted vocational training workshops. A full listing can be accessed via the ‘training & services’ section of the IRF Geneva website (www.i
  • Conway's state-of-the-art plant
    February 6, 2012
    In the UK, highways maintenance specialist FM Conway, which places great importance on its green credentials, says that as part of this strategy it is to open what it thinks is the UK's most modern asphalt and recycling plant.
  • UK Business Secretary opens Control Centre at MIRA Technology Park
    November 14, 2012
    MIRA Technology Park in central England has reached the first milestone in its aim to become Europe’s most advanced independent transport technology facility - with the successful completion of its Control Centre. The 3,998m² building, representing a US$9.52 million (£6mn) investment and opened last week by the Rt Hon Dr Vince Cable, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, is the first new building completed since the technology park was granted Enterprise Zone status in August 2011.