JLR invests in engine combustion research

The £1 million investment will be shared equally between University College London (UCL) and the University of Oxford to support the development of new research facilities and fund two five-year study programmes. Each centre will focus on specific combustion technologies. The work at UCL's Department of Mechanical Engineering will be dedicated to spark ignition in petrol engines, led by Dr Pavlos Aleiferis. At the University of Oxford's Department of Engineering Science, Dr Martin Davy will lead the project on compression ignition in diesel engines. The primary area of research will be to understand and develop advanced combustion concepts compatible with future fuel advances by investigating new combustion geometries, valvetrain, fuel injection, air management and ignition technologies. These study programmes have the potential to feed directly into the future development of JLR's new Ingenium family of compact, lightweight, high-efficiency diesel and petrol turbocharged engines, which will begin production at the new Engine Manufacturing Centre in Wolverhampton early in 2015. Dr Wolfgang Epple, director of research and technology for JLR, said: "Our investment at UCL and the University of Oxford forms part of our strategy to encourage, develop and co-ordinate innovation and powertrain engineering skills here in the UK. We are doing this by partnering with a number of leading universities to ensure we support the development of a strong UK engineering capability right from the very fundamentals of research." Brian Cooper, principal engineer at JLR Powertrain Research, added: "Our aim is to help develop the skills and technologies within industry, academia and the supply chain to help us deliver the breakthrough technologies required to meet the diverse global CO2 and emissions challenges of the future."