Ricardo Launches Consortium to Evaluate Lubricant Challenges of Future Low Carbon Engine Te...( VAN BUREN TWP. Mich. Ju...)

VAN BUREN TWP., Mich., July 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Ricardo, Inc., the US subsidiary of Ricardo plc, the leading independent provider of technology, product innovation and engineering solutions to the world's automotive, defense, transport and new energy industries, has announced that the company is to launch a consortium to evaluate lubricant challenges of future low carbon engine technologies. With the environmental demand to reduce CO2 emissions and take vehicle fuel economy to new levels, significant innovations in lubricants will be needed to enable implementation of many very promising low friction and high efficiency engine technologies and increasing use of biofuels.

While previous advances in engine technology have been based on separate and parallel developments by the fuels and lubricants industries, it is increasingly apparent that further significant improvements in diesel and gasoline engine fuel economy will require an integrated approach between automakers, tier 1 equipment providers, oil companies and lubricant additive manufacturers. By bringing together interested parties from each of these industry sectors, Ricardo aims to create a framework in which fundamental challenges in this area can be investigated and researched in a pre-competitive manner for the mutual benefit of participating companies.

Particular areas of interest for the consortium include: the implications of extreme engine downsizing and increased specific power; tolerance to increasing volumes of exhaust gas recirculation in combustion systems (with consequent issues for soot in oil, wear and sludge formation); the chemical impacts on lubricants of biofuel dilution; advanced component designs and new material applications, and; the drive towards thinner, lower viscosity lubricants for reduced friction. The work of the consortium will be structured into a series of modules, the first of which will focus on
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