Research On Major Automotive Innovations Funded

Anthony Fontanelle
March 7, 2007

The drive for cleaner cars roaming the streets of the global community has reached another high. Case in point is the funding of research on major automotive innovations by the French Industrial Innovation Agency (Agence de l'Innovation Industrielle, or the AII). The agency recently announced that they will fund the research being conducted by Valeo, a leading automotive supplier all over the world. The AII has arranged the release of 61 million euros for use in the study being conducted by Valeo. The mentioned funding is in connection with the company’s aim to decrease the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by vehicles.

“This funding recognizes the value of the work that Valeo engineers have been undertaking in this field for several years and will allow us to offer the market new solutions that can provide up to 30 percent fuel savings with a significant reduction in CO2 and pollutant emissions,” says Thierry Morin, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Valeo.

Valeo is doing research on two major innovations which will greatly help car makers in producing cleaner cars. The first one is the camless system. Valeo is looking for ways to replace the camshaft with electromagnetic actuators. This is a major innovation since a camshaft is common on all engines and this is the component which closes or opens the intake or exhaust ports by controlling the valves. The technology aims to reduce fuel consumption and pollutant emissions by as much as 20 percent. The fuel consumption will be reduced since the electromagnetic actuators will be powered by the car’s battery instead of being a load on the engine. The technology will also increase significantly the performance and ride comfort of a vehicle by increasing low-end torque. This technology is primarily aimed at gasoline engines but a diesel version will also be developed in the future.

The second innovation being looked into by Valeo is a next-generation hybrid. Valeo hopes to improve the performance and fuel efficiency of their StARS+X technology. The technology will be equipped with a Start-Stop function which will enable the vehicle to shut the engine during idling. The technology will also be employing a regenerative braking system. This means that the energy given off during the application of the brakes will be recovered. Valeo will also add a high powered alternator that will provide the added power to the engine during low speed driving. Aside from these, better capacitors will also be used which would complement the entire system. All in all, the improvement on the StARS+X technology will further reduce the fuel consumption of a vehicle by as much as 15 percent.

These two systems that are being looked into by Valeo are compatible with each other. This means that in the future, vehicles may be equipped with a hybrid camless engine which will dramatically reduce the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by vehicles. This technology when employed on cars will definitely make a difference just like a brake component from Active Brakes Direct.

Source:  Amazines.com