Thursday, 24 April 2014

CO2 boost for Ford Dunton

A new project at Ford's Dunton Technical Centre will help bring new generation low-CO2 engine technologies to market.

The ACTIVE (Advanced Combustion Turbocharge Inline Variable Valvetrain Engine) project is one of several initiatives supported by the APC (Advanced Propulsion Centre), which has been set up by the Automotive Council, as the focus of a joint industry and government strategy that will help the UK accelerate its leadership in advanced propulsion development and production.

The ACTIVE project is a multi-million pound investment by UK government and industry and is part of £1 billion that the APC will channel into the UK automotive industry over the next decade.

ACTIVE is centred on Ford's 1-litre EcoBoost engine, the International Engine of the Year in 2012 and 2013 and which is eligible to win the award for an unprecedented third consecutive year in 2014.

The project will accelerate introduction of future-generation low carbon technologies, including advanced turbocharging, advanced combustion system development and variable valvetrain technology, targeting substantial CO2 savings.

Project work will be carried out at various partner locations throughout the UK with key activities coordinated from Ford Dunton.  Eleven partners included in the consortium are Ford, Continental, Schaeffler, UEES (Unipart Eberspacher Exhaust Systems), University of Bath, Loughborough University, University of Bradford, University of Nottingham, BP, Cambustion and AP Raicam (Automotive Products).

ACTIVE brings Ford's global R&D resources and some of Europe's top Tier 1 suppliers to the UK to develop advanced technologies with engineers at Ford's Dagenham and Dunton Engineering Centres and four of the UK's leading automotive research universities.  It will also engage the existing UK supply chain; presenting opportunities for participating UK based component and equipment suppliers to further develop their businesses.

Engineering and development of the 1-litre EcoBoost engine was centred at Ford Dagenham.  Various Ford applications include (at present) Fiesta, B-Max, Ford Focus, C-Max and Transit Connect.


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