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A promising innovation! Meet the diesel-hydrogen hybrid engine that could reduce CO₂ emissions by up to 85% and transform the transportation sector.
Europe’s ban on combustion engines from 2035 is driving a technological revolution on the continent. Carmakers and research centers are competing to become leaders in the development of alternative propulsion systems. While electric motors and hydrogen fuel cells are gaining ground, an alternative approach is attracting attention: adapt conventional diesel engines to run on hydrogen.
Researchers from University of New South Wales (UNSW), in Australia, have developed an innovative technology that converts traditional diesel engines into hydrogen-diesel hybrid systems.
This approach reduces CO2 emissions by more than 85%, offering a fast and viable solution for reducing the carbon footprint in the manufacturing industry. transportation.
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Furthermore, the economic viability of this conversion makes the process even more attractive for sectors that depend on fossil fuels.
How does the diesel-hydrogen hybrid engine work?
The technology developed by the UNSW team uses a dual-fuel direct injection system, allowing the engine to operate on up to 90% hydrogen.
This advance reduces CO2 emissions to just 90 g/kWh, representing an 85,9% drop compared to conventional diesel engines. This translates into a significantly lower environmental impact and a major step towards sustainability.
Unlike other solutions that require major infrastructure modifications, this system can be installed on existing engines.
This means that trucks, agricultural machinery and mining equipment could be adapted to run on hydrogen within a few months, making this alternative more affordable and quicker to implement.
The low conversion cost and availability of diesel engines make this solution more viable for a wide range of applications.
The key to success: direct hydrogen injection
The great innovation of this system is the direct injection of hydrogen, which solves one of the main challenges of hydrogen engines: the emission of nitrogen oxides (NOx).
Professor Shawn Kook, who led the research, explains that simply adding hydrogen to the engine can increase NOx levels.
However, by stratifying the hydrogen in the cylinder, the team was able to minimize these emissions to values below those of purely diesel engines.
Another advantage of the system is that it does not require high-purity hydrogen, a factor that significantly reduces operating costs.
Additionally, engine efficiency has been improved by more than 26%, making the solution even more attractive for industries that rely on diesel engines.
With this additional efficiency, fuel consumption is also reduced, increasing savings for companies and operators.
Industrial applicability and challenges to be overcome
The industrial and transportation sectors can benefit immensely from this innovation, especially in environments where hydrogen distribution infrastructure already exists.
Mining, agribusiness and logistics are some of the areas that can drastically reduce their greenhouse gas emissions without having to replace their entire fleet.
This means that the transition to cleaner transport can occur gradually, without compromising the productivity of the sectors.
However, challenges still need to be overcome before the technology becomes widely adopted. Storage and transportation of hydrogen still represent a significant hurdle.
Trucks and machines operating in remote regions may face difficulties in consistently fueling with hydrogen.
New storage solutions, such as high-efficiency tanks or solid-state hydrogen, need to be developed to make the transition viable on a large scale. Recent studies indicate that advances in this area could significantly reduce logistical constraints.
Is Diesel Engine Conversion the Future?
Converting existing diesel engines to hydrogen-diesel hybrid systems represents a practical and effective solution to reduce CO2 emissions without waiting for advances in new technologies.
With the right investments and incentives, this approach can significantly accelerate the transition to cleaner and more accessible transport for all sectors of the economy.
The UNSW team’s work highlights the potential for innovations that leverage existing infrastructure, reducing costs and enabling faster adoption. On a global scale, initiatives like these are essential to achieving climate goals and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
With information unsw.
E o H2 vão tirar de Onde!? Não existe produção de H2 Verde disponível para utilizar nestes motores, isso é uma invenção adaptação, ultrapassada! Não se aplica
Tiago Lemos
SPI Sustainable Solutions
(11)91550-9369
I believe that as described in the book The Hydrogen Economy, the source will be water obtained by hydrolysis, as occurs in the process of photosynthesis using photovoltaic energy. The challenge is to have viable load cells.