Next-gen Mazda SkyActiv Engines Could Be Cleaner Than EVs

Can a gas-powered car be cleaner than an electric vehicle? Mazda thinks so, claiming the next-gen of SkyActiv engines will emit fewer emissions than EVs. And they could do it, if you look at the entire well-to-wheel emissions picture, through the use of super-efficient engines and mild hybrid systems that do away with heavy battery packs.

Not to take anything away from Mazda’s excellent line of SkyActiv gasoline engines. These super-efficient motors use high-compression, direct injection, and other fuel-saving technologies to improve MPGs, with the added benefit of extra Zoom-zoom as well. These high-tech engines has given Mazda the most fuel-efficient line of cars in America. Engineers are aiming for diesel-like fuel economy from its gasoline engines, and Gen 2 SkyActiv will up the ante further.

Where the current SkyActiv engines have a compression of 14:1, the next generation will approach 18:1 compression (until recently, most gasoline cars had single-digit compression ratios). Combined with friction-reduction technology and further improvements in fuel deliverly, these improvements will lead to a 30% boost in thermal efficiency and fuel economy. Mazda claims it can bring well-to-wheel vehicle CO2 emissions, of an unspecified “average” Mazda, down to just 80g/km.

Beyond that, the Gen 3 SkyActiv engines will utilize further-improved mild hybrid and supercapacitor systemsthat draw almost no energy from the engines, while dropping emissions down to just 60g/km. By taking batteries out of the equation, these vehicles will be lighter and thus more efficient. With the hybrid system active, well-to-wheel emissions could be just 50g/kkm, equivalent to the Mazda2 EV. That’s making assumptions about the EV’s power source, however, and with the increasing popularity and efficiency of solar panels, a truly zero-emissions electric vehicle is no longer a fantasy.

Still, you’ve got to applaud Mazda for aiming high, and it isn’t like gasoline engines are going to disappear anytime soon. We might as well make them as efficient as possible as long as we’re stuck with them, right?

Source: AutoCar

Hitachi To Increase Li ion Battery Production For 700,000 Units Annually

Hitachi has announced plans for investing up to $310 million for increasing its capacity to produce Li ion battery packs. GM has already contracted with Hitachi for 100,000 battery packs that it will use in its mild hybrid systems. Hitachi expects that other manufacturers will do likewise and thus the increased production numbers.

From the Nikkei:

Capacity will initially be raised more than 600% by next autumn. Hitachi has already received orders for enough lithium ion batteries for 100,000 hybrid autos that General Motors Corp. plans to sell from next year. With an eye toward winning orders from domestic and other overseas carmakers, it will bolster capacity to meet the needs of 700,000 hybrids a year. Each vehicle is generally equipped with 30-50 lithium ion batteries.

Hitachi will mass produce two new types of lithium ion batteries for use in next-generation hybrid vehicles. In addition to significant improvements in output density, they are half the weight and size of conventional nickel-metal hydride offerings. Production will be undertaken at subsidiary Hitachi Vehicle Energy Ltd.’s Tokai works in Ibaraki Prefecture.