Shift Magazine - February 2022 - 9

that we need to accelerate decarbonization.
With the fossil fuel we're using now,
it's hard to manage the CO2 we are emitting.
That pollution reduction requires
more and more expensive aftertreatment.
For greenhouse gases, it is very
hard to achieve the trajectory we need
with cost-effective IC engines alone.
Q: DO YOU SEE A TIME WHEN
AUTOMAKERS STOP PRODUCING
ICE-POWERED VEHICLES, OR WILL
IT SIMPLY TAPER OFF?
A: I think it will be a tapering off. But it will
take a really long time to develop the [EV]
infrastructure and turn over the fleet. And
it will require a dramatic type of policy.
We are going with a decarbonization
trajectory from various climate-change
bodies, like the IPCC (Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change). That trajectory
projects half a billion electric vehicles on
the road - in use - by 2035 or 2040.
Q: ARE THERE AFFORDABLE WAYS
TO EXTEND THE LIFE OF ICEPOWERED
VEHICLES TO IMPROVE
THEIR FUEL EFFICIENCY AND
REDUCE CO2?
A: Absolutely! Technologically, the issue
is cost-effectiveness. Hybrids and plug-in
hybrids have an IC engine and are electrified.
Frankly, they were progress. But
we'll require further improvements.
So far, what we have been doing is
slapping together existing IC engines
with batteries. But we can dramatically
improve the IC engine when we have the
power management of a [powerful], reasonable-size
battery. These hybrids could
work better for specific cases, where the
grid's electrons do not come from renewables,
where there is a cold climate or
for high speeds and long distances. And
there is a big difference between serving
urban and rural environments.
Going forward, all the highly efficient
IC engine technologies have transient-dynamic
management issues. Therefore,
they would all greatly benefit by optimizing
their combustion-mode switching
with hybridization. But of course, we
must make these new hybrid powertrains
cost-effective, robust and profitable. An
all-electric vehicle is in principle, and ultimately
could be, much simpler and more
cost-effective.
Q: WHAT BIG CHALLENGES
REMAIN FOR BATTERIES
TO REALIZE THEIR FULL
ENVIRONMENTAL AND
EFFICIENCY POTENTIALS?
A: There is a lot of work to be done. How
do we manage the end of life? How do
we improve repairability, remanufacturing,
repurposing these very large batteries?
Batteries are modular. How do we
create and tailor electric vehicles to the
needs of customers? You don't want to
just drive around with a big bench full of
cells. Design for disassembly is major.
We want to manage to do this safely, in
semiautomated, small
local shops. We
have the skilled technicians and sophisticated
tools to repair current vehicles.
That's not the case with battery-electric
vehicles now.
Q: IS THE COST-BENEFIT RATIO
CHANGING FOR INTERNAL
COMBUSTION ENGINES AND
BATTERIES? ENGINES THAT
WILL COMPLY ARE QUICKLY
BECOMING TOO EXPENSIVE, AND
BATTERY POWER IS POTENTIALLY
BECOMING MORE AFFORDABLE.
A: Again, we must stay on the fastest
trajectory for decarbonization. But the
cost-effectiveness of the IC side is saturating
or plateauing. And you are seeing
continuous, accelerated cost
improvement
on the battery side. We need to
be focused on that. What is the fastest,
best pathway to decarbonization? In the
end, when we understand that point,
it's not about one technology versus the
other. They will have to coexist for quite
a while. But our students, when they go
to work for big international OEMs, even
for those in Japan with significant hybridIC-engine
investment, have come back to
ask me if they can take battery courses to
understand, prepare and contribute to a
fast and smooth transition. n
M
MAZDA'S CUTTING-EDGE ENGINE
azda believes reducing vehicle
greenhouse gas emissions is more
complicated than simply switching
from internal-combustion engines
to battery-electric propulsion. If the electricity
produced to charge batteries is not produced
sustainably, then their " tailpipe " emissions are
just moved to the powerplant.
So, the automaker has pushed deeply into
the new frontier of using compression ignition
technology in gasoline engines. The most
advanced version of its Skyactiv production-engine
series is called the Skyactiv-X. It operates
using both compression and spark ignition -
essentially combining the features of a diesel
and gasoline engine - to increase fuel economy
and cut CO2 emissions. Mazda calls its
proprietary system SPCCI, for spark-controlled
compression ignition. It's available in the
mild-hybrid Mazda3 in Europe.
Adding to the base engine's complexity and
cost are a supercharger, advanced ignition technology
and an ultra-high-pressure fuel-injection
system. Mazda says Skyactiv-X has been
designed to work as a standalone or paired
with an electric motor and battery power.
Mazda promises increased efficiency, power
and torque, and lower emissions than earlier gasoline
and diesel Skyactiv engine variants.
- Jack Keebler
Mazda's Skyactiv-X engine uses
spark-controlled compression
ignition to increase fuel economy.
february 2022 * shift
9
Shift Magazine - February 2022

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