A technology challenge has been launched by the UK Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership in an effort to provide a platform for promising innovations to be showcased to leading figures within the automotive industry.
The challenge calls on UK innovators to submit creative concepts that have the potential to cut emissions from road vehicles without the need for radical new infrastructure. The target is to produce mainstream passenger cars with carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions below 80g/km.
It is hoped that the challenge addresses some of the key issues that obstruct promising innovations currently such as market access and investment funding. It will identify the ten most promising ideas and then decide who will receive assistance to progress with their concept and in pitching to an ‘innovation executive’.
There are some strict criteria involved in the challenge: all concepts must reduce CO2 emissions from passenger cars; they must be able to be commercially deployed within three-five years; they must be on-vehicle; and they should be compatible with or be easily integrated into the existing transport, energy and fuel infrastructures.
One developer has already registered for the challenge – Libralato Engines. It produces a rotary engine that comprises two interlaced circular chambers of slightly different diameters. It has only four moving parts which perform the four phases in every revolution of the engine. The engine can function with any fuel and the company calculates that it can attain about 50 per cent efficiency using diesel as a fuel.
The Technology Challenge will culminate with a dinner and awards ceremony, and applications are open until September 7, 2009.
