Advanced fuel and propulsion technologies for low-carbon future transport

More than 80% of world energy today is provided by thermal power systems through combustion of fossil fuels. Because of their higher energy density and the extensive infrastructure for their supply, liquid fuels will remain the dominant energy source for transport for at least next few decades according to 2019 BP Energy Outlook report. In order to decarbonise the transport sector, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change highlights the important role that biofuels and other alternative fuels such as hydrogen and e-fuels could, in some scenarios provide over 50% of transport energy by 2050. The importance of the renewable transport fuel is also recognized by the UK Government's revised Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation published in April 2018 which sets out the targeted amount of biofuels to 12.4% to be added to regular pump fuel by 2032.
In practice, there are several obstacles which hinder the application of low-carbon and zero-carbon fuels. As a zero-carbon fuel, hydrogen can be produced and used as an effective energy storage and energy carrier at solar and wind farms. But its storage and transport remain a significant challenge for its wider usage in engines due to the complexity and substantial cost of setting up multiple fuel supply infrastructure and on-board fuelling systems. Although the low-carbon renewable liquid fuels, such as ethanol and methanol produced from hydrogen and CO2, can be used with the existing fuel supply systems, the significantly lower energy density, which is about half of that of gasoline/diesel, makes them unfavourable to be directly applied in the existing engines for various applications (e.g. automotive, flying cars, light aircraft, heavy duty vehicles, etc.) with high requirements on power density. Whilst there is a drive to move towards electrification to meet the reduction of the carbon emissions, it is vital to innovate developments in advanced hybrid electrical and engine powertrain to provide additional options for future low-carbon transport.
This research aims to carry out ground-breaking research on three innovative technologies covering both fuels and propulsion systems: nanobubble fuels and Nano-FUGEN system, fuel-flexible BUSDICE and DeFFEG system. The technologies either in isolation or as a hybrid have the potential to make a major contribution in addressing the challenge of decarbonising the transport sector.
At first, I will explore how the nanobubble fuel (nano-fuel) concept can be used as a carrier for renewable gas fuels in liquid fuels in the form of nanobubbles. The technology can be implemented with minimal new development to the combustions engines and hence has the potential to make immediate impact on reducing CO2 emissions through better engine efficiency and increased usage of renewable energy. Secondly, a novel 2-stroke fuel-flexible BUSDICE (Boosted Uniflow Scavenged Direct Injection Combustion Engine) concept will be systematically researched and will involve development work for adapting to be used with both conventional fossil fuels and low-carbon renewable fuels (e.g. ethanol and methanol) and simultaneously achieve superior power performance and ultra-low emissions. At last, based on the developed BUSDICE concept, a Dedicated Fuel-Flexible Engine Generator (DeFFEG) will be further developed by integrating a linear generator and a gas spring chamber, therefore enabling advanced electrification and hybridisation for a range of applications, including automotive, aviation and marine industries.
Overall, the proposed project is an ambitious and innovative study on the fundamentals and applications of the proposed fuel and propulsion technologies. The research not only has great potential to bring about new and fruitful academic research areas, but also will help to develop next-generation fuel and propulsion technologies towards meeting Government ambitions targets for the future low-carbon and zero-carbon transport.

The proposed research is a highly integrated research which will bridge between the research of powertrain and fuels and promote the future development of both industries in the UK. This research will not only contribute to the high-level knowledge and intellectual skills but also will be crucial in helping to maintain and strengthen the UK's internationally leadership capabilities in both areas. Successful delivery of this project will enable academics to develop predictive and virtual design tools for manufacturers to accelerate innovation and the development and application of advanced fuels and propulsion systems and thereby reducing development costs and making them more competitive for future low-carbon transport in the global market.

A steering committee from both industry and academia will be setup to oversee the research and simultaneously create opportunities for industrialisation of the developed technologies. The research will be well supported by leading fuel, powertrain and instrumental companies in UK. The collaboration with BP, Shell, Lubrizol and MAHLE Powertrain will focus on the nano-fuel technology and its applications in combustion engines. By collaborating with these leading companies, the project aims to develop a state-of-art nano-fuel generation (Nano-FUGEN) system demonstrator and advanced powertrain systems running with the optimised nano-fuels. The advantages of nano-fuel in fuel efficiency and CO2 reductions will be demonstrated by running road trails by the end of the project. The project will seek opportunities to impact the policy makers on the usage of nano-fuels, which will deliver a profound impact on future transport sector and speed up CO2 reduction. By collaborating with Malvern Panalytical, new techniques, such as DLS, NTA and laser diffraction, to accurately characterise nanobubbles in liquid fuels and their IP will be developed and protected for commercialisation. Furthermore, as mentioned in Letter of Support from Malvern, the applicant will engage with BSI committee on the usage of nanobubbles in liquid fuels and corresponding standards of nano-fuels will then be developed with Malvern and fuel companies. Through the collaboration with MAHLE, Osprey, Camcon and Libertine, the project will develop a prototype fuel-flexible BUSDICE and a prototype DeFFEG. The testing results of prototypes will be disseminated through conferences/workshops and industrial partners for future investment on the developed technologies for their commercialisation in future transport. The project will also seek commercialisation opportunities of the developed technologies in China through the research partner SKLE, Tianjin University, as detailed in Letter of Support. This will open new markets for UK technologies.

International patent protection of the researched technologies will be sought to enable industry to invest in bringing them to market. In addition, the applicant will also apply for funding from the Brunel's EPSRC's Impact Acceleration Account (IAA) to further promote the industrialisation of the developed technologies on a permanent and sustainable basis. Joint Brunel-Industrial projects will be set up to implement the developed technologies in relevant industries. The industrial exploitation will be further aided by advice from the Research Support and Development Office (RSDO) at Brunel University and its highly pro-active commercialisation team (which is already bringing new automotive technologies to market) to expand the connection with UK and overseas companies with close research, development and production interests. The applicant will visit leading companies in the field with the commercialisation team to support the application and take up of the research findings with relevant companies. The project will eventually enhance social, economic and environmental development by generating new products for future low-carbon transport thus reducing CO2 and exhaust pollutant emissions.