This Week in Engineering explores the latest in Engineering from academia, government and industry.
Episode Summary:
The General Electric/Safran partnership CFM International has been renewed to 2050, and the company has announced a game changing engine program that promises to deliver 20% lower CO2 emissions compared to current state-of-the-art turbofans. The engine will use advanced materials and notably, an open rotor design. High bypass turbofans may yet give way to propellers.
BYD has made the first move in the long-awaited entry of Chinese electric vehicle makers into Western markets. 100 Tang SUVs have been shipped to Norway, which is emerging as the European testing ground for new vehicles on the continent. If BYD succeeds, they may open the floodgates for multiple Chinese brands in an already crowded market.
General Motors and railway equipment heavyweight Wabtec have joined forces to build a hydrogen fuel cell powered locomotive. The green initiative will use GM Ultium batteries currently under development with LG and slated for production at a joint-venture factory in Tennessee. Fuel-cell modules be produced by a GM Honda JV. If it works, the new powerplant might change the paradigm in electric railway and urban transit design.
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Transcript of this week’s show:
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Segment 2: Chinese made consumer goods have dominated many world markets and sectors such as housewares and consumer electronics. One market where Chinese goods have yet to make a significant impact in Western markets is automobiles. That however may be changing as battery and vehicle major BYD has announced the shipment of the first 100 European specification electric SUVs for customers in Norway. BYD has successfully marketed electric buses for European markets, but this initial shipment of passenger cars marks a significant milestone. European passenger car regulations are strict, and European consumers are both discriminating and able to choose from multiple EV brands. The BYD offering, the Tang SUV, is a large seven seat, all-wheel-drive vehicle that uses BYD’s blade battery technology. According to the company, the 86-kWh battery gives the vehicle a single charge NEDC range of over 500 km and can charge between 30 and 80% of capacity in 30 minutes. The firm states that nail penetration and furnace tests show that the battery pack is significantly safer than lithium-ion phosphate technology. The company will market and service the vehicles through the Scandinavian auto distributor RSA. Why Norway? That nation has emerged as an ideal test market for many electric vehicle models ahead of wider European rollout, and BYD plans to ship 1500 vehicles into the Norwegian market before the end of the year. The EU is a tough, competitive market for electric vehicles with multiple models from foreign makers such as Tesla as well as domestic offerings from majors like Volkswagen and Stellantis. Norway could be make or break for Chinese EVs in that important European market.
Segment 3: Cars, trucks and even airplanes are widely expected to be battery-powered in the future, but they’re not the only modes of transportation. While much of the world’s passenger rail systems are electrified, for the vitally important freight services that connect the globe, it’s still a diesel-powered world. That may be changing however, as locomotive technology heavyweight Wabtec and General Motors have announced that the firms will collaborate on the development of GM’s Ultium battery technology and HYDROTEC hydrogen fuel cells for use in Wabtec locomotives. In a sense, these locomotives were hybrids long before the term was invented. Diesel engines spin generators which in turn power electric motors, although energy is not stored in conventional systems. For short-haul use, Wabtec developed the world’s first battery-powered locomotive, called FLXdrive, which the company claims can cut carbon emissions by up to 30% operating at six MWh energy levels. For long haul freight however, charging is an issue, and this is where the GM collaboration comes in. GM Ultium battery technology has been developed in a joint venture with LG to power GM’s next generation of electric cars and light trucks, with a major production plant under construction in Tennessee. While better batteries allow longer ranges, the key to the new system will be GM’s HYDROTEC hydrogen fuel cells. These cells are modular, and are designed to fit multiple applications. Storage of gaseous hydrogen has been a major issue for automotive and aviation applications, but locomotive use is not as weight sensitive as the road or air sectors, and refuelling infrastructure is relatively easy to install for rail use. HYDROTEC fuel cells will be built by Fuel Cell Systems Manufacturing in Brownsville, Michigan, a joint venture between General Motors and Honda. Could the locomotive application kickstart the hydrogen fuel cell sector and make it a true competitor to all electric propulsion? The combination of Wabtec’s rail experience going back a century, with GM’s similar powertrain capability make it an interesting possibility. Could urban rail eventually switch from catenary or third rail grid supplied systems to hydrogen power? This experiment may tell.