Bosch and Weichai Power increase efficiency of truck diesel engines to 50 percent

Bosch and Weichai Power, China’s largest manufacturer of commercial vehicle engines, have succeeded in increasing the efficiency of a Weichai diesel engine for heavy commercial vehicles to 50 percent for the first time and set a new global standard. On average, the thermal efficiency of truck engines is currently around 46 percent.

Especially in the commercial vehicle sector, when large loads have to be transported over long distances, the diesel engine will remain the first choice for the foreseeable future. Bosch and Weichai, therefore aim to continuously develop technology for protecting the climate and the environment.

“We have set a milestone by increasing efficiency by four percentage points. Even if the diesel engine is now almost 130 years old, development is still going on,”says Dr Volkmar Denner, Chairman of the Board of Management of Robert Bosch GmbH. In addition to its common rail system with an injection pressure of 2,500 bar, Bosch has also contributed all of its technical know-how to injection systems.

Bosch’s common rail system heart of the diesel engine
Bosch and Weichai started their joint development project in September 2018. “Bosch provided great support for the breakthrough and the first 50 percent efficiency of our commercial vehicle diesel engine. We look forward to continuing our very successful collaboration with Bosch,” says Tan Xuguang, Chairman of the Weichai Group.

The six-cylinder diesel engine with a displacement of 12.9 liters has the modular common rail system for commercial vehicles from Bosch. It ensures efficient fuel supply and injection and is therefore one of the key factors in ensuring that the engine complies with the China VI emissions standard. The Bosch system can be used for pressure levels between 1,800 and 2,500 bar and variable in engine sizes with up to eight cylinders. High nozzle flow rates enable optimisation of the combustion strategy and high engine performance. A service life of up to 1.6 million kilometers can be achieved, depending on requirements. The common rail system is also designed for the electrification of the drive train.

Aiming for cleaner, safer and smarter trucks
Bosch and Weichai have a longstanding partnership. Their strategic cooperation began back in 2003. The companies work together in a large number of other areas, including mobile fuel cells and driver assistance systems with a common goal to make commercial vehicles even cleaner, safer and more intelligent.

Looking for sustainable mobility
Bosch is targetting to become the market leader in electric mobility with battery and fuel cell powered vehicles. If charging power and hydrogen come from renewable sources, e-vehicles are climate-neutral. On the other hand, Bosch is specifically developing technology for efficient combustion engines in order to protect the climate and the environment as best as possible. Gasoline and diesel engines can also be driven climate-neutrally with renewable synthetic fuels. Bosch expects around a third of all newly registered vehicles worldwide to be purely electric by 2030. Two thirds are still powered by a combustion engine.

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