GM Promises 15 Percent Better Economy with HCCI Engine

General Motors still struggles to tackle the market chaos in key areas and developing new, fuel efficient technologies to reduce fuel consumption seems to be the best way to do it. Well, the American automaker is close to reaching an important milestone as it promises an increase of 15 percent in fuel economy with the help of a new homogenous charge compression ignition (HCCI) engine.

“HCCI delivers enhanced fuel savings without sacrificing the performance consumers have come to expect,” said Prof. Dr. Uwe Grebe, executive director for GM Powertrain Advanced Engineering. “It is a great example of how GM is developing advanced engine technology for consumers that squeezes more miles per gallon of gas and reduces emissions.”

Although we're not going to deepen too much in technical stuff, you should know that a HCCI engine uses the heat and the pressure inside it to ignite the fuel, which means no spark flame is needed anymore. However, the traditional spark ignition is still needed at certain times, especially when the engine is still cold and generating heat is impossible.

The company has already developed a prototype but the engine is still far from entering mass production. Why? Because there are several glitches to be dealt with and auto ignition at high temperatures or air density at high altitudes are the most important.

“GM’s global HCCI team is working to refine the technology in the wide range of driving conditions experienced around the globe,” Dr. Grebe added in the statement for the press. “By combining HCCI with other advanced gasoline engine and control technologies, we can deliver a good fuel savings value for consumers.”