VAN BUREN TWP., Mich., May 8 /PRNewswire/ -- The UK government's Technology Strategy Board today announced funding of $45 million for 16 innovative low-carbon vehicle-development projects. Including partner contributions, these projects collectively represent a total value of $102 million. As a technology leader in high fuel economy/low carbon vehicle technologies, Ricardo will be an active participant in three of the winning project consortia. Building on the work of the 2/4SIGHT engine concept, the 2/4CAR project aims to deliver a global premium vehicle demonstrating a 25-30 percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions with no loss of performance using an innovative, highly downsized gasoline engine with two-stroke/four-stroke switching technology. Laboratory work has shown that torque output more typical of an engine with twice the capacity is achievable. The engine design incorporates a cycle-switching valvetrain and an advanced boosting and control system, and will demonstrate powertrain-integration and drivable-control strategies. Ricardo will lead this project, which will be carried out by a consortium including the University of Brighton, DENSO Sales UK Ltd. and Jaguar Cars Ltd. Reflecting the emerging importance of vehicle electrification, Ricardo also will participate in the Range Extended Electric Vehicle project, which will be led by Land Rover. This project aims to develop a modular electric and electric/diesel powertrain suitable for several different vehicle types. It will be tested on a large, premium sport-utility platform delivering 120 to 130 g/km and zero emissions range of at least 12 miles. The project also will investigate range extension and plug-in charging and installation/commissioning of local recharging facilities for vehicle trials within the vehicle fleet of E-ON, who along with Ameriac Projects Ltd are also consortium members. Kinetic energy recovery will be the theme of the Flywheel Hybrid System for the Premium Vehicles project. This project will involve the design development of a mechanical hybrid (flywheel and variable-drive system) kinetic-energy recovery system for use in a premium-segment passenger vehicle as an alternative, cost-competitive solution to other hybrid systems. The project will demonstrate this within an existing vehicle platform to prove its effectiveness and viability for production and suitability for modular application. Jaguar Cars will lead this project, which will be carried out by a consortium also including Flybrid Systems, Ford Motor Company Limited, Prodrive, Ricardo UK Ltd, Torotrak plc and Xtrac Ltd. "We welcome the investment decision announced today by the UK Technology Strategy Board and look forward to participating in three of the major UK low-carbon vehicle programs that have successfully secured funding," said Neville Jackson, Ricardo technology director. "Improving fuel economy and reducing carbon emissions are major imperatives globally for both the automotive industry and society in general. We are proud that the consortia in which we are participating have secured funding for these three very important projects, which aim to provide some of the crucial enabling technologies for future low-carbon road-transport applications." About Ricardo Ricardo, the Eco-Innovation Technology Company, is a leading independent provider of technology, product innovation, engineering solutions and strategic consulting to the world's automotive, military, transport and new energy industries. The company's skill base represents the state-of-the-art in low emissions and fuel-efficient powertrain technology, and can be best summarized: "Ricardo is Fuel Economy." Ricardo offers TVFE(TM), its Total Vehicle Fuel Economy engineering service, to transportation manufacturers worldwide to provide objective evaluation of all available technologies to identify the most cost-effective strategies to optimize fuel economy and CO2 goals. For more information on TVFE, please visit www.totalvehiclefueleconomy.com . With technical centers and offices throughout Europe, the U.S. and Asia, Ricardo provides engineering expertise ranging from vehicle systems integration, controls & electronics, hardware and software development, to the latest driveline and transmission systems and gasoline, diesel, hybrid and fuel cell powertrain technologies. Its customers include the world's major automakers and suppliers as well as manufacturers in the military, commercial, off-highway and clean energy sectors. The company also serves in advisory roles to governmental and independent agencies. Ricardo's U.S. operation, Ricardo, Inc., is headquartered in Van Buren Township, Michigan. Ricardo plc posted sales of $344 million in financial year 2007 and is a constituent of the FTSE TechMark 100 index -- a group of innovative technology companies listed on the London Stock Exchange. For more information, visit www.ricardo.com . Media Contacts: Joe Kirik / The Quell Group / (248) 649-8900 / jkirik@quell.com Anthony Smith / Ricardo Media Office / +44 1273 382710 / media@ricardo.com
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