China Automotive News: Yuchai is opening up new Horizons by Focusing on "Dual tracks"

The internal combustion engine industry is an important basic manufacturing sector in China and a strategic demand for the sustainable development of China's new industrialization. The dominant position of internal combustion power has not changed. With the promotion of the "dual carbon" goals, "high efficiency, low carbon and near-zero emissions" have become the development trend of the new generation of internal combustion engine technology. Recently, at the 22nd China International Internal Combustion Engine and Power Equipment Expo, Yuchai's innovative products and platforms, including China's first commercially operational flexible fuel engine platform, diesel engines that meet four-stage fuel consumption requirements, and gas engines with the largest torque of the same displacement in the industry, made their debut It comprehensively showcased the latest achievements of Yuchai in technological breakthroughs in both traditional and new energy power "dual tracks".

01. Diversified products are concentrating on transforming towards low-carbonization and zero-carbonization

    This time, Yuchai showcased a rich variety of products with a wide coverage, including traditional power, hybrid power, new energy power, hydrogen fuel cells, etc. It also covered all fields such as vehicles, agricultural and industrial machinery, and ships, deeply demonstrating Yuchai's strength. It also reflects Yuchai's positioning as an independent professional power system supplier and its future technological layout and strengthening of technological reserves. "Maintain confidence in diversified driving development." " In an exclusive interview with China Automotive News, Lin Tiejian, the chief engineer of Yuchai Co., LTD., said that achieving the "dual carbon" goals has become the main driving force for the development of internal combustion engine technology, and the new generation of low-carbon and carbon-neutral internal combustion engine technology is the future development direction.

For this reason, Yuchai has been exploring the potential of a new generation of high-efficiency, low-carbon and near-zero emission internal combustion engines in recent years. Promoting the development of a new generation of low-carbon and carbon-neutral fuel internal combustion engines as well as the technological development of various hybrid internal combustion engines, not only has the key technology of internal combustion engines been developed and the core components have been independently controllable, It has also completed the research and development, industrialization of hybrid engines, and the research and development of key core components, as well as the pre-research and industrialization demonstration of internal combustion engines such as hydrogen, ammonia, and ammonia-hydrogen fusion.

For instance, at this exhibition, Yuchai brought a variety of new products, showcasing the latest achievements and technological applications of its transformation towards low-carbonization and zero-carbonization, and leading the power equipment industry to accelerate its leap towards high-quality development with forward-looking vision. Lin Tiejian said.

02. Promote the internal combustion engine industry to enter a new stage

    In May this year, Yuchai launched China's first flexible fuel power platform that has achieved commercial operation. In Lin Tiejian's view, Yuchai's first commercial flexible fuel engine platform will enable China to truly achieve low-cost application of zero-carbon and low-carbon fuel high thermal efficiency engines, and promote China's internal combustion engine industry to enter a new stage of development.

It is reported that this platform, through the development of an independent controller and a universal cylinder head design, only requires adjustments to the fuel system and software to flexibly match various fuels. It can produce a full range of products at the lowest cost and with the fastest development progress, meeting customers' personalized demands.

Under the national "dual carbon" strategy, the transition to zero-carbon fuel is the future of internal combustion engines. Through the development of a flexible fuel engine platform, Yuchai has promoted the expansion of internal combustion engines from fuel to hydrogen fuel, and has achieved the development of single and dual-fuel internal combustion engines such as ammonia-hydrogen, ammonia-diesel, and methanol-diesel, thus broadening the development field of internal combustion engines. Lin Tiejian said that the launch of this platform has enabled Yuchai to achieve leading positions in release, layout, technology and demonstration application.

The first YCK15N gas engine and YCK15 diesel engine of Yuchai's flexible fuel engine platform have been launched first. They are the most powerful models of engines of the same displacement in China, fully meeting users' demands for high-horsepower engines in long-line logistics, mountainous or plateau areas.

In addition, Yuchai's second-generation National VI products, YCK09L and YCY25, also made their debut. This series of products has been upgraded based on the nearly one million Yuchai National VI engines that have been fully put into use for commercial vehicles. It is a diesel engine that can fully meet the fuel consumption standards of the fourth stage.

03. Inject strong impetus into the natural gas market

    Since the beginning of this year, the sales of natural gas heavy-duty trucks have been booming. The gas engines equipped with Yuchai YCK15N and YCK13N have become the first choice of the market and users due to their absolute cost performance.

Yuchai has mastered key technologies such as new, efficient and clean combustion technology, highly adaptable component technology, high-precision control technology, efficient after-treatment technology and highly reliable whole machine technology, which has injected strong impetus into the development of gas vehicles. Lin Tiejian stated that using natural gas as a zero-carbon and low-carbon gas fuel not only meets increasingly strict emission regulations but also offers comparable power performance compared to gasoline and diesel, which are currently the main energy sources consumed in the transportation sector. In addition, low-carbon fuels represented by natural gas have obvious economic advantages and lower usage costs.

Especially to meet customers' demands for high-end power, Yuchai has fully mastered a series of key technologies during the National VI standard stage and is at the forefront of the industry in terms of the performance and emissions of gas engines. For instance, the YCK15N high-horsepower gas engine developed by Yuchai has achieved a thermal efficiency of 41.3% and a gas consumption of 25 kilograms per 100 kilometers. These indicators are among the best in China. Lin Tiejian said.

04. The "two-pronged" approach helps further innovate the internal combustion engine industry

    In the face of the implementation of the "dual carbon" goals, Yuchai is actively and comprehensively laying out new energy. We were among the first in the industry to start the research and development of hybrid power technology. We have made progress in both range-extended and plug-in hybrid power, and also have a rich range of pure electric products and fuel cell products. Lin Tiejian stated that the traditional power and new energy routes are not contradictory. When Yuchai is developing both routes in parallel, in many scenarios, they are integrated, promoted and supported by each other.

Lin Tiejian emphasized that the internal combustion engine is an important basic manufacturing industry in our country and an indispensable power source. We must firmly hold confidence in the development of the internal combustion engine industry. However, the current peak effective thermal efficiency of internal combustion engines is far from reaching its limit, and there is still considerable room for improvement in the overall thermal efficiency. Further improvement is still needed in key core technologies and key components. And under the new situation and new background, the internal combustion engine industry must accelerate its transformation and upgrading. Focusing on the "dual carbon" goals, on low-carbonization, and on thermal efficiency, efforts will be made to drive the comprehensive upgrading of industries. Accelerate scientific and technological innovation. Focusing on tasks such as product cost performance, the industrial chain, and the substitution of new-generation low-carbon and zero-neutral fuels, we actively carry out technological innovation, highly integrate internal combustion engines with electrification and intelligent technologies, and help the internal combustion engine industry further innovate.