Fuel efficiency

Aircraft

Fello’fly borrows from birds to improve aircraft flight efficiency

Airbus' new fello-fly demonstrator project will test the idea that two commercial aircraft flying in tandem can boost flight efficiency while reducing emissions, based on the technique used by flocks of birds.

Aptera's Steve Farmbro and Chris Anthony

Automotive

Aptera returns, promising a 1,000-mile aerodynamic EV

Aptera says it plans to have a car on the road by 2022 that can squeeze 1,000 miles (1,600 km) out of a 100-kWh battery.

Full digital control over valve lift, opening and closing times for all valves, in a system that Empa says has no reason to be expensive

Automotive

Digital valve train uses up to 20% less fuel in testing

The gasoline age is giving way to electric, but there's still plenty of room for last-gasp improvements to the combustion engine.

The Eximus IV neither makes steam nor does burnouts, but hey, this sure is a dramatic photo of the world's most efficient vehicle

Urban Transport

Eximus IV claims world's most energy efficient vehicle title

Once a year, the Delsbo Electric contest in Sweden challenges students to create and improve on the world's most energy-efficient vehicles. This year's champ, the Eximus IV, smashed the competition and all previous records with an electric equivalent of 687 MPGe (0.34 l/100km).

The Flying-V concept is reckoned to use 20 percent less fuel than an Airbus A350-900

Aircraft

KLM and TU Delft eye sustainable aviation future with V-shaped flyer

When Gibson introduced the Flying V electric guitar in 1958, it divided opinion. A bold new aviation concept out of TU Delft is sure to do the same. Wearing the same moniker as Gibson's iconic instrument, the design is aimed at improving aircraft efficiency and sustainability.

Camcon's Intelligent Valve Actuation system is the world's first fully digital valve system, uncoupled from the crankshaft and using electric actuators for both opening and closing

Automotive

World's first fully digital valves open up engine possibilities

British company Camcon Automotive has built a fully digital engine valve system, uncoupled from the crank, that offers unprecedented control over the combustion cycle. It enables some weird and wonderful ideas we've never seen before, such as giving 4-stroke engines brief 2-stroke power boosts.

The Starship Class 8 concept tractor trailer will begin a US coast-to-coast journey in May

Automotive

Shell trucks into the future with hyper-efficient solar tractor trailer

Shell Lubricants has teamed up with Connecticut-based AirFlow Truck Company on "the Starship," a concept big rig fitted with various fuel-saving technologies that is being sent from sea to shining sea on a road trip to test its performance.

TruckWings incorporates folding panels attached to the rear sides and roof of the cab that automatically swing out to close the cab-to-trailer gap at highway speeds

Automotive

TruckWings spread at speed to reduce drag, save fuel

With fuel accounting for a significant proportion of truck running costs these days, the quest for fuel efficiency has been attracting increasing attention. XStream Trucking's approach is to literally close the gap between the cab and the trailer at highway speeds.

KTH is testing a system the uses electric winds to reduce fuel consumption in trucks

Automotive

Electric wind takes truck aerodynamics from brick to slick

Researchers in Sweden are developing a device that increases the fuel efficiency of trucks by cloaking them in electric wind. Using plasma actuators to charge the air, the new technology controls the flow of wind around the truck to reduce drag and could improve fuel consumption by five percent.

Volvo recently added a hybrid powertrain to its SuperTruck concept

Automotive

Volvo adds hybrid power to SuperTruck concept

Volvo's SuperTruck concept has been designed to address fuel economy and emissions issues, which has been fitted with a prototype hybrid powertrain. Fuel consumption is reduced by 5 to 10 percent by allowing the diesel engine to shut off up to 30 percent of the time.

Combining evolutionary algorithms with connected vehicle technology has the potential to significantly improve the fuel economy of PHEVs

Automotive

Nature inspires 30% more efficient Hybrids

Taking inspiration from nature, engineers at the UC Riverside have found a way to cut the fuel consumption of many PHEVs by over 30 percent, just by changing the way the split between combustion engine and battery power is handled.

The Kia Niro was driven from Los Angeles to New York City using just over four tanks, or 48.5 gal (220 l), of gas

Automotive

Kia Niro sets US coast-to-coast hybrid efficiency record

A 2017 Kia Niro EX has set a new Guinness World Record for the fuel efficiency of a hybrid car being driven from coast-to-coast in the US. The crossover completed the 3,715-mile journey with a consumption of 76.6 mpg.