Fuel efficiency

Transport

World's most energy efficient vehicle rolls on to new heights

Electric vehicles have come a long way in the last decade or so, moving people from A to B with ever-improving efficiency, but none quite match the levels of a student-built railroad car called Eximus IV, which has just set another record in Sweden.

Otto Aviation says its Celera 500L 'bullet plane' offers the performance of a small jet, using 1/8th the fuel and costing 1/6th as much to run

Aircraft

Remarkable low-drag "bullet plane" aims to democratize private flight

Otto Aviation claims its bizarre-looking Celera 500L "bullet plane" offers the performance of a small jet using just 1/8th the fuel, for around 1/6th the running costs. The company wants to make private air travel cost as much as an airline ticket.

A pilot consults the LNAS display before beginning a landing approach

Aircraft

Airplane computer system could save fuel and reduce noise on landings

Airliners can make a lot of noise and use a lot of fuel when they're coming in for a landing. A new onboard computer system, however, was recently shown to be effective at addressing both problems.

Traditional asphalt "sags" under the weight of transport trucks

Environment

Study suggests that stiffer roads would improve trucks' mileage

Everyone knows that walking on soft sand is more difficult than walking on a hard sidewalk. By the same token, MIT scientists are now suggesting that if road surfaces were to be made stiffer, large trucks would use less fuel.

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.