Attention Turns to Market Boon for Direct Injection
8 March 2000
Attention Turns to Market Boon for Direct Injection Following Siemens' Launch of First HPDI System
DETROIT, March 8 After the European first-to-market launch
of the Siemens High-Pressure Direct Injection (HPDI) system for the Renault
Megane Cabriolet models, Siemens Automotive's Virginia-based Fuel Components
division is readying itself for what the industry believes will be a market
boon for HPDI technology.
Siemens' Powertrain Fuel Components division, located in Newport News,
launched the new HPDI line in September, 1999, for export to Renault, where it
entered Europe and the history books as the first gasoline direct injection
system to that market.
"We celebrated the accomplishment, but only for a moment," said John
Sanderson, vice president and general manager, Powertrain Gasoline Systems
division of Siemens Automotive. "Industry forecasts predict HPDI technology
penetrating as much as 25 to 30 percent of the gasoline engine market in
Europe by 2005, and Siemens anticipated this evolution when it made the
decision to develop this technology a few years ago," he said. Sanderson
cited stricter regulations for the reduction of Co2 emissions and the customer
benefits of improved fuel economy as the primary drivers behind the rapid
growth forecast for HPDI.
The Newport News operation worked in close cooperation with other
associated Siemens Powertrain groups in the supply of the complete HPDI system
to Renault. This includes the engine management system, the induction system,
the fuel injection subsystem, the high-pressure, three-piston pump and the
entire exhaust treatment control for Renault's high-torque four-cylinder
engine IDE F5R (Injection Directe Essence).
Siemens Automotive and several car manufacturers currently are cooperating
to develop further applications of the High Pressure Direct Injection system
(HPDI). Major points of emphasis during the next development steps include
complete systems for stratified charge in future lean-combustion gasoline
direct engines. Siemens also has made an investment in an alternative direct
injection technology approach through a joint cooperation with Orbital Engine
Corporation, an Australian-based company specializing in techniques for air-
assisted gasoline direct injection. By adding air contained in the injection
nozzle, it is possible to work with relatively low pressures of eight to ten
bar. This offers the advantage of a combustible mixture that can be injected
directly into the cylinders.
Any type of gasoline DI for lean-mixture operation requires highly
sophisticated electronics for the control of emissions. Here, Siemens is able
to provide the world's first nitrogen oxide (NOx) sensor for use in the
absorption catalyst, a key component for future DI applications.
The performance potential of gasoline direct injection has not been fully
realized. Development efforts now primarily target fuel consumption reduction
-- without a negative impact on emissions -- of at least 15 percent, with
increased engine performance. Siemens Automotive engineers are confident they
will reach this goal. System configurations with maximum injection pressures
of 200 bar already are being tested; in a parallel development, the engineers
have managed to further shorten solenoid valve opening times.
Siemens Automotive is a tier-one supplier of automotive and electrical-
electronic systems and components with applications covering gasoline and
diesel powertrain systems, safety and chassis systems, body electronics,
electric motor drives and driver information systems. Worldwide sales in
fiscal year 1998/1999 totaled $3.6 billion.