In the afternoon of November 20, 2022, Weichai released the world's first commercial diesel engine with body thermal efficiency of 52.28% and the world's first commercial natural gas engine with body thermal efficiency of 54.16%.

It has been more than 100 years since the birth of the world's first diesel engine, but the thermal efficiency of the diesel engine has only risen to 46%. According to insiders in the internal combustion engine industry, the thermal efficiency of the diesel engine has risen to 50%, just like the first 10 seconds of human 100 meter running. Now Weichai is constantly breaking the historical limit, breaking the world industry record repeatedly, and making such a rapid breakthrough in a short time. What's the secret?

Focus on superior resources and break through the shackles of the industry

The improvement of thermal efficiency has always been recognized as a technical problem in the world's internal combustion engine industry. In order to improve the thermal efficiency of more precise, smaller and more complex vehicle diesel engines to 50%, it is necessary to fundamentally solve a series of world-class problems such as efficient combustion, low heat transfer and low pollutant emissions of diesel engines.

In recent years, Weichai focused on engine core technology and cutting-edge technology, and launched a special research on improving thermal efficiency. Through a large number of simulations and bench tests, the technical breakthrough was identified. With each 0.1% accumulated, it was difficult to push forward. It solved the international problems of efficient combustion, low heat transfer, high detonation pressure and high reliability at one stroke, and finally achieved a historic breakthrough. In 2020, the world's first diesel engine with a body heat efficiency of 50.23% was released. After that, Weichai launched an impact on the new target of 51%. In January 2022, the thermal efficiency of Weichai diesel engine body reached 51.09% for the first time, setting a new world record. Only ten months later, Weichai 52.28% thermal efficiency diesel engine was released, successfully achieving three consecutive jumps.

Relying on a strong R&D team and a large amount of capital investment, Weichai quickly completed a key breakthrough in core technology. Compared with the existing mainstream products in the market (46% thermal efficiency diesel engines on average), the commercial application of 52.28% thermal efficiency technology can reduce fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions by 12%, and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 60 million tons. Under the general trend of green and low-carbon development advocated by the state, Weichai has demonstrated China's technological strength to achieve the dual carbon commitment.

Develop multiple driving forces and build a complete industrial chain

In addition to the diesel engine whose thermal efficiency has exceeded 52.28%, the most eye-catching product in this conference is the natural gas engine whose thermal efficiency has exceeded 54.16%. Weichai has been deeply involved in the internal combustion engine industry for more than 70 years. Different from some of the hype concepts in the capital market, its layout in the clean energy field was really commercialized at the beginning, and they paid more attention to the exploration and implementation of technology and business models.

When the global energy structure changes to a clean energy system, natural gas, as one of the representatives of clean energy, its unique emission advantages and cost advantages are quickly noticed by engine manufacturers.

Different from traditional fuel engines, natural gas can reduce carbon emissions by 20% compared with diesel under the same heat generation conditions. According to experts' estimation, compared with the international mainstream natural gas engine with 42% thermal efficiency, the use cost of Weichai's natural gas engine with 54.16% thermal efficiency can be reduced by more than 20%, and the carbon reduction of the whole industry can reach 30 million tons.

In fact, as early as 2008, Weichai started to conquer the technology of natural gas direct injection in cylinder, and successfully developed the first high-power direct injection compression ignition natural gas engine in cylinder in China in 2012. In order to further realize the autonomy and controllability of the natural gas cylinder direct injection system and core components, Weichai has achieved a double breakthrough in the thermal efficiency of the natural gas engine body above the industry level of 42%, with a breakthrough of 45% and 50% respectively in 2020 and 2021.

In 2022, Weichai successfully developed the dual fuel fusion injection multi-point lean combustion technology, realizing the precise control of fuel injection for the first time. On November 20, 2022, Weichai successfully improved the thermal efficiency of the natural gas engine body to 54.16%. For the first time, the natural gas engine surpassed the diesel engine and became the thermal machinery with the highest thermal efficiency.

Expand the whole product line of Weichai from the top thermal efficiency single product; To replace all domestic ordinary diesel engines with high thermal efficiency products and realize the ideal of reducing emissions by hundreds of millions of tons, Weichai still needs to work hard for a long time. It is undeniable that the diesel engine with thermal efficiency of 52.28% and the natural gas engine with thermal efficiency of 54.16% released this time have the mature conditions to be put on the market. We have broken through the limits of ourselves time and time again. We firmly believe that Weichai people will continue to adhere to innovation, climb the peak of science and technology again, and realize the great ambition of leading Chinese internal combustion engine enterprises to establish a forest of international giants.Editor/Xing Wentao