BOARD MEETING DATE: September 15, 2000 AGENDA NO. 6

Although heavy-duty vehicles represent less than 10 percent of the total vehicle population in the Basin, they contribute 36 percent of the NO_x and 68 percent of the PM to the on-road vehicle emissions inventory. The AQMD and others have supported development and demonstration of natural gas engine technology. Over the past decade, major U.S. engine manufacturers (OEMs) have developed heavy-duty natural-gas engines for use in transit buses and commercial trucks. This engine technology can achieve NO_x emissions well below 2.0 g/bhp-hr. In addition, hybrid-electric drive systems are being developed which further increase efficiency and reduce emissions.

Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) engines have been under development for several years. HCCI is a combustion process in which a well-mixed charge of fuel and air is brought to ignition by compression in a traditional piston engine. This process combines the high efficiency of diesel engines with very low NO_x and essentially no PM. The difficulty in developing such engines is controlling the start of combustion since there is no spark plug nor in-cylinder fuel injection. In addition, the power output from HCCI engines has been relatively low because very lean fuel-air mixtures have been used. Recent developments in combustion, modeling, electronics and sensors by the University of California, Berkeley (UCB) and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) have made high-horsepower HCCI engines feasible.

UCB proposes to develop and demonstrate a high-efficiency, low-emission, natural-gas HCCI engine. The first of three phases involves testing a single-cylinder Caterpillar diesel engine using HCCI combustion. Here, the combustion dynamics for this engine type will be studied. The engine will be operated and the start of combustion measured under various speed and load modes. The impact of fuel-air ratio, intake-air temperature and the use of exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) will be determined. The HCCI combustion of this engine will also be modeled by LLNL as an in-kind contribution.

In the second phase, the information gained on the single-cylinder will be adapted to a current production six-cylinder Caterpillar engine. UCB will select components and build a microprocessor feedback system to control combustion timing and engine power. The developed engine will be operated in the laboratory and ultimately coupled to an electrical generator.

The final phase involves a demonstration of this natural-gas HCCI engine and generator in a hybrid-electric vehicle. The developed system will be installed in either an electric automobile or electric bus. This project will take approximately 2 years to complete.

The proposed project is included in the March 2000 update of the Technology Advancement Plan under Project 2000M2-2,"Development and Demonstration of Low Emission, Alternative Fuel Engine Technologies for On-Road Application." The AQMP relies on the expedited implementation of advanced technologies and clean-burning fuels in southern California to achieve air quality standards.

HCCI engine technology has the potential to reduce piston engine emissions to extremely low NO_x and PM levels, those nearing the emission level of electric powerplants. It is expected that the Caterpillar HCCI engine will have NO_x emissions well below 0.10 g/bhp-hr and PM emissions less than 0.01 g/bhp-hr. The current emission standards for urban bus engines are 4.0 g/bhp-hr NO_x and 0.05 g/bhp-hr PM.

Section VIII.B.2. of the Procurement Policy and Procedure identifies four major provisions under which a sole source award may be justified. This request for a sole source award is made under two provisions: c.(2) The project involves the use of proprietary technology; and under provision d.(8) Research and development efforts with education institutions or nonprofit organizations.

UCB has developed proprietary technology for the proposed HCCI engine. UCB is also one of the premier educational institutions in the United States engaging in combustion engine research. Recent projects include Control of Air-to-Fuel Ratio in Spark Ignition Engines Using Gaussian Network Sliding Control, and Control of Hydrocarbon Emissions During Cold Start by Using In-Cylinder Pressure Feedback.

The total cost for this project to develop and demonstrate a high-efficiency, low-emission natural-gas HCCI engine is approximately $665,900. The amount of AQMD funding for this contract with UCB shall not exceed $300,000. The funding and co-sponsors are as follows:

	Cash	In-Kind
Caterpillar, Inc.	$156,700	-
Lawrence Livermore National Lab	-	$175,000
Advanced Vehicle Systems, Inc.	-	10,000
MEI, Inc	-	12,000
Ceryx, Inc.	12,200	-
AQMD	300,000	-_______
Total	$468,900	$197,000	$665,900

Sufficient funds are available from the Clean Fuels Fund, established as a special revenue fund resulting from the state-mandated Clean Fuels Program. The Clean Fuels Program, under Health and Safety Code Sections 40448.5 and 40512 and Vehicle Code Section 9250.11, establishes mechanisms to collect revenues from mobile sources to support projects to increase the utilization of clean fuels, including the development of the necessary advanced enabling technologies. Funds collected from motor vehicles are restricted, by statute, to be used for projects and program activities related to mobile sources that support the objectives of the Clean Fuels Program.

South Coast Air Quality Management District