- Geely has built a combustion engine that achieves a thermal efficiency of 48.4 percent.
- This is a record for a combustion engine.
- The hybrid powertrain can reach speeds of 105 miles per gallon.
China’s fame in the automotive sector is not only on the rise—it has now soared to the top. Traditional car manufacturers are already quite worried about the technological and production advantages they have. So, of course, news of Geely making its powertrain nearly 50 percent efficient will deepen those concerns.
According to reports from China Car NewsGeely has achieved thermal efficiency of 48.4 percent with its latest i-HEV system, which uses AI-based algorithms to manage energy more carefully. Guinness independently verified that figure and the combined fuel economy of 105 miles per gallon is equally astounding. Geely says this can be achieved with any i-HEV car, whether equipped with a 1.5-litre or 2.0-litre internal combustion engine.
Photo by: Geely
How important is a thermal efficiency of 48.4 percent? Thermal efficiency is a measure of how much useful energy is extracted from a given amount of fuel. This means that almost 50 percent of the fuel used in the Geely i-HEV is converted into power.
To date, the most thermally efficient production engine is around 42 percent, with Nissan’s e-Power engine and Toyota’s Dynamic Force hybrid engine falling in that range. Your average ICE-only car will produce thermal efficiencies in the mid-20s to mid-30s range.
Thermal efficiency is the white whale in this era of internal combustion, because it contributes to everything. More thermally efficient engines deliver more horsepower and better fuel economy.
Hybrid systems are especially helpful in this regard, as they can store wasted energy and reuse it during low-efficiency activities such as starting and stopping. Geely’s numbers are close to Formula 1, where the engine efficiency is more than 50 percent using very advanced technology.
Motorcycle Pickup1: This level of technology is a big step forward, and it means the internal combustion engine is not dead yet. But Geely is not an automaker trying to improve the internal combustion engine.
