In cars, trucks, airplanes, ships,

trains and power stations, the

energy needed by a modern society

is supplied by internal combustion

engines and turbines.

PRIMEMOVERS presents portraits

of 24 leading people from industry

and research who are passionately

pursuing their ideas for greater

efficiency and fewer harmful

emissions. Technology journalists

Johannes Winterhagen and Laurin

Paschek provide an insight into the

current focus areas of combustion

engine research in a way that is also

understandable to the nonexpert.

PRIMEMOVERS has been published

to mark the 60th anniversary of the

Research Association for Combustion

Engines (FVV), which has initiated

more than 1,000 research projects

since it was founded.

PRIME

MO

VE

RS

Current areas of research into engines and turbines

PUBLISHER FVV – Research Association for Combustion Engines eV AUTHORS Johannes Winterhagen, Dr Laurin Paschek PHOTOGRAPHER Rui Camilo

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CONTENTS

CHAPTER 3

HOW WE REMAIN

CLEAN

C H APT ER 2

WHAT GIVES US IMPETUS

CH APT ER 1

WHAT DRIVES US

CHAPTER 4

HOW WE DEVELOP

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MOBILITY INTERVIEW WITH

PROF DR PETER GUTZMER

IN MOTIONINTERVIEW WITH

DR GEORG PACHTA-REYHOFEN

PROF DR FRANZ & PROF DR STEFAN

PISCHINGER

MORE THAN MERE THEORY

PROF DR BURKHARD GÖSCHEL

THE JOY OF DRIVING

PROF DR JÖRG WALLASCHEK

LIKE A TUNING FORK

PROF DR GEORG WACHTMEISTER

THE TRACE OF FIRE

DR ROLF LEONHARD

UNDER PRESSURE

PROF DR PETER EILTS

DOWNSIZINGANKE KLEINSCHMIT

RESPONSIBILITY

DR TOBIAS LÖSCHE-TER HORST

THE SUM OF ALL THE PARTS

DR JÖRG MICHAEL HENNE

GENERATION- SPANNING WORK

DR WERNER STAMM

IN GOOD HANDS

PROF DR JENS HADLER

KEEP GETTING UP

DR TAKAO FUKUMA

RESEARCHING TOGETHER

DR UWE MOHR

TRIBOLOGICAL

PROF DR MICHAEL BARGENDE

SIMPLE FORMULAS

CHRISTINE BURKHARDT

PRESSURE PRODUCES

PERFORMANCE

DR EBERHARD JACOB

CREATIVE ENERGY

KARL SCHREIBER

THE THRILL OF THE NEW

LISA ZIMMERMANN

PURE EXHAUST

GAS

DR THOMAS HILDEBRANDT

RISING HIGH

DR MAGDALENA SPEICHER

HOT IRON

PROF DR PETER JESCHKE

CENTRIFUGALLY COMPRESSED

PROF DR GÜNTER KAPPLER

THE PIONEER

HEINRICH BAAS

POWER AND HEAT

VOLKER ZEITZ

A DESIRE TO UNDERSTAND

ABOUT FVV 192

INDEX 196

IMPRINT 198

CHAPTER 3

HOW WE REMAIN

CLEAN

C H APT ER 2

WHAT GIVES US IMPETUS

CH APT ER 1

WHAT DRIVES US

CHAPTER 4

HOW WE DEVELOP

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WE KEEP THE WORLD IN MOTION

AN INTERVIEW WITH

DR GEORG PACHTA-REYHOFENChairman of the FVV

Dr Pachta-Reyhofen, 60 years have passed since the FVV was

established. Is it the case that there still hasn’t been suffi-

cient research conducted into the combustion engine?

Firstly, we must acknowledge that combustion engines will

continue to play an important role in mobility and energy

supply long into the future. In many cases affordable alter-

natives remain a long way off. We are not just talking about

the car engine here, but also the many other areas where

combustion machines currently cannot be replaced – in heavy

goods vehicles, agricultural and construction machinery, air-

craft and ships, for instance. Or in the area of energy supply –

from the simple emergency generator to the biogas-powered,

highly efficient combined heat and power plant, combustion

engines supply secure and environmentally friendly power.

Accordingly, work on technical developments must not be

allowed to stand still.

What is your assessment of the situation?

I would like to answer that question by taking the example of

the long-distance heavy goods vehicle: based on the trans-

portation of a tonne of goods, fuel consumption has been

more or less halved since 1956. At the same time, harmful

emissions have been cut by more than 90 per cent. That is an

incredible engineering achievement, particularly since meas-

ures aimed at reducing harmful emissions almost always

lead to higher consumption. It would be relatively easy to

further reduce consumption by increasing compression, char-

ging pressure and peak cylinder pressure – but that would

lead to higher emissions of nitrous gases due to the hotter

combustion temperature. Despite this conflict of aims, we

have achieved a great deal. To take another example, large

state-of-the-art engines of the kind used in shipping have an

efficiency level of around 50 per cent.

How has it been possible to solve the conflict of aims you men-

tioned from a technological perspective?

The electronics have certainly represented an important

milestone, because they have made it possible to control the

engine with greater precision. Thanks to common rail injection

systems – which actually were first mass-produced not for

the vehicle, but for medium-speed engines – it then became

possible to completely uncouple the injection pressure and

timing from the engine speed. This has especially cut particu-

late matter formation to a significant degree, but also noise

emissions in modern diesel engines. Substantial foundations

for such developments were laid by FVV research projects, in

which the relationship between the injection of the fuel into the

cylinder and the build-up of soot particles was investigated.

Was there any parallel research into the area of nitrous gas

emissions?

In technical terms there are two ways of significantly cut-

ting nitrous gas emissions from diesel engines. One involves

reducing the peak combustion temperature inside the engine,

for instance by means of exhaust gas recirculation or the

Miller cycle. But the biggest breakthrough has been achieved

with exhaust gas aftertreatment systems based on selective

catalytic reduction (SCR). Here several FVV projects in the

1990s played a key role in making the systems – which

originate from power station technology – suitable for

mobile use. The SCR technology also shows that we at the

FVV do not restrict ourselves to a certain size or design of

combustion engine, but deal with engines and turbines of

all sizes. After all, SCR catalytic converters were initially

used in power stations, then in commercial vehicles and

Engineers and scientists have been conducting research into efficient and clean combustion engines on behalf of the FVV since 1956. Time to take stock.

Dr Georg Pachta-Reyhofen, chairman of the research association, sees plenty of progress – and still considers engines and turbines to be indispensable in future.

Development work must not be allowed to stand still

98

contained in the fuel is used. High-strength materials are

needed, however, in order to be able to go in this direction.

Furthermore, in all mobile applications it is essential that

the engine weighs as little as possible. This necessitates re-

search into a range of lightweight materials, including the

composite material carbon.

What role do innovative fuels play in conjunction with the

drive system of the future?

Naturally we are unable to and do not wish to replace the

research being conducted by oil companies and utilities.

But new fuels are a key element of CO2-neutral and low-

emission mobility in two respects. Firstly, so-called e-fuels

could be made from regeneratively produced power on the

basis of the ‘power-to-liquid’ or ‘power-to-gas’ principle. In

such a case, the same amount of CO2 is released during

combustion as was taken from the atmosphere to produce

the fuel. Secondly, engines that are designed precisely to

run on such synthetic fuels could produce considerably

fewer untreated emissions.

So how realistic is a completely climate-neutral combustion

engine?

The technical feasibility of ‘power-to-gas’ is already proven;

it’s more about further reducing the production costs here.

More research has to be conducted into ‘power-to-liquid’ in

order to find the optimal combination of fuel composition and

combustion process. How quickly such research will lead to

practical solutions will also depend on the speed at which we

can move the entire energy system in the direction of renew-

ables. After all, the impact of emissions from such fuels will

only be positive if regeneratively produced power is used as an

energy source during the production process. Since solar and

wind power generation fluctuates wildly, the question will be

one of how we deal with the excess energy that is produced at

certain times. Synthetic fuels can store unlimited amounts of

excess electrical energy by converting it into chemical energy

and thus help to balance supply and demand. In other words, they

could play a key role in the transformation of the energy system.

Shouldn’t the excess power be used immediately to run

electric vehicles?

As far as the car is concerned, this development will come

sooner or later, but we have to make real distinctions when

it comes to other forms of transport. In some areas, such

as urban buses or ferries on short routes, battery-powered

drive systems could be a very good idea, but a complete

changeover doesn’t appear to be possible from a present-day

perspective. A long-distance truck, for instance, currently travels

between 700 and 1,000 kilometres a day. In order to cover

such a distance we have calculated that a 40-tonne truck

would need to have about 15 tonnes of batteries on board,

which equates to around half its load capacity. Or take the

example of a container ship travelling from Rotterdam to

Shanghai. In this case, about 80 per cent of the total tonnage

would have to be used for the batteries. Even if this figure

could be halved by better batteries, a changeover to electric

drive systems would make no sense at all from an ecologic-

al perspective, because the environmental advantage of a

ship lies in the very fact that a huge load can be transport-

ed on just one vessel. Emissions in relation to the haulage

capacity have dropped considerably in recent decades and

are clearly lower than those for any other form of transport.

ultimately in mobile machinery engines that now have

to meet the strict ‘Tier 4 Final’ emission standards in the

USA. This technology is also becoming the standard in the

passenger car.

At the time, as chief development officer of a commercial

vehicle manufacturer, you had to bear responsibility for the

decision to introduce the SCR catalytic converter. What role

did the FVV play in it all?

It is only possible to make such a fundamental decision

– which, after all, also involves establishing the infrastruc-

ture for refuelling the urea solution – on the basis of scien-

tifically backed findings. The precompetitive basic research

within the FVV played an important role here – and not just

for me personally. That’s because such a solution requires

allies who can facilitate and help to speed up the establish-

ment of the necessary infrastructure.

What role did forced induction play in reducing harmful

emissions and carbon dioxide?

It would not have been possible to exploit the potential of

high-pressure fuel injection without efficient forced induction

systems. Large diesel engines now have single-stage turbo-

charging with maximum pressures of between four and five

bars. Further improvements in efficiency are possible by intro-

ducing variable or two-stage turbocharging. Here, too, joint

industrial research – in the area of materials, for example –

laid important foundations.

Materials are encountered time and again in the context

of FVV projects. Why is this subject so important to engine

and turbine developers?

In the area of material research there are two approaches

that directly influence our work on the combustion engine.

The first involves improving the thermodynamic efficiency.

In general terms, you could say the higher the tempera-

ture and pressure during combustion, the better the energy

Emissions have dropped considerably in relation to transport capacity

10 11

So you don’t think much of electrification?

On the contrary: complementing the combustion engine

with an electrical drive system can be a very good idea.

Think about the example of the serial hybrid drive systems in

modern cruise ships. They are not only much more comfort-

able, because the generator works largely vibration-free,

but are also more environmentally friendly, because the

combustion engine always runs at the optimal operating

point. Translate that to road transport, which requires the

engine to run much more dynamically. The interaction be-

tween the combustion engine and the electric drive system

leads to an improvement in efficiency that would otherwise

be barely achievable.

Wouldn’t hydrogen also be an alternative way of powering

larger and heavier vehicles?

German car and commercial vehicle manufacturers were able

to prove in fleet tests years ago that hydrogen is a suitable

fuel for combustion engines. If the engine is consistently de-

signed to run on hydrogen, the only ‘emission’ is steam. The

very small amounts of nitrous gases can be almost completely

eliminated by means of suitable aftertreatment. The fuel cell

would be another alternative if it could one day be manufactured

at competitive prices. However, the provision of a hydrogen infra-

structure should not be underestimated, particularly since it

is necessary to look at the entire picture: hydrogen is only en-

vironmentally friendly as a so-called secondary energy if it is

produced with the help of regenerative energy sources. I esti-

mate that the blanket introduction of such an infrastructure

in Europe would take between 15 and 20 years. Of course, the

question arises as to whether the methanation of hydrogen

represents a better alternative, because methane – or natural

gas – can also be used throughout Europe within a largely

already existing infrastructure to run combustion engines

with very few emissions.

Dr Pachta-Reyhofen, let’s look ahead 15 years; the FVV would

then be 75 years old. What will be the same and what will have

changed?

One thing that won’t change is the research into develop-

ment tools, for instance in the area of simulation, which al-

ready accounts for roughly half of all engine research pro-

jects. The same goes for the research projects dealing with

tools in the area of turbines. Precompetitive research helps

the entire industry to develop more quickly and precisely,

which is why we are extremely grateful to the Federal Minis-

try for Economic Affairs and Energy for backing this research.

It allows us to lay the foundations for ever more efficient

engines and turbines. The FVV will continue to bring people

together who are passionate about developing even more

efficient combustion engines, so that’s another thing that

won’t change. Research ultimately always thrives on ideas

and highly motivated individuals. In terms of the work of the

FVV, this will naturally evolve: we will increase our focus on

electrification – in other words, the interface between the

combustion engine and the electric drive system. Further-

more, in addition to hot combustion, we will devote more

time to the area of ‘cold combustion’ in the fuel cell. And

one thing also appears certain to me: the work of the FVV

will be much more international in future.

Will new combustion engines still be developed in 2031?

I am certain of it, even though they will probably have to

meet completely different requirements.

Research thrives on ideas and individuals

Photo: In Augsburg, the birthplace of the diesel engine, MAN runs a training centre for service engineers.

12 13

CH APTER 1

WHAT DRIVES US

The combustion engine has become increasingly more efficient since it was invented in the 19th century. It has thus become the engine that drives the global economy. Even today, researchers and engineers continue to work on improving its efficiency. However, the focus of engine research is shifting from inventing individual solutions to examining the entire engine, which also includes electrification of the drive system.

15

stations. The reason for the success is straightforward: since

the days of Diesel and Otto, it has been possible to create a

compact energy converter that has been improved by every

subsequent generation of engineers in terms of output and

efficiency. The first diesel engine got around 15 kilowatt from

a displacement of 19.6 litres. The efficiency level of Diesel’s

engine was 26.2 per cent during stationary operation, a sen-

sational figure at the time. By way of comparison, a modern

marine engine currently built in Germany gets 932 kilowatt

out of 17.9 litres; the efficiency level at the optimal operating

point is more than 41 per cent. Completely different values are

also possible, depending on the application. In 2016, for in-

stance, an engine capable of up to 1,103 kilowatt with a dis-

placement of ‘just’ eight litres was unveiled for a super sports

car. The specific power of a two-stroke large-scale diesel engine

of the kind used in shipping is rather modest by comparison,

although it uses around 55 per cent of the energy contained

in the fuel, which means that it is already approaching the

maximum efficiency level of an engine that converts heat

into mechanical work. At the beginning of the 19th century,

the French physicist Nicolas Sadi Carnot established that this

efficiency level is dependent on how big the difference is be-

tween the highest and lowest temperature during the cycle.

Accordingly, a maximum of around two thirds of the chemical

energy contained in the fuel can be used for real combustion

engines.

EVER NEARER TO THE PHYSICAL LIMITS

The fact that engineers are getting ever nearer to the physic-

al limits with modern engines is not due to one specific in-

vention, but rather a number of different innovations that are

always associated with research into individual mechanisms.

An important role is played in all of this by the joint research

conducted within the FVV, which has initiated more than

1,000 projects since it was founded in 1956. Every single

project contributes to the growing knowledge of what actu-

ally happens inside the engine. ‘We have come a very long way

in terms of our thermodynamic understanding of the engine,’ says

Dr Bodo Durst, who overseas the 'thermodynamics' working

group of the FVV. ‘Research that has produced methods with

which the processes within the engine can be ever better

analysed and simulated has made a significant contribution.’

According to the expert, however, who works full-time for BMW,

the development of such methods is by no means complete.

As such, the development of the combustion process and the

calibration of the software in the engine control unit ultimately

ought to converge. ‘In future it should be possible to see in-

side the combustion chamber during calibration and imme-

diately adjust the engine control unit.’ The technology needed

The combustion engine began its dynamic career as a tem-

porary worker. When Nikolaus August Otto, one of the foun-

ders of Deutz engineering works, brought the first four-stroke

combustion engine onto the market in 1876, the technical

development of the steam engine was already well advanced.

The petrol engine initially only served a market niche: in crafts-

man’s businesses that couldn’t afford a steam engine, it served as

a machine drive and later also as a generator drive. Two decades

later, the ‘rational heat engine’ invented by Rudolf Diesel ran

on the test stand for the first time. It was inconceivable to most

of his contemporaries that the power unit measuring more

than two metres in size would one day become the engine

that drives the global economy.

Experts estimate that more than one billion combustion en-

gines are now in use worldwide. Combustion engines drive con-

tainer ships more than 400 metres in length, as well as tractors,

construction machinery, lorries and privately owned cars. And

it is reciprocating engines that step in as emergency gener-

ators in hospitals and produce clean power in biomass power

for this – such as spark plugs fitted with fibre-optic cables –

is now available. The research thus creates a closed control

loop in which innovative measurement technology, new simu-

lation models and the combustion process design cross-fertilise.

One such example is ‘knocking’. This is the term engine experts

use to describe uncontrolled autoignition in the petrol engine,

which not only produces an annoying noise, but may also lead

to higher levels of harmful emissions or even damage the en-

gine. The extent to which an engine knocks depends in the first

instance on its compression ratio: the higher the pressure inside

the cylinder, the more likely the chances of undesirable ignition

events occurring. Designing an engine to have a compression

ratio that is as low as possible, however, is not an effective

remedy, because the efficiency level rises with the compression

ratio. Accordingly, a petrol engine always has to run as near to

its knocking threshold as possible. In several FVV projects,

researchers from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology,

among others, investigated the phenomenon. The research

showed that pre-ignition events mostly occur near the piston

head or cylinder walls, thereby corroborating the already existing

suspicion that pre-ignition events can mainly be ascribed to

the interaction between the directly injected fuel drops with

the cylinder wall and the lubrication film on it. In turn, this

knowledge influences the design of new injection systems that

distribute the fuel particularly well in the combustion chamber

without wetting the cylinder wall.

It would be ideal to be able to continually alter the compression

ratio while the engine is running. This insight in itself is hardly

new: back in 1947 the American engineer Ralph Miller dis-

covered that the final pressure can be lowered if the intake

valve is closed before the end of the induction stroke. The

effective compression ratio can thus be altered with the help

of variable valve control systems, depending on the operating

conditions. This method is often referred to by experts as the

Miller cycle. The effect it has on fuel consumption and harm-

Characteristics of today’s reciprocating engines

Car diesel engine Compact vehicle

Petrol engine Sports car

Gas engine Stationary power generation

Diesel engine (two-stroke) Container ship

Output with 12 cylinders (electric), plus 1,901 kW (thermal); overall efficiency level when waste heat utilised: 88.1 %

Overall engine output Efficiency level up to 52.4 %

Specific output / l cubic capacity Consumption: 4.2 l/100 km 2.0 l

3.8 l

6.2 l per cylinder

1,963.0 l per cylinder

Specific output / l cubic capacity Consumption: 9.2 l / 100 km

56 kW

104 kW

2,004 kW

75,735 kW

Cubic capacity

17WHAT DRIVES US16

ful emissions has been the subject of various FVV projects

whose application spectrum has ranged from the large-scale

diesel engine to car and gas engines. In future, a change in

the actual piston stroke and thus the geometric compression

ratio will also play a greater role in engine research. Whether

such systems will ever find their way from the field of research

to mass production will depend on the required effort in re-

lation to the achievable reduction in CO2 emissions.

SOLVING CONFLICTING AIMS

‘Generally speaking, however, variability will play a bigger role

in various engine fields,’ says Durst confidently. ‘The subject of

fuel consumption in the hands of the customers will become

much more important.’ The question that remains open is how

the existing conflict between creating as few CO2 emissions

as possible and minimal exhaust emissions will be solved

from a technical perspective. The answer to this question will

also determine the extent to which work will continue on

researching and developing alternative combustion processes.

Industry experts have been working intensively on so-called

HCCI processes since the turn of the millennium. HCCI

stands for ‘homogeneous charge compression ignition’, an

Otto combustion cycle in which controlled autoignition oc-

curs in certain ranges of the engine map. Furthermore, the

engine runs ‘lean’ – in other words, with excess air. None-

theless, fewer nitrous gases are formed than in a diesel en-

gine, because the combustion temperature is lower, although

it hasn’t yet been possible to transfer the benefits to the en-

tire engine map. ‘In terms of fuel consumption, all lean-burn

processes are of interest to the petrol engine,’ confirms Durst.

‘But new exhaust gas aftertreatment systems and also new

catalytic converters would have to be developed for petrol-

driven vehicles in order to keep up with future requirements

in relation to emissions.’

A number of different factors determine the real consump-

tion and untreated emission values of an engine. Exhaust gas

recirculation, forced induction and fuel injection have a sig-

nificant influence and are thus the subject of numerous re-

search projects, but the coolant temperature and auxiliary

units also play a role. Furthermore, operating conditions – such

as available fuel quality and the local climate – and also legal

requirements are becoming ever more varied as a result of

globalisation. ‘It is not sufficient to optimise one single sub-

system,’ says Dr Olaf Schäfer-Welsen, head of the FVV’s 've-

hicle systems' planning group. He advocates always looking

at the entire propulsion system. The expert, who spent a long

time at MTU Friedrichshafen as head of technological de-

velopment, points out that engines for professional use,

whether in construction machinery or marine applications,

are always designed to use as little fuel as possible, because

this significantly influences the running costs. ‘But this also

means that we have already reached levels of efficiency

where purely technological improvements can be very costly.’

He believes that the greatest potential for improving efficiency

in future lies in configuring a powertrain system precisely to

the individual application.

In concrete terms, this could mean always running the engine

in ranges where it works with a high level of efficiency. After

all, irrespective of the combustion process, the level of effi-

ciency always drops when the engine is operated with an

especially high or low load. But since the load permanently

changes in almost all applications, in a low-load situation it

can be a good idea to convert some of the kinetic energy

produced by the combustion engine into power using a ge-

nerator. If this is temporarily stored in a battery, it can later

be used again in the event of a high load to avoid operating

in unfavourable ranges of the engine map. Particularly big effects

are achieved by hybrid powertrain systems where vehicles very

often slow down and accelerate again. This applies to regional

trains, for example, or machinery used in the area of forestry. ‘The

combustion engines in electric propulsion systems exhibit very

different load spectra, depending on the application,’ explains

Schäfer-Welsen. ‘This throws up other questions for the field

of research.’ It is especially important for the later commer-

cial success of the engine manufacturers that they supply

system solutions tailored to the application, while also ensuring

that these systems can be developed with one modular tool-

kit. Methods for efficiently developing electric propulsion sys-

tems could also become the subject of FVV research in future.

As much as the focus of research may change, a passion for

more efficient engines still occupies the scientists working

on FVV projects to this day. There will be times when they feel

a little like Rudolf Diesel while he contemplated the ‘rational

heat engine’. In 1887 it robbed him of his sleep: ‘I lie awake half

the night thinking about it all. […] I am now living in a state of

desperate anxiety.’ He spent around 15 years working on the

autoignition diesel engine that would later be named after

him. The technical solutions he found were not just based on

experimental experience, but on a profound preoccupation

with the principles of thermodynamics. This mix of theory and

practice continues to inform the work of the engine researchers

to this day.

CO2

CNG

The potential of innovative engine technology to cut CO2 emissionsUsing a car petrol engine as an example

-31%Optimised

for monovalent CNG operation

-9%VGT turbo- charger in

combination with the

Miller cycle

-13%Water

injection

-25%48-volt

hybridisation

-4%Variable

compression ratio

The described potentials cannot be combined in a real engine, and thus cannot be totalled.

WHAT DRIVES US18 19

WHAT DRIVES US

THE SUM OF ALL THE

PARTSGearbox developer Tobias Lösche-ter Horst only

started working on engines at the age of 42. Today he is not only head of powertrain research at

Volkswagen Group, but also chairs the scientific advisory committee at the FVV. The researcher is

convinced that the powertrain of the future will not come about by focusing on individual areas,

but on the system as a whole.

TOBIAS LÖSCHE-TER HORST

It was clear to his mother from an early age: ‘Tobias will

be an engineer.’ Whatever used to break in the house – from

his sisters’ bikes to the food mixer – the schoolboy was on

hand with a screwdriver. ‘I was allowed to mend everything,’

recalls Tobias Lösche-ter Horst, who is now responsible for

powertrain research at the Volkswagen Group. As his school

exams drew nearer, he also started tinkering with old cars.

It was around the time that Atari and Commodore marketed

the first home computers. Lösche-ter Horst was in two minds

and also thought about an IT degree. Today he is pleased that

he opted for mechanical engineering. ‘It is important for me

to be able to hold the parts in my hand.’ It would be sev-

eral years before Lösche-ter Horst put down the spanner.

Even during his doctoral studies and his first years at Volks-

wagen, he often couldn’t resist the temptation of lending a

hand himself.

Lösche-ter Horst came to the engine via the gearbox. He wrote

his dissertation on the life-time design of synchronisers at

the University of Hanover and subsequently worked there as

a senior engineer. His big opportunity came at Volkswagen’s

gearbox development division in 1998, when he was handed

the job of overseeing tests on continuously variable trans-

mission (CVT) for the transverse front-mounted engine. Many

experts in the industry at the time assumed that CVT was

more sensible than trying to offer as many gears as possible.

Lösche-ter Horst threw himself into the job with real enthu-

siasm – but the project was soon wound up. That’s because

Volkswagen was simultaneously working on the first DSG dual-

clutch gearbox, which went into series production in 2002.

‘As an engineer, you have to be able to deal with such set-

backs,’ says Lösche-ter Horst, reflecting on his situation at

the time. As head of powertrain research, he also has to dis-

continue projects that turn out to be on the wrong track.

‘Even though it is important to try out many different things

in the area of research, failure is also part of the job.’ After

all, the transfer rate from laboratory to series production

alone is not what counts for a company. On the contrary, even

channels that ultimately are not pursued must still be care-

fully analysed. ‘The important thing is that we do not over-

look anything.’ Lösche-ter Horst draws an analogy between

research and a plantation. ‘It is clear to everyone that every

other seedling must be removed at some point, otherwise the

rest of the trees would not have enough room to grow.’

It is important to Lösche-ter Horst to give the employees

concerned a sense of perspective at all times. Once the CVT

project had come to an end, he himself initially moved onto

Research must overlook nothing

DR TOBIAS LÖSCHE- TER HORSTBorn 1964

During his mechanical engineering

degree course at the University of Hanover, Lösche-ter Horst initially

specialised in reciprocating engines,

but was eventually awarded a doctorate

for his work on gearbox synchronisers.

After a spell as senior engineer at

the university, he started testing CVT

gearboxes at Volkswagen in 1988.

After occupying other roles, Lösche-

ter Horst took on responsibility for

the predevelopment of gearboxes in

2004. After two and a half years he

was appointed head of predevelopment

of petrol engines. In 2009 he was

installed as head of powertrain research at Volkswagen. Lösche-

ter Horst has been Chairman of the

scientific advisory committee at

the FVV since autumn 2015. He is

married and has three children.

WHAT DRIVES US22 23

After all, the CO2 potentials of many technologies do not

add up, because some of them are based on the same

physical principles.’ Instead, it is necessary to focus on the

interactions, even beyond the system boundaries of the

combustion engine. ‘We shouldn’t be blinkered and must

therefore also work very hard on electrifying the combus-

tion engine.’

Lösche-ter Horst is also involved in emission-free mobility

when he finds time for his hobby: having been a keen skiff

sailor in his youth on the lake known as Steinhuder Meer,

near Hanover, he now owns a boat with three narrow hulls

arranged in parallel: a trimaran, moored on the Baltic Sea.

Merely sailing around at a leisurely pace is not enough for

Lösche-ter Horst. ‘A trimaran is narrow and uncomfortable –

but very fast. The difference between a trimaran and many

yachts is almost as big as the difference between a motor-

home and a Porsche.’ Doing battle with the wind, water and

tides is the perfect way for the powertrain researcher to

relax and frees his mind for new ideas at work.

Interactions beyond system boundaries

According to Lösche-ter Horst, the most important role

for engine research today is finding ways to achieve max-

imum CO2 efficiency. ‘It’s not just about meeting legal

requirements. The real key for us will be to continue to

cut actual consumption at customer level in particular.’

In addition, the combustion engine will have to move to-

wards zero polluting emissions. Such ambitious and, at

times, opposing aims cannot be achieved with individual

technologies. ‘However, the whole is sometimes also less

than the sum of all its parts,’ explains Lösche-ter Horst.

‘You cannot simply fit everything available into one engine.

the development of the dual-clutch gearbox and after a brief

spell in product management he took on responsibility for the

advanced development of gearboxes and then, in 2006, pet-

rol engines in quick succession. As a gearbox man, Lösche-ter

Horst was initially something of a rare bird. He was working

in a number of new areas ranging from exhaust gas after-

treatment to fully variable valve timing. ‘Bringing about such

a change won’t happen by focusing on individual areas, but by

having faith in a highly qualified team,’ says Lösche-ter Horst.

‘We have to abandon old ways of thinking; engine here, gearbox

there. The future belongs to joined-up thinking.’

When Lösche-ter Horst took over responsibility for powertrain

research at Volkswagen in 2009, he immediately got involved

in the FVV as head of the 'thermodynamics' working group. In

autumn 2015 he was elected chairman of the scientific advisory

committee. In this role he makes the case for research at the

FVV: ‘In the long term, we will need both the combustion engine

and the electric propulsion. Even if 50 per cent of new cars are

electric in 20 years’ time, we are still talking about 50 million

new engines. Looking at it from the perspective of climate pro-

tection, it would therefore be negligent if we didn’t continue to

carry out intensive research into the combustion engine.’

Photo: More than two million people visit Volkswagen’s Autostadt every year – and inform themselves about modern automotive and engine technology there.

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