image: SwRI adapted this heavy-duty engine to run on hydrogen through SwRI’s Clean Highly Efficient Decarbonized Engines (CHEDE) consortium. SwRI’s research into hydrogen combustion and fuel cell electric vehicles will inform some of its panel discussions and technical sessions during the 2024 SAE International WCX™ World Congress Experience, April 16-18, in Detroit.
Credit: Southwest Research Institute
SAN ANTONIO — August 16, 2024 —Southwest Research Institute helps the automotive industry transition to smart, sustainable mobility, developing hybrid, electric and hydrogen solutions and applying artificial intelligence for safe, eco-friendly driving. SwRI engineers will be in Detroit April 16-18 to share their expertise at the 2024 SAE International WCX™ World Congress Experience.
WCX invites mechanical, electrical and software engineers working in mobility from around the world to share new knowledge and advancements.
“The automotive and transportation sectors are going through tremendous change and challenges as they navigate the regulatory landscape and market demand in a push toward decarbonization. At the same time, automation, connected vehicles and artificial intelligence are creating exciting new possibilities,” said Daniel Stewart, vice president of SwRI’s Powertrain Engineering Division. “SwRI is proud to invest in research that explores hydrogen combustion engines, aftertreatment, low carbon fuels, fuel cells, motors, hybrids, battery system design and connected autonomous transportation systems that reduce emissions and pave the way for a sustainable world with less carbon in the atmosphere.”
SwRI experts will present publications, demonstrate projects and speak as panelists and moderators on various mobility topics. The following is a sampling of the technical sessions in which SwRI will participate.
Combustion & Propulsion
- Dr. Qilong Lu, Powertrain Systems Engineering Department program manager, helped organize an April 17 session highlighting developments in ground propulsion technologies, including conventional and alternative vehicle propulsion systems.
- Matthew Kubesh, Automotive Propulsion Systems Department research engineer, helped organize April 16-17 technical sessions covering advancements in vehicle fuel cell applications. Kubesh also co-chaired the Hybrid and Electric Propulsions Committee.
Sustainability & Emissions
- Christopher Sharp, Institute engineer in the Commercial Vehicle Systems Department, will discuss the current state of the art in emissions control as part of an April 16 panel.
- Svitlana Kroll, Commercial Vehicle Systems Department principal scientist, helped organize and will moderate an April 16 panel discussion on the challenges facing engine performance testing and mobile emission measurements as the industry transitions from fossil fuels to carbon-neutral fuels and electrification. Dr. Charles Roberts, an SAE Fellow and SwRI’s Commercial Vehicle Systems executive director, will participate as a panelist.
- Dr. Graham Conway, Automotive Propulsion Systems Department staff engineer, co-chairs an April 18 session discussing efforts to characterize the total greenhouse gas emissions associated with the entire life cycle of a vehicle, including its manufacture, service life and recycling or disposal.
Connected & Automated Vehicles
- Dr. Douglas Brooks, assistant director of SwRI’s Artificial Intelligence Department, will participate in an April 16 panel discussion about the possibilities and challenges of applying artificial intelligence to future vehicle and mobility applications.
- Dr. Steve Dellenback, Intelligent Systems Division vice president, will moderate an April 16 panel discussion on the challenges original equipment manufacturers face in achieving Level 3 proficiency in automated driving systems.
- Scott Hotz, Control Systems Department director, helped organize the April 17 session regarding the use of connectivity and automation to optimize powertrain operations.
Visit the SwRI-specific SAE International WCX™ World Congress Experience event page for more information, including a full list of topics to be covered at WCX: https://www.swri.org/event/sae-international-world-congress-experience-wcx.
For more information, visit https://sustainablemobility.swri.org.