Today, the Professor Ferdinand Porsche Prize was awarded by Vienna University of Technology to Anke Kleinschmit, Head of Corporate Research & Sustainability and Environmental Officer for Daimler AG, for the development of the innovative exhaust gas aftertreatment system in the new four-cylinder diesel engine. It went into series production in 2016 and stands out for the fact that nitrogen oxide emissions stay low in real operating conditions.
The automotive engineering prize is awarded once every two years to people who have made a significant contribution to the development of the motor vehicle with their innovation(s). The four-cylinder diesel engine (referred to internally as OM 654), which has been developed under the leadership of Bernhard Heil, is designed to meet future emissions legislation (RDE – Real Driving Emissions) and stands out for its exemplary efficiency and low nitrogen oxide emissions. This is made possible by, amongst other features, a newly-developed stepped-bowl combustion process, exhaust treatment technologies configured directly on the engine together with multiway exhaust gas recirculation using cooled high-pressure and low-pressure technology. This innovative technology package significantly reduces the engine’s untreated emissions across all characteristics.
The four-cylinder diesel engine has already earned a good reputation for its performance out on the road. The engineers for the industry magazine auto, motor und sport “were surprised by the four-cylinder’s extraordinarily low nitrogen oxide emissions*”. And ADAC commented, after road tests of the diesel engine: “The exhaust gas treatment works extremely well, regardless of whether the vehicle’s on the test station or driving in real traffic.”
Since 1977 the Professor Ferdinand Porsche Prize has been acknowledged as one of the most prestigious and – at 50,000 euros – one of the best-endowed awards for pioneering research and development work in the area of vehicle technology. Vienna University of Technology has awarded the prize, endowed by Louise Piech, the daughter of Professor Ferdinand Porsche, to Mercedes‑B enz engineers before: for the development of ABS, the airbag, of ESP as well as the first large-scale series production in the world of the Li-On battery technology in a hybrid vehicle – all of them milestones in automotive technology that have had a lasting and beneficial effect.
