Brancaleoni, Pier Paolo (University of Bologna), corti, enrico (University of Bologna), Di Prospero, Federico (Università degli studi di L'Aquila), Di Battista, Davide (University of L'Aquila), Cipollone, Roberto (Univ. L'Aquila), Ravaglioli, Vittorio (University of Bologna)

Optimization of Hydrogen Internal Combustion Engines Equipped with Turbocompound Technology for Enhanced Performance and Efficiency

Scheduled for presentation during the Regular Session "Diagnostics, optimization and control for hydrogen combustion" (MoA1), Monday, June 16, 2025, 12:00−12:20, Kapel

AAC 2025 11th IFAC International Symposium on Advances in Automotive Control, June 15-18, 2025, Eindhoven, Netherlands

This information is tentative and subject to change. Compiled on May 31, 2025

Abstract

Hydrogen Internal Combustion Engines (H2ICEs) offer significant potential in reducing CO₂ emissions of the heavy duty transport sector in the pursuit of the European Green Deal targets. However, the challenges associated with hydrogen energy density require advanced technologies for fuel efficiency enhancement. Hybrid powertrains equipped with innovative energy recovery systems allow to optimize engine working point while recovery otherwise wasted energy. In particular, Turbocompound (TCo) systems allow recovering the energy content in the exhaust gases improving the overall efficiency of the powertrain. Optimizing both engine operation and TCo recovery presents a significant challenge, as it requires balancing the dynamic interaction between the engine's combustion process and TCo (which increases backpressure). This paper presents a novel approach aimed at optimizing the performance of a hybrid hydrogen-fueled internal combustion engine by integrating a TCo system. The TCo allows to extract a 9kW extra power peak with respect to the baseline configuration. The performance assessment of the optimized working point for series hybrid powertrain underscores the capability of the strategy to reduce hydrogen consumption up to 6.8%.