From April 19th to 23rd, the 2024 World Internal Combustion Engine Conference was held in Tianjin, China. Nearly 40 academicians from China and abroad, as well as scientists, entrepreneurs, and technologists from over 20 countries, gathered to discuss the future development of internal combustion engines in the context of “dual carbon” emissions reduction. The conference aimed to promote the integration and innovation of internal combustion power with other power technologies and the coordinated development of the entire industry chain of internal combustion engines. However, the hot topic wasn’t gasoline or diesel-powered engines. It was hydrogen power that took the spotlight.

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Wan Gang, Chairman of the China Association for Science and Technology, and Jin Donghan, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, visited the Yuchai exhibition hall to inspect the achievements in hydrogen engine research and development. Yuchai is China’s largest independent professional powertrain system supplier, with a history of supplying engines to automakers, and the first internal combustion engine manufacturer in China to surpass the production and sales of 10 million units. Lin Tiejian, Chief Engineer of Yuchai Group, presented a report about its hydrogen engine technology at the conference.

It was reported that Yuchai, which has made significant breakthroughs in hydrogen engine research, development, and deployment, attracted wide attention from the industry at this conference. During the presentation, Mr. Lin introduced China’s first commercial vehicle, a hydrogen engine, and elaborated on the fact that Yuchai adheres to an innovation-driven development strategy that focuses on both traditional and new energy. Through “technological upgrades, product upgrades, and manufacturing upgrades, Yuchai has overcome technical challenges, creating numerous first-of-its-kind power products in the fields of traditional fuel power, hybrid power, and new energy power, driving the entire industry chain towards high-end, intelligent, and green development. This contributes to the high-quality development of China’s internal combustion engine industry and realizing the country’s ‘dual carbon’ goals.”

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Other leaders, experts, guests, and customers attending the conference also expressed strong interest in hydrogen engine technology. During the meeting, the Hydrogen Engine Innovation Consortium, initiated by the Chinese Society for Internal Combustion Engines, was officially established, with Yuchai as a director unit due to its leading advantages in the field of hydrogen engines.

It was recently reported that 50% of China’s auto sales are EVs, so the internal combustion engine seems to be slipping quickly in its market share in China’s auto industry. It will be interesting to see if the new hydrogen combustion engine technology discussed at this year’s conference can also play a larger factor in the future of car sales in China and around the globe.

Source: D1CM