In early April, the press conference for the latest achievements from DongFeng Mach hydrogen engine was launched at the DongFeng Motor Corporation Technology Center, marking a significant technological breakthrough for China’s independent hydrogen engine research and development. The program, conducted jointly by the DongFeng Mach Power Research & Development team and HUST, represents the corporation’s technical layout for carbon peaking and carbon neutrality.

The released hydrogen engine boasts a power output of 80kW/170Nm and a thermal efficiency exceeding 45.04%. More than 70% of its area has an efficiency greater than 40%, making it the highest level of thermal efficiency for a hydrogen engine released in China and putting it at the forefront of the industry.

The project was formally approved in November 2021 and was launched in August 2022. The engine has made several critical technological breakthroughs, which places DongFeng Mach Power firmly in the zero carbon fuel field.

In June this year, this technology will move into the next stage of research and development. Dongfeng will continue to optimize performance, attempt higher thermal efficiency, and carry out research into vehicle-carrying, aiming to realize “zero-carbon” travel.

The 21st century is universally recognized as the era of the hydrogen economy. And hydrogen engines are one of the primary forms of application for hydrogen energy, with obvious advantages in terms of power density, costs, reliability and usage conditions. They can also effectively inherit and develop the traditional engine industry chain.

Tan Minqiang, Director of the DongFeng Technology Center, said that Mach Power had made multiple technical breakthroughs in key technologies and stranglehold issues, which was the result of concerted efforts. He also expressed a willingness to collaborate with HUST on the subsequent development of hydrogen engines, with the goal of jointly conquering the new strategic commanding heights of the future automobile industry.

Cheng Xiaobei, Vice Dean of the School of Energy and Power Engineering at HUST, said that HUST has enjoyed a lot of cooperation with DongFeng and has made numerous breakthroughs in the process of hydrogen engine research and development. With the imminence of vehicle energy transformations in the context of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, HUST will work together with DongFeng to solve more technical problems and achieve better results.

Written by: Li Yi

Edited by: Hu Zhenxiang, Chang Wen, Peng Yumeng