THE Government’s recent announcement of a ban on new petrol and diesel cars by 2040 might suggest the days of the internal combustion engine are numbered.

But academics working in the University of Brighton’s Advanced Engineering Centre insist that reports of its impending demise are being greatly overstated.

The ban applies to combustion engines as the sole source of power and does not include hybrids or plug-in hybrids which is what the industry expects all new vehicles to be based on well before 2040.

ICE research, instead of declining in the wake of the ban is, in fact, intensifying as evidenced at the University of Brighton where the quest for more efficient, zero-emission hydrocarbon fuel engines is gathering pace.

Professor Morgan Heikal leads the university’s Advanced Engineering Centre.

The centre acts as a ‘spoke’ for internal combustion engine thermal efficiency as part of the Advanced Propulsion Centre formed from a commitment between the Government and automotive industry.

This is to position the UK as a global centre of excellence for low carbon powertrain development and production.

Professor Heikal, who was this week named as a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, said: “The road map for the automotive sector is clearly drawn by the UK Automotive Council.

“We, as a spoke of the Advanced Propulsion Centre, will be following this map and will use our research expertise to fulfil the aims of the council and help industry develop the right technologies required.

“We are investing heavily in our state-of-the-art engine test facilities in our new purpose-built Advanced Engineering Building and increasing our digital modelling capacity to develop modelling tools that will not only speed the research and development of these new technologies but will allow us to explore new dimensions that are too difficult or too expensive to achieve experimentally.

“We will not be looking at new combustion systems in isolation but will be considering co-optimisation of engines and fuels in order to help the development and introduction of new ‘designer’ environmentally-friendly fuels.”

The £14 million Advanced Engineering Building will house cutting-edge research led by Professor Heikal into complex engine combustion processes and laser-based measurement techniques, fundamental modelling and computational simulation.

The AEC has developed a highly successful partnership with Ricardo UK Ltd, the Shoreham-based global engineering, strategic and environmental consultancy.