A diagram showing the Dynamic Skip Fire system at work, selectively shutting down cylinders.
Facing tough new fuel economy standards, automakers are frantically searching for ways to boost mileage, and General Motors is betting it may have found one of the possible solutions coming out of Silicon Valley.
The maker’s investment arm, GM Ventures, is pumping cash into startup Tula Technology which is developing a system it calls Dynamic Skip Fire. The technology allows a vehicle to reduce fuel consumption by as much as 15% by briefly shutting off individual cylinders when the demand for power is reduced.
“This technology holds the potential to improve fuel economy on select GM vehicles without degrading power capability when it’s required,” said Jon Lauckner, GM chief technology officer, vice president of Global R&D and president of GM Ventures. “This joint effort combines software expertise from Silicon Valley with powertrain expertise from General Motors.”
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The Skip Fire concept isn’t entirely new. GM is one of many automakers already using a less sophisticated technology known by such terms as cylinder deactivation and displacement-on-demand. Those traditional systems can briefly shut off an entire bank of cylinders. On the 450-horsepower Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, for example, its LS4 V-8 can temporarily run in four-cylinder mode, one of the reasons it gets more than 30 mpg on the highway.
The Dynamic Skip Fire system takes the concept a significant step further. Instead of having to follow a fixed pattern, shutting off only a pre-defined group of cylinders, the system can deactivate one or more individual cylinders based on a complex software algorithm, matching power to vehicle speed and loads. The approach can also minimize the vibration some vehicles suffer from conventional cylinder deactivation, according to GM.
The DSF system is promising enough to attract a variety of investors, including Khosla Ventures, one of the biggest capital funds in Silicon Valley, along with Sequoia Capital and Sigma Partners.
“We’ve worked closely with GM during this exciting stage of DSF development, and they’ve provided essential financial support while allowing us to run our business with full autonomy,” said R. Scott Bailey, president and CEO of Tula Technology. “Our goal is the same as GM; we both innovate to make the lives of people better.”
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There’s no word on when – or even if – the Dynamic Skip Fire technology will actually make it into production, though the fact that GM is talking about it suggests it has a potentially promising future.
GM Ventures has so far invested in more than 20 start-ups, ranging from powertrain technologies to advanced steel and other materials.
The push to fund promising technologies is not unique in the industry, however. BMW has entered into a joint venture that is planning to set up the world’s largest carbon fiber production plant in Washington State.
The industry is facing some major challenges in the years ahead, especially in the form of tough new emissions and fuel economy mandates – such as the U.S. Corporate Average Fuel Economy standard that will jump to 54.5 mpg in 2025. Industry insiders say that it will take a number of technical breakthroughs to reach that goal, and funding promising start-ups could be a key to getting there.
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The fact that the auto makers can’t meet the absurd 54.5 mpg decree pulled from the orifice of Obama and the EPA doesn’t phase the clueless in DC at all. Consumers are already starting to pay for this outrageous political decree that has absolutely no sound engineering nor technological basis. When sticker prices jump $10K then the fit will hit the shan.
I hate to argue with you Jorge, but huge gains in technology could be made if companies like Ford spent the money on r & d instead of flying fields home every week at the cost of 2 engineers yearly salaries. Tax corporations at 90% and you would see a butt load of innovation.
The corporate welfare queen program for millionaires produces nothing.
The automakers agreed to the standards, IIRC, although maybe they figured they’d just renegotiate at some point. (Seriously. If you want to blame Obama for everything, then at least give him credit for the improving economy)
Frankly, though, having that goal has really forced the automakers to think very hard about their technology and ultimately it is good for everyone.
No it’s not good for everyone and that is precisely my point. Not being able to meet the absurd 54.5 mpg figure results in fines passed on to consumers. This clearly is not good as consumers will pay thousands more for every new vehicle made since the mandate was imposed. These irresponsible decrees are made by DC politicians who are not held accountable for their actions.
BTW – The auto makers agreed to the 54.5 CAFE figure with a gun held to their heads because the clowns in DC wanted even higher, less attainable CAFE mpg requirements. These figures were pulled from the orifice of Obama and the EPA and there is no scientific basis what so ever for these decrees. It’s bad government exploiting the populace just like ethanol fuel. It’s a scam and has been proven to be a scam but many people are so naïve and gullible they bought into the scam just like with the 54.5 mpg CAFE requirement.
Ford like all of the major auto makers spends fortunes on R&D.
Not only can huge gains in technology be made, they are being made daily but the fact still remains that no major auto company can currently meet the 54.5 mpg CAFE requirement which was pulled from the orifice of Obama and the EPA.
There is no science what so ever to support the absurd 54.5 mpg requirement. What’s worse is consumers and tax payers pay for all of this ignorance and illegal mandates from DC.
We didn’t get to vote on the 54.5 MPG requirement nor Obamacare. This stuff is rammed down society’s throat without any vote by the citizens. The criminals in DC do whatever they desire including violating the Constitutional separation of powers. It’s a disgrace and illegal.
Jorge, Ford spends more on private jets than they do on. R & D. They spend more on r & d manager’s than they do on r & d itself. It’s part of diversity you know.