Mazda Confirms Plans to Launch HCCI Engine in 2019

Mazda Motor Corp. says it will launch a homogeneous-charge-compression-ignition (HCCI) gasoline engine in a production vehicle in 2019, which would be the world’s first such application.

Media reports about the engine, which promises to be as much as 30% more fuel efficient than a conventional gasoline system, have been circulating since 2015. In January, The Nikkei indicated that Mazda planned to introduce the technology in its Mazda3/Axela small sport sedan by the end of 2018.

HCCI combines aspects of a gasoline and diesel engine, functioning like the latter to ignite its air-fuel mixture through pressure rather than a sparkplug. The technique causes ignition earlier in the combustion cycle to produce more uniform and lower-temperature combustion, resulting in greater thermal efficiency, less noise and lower emissions.

Mazda says its proprietary spark controlled compression ignition system uses sparkplugs under certain conditions to overcome two issues that previously have impeded HCCI engines: maximizing the zone in which compression ignition is possible and achieving a seamless transition between compression ignition and spark ignition. This enables smooth operation across a range of engine loads, according to the carmaker.

Mazda plans to team the technology, which it will market as a Skyactiv-X engine, with a supercharger to further improve fuel economy and boost torque by 10%-30% over its latest gasoline engines. The carmaker says the HCCI system equals or exceeds the efficiency of its Skyactiv-D diesel engine, while generating fewer nitrogen oxide and particulate matter emissions.

In addition to the HCCI engine, Mazda says it will launch hybrid and electric vehicles in 2019 that it is developing in partnership with Toyota Motor Corp. and make autonomous-driving technologies standard in all of its cars by 2025. As part of its new Sustainability 2030 initiative, the company aims to cut corporate average "well-to-wheel" carbon dioxide emissions in half by then from of 2010 levels, and achieve a 90% reduction by 2050.