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WO-2026095856-A1 - HYDROGEN ENGINE AND VEHICLE COMPRISING A HYDROGEN ENGINE

WO2026095856A1WO 2026095856 A1WO2026095856 A1WO 2026095856A1WO-2026095856-A1

Abstract

A hydrogen engine (1, 1', 1'') is disclosed comprising one or more cylinders (3), a piston (12) arranged in each cylinder (3) to delimit a combustion chamber (5) inside the cylinder (3), an exhaust outlet (7) and a gas inlet (9) each connected to the combustion chamber (5), and a loop assembly (11) connecting the exhaust outlet (7) to the gas inlet (9), thereby forming a closed loop (11') that includes the exhaust outlet (7), the gas inlet (9), and the combustion chamber (5). The hydrogen engine (1, 1', 1'') further comprises an inert gas (Ar) contained within the closed loop (11') and a gas supply arrangement (6, 6', 6'') configured to supply hydrogen (H 2 ) to the combustion chamber (5). The gas supply arrangement (6, 6', 6'') is further configured to supply an ozone (O 3 ) enriched gaseous mixture to the combustion chamber (5). The present disclosure further relates to a vehicle (2) comprising a hydrogen engine (1, 1', 1'').

Inventors

  • GOHARI, Darius
  • ERSSON, ANDERS

Assignees

  • SCANIA CV AB

Dates

Publication Date
20260507
Application Date
20251028
Priority Date
20241101

Claims (12)

  1. 1. A hydrogen engine (1 , T, 1”) comprising: one or more cylinders (3), a piston (12) arranged in each cylinder (3) to delimit a combustion chamber (5) inside the cylinder (3), an exhaust outlet (7) and a gas inlet (9) each connected to the combustion chamber (5), a loop assembly (11) connecting the exhaust outlet (7) to the gas inlet (9), thereby forming a closed loop (1 T) that includes the exhaust outlet (7), the gas inlet (9), and the combustion chamber (5), an inert gas (Ar) contained within the closed loop (1 T), and a gas supply arrangement (6, 6’, 6”) configured to supply hydrogen (H2) to the combustion chamber (5), wherein the gas supply arrangement (6, 6’, 6”) is further configured to supply an ozone (O3) enriched gaseous mixture to the combustion chamber (5).
  2. 2. The engine (1 , T, 1”) according to claim 1 , wherein the gas supply arrangement (6, 6’, 6”) is configured to supply at least one of the hydrogen (H 2 ) and the ozone (O3) enriched gaseous mixture directly into the combustion chamber (5).
  3. 3. The engine (1 , T, 1”) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the gas supply arrangement (6, 6’, 6”) is configured to supply the at least one of the hydrogen (H 2 ) and the ozone (O3) enriched gaseous mixture at the end, or near the end, of a compression stroke of the piston (12).
  4. 4. The engine (1 , T, 1”) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the gas supply arrangement (6, 6’, 6”) is configured to supply one of the hydrogen (H 2 ) and the ozone (O3) enriched gaseous mixture at the end, or near the end, of a compression stroke of the piston (12), and the other of the hydrogen (H 2 ) and the ozone (O3) enriched gaseous mixture during an intake stroke of the piston (12).
  5. 5. The engine (1 , 1”) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the gas supply arrangement (6, 6”) is configured to supply hydrogen (H 2 ) to the combustion chamber (5) during an intake stroke of the piston (12), and is configured to supply an ozone (O3) enriched gaseous mixture to the combustion chamber (5) at the end, or near the end, of a compression stroke of the piston (12).
  6. 6. The engine (1 , T, 1”) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the engine (1 , T, 1”) is a compression ignition engine.
  7. 7. The engine (1 , T, 1”) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the gas supply arrangement (6, 6’, 6”) comprises an oxygen gas source (C>2t) and an ozone generator (Chg), and wherein the ozone generator (Osg) is configured to generate ozone (O3) using oxygen gas from the oxygen gas source (C>2t) .
  8. 8. The engine (1 , T, 1”) according to claim 7, wherein the ozone generator (Chg) comprises at least one of an electrical discharge unit and an ultraviolet radiation unit.
  9. 9. The engine (1 , T, 1”) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the loop assembly (11) comprises a separator unit (15) configured to separate water (H2O) from the inert gas (Ar).
  10. 10. The engine (1 , T, 1”) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the inert gas (Ar) is argon.
  11. 11. A vehicle (2) comprising a hydrogen engine (1 , T, 1”) according to any one of the preceding claims.
  12. 12. The vehicle (2) according to claim 11 , wherein the vehicle (2) is a heavy wheeled vehicle, such as a truck or a bus.

Description

Hydrogen Engine and Vehicle comprising a Hydrogen Engine TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to a hydrogen engine. The present disclosure further relates to a vehicle comprising a hydrogen engine. BACKGROUND Internal combustion engines are used to provide motive power to vehicles, commonly via a drivetrain and driven wheels of the vehicle. In many vehicles, the drivetrain comprises a transmission controllable between at least two different gears to provide at least two different transmission ratios between the engine and the driven wheels of the vehicle. Internal combustion engines, such as four-stroke internal combustion engines, comprise one or more cylinders and a piston arranged in each cylinder. The pistons are connected to a crankshaft of the engine via a respective connecting rod and normally each comprise one or more piston rings to seal the area between the piston and the cylinder. The pistons are arranged to reciprocate within the cylinders upon rotation of the crankshaft. The engine usually further comprises one or more inlet valves and one or more exhaust valves as well as one or more fuel supply arrangements. The one or more inlet valves and exhaust valves are controlled by a respective valve control arrangement usually comprising one or more camshafts rotatably connected to a crankshaft of the engine, via a belt, chain, gears, push rods, or similar. A four-stroke internal combustion engine completes four separate strokes while turning a crankshaft two revolutions. A stroke refers to the full travel of the piston along the cylinder, in either direction. The uppermost position of the piston in the cylinder is usually referred to as the top dead centre TDC, and the lowermost position of the piston in the cylinder is usually referred to as the bottom dead centre BDC. The strokes are completed in the following order, inlet stroke, compression stroke, expansion stroke and exhaust stroke. During operation of a conventional four-stroke internal combustion engine, the inlet valve control arrangement controls inlet valves of a cylinder to an open state during the inlet stroke of a piston within the cylinder, to allow air, or a mixture of air and fuel, to enter the cylinder. During the compression stroke, all valves should be closed to allow compression of the air, or the mixture of the air and fuel, in the cylinder. If the engine is in a power producing state, fuel in the cylinder is ignited, usually towards the end of the compression stroke, by the ignition device. The combustion of fuel within the cylinder significantly increases pressure and temperature in the cylinder. The combustion of the fuel usually continues into a significant portion of the subsequent expansion stroke. The increased pressure and temperature in the cylinder obtained by the combustion is partially converted into mechanical work supplied to the crankshaft in the expansion stroke. Obviously, all valves should remain closed during the expansion stroke to allow the increased pressure and temperature to be converted into mechanical work. The expansion stroke is also usually referred to as the combustion stroke, because usually, the majority of the combustion takes place during the expansion stroke. In the subsequent exhaust stroke, the exhaust valve control arrangement controls exhaust valves of the cylinder to an open state to allow exhaust gases to be expelled out of the cylinder into an exhaust system. The exhaust stroke is then followed by an inlet stroke. General problems when designing an internal combustion engine is the emission levels from the engine as well as the fuel consumption of the engine. Emissions generated by an internal combustion engine normally comprise a range of gaseous and particulate substances. A primary constituent of exhaust gases is carbon dioxide (CO2), which results from the combustion of hydrocarbons present in the fuel. While carbon dioxide is not directly harmful in low concentrations, its release in significant quantities contributes to the greenhouse effect and global climate change by trapping heat in the Earth's atmosphere. In addition to carbon dioxide, exhaust gases contain carbon monoxide (CO), which is produced by incomplete combustion when there is insufficient oxygen present to fully oxidize the carbon in the fuel. Carbon monoxide is a toxic gas that can be harmful to both humans and animals. Nitrogen oxides (NOx), another significant component of exhaust emissions, are formed due to the high temperatures and pressures within the engine cylinder, where nitrogen from the air reacts with oxygen. Nitrogen oxides contribute to the formation of smog and acid rain and are also linked to respiratory problems in humans and animals. Unburned hydrocarbons (HC) are released when fuel does not completely combust within the cylinder. These hydrocarbons can contribute to the formation of ground-level ozone, which is a major component of smog. Ground-level ozone can irritate the respiratory