Decarbonized-Engine Research Consortium (DERC)
The Decarbonized-Engine Research Consortium is managed by faculty and staff from the Engine Research Center (ERC) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Objective
To assist engine manufacturers and related industries in meeting future engine requirements for improved fuel efficiency and reduced costs while reducing or eliminating carbon emissions.
Membership
Approximately 16 companies/institutes from industries related to traditional Diesel, gasoline, and gas engines are members. Most of these companies are currently researching methods to transition from conventional to low-carbon fuels. The membership fee ($15k/year) is low to attract participation from a wide range of sponsors. DERC is based on highly leveraged ERC government/industry sponsorship for basic research likely to impact a significant number of sponsors. Members can also supply additional hardware and research support if they feel it would be beneficial to a project. Companies are free to choose more than one sponsorship unit, or they can pursue separate research contracts with ERC faculty to meet their company’s research needs. Contract research with defined deliverables is the largest funding source for ERC research projects. However, DERC contributions are considered to be gifts to the University of Wisconsin, and no specific deliverables are specified. Intellectual property developed under the consortium is handled under the University of Wisconsin-Madison standard research agreement. For more information, please email the consortium director (Mario F. Trujillo) at: mtrujillo@wisc.edu
Background
At its inception in 2004, DERC focused on emission reduction research. Post-2010, the focus shifted towards basic Diesel research and we changed the acronym DERC from “Diesel Emissions Reduction Consortium” to “Diesel Engine Research Consortium”. To recognize the fact that gasoline DI was becoming competitive with Diesel , again we refocused DERC to include more than just diesel, and revised the name to “Direct-injection Engine Research Consortium” in 2012. Given current environmental concerns, interest is now decarbonization.
With research experience extending back to 1946 in engine physics, the Engine Research Center has unique capabilities for improving fundamental understanding and control of engines through:
- Advanced experimental diagnostics and theoretical advancements
- Advanced model development for practical application to engines
- Integration and validation of simulation with experiments
- Combustion & emissions optimization using advanced technologies
- Development and application of advanced diagnostics to engines
Benefits
Participation in the Consortium provides significant leveraging of funds to members. Current ERC funding from the government involves projects from DOE, ONR, and Army Research Lab and involves five faculty, five research staff, and over 40 graduate students and post-docs. Access to these resources can be applied pre-competitively by Consortium member companies for solving specific engineering problems within their own business portfolio, such as to achieve future engine fuel economy and emission regulations.
The Consortium provides a forum for sharing information and research findings to engine manufacturers and related industries via:
- Focused Consortium-directed student research projects
- Annual membership meetings with electronic recordings
- Complimentary attendance at the ERC symposium every other year
- Quarterly e-newsletter report of Consortium activities
- Access to meeting discussion summaries
- Public ERC research advances (theses, papers)
- Access to literature reviews / advance ERC publications
- Contact with ERC faculty/students including teleconferences
Industrial input and recommendations from participants complement on-going research at UW-ERC and research in Consortium member internal R&D labs. Informal benefits include:
- Industry and ERC student contacts
- Summer graduate student internships
- Exposure to ERC research for future products
- Sponsor ERC seminars introduce their company to students
- Sponsor company engineers as distant grad students (MEES)
- Licensing benefits of ERC-based intellectual property (Intellectual property handled by Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation)
Planning
Input from Consortium members is used to direct Consortium research projects under the auspices of Consortium research funding. The Consortium coordinator consolidates discussion and recommendations with Consortium members to influence the planning of research projects.
Execution
The DERC Consortium receives project support from ERC faculty and staff and is managed by:
Consortium Director, Professor Mario F. Trujillo,
(608) 262-0944, mtrujillo@wisc.edu
1513 University Ave,
Madison, WI 53706.