Designing eco-efficiency electronics for internal combustion engines

Interview with Mario Lavorgna, APG Power Train & Safety Division Advanced System Application Director, Naples, Italy

Reducing environmental impact is now a big focus in the automotive market - and as a semiconductor supplier, we are committed to playing our part by providing products and solutions that can lead to eco-efficiency products.

One of our main aims is to reduce CO2 emissions, while still improving the performance of car engines.

Institutions and private companies are currently working on guidelines and regulations (such as Zero-Emission Vehicles - ZEV, European Emission Regulations - Euro 6), to find the best balance between fuel consumption, lower pollution and high performance.

To get ready for this, a team in our Automotive Product Group, based in Naples, is now working on advanced research to prepare new solutions for the market. Based on ST’s patents, they are working on optimizing the new generation of diesel and gasoline engines.

Among other things, they are developing:

• Optimized EGR (exhaust gas recirculation) for diesel engines
• Soft-computing control of the air/fuel ratio in gasoline engines
• Control of knocking and misfiring in gasoline engines.