Achates Power said it was awarded a $9 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to develop an opposed-piston, gasoline compression ignition (OPGCI) engine suitable for light trucks and other vehicles.  

The project also involves Argonne National Laboratory and Delphi Automotive, said Achates, which has been working on multi-fuel OP engines for more than a decade.

The three-year project will yield a three-cylinder, six-piston, 3-liter engine suitable for applications in pickup trucks, SUVs and minivans, the company said. 

The Achates OP engine can accommodate a variety of fuels and has demonstrated dramatically improved fuel efficiency and low emissions levels while running on diesel and compressed natural gas. The DOE grant funds expansion of the engine's fuel flexibility and readies it for the mass market, Achates said.

The OPGCI engine will dramatically reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions compared to state-of-the-art gasoline-fueled, spark-ignited engines, while meeting current and future mandates for lower exhaust emissions, the company said. By combining two clean, efficient and cost-effective technologies – OP and GCI – the resulting engine will be ready for high-volume adoption in light-duty passenger vehicles in markets around the world.