In the next decade, the routes will be laid out for the future of individual mobility. What is certain is that today’s technologies – such as TDI, TSI and DSG – will continue to be dominant for a long time. Combustion engines – some of them supported by E-motors, pure E-drives and fuel cells – will coexist side-by-side. At the end of this evolutionary chain there is independence from fossil raw materials.

Here is an overview of the powertrain and fuel strategy of Volkswagen AG.

In the first stage on the path to this independence, it will be important to utilize existing fossil fuels as efficiently as technically possible. Volkswagen is putting its stamp on this phase with vehicles such as the BlueMotion models, a universally fuel-efficient fleet of TDI engines, highly efficient and unique TSI engines, successful natural gas vehicles (EcoFuel) and a lineup of models that still leaves room for automotive dreams. Very soon these fundamental technologies will be further refined. New powertrains, including an engine concept developed for use in the USA, under the working title “BlueTDI”, are already in the prototype stage. These engines will fulfill the toughest emissions laws in the world – even the so-called “Tier2 Bin5” in California, one of the most stringent emissions standards in the world.

The next step on the path to the future involves obtaining fuel from renewable raw materials. SunFuel from biomass and cellulose ethanol belong to the category of second generation biofuels. Utilization of CO2-neutral biomass, in particular, will become a focal point in the generation of such synthetic fuels. Used as fuel in conventional diesel engines, the extremely high-quality and pure SunFuel can reduce particulate and nitrogen oxide emissions by nearly 30 percent – even on older vehicles.

Simultaneously, SunFuel represents the fuel of the next stage of our powertrain and fuel strategy: The introduction of completely new combustion engines that operate with regenerative fuels and can be utilized worldwide without requiring any major modifications to infrastructures. The strategy: By exploiting homogenization effects, the highly pure SunFuel paves the way for intensive advanced development of the diesel and gasoline combustion processes that will lead to the combined combustion process (CCS). CCS will combine the fuel economy of a diesel engine with the emissions quality of a gasoline engine.

On its path to the future, however, Volkswagen will continue to study all potential types of powertrains, develop them further, and – as soon as it makes sense and is technologically feasible – implement them. These include hybrid powertrains, such as the one the company presented in the form of a Touran prototype with a highly efficient combination of TSI engine, electric drive and dual clutch transmission (DSG).

A look at the fuel cell underscores the innovative power with which Volkswagen researches new technologies. Volkswagen Research has developed a fuel cell in the form of the high-temperature fuel cell (HTFC) that is unique worldwide. It eliminates the numerous disadvantages of low-temperature (LTFC) systems known to date. The HTFC will make the overall system in the car lighter, more compact, durable and economical. And these are decisive criteria for advancing the fuel cell in the direction of volume production. However, the ideal engine of the future – even better than the fuel cell – will be the pure E-drive.