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The present concern in the reduction of CO2 emissions occasioned by heavy duty trucks is leading to a technological evolution, among others, in powertrain electrification. Towards this objective, the EU has funded the project GASTone targeting the development of a new powertrain concept based on the energy recovery from the exhaust gases and kinetic losses in order to make possible the electrification of the main auxiliaries. This new concept will follow a cascade approach in which the exhaust gases energy will be recovered by the integration of an advanced thermoelectric generator followed by a turbo-generator. This system will be combined with a smart kinetic energy recovery device which will recover the energy losses in the deceleration periods of the vehicle. The recovered energy will be used in the electrified auxiliaries.

Nowadays, more than 50% of the fuel energy is lost in CNG Engines. While efforts to increase their efficiency have been focused mainly on the improvement of the combustion process, the combustion chamber and the reduction of friction losses, heat losses still remain the most important inefficient factor. A global strategy in which several energy recovery strategies are implemented could lead to engine improvements up to 15%. Therefore, the development of accurate models to size and predict the performance of the integrated components as well as to define an optimized control strategy is crucial. In this contribution, a model to analyze the potential of a new powertrain based on the electrification of the main auxiliaries, the integration of a kinetic energy recovery system and the exhaust gases heat recovery through a thermoelectric generator and a turbo-component is presented.