iFuelActive-PRO: A smart aftermarket in-tank fuel solution to supply the cleanest fuel possible to diesel engines with onboard fuel quality monitoring capabilities and machine-learning powered predictive maintenance.

b7e183b8-0a0c-4ce8-b92b-f6968f28506c

Active

Innovate UK

£349,044

Sept. 30, 2022

Sept. 29, 2023

Diesel fuel becomes contaminated from water, bacteria and/or particulates settling to the bottom of fuel tanks. Fuel contamination leads to engine damage, machine downtime and reduced productivity; particularly in construction, road haulage and mining sectors.

FuelActive has achieved demonstrable success in the fuel solutions market through developing innovative fuel-delivery and monitoring systems that prevent breakdowns with two products currently:

* **FuelActive:** Floating fuel-extraction pipe delivering the cleanest fuel, mitigating injector damage, engine failure, reduced fuel economy and worse emissions
* **iFuelActive:** Smart fuel-extraction unit utilising in-tank sensors/telemetry to remotely monitor fuel-quality

This project will develop the iFuelActive-PRO through development of a bespoke-pcb module which will confirm the relationship between fuel-quality/engine-performance/emissions, while offering customers predictive maintenance using machine-learning techniques.

Currently, fuel pick-ups fulfil a single function; to extract fuel and are static devices, resulting in exposure to contamination at the bottom of the tank. iFuelActive-PRO will combine a dynamic fuel pick-up with a fuel-sender to extract the cleanest fuel, preventing contaminants entering the system; with on-board fuel-quality monitoring. Real-time fuel temperature, quality, pressure and flow-analysis information will enable remote diagnostics, predictive maintenance and improve fuel-stock management (on-site and multiple vehicles). ECU integration provides benchmarks for fuel consumption, diagnostic alerts, engine performance, vehicle utilisation, route-planning, improved driver behaviour (over-revving, heavy-acceleration, harsh-braking, aggressive cornering, idling) and fuel/vehicle theft.

FuelActive has been proven to supply cleaner fuel, exhibiting zero failures post-installation, servicing the aftermarket demand and, potentially with OEM-integrated solutions. FuelActive is ideally positioned through existing relationships with large transport, construction and agriculture vehicle operators and manufacturers.

Governments will encourage alternative technologies to diesel usage to reduce emissions, but diesel is widely used \[EnergyRep.2021\] and demand is expected at current levels globally until 2045, due to industrialisation \[Statista,2021\]. Operators are seeking to reduce maintenance/downtime and emissions, increase fuel efficiency, and generate cost-savings in multiple sectors.

Large inefficient diesel engines combined with high annual mileage accounts for 39% of the transport sector's CO2/NOx emissions (~5% of fossil-fuels) globally \[IDTechEx,2020\]. iFuelActive-PRO provides an immediate response for COP26, with ~5% CO2/NOx reduction; effectively removing 1/20 existing vehicles if adopted at-scale.

iFuelActive-PRO supports the UK's ambition of Net-Zero CO2 emissions by 2050, improving fuel efficiency, providing a "transition technology" for a lower-carbon economy and tackling roadside concentrations and nutrient imbalances in coastal waters/river-basins \[EPA,2018\]. iFuelActive-PRO supports new diesel regulatory standards that are becoming increasingly stringent for cleaner fuel (Stage5/Euro6/Euro7). UK-registered HGVs consume ~6.2mt/year of fuel \[ONS,2020\];~10.5mtCO2e/year \[~400gCO2e/km; UKGov,2021\].