19 September 2023
Internal combustion engines (ICE) are often associated with fossil fuels and climate change. In fact, an ICE is a process and agnostic to the fuel it consumes. Over the past century, this process has continued to be fine-tuned to deliver efficient energy conversion. Contributions to climate change are not made by the process itself, but by the fuel burned and the emissions created.
Link Engine Management is taking a critical role in the effort to change the paradigm and retain ICE technology for the good of the planet. Link is utilising its world-leading engine management technology to enable ICE to consume hydrogen and ammonia as fuel. Although incredibly different fuels, both have negligible or near-zero emissions from the combustion process.
The company is in its early stages of collaboration with different organisations, including start-ups and research institutions. Link is working with the University of Bath to make the retrofit of hydrogen fuel to a traditional ICE an easy process. Introducing hydrogen into ICE requires some engine modification and, importantly, an engine management system capable of handling complex applications. Similarly, Link is partnering with a New-Zealand-based project to introduce hydrogen into heavy machinery and an English engineering firm to bring ammonia-fuelled handling equipment into cold-store applications.
ICE technology is well developed, with considerable existing industrial infrastructure to support ICE manufacture. This makes the conversion of this process to use near-zero emission fuels a sustainable and viable option for the planet. This is especially true for long-distance transport and heavy vehicles, such as earthmoving equipment. Finding new applications for ICE technology instead of discarding it provides the benefits of using equipment until the end of its life, especially if active vehicle fleets can be retrofitted to run on alternative fuels.
Link’s world-leading technology has been developed in the motorsport arena over the last 32 years. Motorsport is responsible for numerous other advances in automotive technology, from seatbelts to turbochargers to hybrid powertrains. Motorsport is the ultimate testing ground for new technology, and the rate of change in automotive technology is faster than ever.
Link’s performance technology has seen the company expand to provide solutions for marine, aviation, industrial and fleet management applications. They are now exporting to over 80 countries with regional offices in the UK, USA, Australia, the EU and Chile. Link’s revenue continues to grow at an annualised growth rate exceeding 25%.