VIPER2 - Vehicle Integrated Powertrain Energy Recovery

Jaguar Land Rover and its partners are building a test engine that deliberately wastes less heat, turning some of the exhaust’s escaping energy into electricity. Most of the fuel burned in a car engine is lost as heat—radiated from the block, carried away by coolant, or blown out the exhaust pipe. This project tackles that inefficiency head-on. Using advanced simulation tools and a novel engine design, the team will actively manage where heat goes inside the engine, directing it to critical components like the cylinder liner walls. A thermoelectric generator then converts a portion of the exhaust heat directly into electrical power. If the project meets its targets, the combined heat management and recovery system could improve fuel economy by 5%. For a typical family car, that translates into fewer trips to the petrol station and lower CO₂ emissions. For fleet operators, the savings add up across thousands of vehicles. The £2 million, three-year programme, funded by the Technology Strategy Board, builds on earlier work and aims to make a tangible difference to the efficiency of the internal combustion engine—a technology that will remain widespread for years to come.