Thanks to the multi-fuel technology known as TetraFuel®, Magneti Marelli was awarded the 2008 edition of the PACE Award, one of the most prestigious prizes in the automotive sector worldwide. The award, presented in Detroit on April 14th, was assigned to TetraFuel® in the Product category.
The PACE (Premier Automotive Suppliers’ Contribution to Excellence) Award, in its 14th edition, is sponsored by the authoritative Automotive News, and each year awards the best innovations in the sector at the global level.
The awarded technology called TetraFuel® was designed and developed by Magneti Marelli in Brazil, and allows a vehicle to use four types of fuels (petrol, alcohol, a mixture of the two in any proportion and natural gas) indiscriminately.
The distinguishing peculiarity of this solution is that the recognition and dosage of the various fuels and the consequent control of fuel supply parameters and of the engine occur thanks to the software installed in the engine control unit (ECU). The software employs a very powerful calculation algorithm that uses parameters coming from the various sensors on the car, and mainly related to the injection system (lambda probe, engine temperature, etc.).
Thanks to the electronics, then, the system automatically chooses the best option with regards to which fuel to use, depending on the driving situation, achieving the optimal compromise between performance, fuel economy and low emissions.
During the 2006 edition, Magneti Marelli received the award for the SFS® FlexFuel system, a technology capable of handling two types of fuel. Magneti Marelli fills a leadership role on the Brazilian market of multi-fuel technologies, with a market share of 58%.