Cylinder Deactivation Technology Alliance Announced

Jacobs Vehicle Systems, the Bloomfield, Conn. manufacturer of heavy-duty diesel engine retarding systems and valve actuation systems, has entered into a collaboration with internal combustion controls company Tula Technology Inc., Plymouth, Mich. The two businesses will work together to enable Jacobs to further develop cylinder deactivation technologies.

Tula, also having operations headquarters in Silicon Valley (San Jose), has licensed its Dynamic Skip Fire (DSF) technology for automotive OEM gasoline applications. The new working partnership between the two companies will utilize Tula’s DSF controls technology to support Jacobs’ expertise in diesel deactivation hardware development.

John Fuerst, SVP Engineering at Tula, said, “Tula is pleased to support our industry partner Jacobs Vehicle Systems in its development of Dynamic Skip Fire-enabling hardware for the diesel engine marketplace.” Tula has developed an infinitely variable cylinder deactivation system, integrating digital signal processing and software with engine control algorithms. This technology reduces fuel consumption of gasoline engines by 6-15% on real world drive cycles; the collaboration with Jacobs aims to enable Jacobs to develop and demonstrate deactivation hardware required for diesel engines.