MIT Engine Switches From Spark-Ignition to Spark-Free Combustion

A team of Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers unveils a spark-ignition vehicle engine that can switch to spark-free combustion under certain driving conditions. The dual-mode engine produces greater fuel economy without an increase in unwanted emissions.

The MIT team, which presented its research at the 2007 International Fuel and Lubricants Meeting, has devised a way to switch from a conventional gasoline engine’s sparkplug-initiated ignition to "homogeneous charge ...