MIT, Ford Collaborating on Direct Ethanol Injection

Research teams at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Ford Motor Co. are working on the development of a turbocharged, small displacement gasoline engine that generates as much power as one twice its size thanks to periodic injections of ethanol directly into the cylinders.

Along with providing a boost of power for hill climbing and passing acceleration, the use of ethanol injection overcomes a barrier known as the knock limit, where the fuel prematurely ignites and ...