Laser arcing could be the way forward to reducing fuel consumption.
The latest discovery, from researchers at at Germany's Fraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology, has the potential to save billions of litres of fuel on an annual basis. Although it is already proven that coating engine components with hard carbon reduces friction to a negligible amount, how to apply the coating effectively has, so far, proved a challenge.
The Fraunhofer team may have found the solution through the use of laser arcing - a laser pulse directed at a carbon target - which produces a carbon ion plasma that is deposited onto a metal component in a vacuum. The breakthrough not only allows the coating to be applied consistently and up to a thickness of 20 micrometres, but the process can also be used on an industrial scale.
The scientists are working closely with car and 'bike manufacturer, BMW, to produce the coating for a range of vehicles. The coating itself dramatically reduces fuel and potentially lubricants consumption, as the carbon deposit is more wear-resistant than the diamond coatings currently used in the component industry. The team estimates the new application method could save more than 100bn litres of fuel annually over the next 10 years.