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The inherent drastic reduction of CO2, additionally to the limitation of pollutant emission, but at high level of propulsion power and torque as conditions of customer acceptance, imposes the introduction of new concepts of propulsion generation and management. A drastic reduction of CO2 - as cumulated quantity in the atmosphere - is possible by both reduction of specific energy consumption well-to-wheel for propulsion as well as by the utilization of regenerative fuels, ensuring a significant recycling of CO2 emissions from propulsion systems by photosynthesis. Alternative scenarios to the classical automobile propulsion by piston engine show remarkable potentials in terms of power characteristic, energy consumption or pollutant emissions. On the other hand, the development of internal combustion engines is moving from sophisticated mechanics to modular and adaptable process management.

The development of advanced techniques for an improved control of scavenging, mixture formation and thereby of the combustion in IC engines is more and more supported by numerical simulation models. However, the benefits in reducing the specific fuel consumption and the pollutant emission are not spectacular. On the other hand, the recent evolution of the fuel cell systems - which let expect a commercial application for automotive propulsion in the next years - demonstrates a remarkable efficiency. There appears a challenge for the IC engines, considering the utilization of similar energetic sources for both systems. This imposes an accelerated optimization of the processes in thermal engines - the central problem being the control of combustion. In this context, the basic models should be reconsidered.