Renault launches 2.0 turbo engine that works underwater and is ultra-economical

Horse Powertrain presented the B20, a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine designed for hybrids that continues to run submerged in up to 1.1 m of water. The company is a joint venture created in 2024 by France’s Renault and China’s Geely.

According to the manufacturer, the set meets the IPX8 sealing standard, with sealed electrical components and sensors and a specific seal between engine and gearbox. When the sensors detect water, the electronic center reduces power or changes the throttle response to keep the engine turning.

The B20 delivers from 190 to 252 hp and from 30.6 to 38.7 kgfm, depending on calibration, and weighs 130 kg. It was developed for mild hybrids, plug-in hybrids and electric hybrids with range extender. Horse claims that the engine also sustains continuous power on ramps of 100% incline, equivalent to 45 degrees, with the help of a dual active cooling system.

Thermal efficiency of 48.4%

The number that the company highlights the most is thermal efficiency. The B20 operates in the Miller cycle, which keeps the intake valve open at the beginning of the compression stroke, and combines direct injection, specific pistons and high-turbulence intake ducts. The declared result is 48.4%.

For comparison, conventional gasoline engines are between 25% and 30%, and the Toyota Prius’ Miller cycle engine operates close to 40%. Horse’s data has not been independently verified.

The B20 was shown at the Beijing Motor Show in April, and already equips the Geely Galaxy Cruiser 700, an SUV sold in China, in a plug-in hybrid system with a three-speed gearbox also from Horse. The company positions the engine for SUVs and pickup trucks for severe use.

What this has to do with Brazil

Horse is the Renault Group’s engine supplier and centralizes its Latin American operations in São José dos Pinhais, in the metropolitan region of Curitiba. At the Ayrton Senna Complex, the company maintains about 700 direct jobs and produces the 1.0 and 1.3 turbo flex engines of the HR10 and HR13 families, which equip models such as the Kardian.

The Paraná plant also concentrates the company’s flex-fuel engine engineering, within an investment cycle of R$ 865.7 million expected between 2023 and 2028. Horse has not announced a version of B20 for ethanol or application of the engine in vehicles sold in Brazil.