Advanced Powertrain and Fuels

Entry requirements

The general University entrance requirement for registration for a research degree is normally a First or Upper Second Class Honours degree (1st or 2:1).

An interview will be required as part of the admissions process and will be conducted by at least two academic staff members remotely via MS Teams, Zoom, or face to face.

Applicants will be required to submit a personal statement and a research statement.
Please contact your proposed supervisor, where possible, to receive feedback and guidance on your research statement before submitting it.

Months of entry

January, April, October

Course content

In the Advanced Powertrain and Fuels area, we have particular strengths in improving the efficiency and reducing emissions of existing engines through developing advanced combustion processes and their controls and boosting technologies. We are equipped with the most advanced camless and direct injection research engines, as well as state-of-art laser and optical equipment for the study of fuels and engines: in particular marrying experimental and modelling methods and through the utilisation of advanced laser measurement techniques in transparent optical engines. The research on regenerative engine braking is feeding strongly into our commercialisation activities. We have particular interests in developing efficient bio-fuel supply chains, as well as a number of novel technologies for manufacturing bio-fuel from industrial waste and new combustion technologies optimised for bio-fuels.

As one of the largest and most active engine research groups in the UK, our research on internal combustion engines goes back to the late 1960s.

The faculty working on Advanced Powertrain and Fuels at Brunel have been recognised for their outstanding skills. In 2015, Prof Zhao was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, joining other distinguished academics from renowned research institutions and technologists from world-leading engineering companies. Hua was honoured for his fundamental and applied research into novel engine combustion concepts, air hybrid engine and vehicle technologies, and advanced laser diagnostics for the development of high efficiency and ultra-low emission powertrains for the automotive industry.

Find out about the exciting research we do in this area. Browse profiles of our experts, discover the research groups and their inspirational research activities you too could be part of. We’ve also made available extensive reading materials published by our academics and PhD students.

Information for international students

English language requirements

• IELTS: 6.5 (min 6 in all areas)
• Pearson: 59 (59 in all subscores)
• BrunELT: 63% (min 58% in all areas)
• TOEFL: 90 (min 20 in all)

Fees and funding

Brunel offers a number of funding options to research students that help cover the cost of their tuition fees, contribute to living expenses or both. Recently the UK Government made available the Doctoral Student Loans of up to £25,000 for UK and EU students and there is some funding available through the Research Councils. Many of our international students benefit from funding provided by their governments or employers. Brunel alumni enjoy tuition fee discounts of 15%.