7. Innovative advances in combustion engines up to 2050

7.1 Overview of new-generation engines

We refer to some of the technological provisions in terms of innovation and progress, without aiming to be exhaustive in terms of the application sector, which will be studied at a later date. We offer a few common-sense reflections linked to the context of major uncertainty that has become the rule as to the durability and future of combustion engines within the current legislative and climatic framework. The race to electric vehicles got off to a flying start in the automotive industry after the Covid pandemic. By 2023, the momentum was well underway, with EV sales up 37% year-on-year in Europe. But in the first half of 2024, growth was limited to 1.3% on the old continent. In the United States, the market share of battery-powered vehicles...