HIROSHIMA, Japan-Ten researchers from Mazda Motor Corporation will be honored for their achievements at the 62nd annual Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan (JSAE) awards presentation. Two groups of Mazda researchers will receive the Technological Development Award for two separate achievements. JSAE awards the prestigious Technological Development Award to individual researchers and their co-researchers in recognition of outstanding new products or technologies that contribute to the development of automotive engineering. The Technological Development Award Awarded for:  Development of PGM Single Nano Size Particle Catalyst with high thermal durability and low-temperature catalytic performance which is possible to reduce the use of rare resources.Recipients:Hideharu Iwakuni, Technical Research Center, Mazda Motor Corporation Masaaki Akamine, Technical Research Center, Mazda Motor Corporation Hirosuke Sumida, Technical Research Center, Mazda Motor Corporation Masahiko Shigetsu, Technical Research Center, Mazda Motor Corporation Akihide Takami, Technical Research Center, Mazda Motor Corporation

The award recognizes improvements to Mazda's single-nanocatalyst technology*1 including enhanced thermal durability and low temperature performance. These improvements have enabled the technology, which was previously employed only in the underfloor catalytic convertor, to be used in the convertor attached directly to the engine. It also achieves a 30 - 50% reduction in the use of rare platinum group metals (PGM). The reward also recognizes the application of the same technology to the diesel particulate filter (DPF) for Mazda's new-generation SKYACTIV-D clean diesel engine.

• *1: This unique Mazda technology avoids the decline in performance associated with the sintering of precious metal particulates by embedding particles less than five nanometers in length (single nano sized) into a specially developed base material. (1nm=0.000001mm)
  http://www.mazda.com/publicity/release/2009/200901/090108a.html

PGM Single Nano Size Particle Catalyst Technology

The Technological Development Award

Awarded for:	Development of new gasoline engine that achieved hybrid-level fuel consumption by pursuing the efficiency of internal combustion.
Recipients:	Kazuhiro Tomizawa, Powertrain Development Div., Mazda Motor Corporation Tsuyoshi Goto, Powertrain Development Div., Mazda Motor Corporation Masahisa Yamakawa, Powertrain Development Div., Mazda Motor Corporation Mitsuyuki Murotani, Powertrain Development Div., Mazda Motor Corporation Yoshitomo Matsuo, Powertrain Development Div., Mazda Motor Corporation

Another group of Mazda researchers will also receive the Technological Development Award for achieving a compression ratio of 14.0:1,*2 with the new-generation high-efficiency direct injection gasoline engine, SKYACTIV-G 1.3. This is the highest compression ratio in the world for a mass produced gasoline automobile engine. The reward also recognizes the radical improvements in fuel efficiency realized with the SKYACTIV-G 1.3 via a thorough reduction of mechanical friction and pumping loss and praises it as an example of the future of ultra-efficient gasoline engines.

The award ceremony will take place on May 24, 2012 at the Pacifico Yokohama Convention Center.

• *2: As of May 2012 (Mazda data)

Recent Mazda recipients of the Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan awards

2011	Takashi Youso and Masahisa Yamakawa won the Outstanding Technical Paper Award for A Study on the Relationship between Fuel Characteristics and Auto-ignition in Gasoline HCCI Engines.
2010	Seiji Miyoshi won the Asahara Science Award for Development of platinum group metals (PGM) single-nanocatalyst technology, and Naoko Yorozu also won the Asahara Science Award for Absorption Technique for Road Noise. Kenichiro Saruwatari won the Technological Development Award for Mazda's unique combustion restart idling stop system, i-stop.
2009	Motonori Ishibashi won the Outstanding Technical Paper Award for Characterizing indices of driving style and their relevance to car following behavior. Kouichiro Harada, Hiroshi Yamada, Hiroki Fujita, Kenji Okamoto and Akihide Takami won the Technological Development Award for Development of a high-performance particulate burning catalyst with oxygen ion conductive materials.

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