An icon of Australian design, the Victa lawnmower, now has a more environmentally-friendly engine thanks to research undertaken by the UTS Faculty of Engineering.

Associate Professor Guang Hong of the Faculty's Mechatronics and Intelligent Systems group has led a four-year project that has made Victa's two-stroke engine cleaner and greener, while at the same time improving its performance.

The new Eco Torque engine, officially launched at the Powerhouse Museum on 24 January, reduces harmful emissions (hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and oxides of nitrogen) by 30 per cent and fuel consumption by 20 per cent, while increasing torque by five per cent.

Victa CEO Andrew King said the all-Australian collaboration between Victa's technical department and UTS to reduce the environmental impact of the rotary lawnmower engine had exceeded expectations.

"The challenge was to create a two-stroke engine with lower emissions without sacrificing torque or the inherent simplicity of the two-stroke engine design," Mr King said.

"Changes to the carburettor, muffler, and cast iron block have resulted in a greener two-stroke engine with lower fuel consumption, substantially lower emissions, and slightly improved torque, which was an unexpected bonus.

"The Eco Torque engine has already been recognised by industry magazine PEA (Power Equipment Australasia) as its Product of the Year 2006," he said.

Associate Professor Hong, who was the first female fellow of the Society of Automotive Engineers Australasia, said the relationship with Victa had not only advanced Australian research in engine emission reduction but also contributed to the education of the next generation of automotive engineers.

"A vital component of engineering education at UTS is an understanding of and ability to meet the needs of industry," she said. "This project involved both undergraduate and postgraduate students in collaborative work that would have a real-world outcome."

UTS Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (External Relations) and Registrar Dr Rosalind Dubs, who spoke at the Powerhouse launch, said collaboration like that with Victa was a model the university sought to emulate across its many disciplines.

"At UTS we have numerous experts in many fields who can contribute to solving industrial problems with industry partners or customers – I call it practical innovation," Dr Dubs said.

"Like most of UTS, our Engineering Faculty is very much practice-oriented, with students working with industry during their undergraduate degrees in operational environments on current issues.

"This makes our students more employment ready, but also has the spinoff of building the research expertise in the Faculty, in this case on emission reduction technologies."