Achates aims at 2025 light-truck power

After more than a decade of steady development, Achates Power's opposed-piston two-stroke diesel is impressing powertrain experts with its test results and pace of technical progress.

It's autumn 2024, and you're at the local auto mall shopping for a new pickup truck-one that delivers the 32-mpg fuel economy required of full-size trucks for the upcoming model year. As the salesperson lifts a hood to show off the engine underneath, she proudly declares “2.25 liters” and you see what appears to be a supercharged SOHC inline four nestled neatly within the engine bay.

Nice packaging, you comment. But closer inspection reveals this isn't a traditional ICE.