Among all the world’s uncertainties, at least one matter seems settled: Batteries and electric motors will have a major role in powering the cars and trucks of our future.

What is far less certain is how large that role will be, or how quickly the shift to electrification will happen.

But gas- and diesel-powered engines are not done yet. Just as electrified cars — whether hybrids or pure battery-powered models — seem headed for market dominance, Mazda announced a breakthrough in gasoline engines that could make them far more efficient. It is the latest plot twist in a century of improvements for internal combustion engines, a power source pronounced dead many times that has persisted nevertheless.

Source: New York Times, 17th August 2017