Master Thesis: Generative AI for Future Emission Management in Heavy-Duty Vehicles

Location: Göteborg, SE, 417 15

Master Thesis: Generative AI for Future Emission Management in Heavy-Duty Vehicles

Location:

Göteborg, SE, 417 15

#job-location.job-location-inline { display: inline; }

Position Type:

Student

Transport is at the core of modern society. Imagine using your expertise to shape sustainable transport and infrastructure solutions for the future. If you seek to make a difference on a global scale, working with next-gen technologies and the sharpest collaborative teams, then we could be a perfect match.

Background

Future heavy-duty vehicles must meet increasingly stringent emission legislation while minimizing fuel and AdBlue consumption. Achieving this requires intelligent coordination between the engine and the exhaust aftertreatment system (EATS), balancing multiple objectives such as tailpipe NOx emissions, exhaust temperatures, fuel efficiency, and ammonia storage.

At the same time, recent advances in Generative AI have created new opportunities to learn complex system behavior from historical data and generate future operating strategies. While traditional control methods typically optimize a single predicted future, generative models can propose multiple alternative future scenarios that may enable improved decision-making over longer time horizons.

This thesis aims to investigate whether Generative AI can be used as a supervisory planning layer for future emission management of heavy-duty powertrains.

Where You’ll Belong

Volvo Group Powertrain Technology provides Volvo Group Trucks and Business Area’s with state-of-the-art research, cutting-edge engineering, product planning and purchasing serives, as well as aftermarket product support. The Powertrain Engineering Sweden organization has the full worldwide product platform responsibility for heavy duty engines and transmissions with a large organization of 750 colleagues in Gothenburg and Malmö.

Why Choose This Thesis?

This thesis offers a unique opportunity to work at the intersection of:

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

Advanced Control

Combustion and Emission Control

Exhaust Aftertreatment Systems (EATS)

Sustainable Transportation

You will work with real industrial data and contribute to Volvo Group's exploration of future technologies for robust emission compliance and energy-efficient vehicle operation. The project combines state-of-the-art AI methods with real engineering challenges and offers significant opportunities for both research and industrial impact.

Scope and Content

The objective is to investigate whether Generative AI can generate future emission-management strategies that improve the trade-off between Fuel consumption, AdBlue consumption and Robust tailpipe NOx compliance.

The work will include:

Literature Review of:

Generative AI

Time-series and sequence modeling

Transformer architectures

AI for control systems

Model Predictive Control (MPC)

Analyze real engine and aftertreatment data, including:

Engine speed and torque

Engine-out NOx

Exhaust temperatures

Urea dosing

NH₃ storage estimates

Preview information describing future operating conditions

Model Development: Develop and train a generative model capable of learning the interaction between engine operation, emissions, thermal behavior, and aftertreatment performance.

Strategy Generation and Evaluation: Investigate whether the model can generate alternative future operating strategies and evaluate their potential impact.

Demonstrator: Develop a proof-of-concept demonstrator showcasing the potential of Generative AI for supervisory emission management.

Who are you? You are curious, analytical, and motivated by solving complex interdisciplinary problems. You enjoy learning new technologies and working collaboratively in a team environment.

We are looking for two students who will complete this thesis together, we see that the combination of Control Engineering and Machine Learning / Artificial Intelligence would be prefarble.

Experience in several of the following areas is beneficial:

Automatic Control

Model Predictive Control (MPC)

Machine Learning and Deep Learning

Python

Matlab / Simulink

Data Analytics

Signal Processing

Combustion engines, emissions, and aftertreatment

Ready for the next step?

Want to kick-start your career? Please apply now, last application date is 14th of October. We value your data privacy and therefore do not accept applications via mail.

Thesis level: Master Thesis 30p

Language: English

Starting date: January 2027

For any further details please contact: Johan Dahl, Expert Systems Engineer at [email protected]

Supervision and examination: - Powertrain Technology, TTI, Volvo Group - Chalmers

Who we are and what we believe in We are committed to shaping the future landscape of efficient, safe, and sustainable transport solutions. Fulfilling our mission creates countless career opportunities for talents across the group’s leading brands and entities.

Applying to this job offers you the opportunity to join Volvo Group. Every day, you will be working with some of the sharpest and most creative brains in our field to be able to leave our society in better shape for the next generation. ​We are passionate about what we do, and we thrive on teamwork. ​We are almost 100,000 people united around the world by a culture of care, inclusiveness, and empowerment.

Trucks Technology & Industrial Division hire team players who are ready to create real customer impact. Our decentralized teams work close to our customers, with speed and autonomy, to build what they truly need. Join us to collaborate on innovative, sustainable technologies that redefine how we design, build, and deliver value. Bring your curiosity, your expertise, and your collaborative energy, and together, we’ll turn bold ideas into tangible solutions for our customers and contribute to a more sustainable tomorrow.

Job Category:

Engineering

Organization:

Trucks Technology & Industrial