"ECCO-MATE aims to create a research and training platform for the development and implementation of novel fuel mixture preparation, injection profiling, air management and staged/low temperature combustion technologies both in marine and light-duty automotive diesel engines. The marine (slow speed, large-sized, two-stroke engines) and land-transport (high speed, small-to-medium-sized, four-stroke engines) sectors share essentially the same strategic challenges, namely the implementation of energy efficient and fuel flexible combustion technologies, in order to improve efficiency and meet stringent emission standards. However, there is little established training and academic communication between the two sectors, despite the common problems relating to the fuel injection, ignition and combustion methodologies and potentialities of new – more environmentally friendly – fuels. ECCO-MATE bridges this gap by creating a platform for research output exchange between the two sectors on diesel engine combustion by coupling state-of-the-art flow physics and combustion chemistry with CFD tools and advanced optical diagnostics.The consortium comprises 16 key partners - 6 Universities, 5 major key-stakeholders from the marine and automotive engine industries and 5 associate partners - from 7 EU countries and Japan. The consortium processes multi-disciplinary expertise, strong interests and tradition in both sectors and the necessary critical mass to achieve the research and ensuing training activities that highlight synergies, complementarities and provide solutions to the addressed common problems of the two sectors. The comprehensive training program (academic and professional training, focussed dissemination activities, trans-national and trans-sectoral mobility) exploits the multi-disciplinarity of the consortium creating high level skills for the participating researchers and ensuring continuation of the research activities after the project completion."