Durability and friction control in internal combustion engines is currently delivered from a complex package of lubricant additives in a fully formulated engine oil. These oil additives, through tribochemical interaction with the surface, produce nanostructured composite, self-healing and smart tribofilms at the surface. 2020 Interface involves the design of the complete system; functionalised Diamond-like Carbon (DLC) coating and future generation lubricant to enable the Europe’s stretching targets in fuel economy and durability to be met. There has been much emphasis in research on designing new coatings technology such that the degree of complexity of surface systems has increased dramatically over the last decade. In boundary lubricated contacts, it is the interfacial nanostructured film, which results from tribochemical interactions between the surface and the lubricant additives, which dictates the system performance. No attempts have been made to incorporate “design” strategies into optimizing this interface and 2020 Interface tackles this through an interdisciplinary integrated experimental and theoretical approach. The benefits of this approach are accrued from substantial improved fuel economy (protection of natural resources), reduced emissions (protection of the environment) and improved durability (lower waste and maintenance). As the number of vehicles in the globe increases year on year without showing signs of reaching a plateau and the internal combustion engine remains the major platform for powertrain for the foreseeable future, the impact of this project will be large and long lasting. 2020 Interface brings together a world class consortium of 4 Universities, 1 research institute and 4 leading multinational companies from 8 EU countries together in complete supply chain to deliver fast track radical innovation in nanoscience through to a full set of novel lubrication technology platforms, for commercial applications in diesel and