Controller for internal combustion engine and method for controlling internal combustion engine

A controller for an internal combustion engine, wherein the internal combustion engine includes an in-cylinder injection valve configured to inject fuel supplied from a delivery pipe to a combustion chamber when opened by an electromagnetic force that acts on a movable element including a magnetic body and is generated by an energizing process of energizing a coil, the in-cylinder injection valve is further configured to execute multi-stage injection, the multi-stage injection includes execution of a plurality of fuel injections during a single combustion cycle in a cylinder, the plurality of fuel injections includes at least a first injection and a second injection carried out at a timing toward a retarding side from the first injection, and the timing at which the second injection is carried out is adjacent in time to a timing at which the first injection is carried out, the controller comprising:

• processing circuitry configured to execute
• a peak current command value calculating process of calculating a peak current command value, which is a command value of a peak current flowing through the coil because of the energizing process, based on a detection value of a pressure in the delivery pipe, and
• a peak control process of controlling a value of the peak current flowing to the coil at the peak current command value, and
• wherein the peak current command value calculating process includes, when the multi-stage injection is executed, a process of calculating a peak current command value for the first injection and a peak current command value for the second injection, the peak current command value for the second injection being greater than the peak current command value for the first injection.