Closed 2-cell embeddings of graphs with no V8-minors

A closed 2-cell embedding of a graph embedded in some surface is an embedding such that each face is bounded by a cycle in the graph. The strong embedding conjecture says that every 2-connected graph has a closed 2-cell embedding in some surface. In this paper, we prove that any 2-connected graph without V₈ (the Möbius 4-ladder) as a minor has a closed 2-cell embedding in some surface. As a corollary, such a graph has a cycle double cover. The proof uses a classification of internally-4-connected graphs with no V₈-minor (due to Kelmans and independently Robertson), and the proof depends heavily on such a characterization.