A new generation of low voltage micro-hybrid technologies in vehicles could allow existing engine technology and transmission combinations to be downsized and support significant reductions in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.
The micro-hybrid technologies include an electric supercharger, a belt-integrated starter/generator and a carbon-enhanced advanced VRLA UltraBattery.
Controlled Power Technologies and AVL have been working together for the last 18 months to develop a value-driven micro/mild hybrid electric vehicle solution using CPT’s production-ready VTES electric supercharger. According to the study, the intention is to enable aggressive near term downsizing and down-speeding of existing engine families, delivering proven CO reduction and fuel economy improvement with dynamic compromises.
Using a family sized saloon based on the Volkswagen Passat, the demonstrator used a two-litre petrol engine that delivered fuel consumption of 36mpg and CO2 emissions of 154g/km - that’s a 20 per cent reduction from the 192g/km series production Passat.
One of its most significant features is the long gear ratios that enable down-speeding of the engine. In typical circumstances this would result in unacceptably high gear vehicle acceleration, but thanks to CPT’s variable torque enhancement systems it reacts instantly to transient load conditions and boosts dynamic performance.
The next step is to develop AVL’s efficient low carbon ELC-hybrid concept and incorporate CPT’s SpeedStart system (see article). It is hoped that this will create a cost effective micro/mild hybrid system which will meet the European industry’s 130g/km CO2 emission threshold.
Paul is a freelance writer with a background in everything from motoring to finance; and holidays to women's undergarments he just writes about them, honestly! He has now sadly crept into his early 30s and seems to have forgotten everything learned at school Still, he's a green car fanatic and isn't that what counts?
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