Hella expects sales for the company’s electronics division to exceed those of its lighting division within a year or two.
Hella will have on display at the SAE
Convergence 2012 conference in Detroit Oct. 16-17 what it calls a new
Enhanced Stop-Start Demonstrator featuring advanced hybrid vehicle
technology solutions.
The company says stop-start is one
among a new generation of Hella electronic system solutions to help
vehicle manufacturers address increasingly rigorous fuel-economy and
greenhouse-gas requirements.
The demonstrator constitutes something more than a 3-D simulator, a Hella spokesperson told AEI.
It will provide a virtual technology experience and a real-world
analysis of innovative electronic products for enhanced stop-start,
vehicle coasting, and regenerative braking and creeping. The overall
goal is to virtually address the challenges facing OEMs regarding the
next steps for electronic solutions in advanced hybrid technologies.
Enhanced stop-start and coasting
applications help boost fuel economy by up to 4 mpg, according to Hella.
Stop-start technologies are enabled by turning the internal-combustion
engine off when power for acceleration is not needed. While the engine
is off, it is decoupled from the wheels via a clutch and no longer
rotates, thereby reducing drag. The alternator does not deliver
electrical power, but the vehicle remains in motion. The entire
electrical system or dedicated loads must still be supported.
For a 12-V system, additional power is
required to ensure the vehicle has a sustainable supply. Used to connect
the energy-storage element to the power system is dc/dc power
electronics. Energy storage and electronics can be integrated into a
technology known as an “energy storage module.”
Regenerative braking harvests additional
energy from the kinetic deceleration of the car by converting the
braking energy into electrical energy via the alternator. This available
energy can be used to reduce the fuel consumption by up to about 2.5
mpg, according to Hella. Up to 10 kW of alternator power is recommended
for achieving this level of efficiency, which covers elevated power
peaks during braking.
Corresponding voltage needs to be
increased to sustain an appropriate power level. This involves a
technology known as a dual low-voltage power system. This system offers a
more attractive benefit-to-cost ratio compared to the current
high-voltage solutions for hybrids.
In Europe, many OEMs are pursuing a 48-V
system for this application. However, in the U.S. a variety of
different voltage levels with diverse architectures are either in
development or being considered. A high-power alternator can also be
used as an electrical motor to power the vehicle at low speeds, during
traffic conditions (i.e., creeping), etc., without the use of the engine
for power.
Hella has expertise in the development
of adaptive and modular solutions for energy management. Its components
provide a flexible dc/dc converter platform in combination with a
variety of energy-storage technologies, from lead-acid batteries and
double-layer capacitors to lithium-ion battery cells.
The company claims it is one of the
market leaders in intelligent battery management. Its core competency in
electronics is energy storage management and high-powered dc/dc
converters for dual low-voltage power systems.
The stop-start demonstrator to be
highlighted at Convergence virtually displays all the performance
benefits of Hella technologies under different driving scenarios. Each
“test ride” will generate an analysis of the company’s latest energy
management product benefits based on individual driving behavior.
Martin Fischer, head of Hella’s
electronics division in the America’s, said at a press briefing in April
that sales for the company’s electronics division will exceed those of
its lighting division within a year or two.
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