Tire bearings from Continental
The profit of the supplier has recently declined significantly.
Dusseldorf has on its annual tech show Continental presented a small sensation: a newly developed 48-volt mild hybrid drive, which differs from conventional electric drives with a voltage of 48 volts. With it, vehicles can be moved purely electrically up to a speed of 90 kilometers per hour. So far it has not been possible to electrically drive tons of hybrid vehicles with such low voltages.
Actually mild hybrid drives are intended to unobtrusively support the powertrain, for example when accelerating the vehicle or the recovery of excess kinetic energy, referred to in the jargon as recuperation. In this way, the consumption of internal combustion engines should be reduced.
Novel water cooling
Move hybrid vehicles purely electric, such as for example the Toyota Prius, the electrical part of the drive usually works with a high-voltage technology that generates voltages of up to 800 volts. One speaks of so-called full hybrid vehicles.
In practice, such a vehicle can slide electrically over the roads in defensive driving. As soon as you accelerate more powerfully, however, the internal combustion engine switches on immediately. Continental’s 48-volt engine, on the other hand, develops twice as much power as ordinary powertrains.
“Our development goal was to use 48-volt technology to achieve a driving efficiency previously reserved only for high-voltage systems. We have now achieved that, “says Stephan Rebhan, Head of Technology & Innovation Powertrain. Or in other words: Continental’s mild hybrid drive works like a full hybrid drive.
This is made possible by a novel water cooling system. Also, the position of the 48-volt drive is changed. This is no longer mounted in front of the burner on the crankshaft, but behind it and thus between the engine and the transmission. Loud Continental reduce the fuel consumption and thus the CO2 emissions compared to comparable Vehicles with internal combustion engines by 20 percent.
But the biggest advantage of this electric drive is its low cost. The electrical components are loud Conti built compact and cheaper, whereby the claimed space is only slightly larger than the previous 48-volt system. Car manufacturers therefore do not have to change the vehicle design if they use Conti’s new development. Also the weight changes only minimally.
Full hybrid vehicles, like those of Toyota, also require higher voltages to drive electrically. Accordingly, the safety precautions increase and with them the costs. Continental expects a high market penetration because of the cost advantages of its solution. In about four years Continental expects to be ready for series production. The drive could be manufactured at the plant in Hungary.
More: Continental is investing more in e-mobility, For the otherwise so restrained Dax Group, this is a remarkable turnaround.
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