Hyundai Mobis develops compact, integrated 48V mild hybrid system
27 April 2017
Automotive supplier Hyundai Mobis has developed the core technologies of a compact, integrated 48V mild hybrid system. Hyundai Mobis developed the “converter integrated 48V battery system” on its own and it is making the final preparations for mass-production scheduled for next year.
Hyundai Mobis integrated the converter and the battery system—formerly applied separately—into one system. The company not only reduced the weight, volume and cost of the system but also improved cooling efficiency.
The Hyundai Mobis 48V system meets ECE-R100 (Economic Commission of Europe – Regulation 100) requirements. R100 addresses the safety requirements specific to the electric power train of on-road vehicles including rechargeable battery systems.
In addition to the converter integrated battery system, Hyundai Mobis developed the inverter integrated starter & generator, which is the driving component of 48V; MDPS (Motor-Driven Power Steering); iMEB (Integrated Mobis Electronic Brake); and the electric compressor, and it is now verifying the performance through ongoing tests.
Unlike more powerful high-voltage hybrid vehicles with a separate drive motor, the 48V Mild HEV can improve fuel efficiency by more than 15% by simply replacing the starter & generator of the existing internal combustion engine vehicle. It is attributable to its simple power assistance, and the improvements made by the regenerative braking and ISG (Idle Stop & Go) function.
Swiss investment company UBS forecasts that t478V mild hybrid systems will account for about 10% of all vehicles sold in 2025.
Hyundai Mobis is a global Tier-1 automotive supplier. It was established in 1977, and is headquartered in Seoul, Korea. R&D headquarters are in Korea and the company has 4 technical centers worldwide: in Germany, China, India and the US.
I don't know why, but I like this 48v tech. Seems like a simple step towards full electrification, by bolting an integrated starter/generator/motor? to a standard planet-killing gasser. Immediate 15% fuel savings seems impressive.
If this could be standardized, automakers could do this quickly, getting more people used to plugging in their cars and saving billions of gallons of fuel.
Posted by: Juan Valdez | 27 April 2017 at 07:46 AM
48V systems typically don't have batteries big enough to be worth using as plug-ins (not even the regular Prius does). The cost of a line-power charging system would be mostly wasted. However, electrifying the various accessories like power steering and A/C reduces a lot of parasitic engine drag and boosts efficiency there.
One of the major issues of 48V is standby power drain for the various electronic modules which require "keep-alive" power. The practice in the day was to use linear regulators between battery voltage and whatever the chips want to be fed (5V then, today 3.3V or even less). Obviously this doesn't look so good when you're feeding 48V and dropping 45 volts as resistance heat. I'm not sure where things are now, but I suspect there will be a standby power bus running at 5V or less and fed from battery by a dedicated switching regulator running at much higher efficiency.
Posted by: Engineer-Poet | 27 April 2017 at 07:11 PM
I like how easily the technology will be cost justified. The best bang for the buck. Many options to chose from. From basic to plug in. One lower cost battery, low speed electric drive, motor off AC, auto parking and pickup, turbo charger, and auxiliary power all going electric in which engine will decrease parasitic losses. Mild hybrid technology will make it all possible for lower cost. I've read where the mild hybrid will achieve MPG about where hybrids sit today. It is a moving target and full hybrids will be that much higher.
Off grid homes and RV industry still prefer cost effective carbon batteries. It would be nice to have 48v devices for these industries as well.
Posted by: Trees | 28 April 2017 at 06:35 AM