Trend analyses show an increasing demand for electrified vehicle components due to legal, economic and technical requirements for tomorrow`s vehicles. The challenge for developing innovative electrical vehicle components is the successful exploitation of new technologies and drive concepts, the consideration of the total system in the development process as well as a high degree of fail safety.
The work in the Mobility Department on the development of auxiliary power units consisting of an integrated electric drive with intelligent control, coupled with the communication system of the vehicle. By integrating all relevant components, from the auxiliary itself to the electrical drive and the power electronics, an intelligent subsystem is realized, which is integrated into the system as a functional unit – a "Smart Drive".
The advantages of these "Smart Drives“ include:
- Efficiency improvement for the vehicle auxiliaries
- Higher reliability of the auxiliary components by reducing the interfaces to the vehicle
- Reducing weight and volume by integrating individual components into a subsystem
- Reduction of the required space due to compact construction and as a result higher flexibility in vehicle design
- Reduction of the fuel consumption by optimisation of the energy management