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Aussie dual-engined car technology for Detroit
10/10/02 9:40:00 AM
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ON-BOARD 42-VOLT POWER UNIT WILL FREE UP MAIN ENGINE POWER
An Australian-owned company will be the first in the world to
demonstrate a fully-functioning vehicle with an independently
powered 42-volt electrical system, at the Detroit Motor Show in
January.
The company, Aria Power Products Inc (APP), announced today that it
was developing the vehicle, a modified Ford Lincoln Navigator, to
highlight its auxiliary power unit that could play a leading role in
the forthcoming global upgrade of car electrical systems from 12 to
42 volts.
APP has sub-contracted one of the world's best-known rally and race
car builders, the UK company Prodrive, to fit the engine/generator
auxiliary power unit into the Ford and integrate it into all the
car's electrical storage and distribution, fuel and emission
reduction systems.
APP is a joint venture between Sydney company CMC Power Systems (ASX:
CSY) and the Aria Group, a Californian design house and concept
vehicle developer.
The car will have two engines: the standard 5.4 litre V8 under the
bonnet, and an Australian-designed 500cc engine coupled to a
CSIRO-built generator fitted under the rear of the vehicle to supply
electrical power.
The Automotive Auxiliary Power Unit (AAPU), about the size of a fruit
box and light enough (44kg) to be lifted by one person, is being
fitted into the space around the spare wheel well under the rear of
the Ford.
Paul Kasperowicz, Project Director with Aria Power Products, said the
Detroit Motor Show was the world's Most influential forum for
automotive product innovation, and the Australian dual-engine
technology would be made available to all major motor manufacturers
and component suppliers.
"We believe the auxiliary power unit will be just what car makers are
looking for to help them make the transition from 12 to 42 volts," he
said. "It is the most advanced product of its kind, combining CMC's
unique high-efficicacy internal combustion engine with a
specially-tailored CSIRO permanent magnet generator and a CSIRO
electronic control system."
CMC's internal combustion engine has been developed in Australia and
is based on a unique crank mechanism which involves rigid conrods.
The layout of the conrods enables a smaller, smoother engine with
less friction, more efficient combustion, fewer moving parts and
lower cost of manufacture.
The CSIRO-developed permanent magnet generators are best suited to
operating at constant speed, which is the way the AAPU has been
designed - the PMG delivers 95 per cent efficiency compared with only
50-60 per cent for normal generators operating at variable speeds.
Mr Kasperowicz said the global change from 12 to 42 volts was already
under way, with the world's first 42-volt vehicle, a Toyota Crown
powered from the main engine, already released, and reports that the
BMW 7 series and Audi 8 are likely to follow later this year.
"The change is happening at the top end of the market, but will
cascade through to the rest over the next 10 years," he said. "Stock
market analysts Standard and Poors have estimated that global
production of 42-volt cars will rise from 50,000 this year to three
million by 2006 and 13 million, about a quarter of the 55 million new
cars produced annually world-wide, by the end of the decade.
"Our Detroit display of the Automotive Auxiliary Power Unit (AAPU)
will demonstrate that substantial fuel savings can be achieved by
having two engines - the primary engine to turn the wheels and a
secondary engine to generate 42-volt electricity to run all the car's
other systems, such as the water pump, power steering and air
conditioning.
"Two engines can be more efficient than one because the main engine
can be stripped of all the 'parasitic' functions at present driven by
belts, which have traditionally wasted large amounts of power because
they have to be geared to always operate as if under maximum load.
"In today's cars, at least 20 per rent of the engine power is locked
away to provide auxiliary power, no matter what speed the car is
doing. Car makers will be very drawn to any technology that allows
them to deliver all the power from the main engine to the wheels, and
dole out power to the auxiliary functions precisely as needed.
"Freeing up the main engine is the equivalent of getting at least 20
per cent better performance from an engine of a given size - for
instance, a 2 litre engine freed of belt driven devices will give the
performance of a 2.4 litre engine weighed down with all those
auxiliary functions. We estimate the value to car makers of this
extra performance at about $2,000 per vehicle."
The move to 42-volt power is also being driven by proposed new
technologies such as electric brakes, steer-by-wire, rapid window
de-icing, electromagnetically actuated valves, active suspensions and
hermetically sealed air conditioning which have high electrical loads
that are difficult if not impossible to satisfy with 12 volts.
Computer devices and safety sensors, such as cameras that trigger air
bag release, need higher quality and reliability than 12 volts can
supply, and 42 volts can also heat the catalytic converter in the
car's exhaust system, so it will be hot enough to oxidize the exhaust
gases at the first turn of the engine, reducing total emissions
considerably.
The APP combination of a high-efficiency engine with a
high-efficiency generator is well ahead of any competitors. It will
be a low-cost solution for vehicle manufacturers, requiring little
development or capital expenditure because of its generic or 'plug
in/drop in' nature. APP is confident that by this time next year it
will have its first units being mass-produced for inclusion in
vehicles.
T Teng
COMPANY SECRETARY
For further information contact:
Tom Gosling
PUBLIC/INVESTOR RELATIONS MANAGER
(612) 9699 9000; 0418 294 342
Paul Kasperowicz, 03 9602 4220; 0427 414 500
www.cmcpower.com;
www.prodrive.com
CSY
cmc power systems limited