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Aussie dual-engined car technology for Detroit 10/10/02 9:40:00 AM
+++++++++++++++++++++++++ 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
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