Denso creates li-ion battery designed for stop-start vehicles

PRESS RELEASE

DENSO Develops Lithium-ion Battery Pack for Stop/Start System
- Further increases fuel efficiency on vehicles with stop/start -

KARIYA (Japan) - DENSO Corporation has developed a lithium-ion battery pack that further increases the fuel efficiency of vehicles with stop/start systems. DENSO's new battery pack allows the stop/start system to use more regenerative power than current conventional systems that use a single lead-acid battery. DENSO's battery pack consists of a battery management unit and power supply control switch, as well as battery cells that are provided by a third-party source.

Improved Fuel Economy
DENSO's new lithium-ion battery pack stores regenerated power and then supplies the stored regenerated power to the electrical and electronic components, such as the car navigation and audio systems. This reduces the power generation required by the alternator, which results in an overall load reduction on the engine and improves the vehicle's fuel economy.

Compact and Lightweight Battery Allowing for Increased OE Design Flexibility
The new battery pack is naturally air-cooled and therefore does not require a dedicated battery cooling system. Because there is no need for auxiliary cooling components, this allows the battery to be lighter and more compact. This enables automakers more design flexibility, which is important for vehicles with limited space.

DENSO Stop/Start Available Technology
DENSO has developed different types of starters to meet the specific needs of its customers for their stop/start systems, including the Advanced Engagement (AE) Starter, Permanently Engaged (PE) Starter, and Tandem Solenoid (TS) Starter. Also, DENSO developed a Cold Storage (CS) Evaporator which increases the effectiveness of idle-stop, particularly at high temperatures.

DENSO supplies the lithium ion battery pack, the TS starter and Cold Storage Evaporator on the Suzuki Wagon R, which Suzuki Motor Corporation launched to market earlier this month. DENSO will continue its efforts to expand these technologies to other automakers and other regions in the world.

About the Battery Pack Components

DENSO Battery management unit
DENSO Battery Management Unit monitors and controls the voltage of the lithium-ion battery cells to maintain the proper charge level to protect them from overcharge and over-discharge.

Power supply control switch
Depending on the operational status of the vehicle, this device controls the charging of the battery cells by the energy captured during deceleration and braking. It also controls the amount of power supplied to the car navigation, audio, and other systems during driving.

Battery cells
High-power rechargeable lithium-ion battery cells, which have a higher energy density and charge more quickly than lead-acid batteries, can efficiently store more regenerated power quickly to vehicle's electronic and electrical components.

DENSO Corporation, headquartered in Kariya, Aichi prefecture, Japan, is a leading global automotive supplier of advanced technology, systems and components in the areas of thermal, powertrain control, electric, electronics and information and safety. Its customers include all the world's major carmakers. Worldwide, the company has more than 200 subsidiaries and affiliates in 35 countries and regions (including Japan) and employs over 120,000 people. Consolidated global sales for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2012, totaled US$38.4 billion. Last fiscal year, DENSO spent 9.5 percent of its global consolidated sales on research and development. DENSO common stock is traded on the Tokyo and Nagoya stock exchanges. For more information, go to www.globaldenso.com, or visit our media website at www.densomediacenter.com.

* Dimensions: 200 × 178 × 70 mm (length × width × height)
Weight: 2.5 kg

DENSO’s new e-compressor making world debut on Ford’s electrified vehicles

The integrated inverter in the current DENSO e-compressor is stacked above the motor. The new e-compressor debuting on the Ford vehicles improves the packaging by moving the inverter in-line with the motor. Click to enlarge.

DENSO’s new inline electric compressor will make its global debut on Ford Motor Company’s Focus Electric, which began production this past December, with retail production ramping up the first half of the year. The inline e-compressor will also appear on the Fusion and C-MAX Hybrids and Energi Plug-in Hybrids, going on sale in North America this year.

DENSO introduced electric compressors for hybrid electric vehicles in 2003. In 2005, DENSO introduced an electric compressor, jointly developed with Toyota Industries Corporation, that incorporated an inverter to drive the built-in motor. This structure reduced the compressor size by approximately 60% compared with a conventional electric compressor and inverter (when they are assumed to provide the same output). DENSO miniaturized the inverter by using simplified circuits and a higher-density mounting with three-dimensional wirings.

The inverter for a conventional compressor is cooled by the engine’s coolant system. To be able to integrate the electric compressor and inverter, DENSO developed a new cooling method using air conditioning refrigerant in the compressor. DENSO’s segment conductor wiring method, which was developed for alternators in 2000, also reduced the size of the built-in motor.

The current e-compressor with the integrated inverter stacked above the motor. The new e-compressor places the inverter in-line with the motor. Click to enlarge.

DENSO’s newest inline e-compressor is smaller, lighter and quieter than previous generations. DENSO improved the packaging—allowing for easier under-the-hood component packaging—by repositioning the e-compressor’s integrated inverter in-line with the motor as opposed to the current integrated inverter that is stacked above the motor.

Despite the decrease in weight and size, the inline e-compressor maintains the same cooling capacity as the previous generation while consuming less power. This helps extend the lithium-ion battery range when the air-conditioning (A/C) is running. Also, for hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV), the e-compressor helps make the car less reliant on the internal combustion engine when running A/C.

Not only does the inline e-compressor keep the cabin cool, it also can cool the lithium-ion battery to help it maintain an optimal temperature, improving the battery’s range and overall longevity.

Conventional compressors are powered by an engine’s belt drive, but EVs don’t have belt-driven engines that energize the peripheral systems (Hence, the move to an electric-driven compressor). This electrified compressor has its own motor, inverter and circuit board.

Source: Green Car Congress