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<\/a> AZD’s new technologies being prepared for 2012-13 will leverage learnings gained from developing the electric drivetrain for Ford’s 2011 Transit Connect EV (shown). The vehicle will arrive in the U.S. as a glider from Ford’s Turkey assembly plant, and AZD will upfit the electric driveline in an ex-AM General facility in Livonia, MI.<\/p>\nWhen they enter production in the 2012-2013 timeframe, Azure Dynamics\u2019 next-generation hybrid and electric propulsion systems will feature new approaches to battery cooling, power control, e-motor design, and systems engineering. The changes are aimed at further reducing the bill of materials and overall cost of the electrified powertrain, as well as improving performance.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll the programs we\u2019re doing this year basically are engineering programs in which we\u2019re engineering cost out of the system,\u201d said company CEO Scott Harrison. \u201cWe\u2019re taking 40% cost out of our Balance hybrid system, but we\u2019re also working on future component and systems designs that will provide greater customer benefits as well as lower cost.\u201d<\/p>\n
Azure Dynamics (AZD) currently upfits the Balance hybrid architecture on Ford\u2019s F-450 chassis for a growing list of Class 3-5 commercial fleets including FedEx, Purolator Courier, and AT&T. AZD also is supplying its Force Drive battery-electric drivetrain for Ford\u2019s 2011 Transit Connect EV.<\/p>\n
The Force Drive is claimed to provide 80 miles (129 km) electric range per full charge. It features a Siemens drive motor and a new lithium-ion battery pack supplied by JCI-Saft, which in early June took a 3.4% equity stake in AZD. AZD is handling the program\u2019s vehicle integration. Beginning this fall, it will install the electric drivetrain into Transit Connect gliders at a leased AM General facility in Livonia, MI.<\/p>\n
New motors and controllers<\/p>\n
In an interview with AEI<\/em> at AZD\u2019s U.S. headquarters near Detroit, Engineering Director Jim Mancuso outlined technical opportunities to improve system efficiency and reduce cost.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re probably in Generation 2 in terms of our current technologies; Gen 3 is about two to 2.5 years away,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re moving to common parts and systems across platforms. Every vehicle we build uses a vehicle control unit (VCU) that is common to an ECM on gasoline-engined vehicles. The technology comes from a partnership we formed with the supplier back in 2004, and the volume has risen to the point where we now see some cost reduction.\u201d<\/p>\n He noted the light-duty Force Drive system uses the same controller hardware as used in AZD\u2019s medium-duty Balance hybrid. Also common among the two platforms are the DC-DC inverters, which are calibrated and wired differently for the vehicle application.<\/p>\n The Siemens motor on the Transit Connect EV is the identical electric machine AZD previously used on a series-type hybrid product.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s all about working with our suppliers to ensure the individual components we\u2019re developing are not going to be used only for an individual product; they\u2019re going to be used across the board on multiple products,\u201d Mancuso said.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the case of this particular motor we invested a lot of time in understanding its capabilities within our system. Using it reduces our risk immensely\u2014and reduces the time for our engineering team to integrate it. I\u2019d say we\u2019re pretty good at standardizing hardware,\u201d he asserted.<\/p>\n The Transit Connect EV is AZD\u2019s first series production foray into light-duty systems. Harrison said that while the company\u2019s focus remains on the medium-duty segment, all future product is being developed to cover a broad span of vehicle sizes and applications, in order to build scale.<\/p>\n \u201cThat goes for controllers and electric motors,\u201d Mancuso explained. \u201cThe next-gen controller will feature newer IGBT (insulated-gate bipolar transistor) technology. It will be physically smaller. In motors, there\u2019s a general trend toward permanent-magnet AC machines and we\u2019ll be there, too.\u201d<\/p>\n The company\u2019s design engineers based in Vancouver and software designers based near Boston are working closely on motor development because the machine\u2019s characteristics impact so much on the control side. Mancuso said AZD is \u201clooking at some new ways to control DC-DC inverters via CAN.\u201d<\/p>\n A clutched FEAD and fast charging<\/p>\n AZD\u2019s incumbent battery pack is liquid-cooled, and company engineers have debated the superiority of both types. Currently they are investigating air cooling because some key suppliers are working on new approaches to air-cooled packs that are expected to be ready \u201cin the next three to four years,\u201d Mancuso said.<\/p>\n He indicated the new air-cooled designs would be integrated with the vehicle\u2019s climate-control system or perhaps use cooling fans.<\/p>\n AZD\u2019s switch to lithium-ion battery cells from the nickel-metal hydride currently used will bring a significant portion of the 40% systems-cost reduction they expect to achieve in the next year, Harrison concedes. But another new feature that Mancuso claims is an \u201cindustry first\u201d has him excited about its potential to impact cross-vehicle efficiencies.<\/p>\n The new version of the Balance product adds a clutched front-end accessory drive (FEAD) system, which enables the belt-driven power steering pump, A\/C compressor, etc., to be coupled and decoupled alternatively from the electric motor and combustion engine, depending on the vehicle\u2019s drive mode.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was a lot of mechanical engineering that went into this system to make it robust; we erred on the \u2018high side\u2019 of robustness,\u201d Mancuso explained. \u201cThe clutch is a heavy-duty design that we developed with a supplier.\u201d<\/p>\n Without providing specifics, he said adopting the clutched FEAD opens the door for various cost reduction opportunities elsewhere in the vehicle.<\/p>\n Higher system voltage and fast charging are other technology areas Mancuso said AZD is investigating for the next-gen powertrains. He recalled his learnings from an early AZD vehicle built for Purolator that featured a 600-V system.<\/p>\n \u201cI was responsible for that program, and I still can\u2019t believe how the performance increased when we added a \u2018boost leg\u2019\u2014an inverter and motor control that raised our voltage from 300 V to 600 V but added very little hardware,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re doing a lot of research on a similar arrangement but not yet committed to it.\u201d<\/p>\n The issue of fast charging in EVs and plug-in hybrids is getting a lot of attention in the industry, but AZD\u2019s customers aren\u2019t yet requesting it, Mancuso noted. \u201cThey tell me it\u2019s not yet a necessity for them, but I think two to three years down the road our next generation\u2019s products will have to have that capability. Our battery supplier will have to design around that, and they\u2019re talking about 480 V.\u201d<\/p>\n Lindsay Brooke<\/p>\n