Controlled Power Technologies has invested £1 million to further industrialise its CO2 and NOx reduction capabilities for the global automotive and transport industries. A developer of vehicle driveline electrification technology, CPT’s investment is supported by the Long Term Automotive Supply Chain Competitiveness (LTASC) programme, which in turn is funded by the UK’s Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative (AMSCI). The LTASC programme is mandated by the Automotive Council and Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders (SMMT) Industry Forum.
CPT specialises in the safe low voltage application of switched-reluctance machines (SRMs) to a vehicle powertrain and driveline, providing intelligent electrification of the propulsion system with near full hybrid vehicle capability.
The £1 million spend will support seven projects at the company’s new technical centre in Coventry and at its headquarters in Laindon. A significant proportion of the funding targets product and manufacturing process maturity by capital expenditure in new durability test cells at Laindon and a low volume manufacturing facility in Coventry.
“The environmental chambers will primarily test our SpeedStart and SpeedTorq motor-generators for 48V applications,” said Paul Bloore product validation and functional safety manager within CPT’s hybrid product group. “But we can also test at 12 volts for micro-hybrid applications, 24 volts for truck and bus applications, in fact anything up to 60 volts, which is considered the upper voltage limit for electrical machines before costly safety measures need to be incrementally implemented.”
“Seven years ago we defined a challenging durability cycle for a water-cooled electric machine operating in the harsh under-bonnet environment, combining the most damaging events experienced by both a starter motor and an alternator at 12V,” said Bloore. “In preparation for 48V applications this cycle has been further developed, which means that our four-month 2,000-hour test programme can now fully validate products designed to meet series production requirements, as well as meeting the quality, service and price standards for advanced technology demanded by the automotive industry.”
“Consideration of the thermal environment is absolutely critical for both durability and real world performance of electrical machines,” says Bloore. “We can already run our switched-reluctance units at more than 12.5kW for 30 seconds, so the test cells’ drive motor rating of 15kW and load bank power dissipation capability of 20kW will help accommodate future development of our SpeedStart and SpeedTorq motor-generators.”
