The Road to Mainstream Availability of Electrified Combustion Engines

Authors

Dr. M. Alt, Dr. N. Fuhrmann, Dipl.-Ing. O. Böpple, Dipl.-Ing. L. Cloos, Opel Automobile GmbH, Rüsselsheim;
P. Souhaite, Groupe PSA, Poissy

Year

2019

Print Info

Fortschritt-Berichte VDI, Reihe 12, Nr. 811

Summary

Hybrid powertrains are the evolution of internal combustion engines, not their competitors. In the foreseeable future, all new internal combustion engines at Groupe PSA will be combined with an electrical motor and optimized for hybrid powertrains. In order to meet the future emission as well as fuel consumption legislation, electrification of the powertrain is a key technology. The degree of electrification ranges from 48 V μBAS systems up to high voltage plug-in hybrids and electrical all-wheel-drive systems. Usage and cost will be the major differentiators for electrification levels in the different market segments and regions. Even though a steep increase in market share of battery electric vehicles (BEV) is expected, various studies also show that there will be an internal combustion engine in the majority of vehicles, an electrified one. Hence, further development of the combustion engine does make sense both from an economical as well as from an ecological point of view. The combination of turbocharged direct injection gasoline engines with advanced combustion systems like Miller and appropriate turbocharging technologies is a strong lever to improve overall efficiency of electrified internal combustion engines. Alternatively, technologies purely focused on improving part load efficiency in comparable small engine map operation regions, like cylinder deactivation and variable valve lift, show reduced efficiency improvement potential in electrified powertrains. The next generation of Groupe PSA’s award-winning 3- and 4- cylinder turbocharged engines is developed with a strong focus on electrified powertrains. Together with pure BEV drive units, Groupe PSA continues to offer a wide variety of efficient and clean vehicles for all global customers.