48 v – a critical step in co2 reduction

soren sarstrup / [email protected] / www.autelligence.com / March 2016

48 V – a critical step in CO2 reduction


Key reasons for 48V system growth The most cost effective route to

meeting increasingly stringent CO2 regulation

A 48-volt architecture has a significantly better cost/CO2 gain ratio than high voltage systems and is capable of a great deal of extension into additional functionality.Energy demands for future vehicles are forecast to continue to increase at an accelerating rate. Many of the increase loads are transient rather than continuous but continue to take parasitic power from the engine.Therefore the availability of power at 48 volts does not come with the penalties of high voltages but allows significant performance increases across the architecture.

CO2 reduction versus systems cost

Electrical power requirements vs time


48V as an enabling technologyMore than 50% of respondents to a February 2016 Autelligence survey of automotive managers and engineers believe that more than 20% of registrations will feature 48V in at least one major market. "In the future, the demands on 48 V technology will increase even more” - José Avila, Continental AG “48V is becoming an extremely attractive lever we think that OEs will be pulling around the world. It will be a level we think will be pulled very, very hard.” Jeff Owens, chief technology officer, Delphi Automotive“We believe that by the end of this decade, 48V will become a significant part of the market. It’s probably the next technology after start-stop that will make sense for the mass market consumer.” Craig Rigby, VP product management, Johnson Controls.

Light vehicle volumes equipped with 48-volt mild hybrid systems 2020 and 2025

How long will it take for 48V to become mainstream (more than 20% of registrations in at least one major market)?


48V key development drivers

2012 CO2 performance of key EU OEMs

Regulation• Reducing CO2• Criterion emissions regulation• Other regulation (safety) increasing

demands on the electrical architecture• Electrical safety - a transient voltage over

60V would force OEMs to use expensive systems required for high voltage vehicles

Competitiveness• Competitive drivability, power, torque

response and engine performance, particularly associated with downsizing, down speeding and turbocharging,

• Competitive vehicle dynamics • Electrical systems cost and complexity and

packaging• Systems integration and technology

development pace


What the industry is saying“48V technology goes far beyond electric power” José Avila, Member of the Executive Board at Continental AG, Head of the Powertrain Division.

“Compared to higher-voltage mild hybrids, vehicles with 48-volt systems have demonstrated 70 percent of the benefits at 30 percent of the cost. Jeff Owens, chief technology officer, Delphi Automotive“Forty-eight volts is really the optimum position between efficiency and cost.” Nick Pascoe, CEO, CPT Technologies“We see all major Chinese auto makers on or sourcing 48-volt batteries [and] they will phase in over the next three years. By 2020 a substantial pert of all new vehicles in China will have them.” Jason Forcier, A123 Systems

“What is the most efficient way to meet the regulations? If you look at advanced start-stop 48 volts then you can get well into 2021 and stay in that low voltage space and allow OEMs to [still] have a lot of flexibility about how they achieve those regulations.” Mary Ann Wright, VP Engineering and product development, Johnson Controls


Read more in our latest edition 48 V report48 V has gone from being the next big thing to being on the road in production vehicles, and hardly a week goes by without an automaker or major supplier announcing or expanding a 48-volt initiative.But where do we go from here? Is the future all 48 V? Is the technology a viable alternative to hybridisation? Will US OEMs come on board? Autelligence’s new 2nd edition report “48V and Automotive Electrification – Systems, Performance and Opportunity” examines this critical sector, surveys industry insiders on their views, answers technical questions, outlines the strategies for each automaker and suggests forward opportunities for suppliers.Complete report information, full table of contents and a sample download can be found here:autelligence.com/48v

http://www.autelligence.com/reports/48v-automotive-electrification-systems-performance-opportunity/


