Converting a city bus to a dual-mode hybrid is expensive, running about $40,000.
Remy International Incorporated is moving beyond tailor-made solutions for hybrid electric powerplants by developing a standardized motor for dual mode-powered vehicles.
The Anderson, Indiana-based auto supplier partnered with Phoenix International Incorporated to secure a $60.2 million grant to develop two new motors aimed at medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. Phoenix is the parent company for John Deere.
Remy/Phoenix should have a production-ready motor/inverter combinations by the end of next year or the first quarter of 2011, says Jay Pittas, Remy’ Inc.’s president. Remy Inc. is the original equipment portion of Remy International.
Remy, a former division of General Motors, already produces the motor used in GM’s Tahoe, Yukon and Denali dual-mode hybrid models. The next step is to produce motors for service delivery trucks used by companies such as UPS and FedEx, as well as agricultural equipment like combines, Pittas said.
Our Motor Is Running!
To accomplish this, the company is developing a 350 Nm motor and 700 Nm motor. The more powerful motor will be used for larger service vehicles, such as city buses. The motors are based on Remy’s high voltage hairpin “HVH” technology.
With HVH, the engine drives a generator, providing power to a motor or battery, which, in turn, drives the wheels. Known as series hybrid, this technology also provides an effective export power source, with the ability to eliminate hydraulic systems. Operating as an electric traction drive, the HVH offers vehicles improved fuel efficiency and extremely high torque output.
According to U.S. Department of Energy testing, they have superior power density, superior torque density, higher efficiency, and better durability than other motor/generators available on the market
By developing standardized designs, Remy is attempting to resolve two problems at the same time: cutting the engineering and tooling costs associated with making the dual-model powerplants, and reducing imported fuel use.
High duty-cycle vehicles, such as taxicabs, small commuter buses and city buses, can drive more than 100,000 miles annually. ( It costs about $40,000 to convert a bus to a dual-mode hybrid) This means one of these vehicles consumes four to five times the resources and expels pollutants on the same order, Pittas noted. However, prior to now, each dual-model hybrid is powered by a custom designed, engineered and tooled motor and inverter. This requires many resources, both financial and intellectual.
Passenger cars aren’t powered by internal combustion engines produced in the same manner, and it is one reason why there is a pricing premium for hybrid vehicles. By streamlining the development process and final product, the cost of these powerplants can drop by more than 30%, Pittas claimed.
While Remy and Phoenix have a commercial need to pursue the development of the motor/inverter package, the Department of Energy grant has allowed Remy to increase its pace.
“Without the grant, I would have had to pull back on the (development of the larger) motor. The grant is allowing us to make investments at a faster rate than we would have done. In that respect, the grant is doing what it was intended to do,” he said. The grant is a matching grant so Remy is reimbursed for the money it invests in the project.
In addition to promoting development of motors that could help wean America of its foreign oil dependence, it also encourages companies to use American workers to build the motors.
Remy executives estimate that as many a 1,000 workers will be hired to build the motors once production reaches full capacity.
Currently Remy’s production capacity is 100,000 units annually, Pittas said. It contract with GM calls for up to 80,000, but sales are running at about 6,000 pieces. The motors will also be built in Anderson, Indiana. When all of that facility’s production capacity is used, then Remy will look to expand, Pittas said. He noted that there are available plants in Indiana and other areas of the United States to expand production if “customers needed us to be near their facilities.”
Tags: Department of Energy grant, Phoenix International, Remy International, TheDetroitBureau.com., michael strong, motor/inverter General Motors dual-mode hybrid
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