Range Extender optimisation presented at industry conference

MAHLE Powertrain presented a detailed study, on the influence of usage patterns on the most appropriate range extender drive-line configurations

MAHLE Powertrain presented a detailed study on the influence of usage patterns on the most appropriate range extender drive-line configurations, at the recent Institution of Mechanical Engineers conference on Internal Combustion Engines in London.

The focus of the conference was the application of new powertrain technologies to achieve CO2 reductions during 'real world' driving. Our presentation examined the influence of vehicle usage patterns on the CO2 emissions of a small passenger car, using a correlated drive-cycle simulation. A variety of drive-cycles were used to illustrate how variation in daily driving range and mean vehicle speed influence the optimum driveline configuration. Several interesting configurations, including series and parallel electric hybrids, were analysed using a variety of logged usage patterns and legislative drive-cycles.

A summary of the findings from the study showed which vehicle architecture yields the lowest tail-pipe CO2 , well to wheel CO2 and total life-cycle CO2.


This presentation clearly demonstrated the depth of hybrid drivetrain knowledge that MAHLE Powertrain has acquired through its in-house Range Extender demonstrator programme.