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PowerLines by Linnea Brush
February 12, 2001
Getting a Jump on Automotive Power
Power Channels: Batteries and Portable Power, Switch-Mode Power, Automotive Electronics, Power Components
I normally don't write about conferences I don't go to, but I'm making an exception. As I type, the First Annual Advanced Automotive Battery Conference (AABC) is wrapping up in Las Vegas. Being a first effort, the conference is not likely to attract attention like many of Las Vegas' more notorious conferences. But a few years down the line, it might be one of the hotter technology trade shows.
Keeping up with automotive powering trends means more than keeping up with electric vehicles, hybrid vehicles and fuel cells. It also means understanding the shift automobile manufacturers are making to 42V electrical systems. The AABC may have "Battery" in its title, but the conference also focused on these other electronics trends. To me, this is a feat in and of itself. Battery people and electronics people normally don't co-exist easily. Physics and chemistry are very different approaches to power, and I applaud the AABC for bringing the two together.
The AABC is spearheaded by Total Battery Consulting and is sponsored by Advanced Automotive Batteries, a group of companies and organizations that work with automotive powering (including MIT's 42V Consortium and the Advanced Lead Acid Battery Consortium). Six sessions looked at topics such as market forces; advanced vehicle technology; Pb-Acid, NiMH and Li-Ion batteries; and long-term electrical systems. These sessions were chaired by individuals from the MIT 42V Consortium, Ford, Daimler Chrysler, the International HEV Working Group, and other companies in the automotive field.
Although the primary focus of the conference was on battery technologies, I personally find the 42V transition to be of great interest. Battery issues are part of this, of course, such as whether to use one battery or two, and the requirements of 42V batteries. But other system-level questions were posed: AC versus DC? One voltage or two? One generator or two? Local versus central conversion? These are the challenges for power supply designers.
The 42V system was chosen primarily because of power capacity, cost of components and semiconductors, and touch safety. The technology includes both stop/start (starter alternator, integrated starter generator) and advanced systems (electric power steering, electric water pump and HVAC, brake by wire, steer by wire and vehicle stability systems).
The trend appears to be two stages of development: first, OEMs concentrating on local solutions, where only certain functions use 42V and the conventional 14V power supply systems are affected as little as possible. Dual voltages would only be used in some versions of this platform. During the second stage, the OEM would offer 42V for broader applications. Because not all 14V components would be upgraded in the first stage, a dual-voltage supply system (14V/42V) would be necessary. A dual-voltage system can use the existing parts infrastructure, and dual batteries can create opportunities for increased reliability, cost savings, and performance enhancement. The disadvantages of a dual-voltage system are its complexity and the cost, weight and reliability of dc/dc converters.
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We would like to hear your comments on the topics discussed in this column. We welcome the opportunity to publish opposing opinions. Please email Jeff Shepard at jshepard@darnell.com.
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