£1m invested for switched-reluctance 48V hybrid vehicle technology

The LTASC programme is mandated by the Automotive Council and Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders (SMMT) Industry Forum. Based at Laindon in Essex and in Coventry in the West Midlands, with additional senior staff located in Germany and the USA, CPT specialises in the safe low voltage application of switched-reluctance machines (SRMs) to a vehicle powertrain and driveline, providing intelligent electrification of the propulsion system with near full hybrid vehicle capability.

The £1m spend will support seven projects at the company’s new technical centre in Coventry and at its headquarters in Laindon.  A significant proportion of the funding targets product and manufacturing process maturity by capital expenditure in new durability test cells at Laindon and a low volume manufacturing facility in Coventry.

“The environmental chambers will primarily test our SpeedStart and SpeedTorq motor-generators for 48V applications,” says Paul Bloore product validation and functional safety manager within CPT’s hybrid product group. “But we can also test at 12V for micro-hybrid applications, 24V for truck and bus applications, in fact anything up to 60V, which is considered the upper voltage limit for electrical machines before costly safety measures need to be incrementally implemented.”

“The chambers can operate down to minus 40°C and up to 125°C,” says facilities and test manager Joe Curtis, responsible for commissioning the new test cells installed at Laindon. “Moreover, they are fast acting in their control of a wide range of temperatures, pressures and humidity, which is suitable for accelerated durability testing.” 

“Seven years ago we defined a challenging durability cycle for a water-cooled electric machine operating in the harsh under-bonnet environment, combining the most damaging events experienced by both a starter motor and an alternator at 12V,” says Bloore.  “In preparation for 48V applications this cycle has been further developed, which means that our four-month 2,000-hour test programme can now fully validate products designed to meet series production requirements, as well as meeting the quality, service and price standards for advanced technology demanded by the automotive industry.”

“Consideration of the thermal environment is absolutely critical for both durability and real world performance of electrical machines,” says Bloore. “We can already run our switched-reluctance units at more than 12.5kW for 30 seconds, so the test cells’ drive motor rating of 15kW and load bank power dissipation capability of 20kW will help accommodate future development of our SpeedStart and SpeedTorq motor-generators.”

The planned investment in production equipment will also enable low volume manufacturing of CPT’s COBRA electric supercharger currently being applied to a diverse range of heavy duty internal combustion engines and fuel cells.

“We have received a number of enquiries for our electric supercharging where the customer has an immediate need for the benefits of COBRA, including performance enhancement, transient emission reduction and fuel economy improvement,” says Andy Dickinson, product manager for COBRA. “It’s important that we’re able to offer product at a production level of quality and at a price point below that of hand built prototypes. The creation of a pilot assembly line will achieve this and provide a solid basis for higher volume production in the future.”

“The remainder of the £1 million spend includes additional measurement, test and simulation capabilities, further evolution of the already state-of-the-art control electronics and software, as well as training of people at various levels to help implement important emerging ISO standards,” says financial controller Penny Edgar. “Successfully meeting LTASC’s requirements has resulted in a significant 20% contribution of government grants towards the latest capital expenditure by our shareholders in our Essex facilities, 30% contribution to our expenditure in Coventry, and 50% contribution towards skills training. Overall, about a third of our investment has been supported by AMCSI grants, which are aimed specifically at helping SME technology developers such as CPT achieve world-class standards, and the strengthening of the UK automotive supply chain generally. These new and enhanced capabilities will accelerate further expansion of our talented team of engineers.”

“Although our industry representative, the SMMT, has ensured that the LTASC grant support is accessible to SMEs like CPT, it’s been a rigorous and demanding competition, so we’re delighted it was successfully achieved,” says Edgar.   “We had the original meeting in April 2015, developed the details during the following six months, and got the grant offer letter in October. The pace then quickened and we spent the tail end of 2015 installing and commissioning the 48V test cells three months’ sooner than we initially estimated, and have also initiated the other projects, so we have hit the ground running for 2016.”