Greentech Lead Japan: DENSO Corporation has developed a
lithium-ion battery pack that further increases the fuel efficiency of vehicles
with stop/start systems.
DENSO’s new battery pack allows the stop/start system to
use more regenerative power than current conventional systems that use a single
lead-acid battery. DENSO’s battery pack consists of a battery management unit
and power supply control switch, as well as battery cells that are provided by
a third-party source.
The compact and lightweight battery pack allows for
increased OE design flexibility. The new battery pack is naturally air-cooled
and therefore does not require a dedicated cooling system. Because there is no
need for auxiliary cooling components, this allows the battery to be lighter
and more compact. This enables automakers more packaging design flexibility,
which is important for vehicles with limited space.
DENSO’s new lithium-ion battery pack stores regenerated
power and then supplies the stored regenerated power to the electrical and
electronic components, such as the car navigation and audio systems. This
reduces the power generation required by the alternator, which results in an
overall load reduction on the engine and improves the vehicle’s fuel economy.
DENSO has developed different types of starters to meet
the specific needs of its customers for their stop/start systems, including the
Advanced Engagement (AE) Starter, Permanently Engaged (PE) Starter, and Tandem
Solenoid (TS) Starter.
The company has also developed a Cold Storage (CS)
Evaporator which increases the effectiveness of idle-stop, particularly at high
temperatures.
DENSO supplies the lithium ion battery pack, the TS
starter and Cold Storage Evaporator on the Suzuki Wagon R, which
Suzuki Motor Corporation launched to market earlier this month. DENSO will
continue its efforts to expand these technologies to other automakers and other
regions in the world.