The combination of a highly dynamic electric supercharger, which CPT recommends in series with a conventional exhaust driven turbocharger makes it relatively easy to optimize the overall response of the system, compared to other air charging methods. The VTES technology can also help reduce soot and particulate emissions from diesel engines, particularly when the driver accelerates at low engine revs, which, in turn, creates an opportunity to reduce the size and cost of the diesel particulate filter (DPF). "Our electric supercharger is an ideal enabling technology for the extreme engine downsizing being advocated by European carmakers," adds Criddle. "The system has been designed to be sufficiently flexible to enable use of a common solution across a wide range of gasoline and diesel engine platforms. It delivers the required economies of scale and complements the micro-hybrid strategy of using the existing 12-volt vehicle architecture as an economic alternative to higher voltage ISG based torque assistance."
CPT's electric supercharger has received a powerful boost (no pun intended) recently from two major projects, in which the adoption of this innovative technology has been recognized for the development of ultra-efficient low carbon vehicles. It will feature in the Ricardo-led 3m `HyBoost' project backed by the Technology Strategy Board as a part of the UK government's investment programmed to speed up the introduction of low carbon vehicles onto UK roads. The electric supercharger also features in a major project by AVL, another leading independent engine developer, which has produced a demonstrator vehicle with the driveability of a significantly larger capacity gasoline engine, whilst meeting the industry's holy grail of reducing CO2 levels to that of an equivalent diesel powertrain.
Having demonstrated its electric boosting system at the Cenex Low Carbon Vehicle conference held at Millbrook on 9-10 September 2009, CPT is further showcasing the technology when it makes its annual pilgrimage to the international supercharging conference held in Dresden this week on 24-25 September 2009, where it will again meet with the world's leading engine developers and industry experts following its technical presentation on VTES in 2008. Meanwhile, CPT says it's progressing a number of confidential development contracts that will lead to commercial applications, initially for small and medium volume production, and will continue to work with the industry's powertrain developers to verify and validate the benefits of electric superchargers.
Controlled Power Technologies was set up in 2007 as a management buy-in funded by venture capital initially to acquire advanced powertrain technologies from Visteon Corporation and its technology development partner Emerson Corporation. CPT comes with a highly experienced team of automotive engineers and is backed by a number of prominent investors specializing in the energy and environmental sectors. Further information on Controlled Power Technologies is available at www.cpowert.com