Automotive Engineering - September 2022 - 28

From
emissions
tech to EV
electronics
Eberspaecher's Electronics unit is driving the company's future growth.
A
recent visit to Eberspaecher's North American engineering
and manufacturing complex reveals how a global Tier-1 rooted
in combustion-engine technology is profitably navigating
the transition to the electrified future.
In the Brighton, Michigan, plant, which produces 40% of U.S. Class-8
diesel exhaust systems, catalyst bricks are being canned and prepared
for shipment to OEMs. Meantime in the facility's engineering offices,
work is progressing on next-generation heating systems for passenger
and commercial EVs, power electronics, automated-driving systems,
and high-voltage switching solutions. Best known for 90 years as an
exhaust-systems and climate-controls supplier, the Germany-based
company now is a parallel force in electric power switching and distribution.
Since establishing its Electronics business unit in the early
2000s, Eberspaecher has produced 30 million electronic control modules,
more than 17 million high-performance switches and six million
DC/DC converters, among other power-net components.
" We are in development with a customer right now on an SAE
Level 5 fully-autonomous vehicle that will launch within a year, " reported
Joe Vollmer, the veteran engineer who heads North American
business for Eberspaecher's Automotive Controls and Climate
Controls divisions. For the past five years his team has been busy
with multiple AV projects. " A particular Detroit-3 automaker needed
to have its AV programs moved forward and urgently needed a supplier
to step up to 'move the electrons' to the critical devices, under
the ASIL-D regimen. And we were chosen, " Vollmer noted.
ASIL-D is among the most stringent Automotive Safety Integrity
Levels, a risk classification system defined by the ISO 26262 standard
for road vehicle functional safety. Vollmer's team developed the customer's
first-generation AV power electronics and will soon deliver
the second generation, he said.
EV, give me heat!
With its fuel-operated heaters popular in marine applications since
the 1950s, Eberspaecher added electric heaters in 1999, beginning as
28 September 2022
Eberspaecher's
Electronics unit is
enabling big growth in
EV and AV business.
by Lindsey Brooke
a JV with DBK. The core technology is the PTC (positive
temperature coefficient) thermistor. Vollmer and
applications engineer Robert Tate see significant
growth potential for new EV (and advanced ICE) heating
technologies. Both recognize the industry's need
for more efficient HVAC without the range-robbing
parasitics of current systems.
" I joined Eberspaecher in 2011 as we were launching
on the Chevrolet Volt, " Tate said. " Our first-gen heaters
were on most of the first wave of EVs. Many of the
early electronic and electrical components used then
weren't automotive-qualified. The only thing then
available in the voltage range the OEMs were moving
to were 1,000-volt IGBTs made for fighter aircraft!
Today's MOSFETs are on the move and are better for
reverse-polarity. We had to do a lot of R&D work in
high-voltage switching to make it happen. "
Tate noted some OEMs' interest in geothermic heat
pumps as an EV cabin heat solution. " But [heat
pumps] aren't terribly efficient in cold temperatures, "
he explained. " That's where Eberspaecher fits; we specifically
use PTC heating elements that perform best in
cold temperatures. As the element gets hotter, it acts
as a variable resistor letting less electricity through. In
PTCs, the heating element will never raise above a certain
temperature; that dramatically reduces any risk of
fire. " Originally, Eberspaecher purchased PTCs on the
market, then invested in its supplier Rauschert and in
2016 took over its PTC development and production.
The challenge with EV cabin heat is " balancing heat
when it's needed with vehicle range, which is directly
related to battery capacity and size. That's the bottleneck
in EV development, " Tate asserted. " You don't want
to consume more energy than is necessary, but need to
keep comfort and safety in mind. In California, for
AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEERING
EBERSPAECHER
Automotive Engineering - September 2022

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