Delta develops electric vehicle propulsion system

TAIPEI, TAIWAN: Rather than entering the automobile electronics sector through onboard IT devices like other electronics companies, Delta Electronics has now successfully integrated existing automation, motor, servo-motor and electrical electronics technologies to develop its own petrol-electric hybrid propulsion system.

This is the first petrol-electric hybrid propulsion system developed by a Taiwanese electronics company and the design includes batteries, power inverter, power control unit, traction motor and vehicle control unit. Delta has installed the system in a test vehicle, which is now undergoing road tests.

Delta Vice Chairman and CEO Yancey Hai said: "At Delta Electronics, our business philosophy is based on caring for the environment, saving energy and taking care of our green Earth.

"Carbon emission reduction is an important goal for our products. As supplies of fossil fuels dry up, the energy crisis makes the development of alternative energy sources the most important issue facing us today. Transportation in particular is relatively energy intensive and produces air pollution.

"Currently, all of the world's car makers are looking at electric or hybrid propulsion vehicles. As Delta Electronics has always been a leading provider of power management and automation solutions, this gives us an advantage when it comes to the design and manufacturing of electric vehicle propulsion systems. This is why we are now targeting this sector. We believe that this emerging energy-saving concept will gain international acceptance just as the solar power industry has."

Delta Electronics' test vehicle is based on the German vehicle chassis. The original petrol engine and transmission system were removed and replaced with a hybrid propulsion system developed by Delta. The petrol engine in the system is not used for propulsion and is only run to charge the 18kWh lithium-ion batteries.

Actual road tests show that depending on the road and traffic conditions, each liter of petrol used by the engine is sufficient to generate enough power for the car to travel 20~30km. This is 1/2 to 1/3 of what a car running on a conventional petrol engine can achieve. It's worth noting that despite the car's frugal fuel consumption; it has an output of up to 100kW of horsepower and 830Nm of torque. This type of supercar performance is more than adequate to propel a car weighing 1660kg.

Simon Chang, General Manager of Delta's Industrial Automation Business Unit, emphasized: "Delta Electronics is able to provide a complete propulsion system solution whether it is a purely electric, tandem or parallel petrol-electric hybrid propulsion vehicle. The system includes: (1) the Battery Management System (BMS), (2) the Power Control Unit (PCU), (3) the Traction Motor, (4) the Integrated Stator & Generator (ISG), (5) the Vehicle Control Unit (VCU) and (6) the Charger. Delta's strategy in automobile electronics is based on the pure electric and petrol-electric hybrid vehicles' propulsion systems described above.

"The vehicles will then require advanced components such as LED lighting, high-efficiency brushless DC fan cooling systems, electric power steering (EPS), passive keyless entry (PKE) and various types of DC/DC and DC/AC inverters. This naturally includes a Charging Station that no electric vehicle can do without. Delta Electronics has already accumulated extensive design and manufacturing experience in many automobile electronics components.

"As we are now a certified supplier for electromagnetic components, cooling management products and stepped motors to the world's top car makers; this gives us an advantage over the rest of the electronics industry when it comes to the automobile electronics market."

Protecting the environment is important to Delta Electronics. Starting with expansion into the solar power industry, and now entry into electric vehicle propulsion systems, Delta has demonstrated its commitment to a business philosophy of caring for the environment, saving energy and taking care of our green Earth.

The goal of Delta is to become a provider of system design services for next-generation transportation. Delta endeavors to provide future generations with convenient, low-cost and clean energy, reduce the emission of greenhouse gases, slow global warming and do its part for the planet and humankind.