Why Automotive industry is going through the toughest time in history? There is a catch, somehow, we have planned this toughness for the industry. We contributed a lot to the end of 100 years old combustion engine and started looking for the newest plus sustainable options. This colossal change is driven by the greatest challenge of the present: climate change. The vehicles on road are consuming almost double the energy today than in the early times. They are highly responsible for the Co2 emission into the environment. The only available solution is to counterattack the carbon emission. For the same, the industry is going through a transforming phase.
SEG Automotive has a noteworthy history in the automotive industry. From the invention of the starter motor and generator to Start/Stop and mild-hybridization. SEG Automotive makes a significant contribution to climate protection by reducing emissions across powertrain technologies: Fueled by its passion for innovation, the global supplier is driving the transition towards more efficient combustion engines, 48V hybrids, and electrification.
ELE Times & TimesEV Sub Editor Sheeba Chauhan had a delineate conversation with Anil Kumar, Managing Director, SEG Automotive, India majorly attributed to the technological shift towards electrification in the automotive industry. Excerpt:
ELE Times: How have your generators revolutionized the use of vehicles in everyday life and made it considerably more efficient and eco-friendlier?
SEG Automotive is strongly associated with mobility and the history of automobiles for more than a century. We are actively driving the transition of the automobile industry – from the combustion engine to electrification by supplying efficient solutions for CO2 reduction – regardless of the powertrain technology. At SEG Automotive, we constantly assess the product gaps and develop our portfolio by investing in new technologies for the future. In the field of generators, SEG Automotive is known for its high-efficiency generators, which significantly reduce CO2 emissions and support in complying with the stringent CO2 norms across the globe.
High-Efficiency Generators: SEG Automotive offers a broad range of high-efficiency generators for any power requirements, which keep the vehicle’s electrical system stable, and efficient while reducing CO2 emissions and fuel consumption. These new range of generators offers best in class base efficiency, which can be further enhanced with the modular efficiency features. These efficiency features are easier to upgrade, thanks to the modular, plug and play concept, for further enhancing the generator’s efficiency, thereby significantly saving on fuel and reducing CO2 emissions.
Going beyond conventional generators, we have also introduced the 48V Boost Recuperation Machine. Replacing the 12V generator in its space on the belt, it turns any conventional ICE engine into a 48V hybrid.
ELE Times: What powertrain components do you have to offer for the EV industry?
SEG Automotive – Efficient solutions for CO2 reduction. An e-machine will be found in virtually all powertrains of the future, regardless of whether the energy comes from fuel, batteries, or hydrogen – and these e-machines must be as efficient, reliable, and cost-effective as possible.
At SEG Automotive, we see ourselves as a reliable, global partner to the automotive industry. Across all powertrain technologies and in the passenger car, commercial vehicle, and 2-wheeler segment. We deliver scalable platform solutions as a system or as individual components. In addition, we offer OEMs a wide range of services – from e-machine engineering to designing and manufacturing of the machine and its components. These services draw on our decades of experience in the development of electric machines and their industrialization.
For the light electric mobility, we currently offer system solutions that include motor, controller and transmission, flexibly scalable for all types of electric two-wheelers, three-wheeler passenger and cargo applications. For the low and city speed two-wheeler applications, we offer the efficient and reliable Hub Electric Machine (HEM) series of motors and controllers, which ranges from 850W to 4kW on peak power. For high-performance two-wheeler and three-wheelers, the modular, efficient, robust and reliable Light Electric Machine (LEM) series of motors and controllers is offered, which ranges from 2kW to 10kW on peak power.
ELE Times: SEG Automotive has been revolutionizing the vehicle industry for more than 100 years. What are your future plans for hybrid and EVs?
All our solutions are designed to be highly flexible to address global and local market requirements with tailored products. For hybridization and EVs, we basically offer three distinct product families right now:
Made in India – Solutions for light electric vehicles
Light electric mobility in India is gaining pace considering the drive and usage pattern, and the total cost of ownership is already positive for electric two-wheelers and three-wheelers.
SEG Automotive India has co-developed together with the German counterpart, efficient solutions for light electric mobility. The EM platform with a series of mid-mount machines starting with a peak output of 2kW and ranging up to 10kW is developed to meet the needs of high performance and high-speed segments of two and three-wheelers. While the Hub mount platform with output ranging between 850W to 4.0kW is designed to meet the needs of low-speed and city-speed applications of two-wheelers. These locally manufactured platforms are built on a modular concept, enabling easier up-gradation, and offering efficient, reliable drive solutions for light electric vehicles. The platform offers benchmark efficiency throughout the operating cycle and benefits the end application with increased range, thereby further reducing the total cost of ownership.
These highly efficient platforms of motors and controllers are combined with locally manufactured transmission solutions, robustly built to meet the varied needs of the final application. That means we can offer a one-stop powertrain solution for light electric vehicles. The system’s high-power density combined with compact packaging with great responsiveness offers a fun driving experience. The drive control system ensures functional safety according to global standards, providing safe operation at all times. Specific protection features and increased robustness enable these machines to easily withstand the tough operating conditions on Indian roads.
Powering any EV – EM technology kit
To date, the powertrain architectures of hybrid and electric vehicles are highly heterogeneous – just like the global market requirements. For suppliers, this poses an enormous challenge to the flexibility of their products. In terms of installation space and performance values – but also regarding related topics such as software and electronics.
In this context, SEG Automotive has developed a scalable e-machine building kit based on a three-phase or six-phase permanent magnet synchronous machine. It combines high efficiency with exceptionally smooth operation, and the e-machines derived from this technology base can be used flexibly in the powertrain: in the context of the gearbox to hybridize an ICE vehicle or as the sole e-drive on the rear axle. Voltage and power levels are also customizable – from 48V to 800V and from 15 to 260kW. This is backed by a modular system for software and electronics.
The combination of a scalable e-machine and an equally flexible building kit for software and electronics allows us to efficiently and dynamically cover a huge variety of customer requirements in the passenger car and commercial vehicle segments. Depending on the customer’s needs, we can provide either a complete package with inverter and software, a three-in-one solution together with transmission partners, or individual components.
Avoiding emissions with 48V: Increasing the efficiency of combustion engines through 48V hybridization Every combustion engine produced now and, in the future, must have the lowest possible CO2 footprint, especially given growing mobility in emerging countries. Vehicles should not only become lighter – but also more fuel-efficient.
An essential component to increase efficiency is 48V mild hybridization. It can be incorporated into existing powertrain architectures with little integration effort and low system costs. Depending on the mounting position (“topology”), fuel savings of 15 – 25 % are possible.
48V topologies and their saving potential at a glance
The most straightforward solution is to replace the alternator in its installation space on the belt with a 48V machine (“P0 topology”). For this, SEG Automotive offers the Boost Recuperation Machine (BRM), which the EU has recognized as an eco-innovation. More than one million vehicles on the road today are already utilizing the BRM to recover braking energy of up to 15 kW. This power is then used to boost the engine with up to 12 kW, thus significantly reducing fuel consumption.
SEG Automotive –Global hub for engineering software and solutions
With expertise in the Indian automotive market for close to three decades, SEG Automotive is focusing on offering our competence for the global automotive needs on mechanical design with rapid prototyping, system solutions with CAE application, embedded solutions for hybrid and electric control systems.
ELE Times: Tell us more about your product Boost Recuperation Machine (BRM). How is it driving hybrid vehicles?
48V Mild Hybridization: The 2nd generation Boost Recuperation Machine (BRM) and the 48V variant of our EM platform (EM1.25) offer cost-effective hybridizing of gasoline and diesel engines. The BRM in the P0 topology, enables regenerative braking, storing energy that is later converted into additional driving power, delivering extra torque during acceleration, and allows “coasting” at high speeds with the engine turned off. The EM 1.25 takes the concept of 48V to a new level. The highly efficient 25 kW e-machine can be integrated flexibly throughout the powertrain – from the gearbox (P2, P3) to the rear-axle (P4), depending on the architecture preferred by the customer, finally improving the fuel economy and reducing CO2 emissions under real-life conditions.
ELE Times: What are your recent product launches? Please cite their features also. We would like to know about your future launches also.
SEG Automotive is actively shaping the automobile industry’s journey from the combustion engine to electrification by delivering efficient solutions for CO2 reduction – regardless of the powertrain technology. We continuously evaluate the product gaps and manage our portfolio by investing in new technology for the future. One such technology we have been driving from here in India recently has been the highly efficient electric mobility solutions towards electrification of two-wheelers and three-wheelers. Thanks to the modularity of the overall concept and flexible speed-torque characteristics, these platforms are scalable allowing an easy up-gradation to virtually any market needs.
Additionally, we have introduced a dedicated high voltage (HV) e-machine platform that is designed as a flexible, scalable solution for various power requirements and a variety of use cases in the passenger car & commercial vehicle segment.
While light electric mobility is gaining momentum in India and we invest in new capacities, the majority of the Passenger vehicle segment in India continues to be powered by ICE. As per the current estimates, even by 2027, greater than 85% of the light vehicles will be with ICE powertrain in India. And for this segment, we continue to invest in new technologies/capacities that support the conventional ICE powertrain to be more efficient – for example, start/stop, high-efficiency generators, and mild- hybridization.
We will continue this journey of making mobility more efficient, bringing in new technologies for further CO2 reduction in ICE vehicles, while upgrading the electrification portfolio.
ELE Times: Being a pioneer in automotive, we would like to have your opinion, how far will the EV industry reach by 2030?
With the focus on clean mobility, the electric powertrain is adopted across major vehicle segments globally. In India, the segments of electric two-wheelers and three-wheelers are proving more beneficial compared to other segments, mainly due to the ride pattern, less dependency on public charging infrastructure, and benefits the segment offers on the total cost of ownership.
Also, the recent updates made to the FAME policy coupled with state government incentives is driving sales in these segments. The new policies in terms of PLI and battery swapping stations can further improve the demand.
The electric two-wheeler segment, which had a penetration of less than 0.5% in 2020 compared to its ICE counterparts, increased to 1% by end of 2021. This ratio jumped to 3.5% in the first quarter of 2022. Overall in the two-wheeler segment, the electric portfolio is estimated to have a penetration of ~5% by end of 2022 and has the potential to reach a share of 25-40% in the next five years. Similarly, the electric three-wheeler segment had a penetration of 0.5% and 2.7% in 2020 and 2021 respectively. This penetration of electric powertrain in the three-wheeler (L5) segment is at 5.8% in the first three months of 2022 and has the potential to reach a share of 35-50% in the next five years, with consistency in policy and support incentives.
Sheeba Chauhan | SUB Editor | ELE Times
