BorgWarner has secured a contract with a major European OEM to supply its high-performing eTurbo on a passenger vehicle. This business award marks the company’s first serial production contract for the eTurbo, with production slated to begin in 2022. With the eTurbo’s key performance and energy-usage benefits, BorgWarner says it is able to boost vehicle performance while aiding vehicle manufacturers in meeting more stringent future global emissions regulations, and improving fuel efficiency.
“BorgWarner’s eTurbo is a powerful and efficient solution, capable of delivering crucial benefits for our customers, including improved performance, better fuel economy, reduced emissions and more efficient energy usage,” said Joe Fadool, president and general manager, BorgWarner Emissions, Thermal and Turbo Systems. “We believe this is the largest industry award to-date for this type of technology and is an important milestone for our company.”
The eTurbo is comprised of a mechanical turbocharger with an electric motor directly coupled to the shaft, which can serve as either a motor or a generator. The integrated solution delivers the traditional benefits of a standard turbocharger with the added advantage of electrified boost assistance for superior response, the company says. Additional benefits include the ability to capture excess turbine energy to generate electrical power and reduced emissions through aftertreatment management and precise air/fuel ratio control.
The eTurbo delivers a more than 200 percent improvement in transient boost response along with steady state torque improvement, according to BorgWarner. This enables further engine downsizing, resulting in better fuel economy and reduced emissions with no loss of performance and is especially suited for Miller Cycle engine concepts.
Beyond the vehicle performance aspects, the eTurbo can harvest excess exhaust energy and directly convert it to electrical energy to be used for accessory power or charging the battery, thus even allowing for reduction of battery size. The eTurbo also can help drive on-demand exhaust gas recirculation by increasing engine backpressure to reduce emissions. The electrical function can be turned off to return it to the traditional turbocharger function.
While BorgWarner’s eTurbo is launching on a passenger vehicle, BorgWarner says it anticipates opportunities for future adoption in the commercial vehicle sector as well. The company has a range of eTurbo offerings, including full-performance 48-volt and high voltage compliant architectures. In addition, customers have the choice of integrated or semi-integrated power electronics.
