Continental's energy storage systems are key to the success of sustainable mobility
Portfolio of lithium-ion batteries for hybrid and electric cars extended to 120 kilowatts
Vienna/Regensburg, April 25, 2008
Constantly rising oil prices and ever more stringent exhaust gas and noise pollution regulations worldwide require new approaches to drive systems with minimal environmental and climatic impact. Continental's Powertrain Division sees hybrid and electric drives as the proper route toward sustainable mobility, satisfying the end user's wish for vehicles which are both economical yet dynamic. "Using lithium-ion technology for batteries is the key to the success of hybrid and electric vehicles. The Powertrain Division is setting new standards with the expansion of its battery portfolio to cater for power requirements of up to 120 kilowatts with a significantly enhanced energy content of up to 18 kilowatt-hours", comments Jörg Grotendorst, Executive Vice President of the Hybrid Electric Vehicle Business Unit.
The Division's expertise is concentrated in the areas of power electronics, electric motors and energy accumulators, including energy management, combining them within a modular system. With its variable design, the modular system allows the components to be used flexibly to suit different engine-power classes and installation conditions for hybrid and electric drives, thus covering a wide range of customer requirements.
"A hybrid or electric drive must be essentially economical", says Grotendorst, adding: "the bene-fits offered by the modularity of our hybrid design are helping vehicle manufacturers bring envi-ronmentally acceptable hybrid technology to market even more rapidly and at an optimum price. Current market trends indicate that we are on the right track. Legislation will also do its bit in the relentless drive toward the zero emission vehicle."
The expansion of battery performance for hybrid and electric vehicles underlines the signifi-cance of lithium-ion technology in Continental's product portfolio. Ever since the middle of the 1990s, the company has been developing components such as power electronics, electric mo-tors and energy storages for hybrid drives. It is the world's only non-captive hybrid systems sup-plier and has had a mild hybrid in series production since 2003. The Powertrain Division has announced that series production of lithium-ion energy batteries will start this year.
With targeted annual sales of more than €26.4 billion for 2008, the Continental Corporation is one of the top automotive suppliers worldwide. As a supplier of brake systems, systems and components for the powertrain and chassis, instrumentation, infotainment solutions, vehicle electronics, tires and technical elastomers, the corporation contributes towards enhanced driving safety and protection of the global cli-mate. Continental is also a competent partner in networked automobile communication. Today, the corpo-ration employs approximately 150,000 people at nearly 200 locations in 36 countries.
The Powertrain division within the automotive supplier Continental AG integrates innovative and efficient system solutions throughout the drivetrain in vehicles. This boosts performance and enhances riding comfort while reducing consumption and emissions. As partner to the automotive industry, the division develops and produces a wide-ranging product portfolio at over sixty locations worldwide, beginning with gasoline and diesel injection systems and engine and transmission controls and extending through to components and systems for hybrid drives. Based on fiscal 2006 the Division posted sales of around EUR5 billion with a workforce of approximately 26,000 at present.
