Frost & Sullivan Lauds CPT SpeedStart(R) Stop-start System

LONDON, May 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Based on its latest study of best practice in the automotive powertrain market, global research organisation Frost & Sullivan has singled out Controlled Power Technologies (CPT) to receive its 2010 European Customer Value Enhancement Award for the company's innovative CPT SpeedStart® stop-start system, which is presently under trial with various car makers.  It's the first time that an automotive company has received an award in this category, which will be presented at a prestigious banquet being held in London on 18 May 2010 to recognise outstanding achievement across numerous industry sectors.

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Recent Frost & Sullivan research into the powertrain sector shows that European automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) have now accepted that a stop-start capability on vehicles is essential for reducing CO2 emissions and improving fuel economy as it offers around 5-10 per cent improvement in standard driving cycles. The research organisation anticipates stop-start systems growing by almost six times its present volume to reach 7.7 million units by 2015, and that the benefits offered by CPT's next generation SpeedStart system will make it one of the most competitive products on the market.

The implementation of stricter legislation is a major factor driving the development of such systems. Initial effort by carmakers to modify existing starter motors or adapt alternators to provide stop-start functionality provides only a partial solution.  Such modifications, for example, do not allow the engine to shutdown if it is in gear or when the vehicle is moving at low speeds and, in particular, when the vehicle is only stopping momentarily. CPT's bespoke solution, which includes innovative switched reluctance motor technology, combined with its understanding and application of power electronics allows the engine to be switched off far more often as its SpeedStart system has the power and controllability to significantly increase the number of stop-start events.

A conventional starter-motor system involves starting the engine by engaging the starter motor gear to the engine flywheel. This system is not very quick and it can produce noise and vibration due to the physical interaction of the metallic components. A starter motor is designed primarily to start an engine at the beginning of a journey, and this can lead to a product that is not very sophisticated and cause passengers discomfort if used repeatedly for frequent stop-start operation. There is a need therefore for the automotive industry to offer more value to the customer in terms of delivering acoustic comfort in addition to the fuel economy benefits of an optimised stop-start system.

Belt-integrated starter generator (B-ISG) systems, such as SpeedStart, offer these benefits although they are priced a little higher than a conventional starter motor. The SpeedStart system is not only the world's most powerful B-ISG to operate at 12 volts, but also the first and only system so far to resolve all the issues that initially made car makers reluctant to introduce stop-start. 

One of the major stop-start challenges that SpeedStart overcomes is 'Driver Change of Mind'. This feature allows the engine to restart immediately, even if already shutting down, if the driver has a sudden change of mind due to rapidly changing traffic conditions.  This instant responsiveness is quite unlike a conventional starter motor when the driver has to wait till the engine is completely shut down and then restart, which can lead to considerable frustration and anxiety.

While stop-start is a significant vehicle enhancement, it is vital that the restart is as quiet and as quick as possible. The start time of SpeedStart to idle is less than 400ms, which is twice as fast as a conventional starter motor and by using a belt drive is constantly coupled to the engine and almost imperceptibly quiet in operation.

"Consequently, noise and vibrations are almost eliminated, so that the driver can only feel and hear the combustion in the engine and not the cranking noise," says Frost & Sullivan research analyst Bharath Kumar Srinivasan. "This combination of quick and quiet starting of the engine enhances the brand perception of the product to the driver."

"Besides improved fuel economy, a competitive product must also have a stable technical platform that allows for OEM customisation," says Srinivasan. "CPT's SpeedStart system has the capacity to start engines from 1.4-litres upwards to almost 4.4-litres – both diesel and gasoline – and can be applied therefore to a wide range of vehicles."

Crucially, the whole SpeedStart system, from hardware to electronics to software, is the same for all of these applications. This reduces the cost to the customer as the cost of development for CPT is lower. And from an OEM perspective, as the system is the same for all applications, the cost of adapting the product comes down. SpeedStart offers controller area network (CAN) and local interconnect network (LIN) operability to integrate with vehicle electronic systems, as well as spare I/O ports and extra processing capability, which allows software modifications. Car makers generally only have to work on the physical packaging of the SpeedStart system into their powertrains - such as mounting points and belt tensioning - which can be done with minimal tool changes.

The life cycle of a product associated with an engine is very important and it is critical when it has to start the engine. Failure of the starter system will certainly affect the prime purpose of an automobile. CPT SpeedStart is designed for an impressive 600,000 starting events; significantly more than the industry benchmark of 50,000 starts required from a conventional starter motor.  Over a 10-year period this is equivalent to enabling 164 starts every day, compared with a maximum of 14 starts from a conventional starter motor.  With switched reluctance technology there are no brushes to wear out and the liquid-cooled machine is sealed to stop dirt ingress, which is the main failure mode of conventional air cooled starter motors and alternators. Furthermore, the control of battery current is a key engineering challenge when designing stop-start systems. SpeedStart addresses this issue by means of clever software ensuring that the critical vehicle modules are not reset due to voltage drop. In addition, limiting the maximum current drawn from the battery improves the life of the battery.

Another function that the software controls is the belt pre-tensioning just before starting the engine. The belt pre-tensioning feature, which is optimised between 10 and 30ms, minimises belt slip when transmitting torque to the crankshaft. The pre-tensioning system is also designed to handle the torque reversal on the belt when the B-ISG is being driven by the engine as an electrical generator – in other words when performing its dual function of an alternator.

"Overall, CPT's approach is customer-centric and in recognition of the value it offers its customers, Frost & Sullivan is proud to present the company with the 2010 European Customer Value Enhancement Award in the automotive powertrain market," says Srinivasan. "This award recognises the company's inordinate focus on enhancing the value that its customers receive, beyond simply good customer service, leading to improved customer retention and ultimately customer base expansion."

"We're delighted to be the very first automotive company in Europe to receive this award which provides a powerful endorsement of our work," says Mike Dowsett senior manager for micro-hybrids at Controlled Power Technologies, who has been involved in the development of SpeedStart from the very outset.  "The Frost & Sullivan study is very timely in recognising the importance of stop-start technology; there is an urgent need to reduce CO2 emissions and the automotive industry has less than two years to ensure all new cars sold in Europe meet a fleet average of 130g/km requiring a 16 per cent reduction from current levels.  The same 2012 deadline has been imposed in the US with its first nationwide carbon emissions target of 250g/mile (155g/km), Stop-start is the most likely near term technology for tackling this issue and we anticipate it becoming a standard device on virtually all vehicles."

Dowsett will be accompanied to the awards ceremony by company chairman Ali Naini, a corporate financier with 20 years of experience in energy and environmental technologies.  He is also the founder and managing director of Turquoise Associates, whose investment arm is one of the main backers of Controlled Power Technologies.    

"The Frost & Sullivan award recognizes that the automotive industry needs immediate solutions at a price affordable to the motorist, if possible without introducing significant change to the vehicle," says Naini.  "CPT is working on a number of micro-hybrid solutions - including stop-start, electric supercharging and exhaust gas regeneration – which can help minimise the additional cost to the consumer to between euro 200 and euro 900 compared to between euro 3,000 and euro 15,000 for a full hybrid."  

"SpeedStart is one of the company's first two commercial products.  The technology is more advanced than many existing stop-start systems, and is also far more efficient and can be used more often.  It lends itself to heavy usage and premium vehicle applications, providing the industry with a powerful, refined and controllable stop-start solution."

About Controlled Power Technologies

Controlled Power Technologies is a company specialising in CO2 reduction for the automotive industry and a recent winner of the LowCVP 'technology challenge' award.  It was set up in 2007 as a management buy-in funded by venture capital initially to acquire advanced powertrain technologies from Visteon Corporation and its technology development partner Emerson Corporation.   CPT comes with a highly experienced team of automotive engineers and is backed by a number of prominent investors specialising in the energy and environmental sectors.  Further information on Controlled Power Technologies is available at www.cpowert.com

About Frost & Sullivan

Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, enables clients to accelerate growth and achieve best-in-class positions in growth, innovation and leadership. The company's Growth Partnership Service provides the CEO and the CEO's Growth Team with disciplined research and best-practice models to drive the generation, evaluation, and implementation of powerful growth strategies. Frost & Sullivan leverages over 45 years of experience in partnering with Global 1000 companies, emerging businesses and the investment community from 40 offices on six continents.  

Frost & Sullivan Best Practices Awards recognize companies in a variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analysis, and extensive secondary research in order to identify best practices in the industry.

Each year, Frost & Sullivan presents its Customer Value Enhancement Award to a company that has demonstrated excellence in implementing strategies that proactively create value for its customers with a focus on improving the return on the investment that customers make in its services or products. For further information please visit http://www.awards.frost.com.

SOURCE Frost & Sullivan