DETROIT -- Johnson Controls Inc. has developed a small lithium ion battery for use only by vehicle stop-start systems.
The battery is about the size of a tissue box and weighs around 9 pounds, the supplier said today. It can boost the roughly 4 percent fuel economy gain in today’s stop-start vehicles to around 8 percent in a vehicle with an advanced stop-start system, says Lisa Bahash, vice president of JCI’s powertrain solutions.
The battery, developed with Japanese supplier Toshiba Corp., uses a compound with titanium that enables fast recharges called titanate. JCI says the battery will debut in a 2018 model production vehicle in Europe.
JCI plans to show the battery on Monday at the Detroit auto show.
In today’s stop-start systems, such as that in the 2015 Ford F-150, one battery powers all the electrical components in the vehicle, including the stop-start system. JCI’s new battery powers only the stop-start system and adds a second battery to the vehicle.
Unlike lithium ion battery packs that power hybrid and electric vehicles, the JCI stop-start battery does not need to be heated or cooled, giving automakers greater freedom on where it is installed.
“It’s flexible. We tried to maintain focus on the package so that it can go into a carryover location so that there is not a lot of tear-up to an existing vehicle,” Bahash said.
More vehicles
Stop-start, which stops the engine when the vehicle stops and restarts it when the driver presses the accelerator, is being added to a greater number of vehicles as automakers work to meet tougher fuel economy standards.
JCI’s new battery, Bahash said, improves fuel economy in two advanced ways.
1. The vehicle’s internal combustion engine turns off more frequently and can remain off longer at stoplights while the interior stays at the desired temperature.
2. The battery recovers electrical energy faster from the brake regeneration system than do absorbent glass mat batteries used in current stop-start systems.
JCI likely will manufacture the batteries in Europe initially in order to be closer to its first customers. But Bahash said the new battery also could be produced in its Holland, Mich., plant or in China.
The battery is expected to last between four and six years. Bahash said the battery’s cost should be “in the hundreds” of dollars
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