Bosch 48V battery targets hybrid vehicle growth in China

Bosch says the 48V battery has been designed to offer a comparatively inexpensive way of cutting fuel consumption in hybrid vehicles through use of a boost recuperation system (BRS).

This involves storing the energy normally lost when braking and applying it when the driver accelerates. As this requires less fuel, less CO2 is produced in the vehicle’s exhaust.

According to the firm, this can adds as much as an extra 10% to the kilowatts of power generated, reducing CO2 emissions by as much as 15%.

The new battery will be in production in 2018 and one of the first markets for it could be China, the world’s largest market for electric vehicles.

Bosch is a big investor in electric vehicle technology, with more than £350m invested every year.

“Now those investments are gradually starting to pay off. There are already more than 500,000 electric and hybrid cars fitted with Bosch components on the roads,” said Dr. Mathias Pillin, head of electromobility at Bosch.

Another feature is that the battery is housed in plastic casing rather than metal, further reducing costs for manufacturers.