German automotive manufacturing firm Continental has agreed to establish a joint venture (JV) with China’s CITC to manufacture 48-volt battery systems.
The companies, via their respective subsidiaries, will set up the JV for the development and production of 48-volt battery systems for the automotive industry.
Continental will own 60% stake in the JV, which is expected to start operations in mid-2018 and operate worldwide from China.
CITC will own the remaining stake in the JV, which will serve customers in Europe and North America, as well as China and other Asian markets.
The JV will develop and manufacture a battery platform for all conventional 48-volt topologies (P0, P2, Px) with up to 25kW.
CALB will provide the battery cells, while Continental will offer the battery management system including the basic software.
At the JV, integration of the components into the battery systems will take place. It will also undertake customer-specific development work and integrate the systems in vehicles.
Auto makers who buy only individual parts of the 48-volt system, like the battery cells or the battery management system, will get assistance from the JV.
Continental claims that this new 48V system will offer functions that were previously available in more expensive high-voltage hybrid systems including coasting (switching off the combustion engine while the vehicle is in motion), a fast and user-friendly engine start and effective recuperation (recovery of braking energy).
The new system will supplement the existing 12V on-board power supply and it will include three components, a 48-volt lithium-ion battery, an electric motor with integrated AC/DC converter and a voltage converter (DC/DC converter) for exchanging energy between the two on-board power supplies.
Continental CEO Elmar Degenhart said: “Entering the 48-volt battery systems business is a strategically important step for Continental, and one that will further strengthen our position as a system provider on the fast-growing mild hybrid market.
“In CITC we have found a partner whose subsidiary CALB provides the ideal conditions for this joint venture. CITC allows us access to the extremely significant Chinese market. It also has the potential to impose itself on the international competition and to become a global provider in the production of battery cells.”
The JV will shortly enable Continental to provide, from a single source, its 48-volt mild hybrid system, which first started production in early 2017.
The JV partners expect that around 14% of all new vehicles globally will have this mild hybrid system as early as 2025.
