Opel's Astra Caravan
Natural Gas Engine and Electric Drive Combination
Adam Opel GmbH (Opel), in a collaborative project sponsored by Germany’s Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology, has developed an innovative gas hybrid prototype that emits only 90 g/km CO2 from a start-stop system, recovery of braking energy and a ‘proactive hybrid coordinator’ developed by the Institute for Combustion Engines and Motor Vehicles (IVK) of the University of Stuttgart.
The test vehicle, an Opel Astra Wagon, utilises a small natural gas engine and electric drive combination – a 35 kW/48 hp electric motor for maintaining momentum and a 71 kW/97 hp three cylinder turbo-charged gas engine for starting and accelerating.
The hybrid drive coordinator uses existing in-vehicle sensors and GPS to build a route profile which is saved. In the case of repeated driving of the route, such as the daily route to and from a workplace, the gathered information is analysed to optimise energy management, thereby reducing fuel consumption.
Extensive testing, specifically employing an everyday vehicle to enable practical verification and application of results, was carried out over a two year period.
Other partners in the project were Robert Bosch GmbH and the Research Institute for Motor Vehicles and Vehicle Engines Stuttgart (FKFS).
TUV summarised the project as an “integration of a component cross-adaptive operational strategy”. They state that by utilising both the combustion engine and electric engine, the advantages of both drive types ( long range, fast refueling, recovery of braking energy (recuperation) and times of zero-emission operation) are able to be exploited.
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