Ricardo to take hybrid vehicle development to the next stage

As soaring pump prices and increasingly stringent fuel economy and CO2 emissions regulations spur the demand for more fuel-efficient vehicles, the hybrid vehicle product development requirements of the world’s automakers have risen to an unprecedented level.

Already a supplier of choice for hybrid vehicle development, Ricardo is rising to this growing challenge with the formation of a dedicated global strategic business to focus its state-of-the-art resources in technology, facilities and engineering skills for hybrid and electric vehicle development

Since 2000 Ricardo has been responsible for well in excess of a hundred hybrid powertrain and vehicle programmes, ranging from simulation and strategy studies and concept developments to numerous product engineering programmes. It also enjoys an extremely strong reputation in advanced hybrid technology research, based on significant and continuous investment. This research includes for example current projects with QinetiQ on low cost Lithium-Ion battery technology and with Land Rover on range extended hybrid electric vehicles. Ricardo is thus ideally placed to assist its customers with the increasing trend towards electrification of the architecture and propulsion systems of future high fuel-efficiency vehicles. The new strategic organisation – to be known as the Ricardo Global Hybrid Product Group – will consolidate the full breadth of this extensive capability into a single and highly focused unit, realising the potential for both efficiency benefits and synergic gains in the development of new, technology-based hybrid vehicle products.

The combined Ricardo hybrid team will encompass advanced skills and expertise in all aspects of hybrid vehicle engineering – from system architecture definition, power electronics design and advanced energy management and control technologies, to the implementation of the numerous hybrid vehicle sub-systems and electrical ancillaries. It will also be able to leverage the company’s expertise in intelligent by-wire technologies for systems such as steering, braking and chassis control. In addition to providing a clear focus for these hybrid-related skills and technologies, the new organisation will also be able to utilise the very latest thinking in high fuel efficiency, low emissions diesel and gasoline engines, transmission systems and vehicle engineering development methods, using technologies drawn from right across the global Ricardo organisation. Full access will be available to advanced powertrain and vehicle testing infrastructure including, for example, the battery systems development centre currently under construction at the company’s Detroit Technology Campus, and scheduled to open later in 2008.

The director of the Ricardo Global Hybrid Product Group will be Dr. Roger Thornton, an outstanding engineer with in excess of twenty-five year’s experience in the specification, development and transfer to production of power electronics based systems and products for transport applications. Thornton has held senior engineering management and consulting positions for companies including PA Technology, The Technology Partnership, and electric and hybrid vehicle developer Wavedriver, and founded his own technology consulting firm, Contex Consulting. During his period with Wavedriver, he was involved in the successful implementation of hybrid and electric vehicle demonstration programmes and trials on the streets of Sao Paolo, North America, London, Glasgow, Italy and Sydney. He joined Ricardo in 2006 as senior hybrids manager and has played a pivotal role in recent hybrid programmes such as the recently announced Chery A5 BSG and ISG hybrids, a fifty strong fleet of which were used as transportation for the Beijing Olympics.

“With the increasing focus on fuel economy and CO2 emissions reduction, automakers in all parts of the world aspire to include hybrid vehicles as a significant part of their future mainstream product portfolios”, explains Dr. Roger Thornton. “In order to maximise the potential benefits of hybridisation we need to draw upon a much wider range of skills and technologies than for conventionally powered vehicles. We also need to focus these skills and technologies at a system level, ensuring that the new products fulfil their fuel economy and performance objectives while also delivering a robust, fun-to-drive product that can be manufactured efficiently and sold profitably. If we do this, the business case for hybridisation can be extremely compelling.”

Mark Garrett, Ricardo plc group engineering and products director, added: “Ricardo has one of the most impressive and enviable track-records in the world automotive industry for the successful delivery of hybrid vehicle programmes, both as advanced technology demonstrators and as production products for consumers. In order to take this capability to the next stage and enable hybrids to take their place as mainstream competitive products, a new and integrated approach to product development is needed. I believe that with the resources and experience of the global Ricardo group, the focus of the new Global Hybrid Product Group and the leadership of its director, Roger Thornton, we will be able to offer an unparalleled and comprehensive service for automakers in all parts of the world that wish to develop or improve their hybrid vehicle product line-up.”