Bonfiglioli Riduttori, represented by Massimo Palomba, Product Manager for Mobile Solutions - Electromobility sector, submitted its own electric powertrain implemented for Fiat Ducato within an event organised by the Automotive Innovation Pole in Milan on 16th July 2015.

The conference, entitled "Vehicles for Smart, Green and Integrated Transport: efficiency and eco-sustainability path for the food industry and other sectors", was organised by the Automotive Innovation Pole (www.poloautomotive.eu), a consortium that includes about 70 companies working in the automotive field including, besides Bonfiglioli Riduttori, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Centro Ricerche Fiat, Honda, Tecnomatic and Denso.

The aim of the event was to present the innovative solutions identified in the "eco-smart vehicles" sector that enable drastic reduction of CO2 emissions in urban centres, these solutions were then implemented thanks to the collaboration established between different companies of the Pole.

Massimo Palomba presented a powertrain for LCV (light commercial vehicle), applied for this project on the New Ducato, and developed thanks to the synergy between Bonfiglioli Riduttori, Tecnomatic and the other partners of the Automotive Innovation Pole. In particular, an advanced powertrain system has been developed which will permit a "bimodal" hybrid use of the vehicle thanks to an architecture integrating the normal endothermic propulsion with an electromechanical one.

When the vehicle is located in urban centres, you can switch off the combustion engine and activate the limiter with the permanent magnet brushless electric motor. The system is engineered to enable the vehicle to reach 70 km/h in pure electric and provides a battery-pack that guarantees from 40 to 120 km in ECE101R cycle.

The geared motor, for the same power delivered compared to those on the market, is made such as to have reduced dimensions and weights (additional weight including batteries less than 200 kg for the base configuration) so as to be easily applied in the standard vehicle. According to the analysis, by using this bimodal hybrid mode it is possible to reduce the emissions by up to 40%.

Ameet Rele, Bonfiglioli India. Email: ameet.rele@bonfiglioli.com