Yamaha Corporation and Sumitomo Corporation Power & Mobility: Demonstration of Significant CO2 Reduction by Thermoelectric Generator Installed in a Vehicle | Business Wire

2022-06-09 06:35:30 By : Ms. Joan Liu

CO2 reduction by up to 3.1% is expected by regenerative electric power via exhaust gas heat through Thermoelectric Generator unit on a vehicle with 2.0L gasoline engine

Illustration of TEG unit’s Effect for Automotive (Graphic: Business Wire)

Illustration of TEG unit’s Effect for Automotive (Graphic: Business Wire)

YGPX024 TEG Module (Photo: Business Wire)

Configuration of TEG Unit (Graphic: Business Wire)

Vehicle Installation Method of TEG unit (Graphic: Business Wire)

HAMAMATSU, Japan--(BUSINESS WIRE )--Yamaha Corporation and Sumitomo Corporation Power & Mobility Co., Ltd., a Sumitomo Corporation Group company (hereafter referred to as “both companies” or “we”), have jointly demonstrated a new waste heat recovery system based on thermoelectric generator (hereafter referred to as “TEG”) technology, which generates electrical power via exhaust gas heat and was proved to reduce CO2 emissions during vehicle testing on a chassis dynamometer (hereafter referred to as “this demonstration test”).

TEG unit, which is installed in a part of vehicle exhaust system, can reduce CO2 emissions following the reduction of alternator load achieved by generating electrical power from unutilized waste exhaust gas and also by early warm-up of engine by heated coolant through TEG unit at engine start.

In this demonstration test TEG unit was installed in a test vehicle, and the generated electrical power from TEG unit and CO2 emissions were measured on a chassis dynamometer. Thanks to the TEG unit, 1.9% of CO2 emissions (i.e. 3.9 g/km) was reduced throughout the European WLTP*1 driving cycle. Following this result, the potential benefit of TEG unit was estimated to be 3.1% CO2 reduction (i.e. 6.4g/km) by further optimization of vehicle installation of TEG unit.

Background of the Development Recently the activities to realize a carbon neutral society have been accelerated globally and further CO2 reduction has been requested strongly to automotive industry.

TEG has long been drawing attention as one of the environmental technologies, and in the automotive industry various development efforts have been made to materialize the technology to reduce CO2 emissions. However, due to the insufficient performance and reliability of the TEG module, and also lack of engineering work to design the system using TEG unit on a vehicle, the technology has yet to be put into practical use.

In March 2021, both companies commenced sample sales of a TEG module, YGPX024*2, that features the highest output and largest size*3, to investigate market needs. We have now conducted this demonstration test for automotive applications where business on a large market scale can be expected.

Outline of the Demonstration Test This demonstration test was outsourced to FEV Europe GmbH (Headquarters: Aachen, Germany). A system composed of TEG unit and DC/DC converter was installed in a test vehicle and this demonstration test was conducted on a chassis dynamometer. The details of the demonstration test are as follows.

Test Result CO2 reduction and electrical output from TEG unit are summarized as follows.

During this demonstration test, there were notable installation restrictions for the TEG unit, and the gas temperature at the exhaust inlet pipe could not reach the target value. Therefore, we conducted an additional test achieving the target gas temperature, and based on the test result, our analysis showed a maximum CO2 emissions reduction of 3.1% (6.4 g/km) by optimizing the vehicle installation of TEG unit.

Future Prospects It is certain that electrification and higher efficiency of internal combustion engines are essential in automotive industry to realize a carbon neutral society. Most automotive manufacturers require novel technologies for further improvements in CO2 reduction of vehicles with an internal combustion engine. Our goal is to realize a carbon neutral society with our customers through the world’s first practical use of TEG unit for automotive applications.

Worldwide harmonized Light duty driving Test Procedure: International standards on exhaust gas emission test cycles and test methods for passenger and light commercial vehicles

For details of the TEG module, please access the following URL.

https://device.yamaha.com/en/thermoelectric_cooler/generator/

Based on investigations conducted by both companies in 2022

One of the exhaust gas emission and fuel-efficiency test methods introduced in North America used to measure exhaust gas at high speed and high acceleration

* All product names and company names are the trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. * All information is as of the date of release. Information is subject to change after its release.

For media inquiries: Yamaha Corporation Media Relations Group Corporate Communications Division, Ayumu Sato Contact Form: https://inquiry.yamaha.com/contact/?act=55&lcl=en_WW Tel: +81-53-460-2210 (Japanese Correspondence only) Web: www.yamaha.com For General Inquiries: Yamaha Corporation Electric Devices Division https://device.yamaha.com/en/thermoelectric_cooler/contacts

Yamaha and Sumitomo Corporation Power & Mobility have jointly demonstrated a new waste heat recovery system based on thermoelectric generator.

For media inquiries: Yamaha Corporation Media Relations Group Corporate Communications Division, Ayumu Sato Contact Form: https://inquiry.yamaha.com/contact/?act=55&lcl=en_WW Tel: +81-53-460-2210 (Japanese Correspondence only) Web: www.yamaha.com For General Inquiries: Yamaha Corporation Electric Devices Division https://device.yamaha.com/en/thermoelectric_cooler/contacts