- EU-recognized Bosch “eco-innovation” uses navigation data to achieve benefits that can for the first time be used as credits to offset CO2 fleet emissions
- Bosch system proactively manages the battery charge state in hybrid vehicles and facilitates optimized energy recovery
- Cash-value benefits for vehicle fleets
Hybrid vehicles, in contrast to conventional vehicles, are able to recuperate some energy during braking by using their electric motor as a generator to charge the battery. Since a sufficient amount of energy must always be kept available in the battery for electrical driving, it is not always possible to fully exploit the potential of braking energy recuperation in hybrid vehicles. This is particularly the case on long downhill stretches of road or when the brakes are applied very frequently. In such situations, the battery becomes “too full” too soon if it has not been sufficiently depleted beforehand.
Navigation data optimizes the aggregate energy consumption
Using topographical navigation data such as uphill and downhill gradients and curve radii, the innovative Bosch system is able to determine which sections of the route are suitable for recovering braking energy. A long time before the vehicle reaches these sections, the system adjusts the level of battery charge based on the navigation data so that optimum recuperation will be possible. “With the intelligent link between extended navigation data and special powertrain control algorithms, we ensure that both fuel consumption and CO2 emissions are reduced significantly,” says Dr. Michael Bolle, Executive Vice President Engineering of the Bosch Car Multimedia division.
Within the scope of EU certification, this Bosch development is considered a CO2-reducing measure. By linking the navigation system to the hybrid vehicle’s driving strategy, the Bosch system provides a per-vehicle benefit that can be used as a credit to offset the fleet emissions of the respective carmaker – it can therefore also avert penalties that would be imposed when the legally prescribed average CO2 emission limit is exceeded.
