FEV Opens Hybrid, EV Development Center

FEV says it is ready to open its Hybrid and Electric Vehicle Development Center at the company's North American Technical Center in Auburn Hills, MI. The HEVDC has been in the construction stage for more than two years, and will open in March, following the installation of a chassis dynamometer built for hybrid and EV testing. The new center cost about $8 million.

The HEVDC will facilitate the development of hybrid power trains and related technologies by providing accurate testing facilities. The facility will initially test hybrid power trains and transmissions, electric motors, and charging stations for EVs and PHEVs. The HEVDC's charging station is the first in Michigan and will also be used for testing and validation purposes.

The HEVDC features multiple battery emulation systems and a chassis dynamometer to facilitate testing while minimizing downtime. The setup also permits full testing of all hybrid system components at once. The HEVDC can test powertrains of any size and the battery emulators can provide as much as 900V on demand, about three times that required of today's HEVs.

The testing center will help automotive manufacturers test hybrid powertrain designs, as well as integration of those designs into pre-production and production vehicles.

FEV says that it expects to add personnel to meet the demand for the testing center. FEV provides gasoline, diesel and electric powertrain engineering, design and testing services for a variety of commercial automotive applications.

Photo Credit: FEV