Continental Lithium-ion Technology Wins ‘Yellow Angel’ Award

Continental AG, along with vehicle manufacturer Daimler, has received the ‘Gelben Engel’ – Yellow Angel – award from the German automobile association ADAC for the lithium-ion battery technology that is to feature as standard equipment in the Mercedes S400 BlueHYBRID from mid 2009. The companies received their Yellow Angel in the ‘Innovation and Environment’ category for the battery’s contribution in the fields of road safety, automotive safety and traffic-related environmental protection.

The jury, comprised of experts from the ADAC and other German industry associations, selected Conti/Daimler lithium-ion technology from among 51 entries from 42 different companies. The award was accepted on behalf of the companies by Heinz-Gerhard Wente, Continental Executive Board member for Human Resources responsible for the ContiTech Division and Dr. Thomas Weber, member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG responsible for Group Research & Mercedes-Benz Cars Development.

Explaining the technology, Continental points out that, compared with the nickel-metal hydride batteries currently used in hybrid vehicles, lithium-ion batteries offer significantly greater storage capacity. The battery that Continental has developed supplies the energy that enables an electric motor to boost the combustion engine by up to 19kW, making for considerable fuel savings, not least when starting off and accelerating. The battery is charged when the vehicle brakes or decelerates, when coasting up to a red light, for example. This regenerative braking or ‘recuperation’ is controlled by the power electronics. Like the integral automatic start-stop function, which automatically switches off the engine when the vehicle comes to a standstill and switches it on again to move off, the power electronics form part of Continental’s modular hybrid system, which combines all the company’s hybrid technology expertise in a single package.

The lithium-ion battery and the hybrid technology will be a standard feature in the new Mercedes S400 BlueHYBRID. Thanks to the innovative technology, this luxury class sedan with its six-cylinder petrol engine will achieve fuel consumption of 7.9 litres of premium petrol per 100 kilometres, equating to CO2 emissions of 186 grams per kilometre. This makes it, comments Conti, the world’s most economical petrol-engine luxury-class sedan.

High demands in terms of safety and reliability

Using lithium-ion technology in vehicles poses particular challenges. The battery has to operate safely and reliably for the whole life cycle stipulated by the vehicle manufacturer. This is achieved by an elaborate battery management system. Taking the age of the battery into account, the electronics check its overall condition, temperature and energy reserves, while safety circuits prevent the battery becoming too hot. A Cell Supervision Circuit monitors the individual cells and ensures optimum interaction. This guarantees that the lithium-ion batteries will really last – with unimpaired functionality, power and safety – for the required ten years or 160,000 to 240,000 kilometres. Series production of the batteries takes place at a newly built Continental plant in Nuremberg, Germany.