Development of GENSET Module Technology of Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles

The main purpose of this paper is to develop the on-board generator (named “GENSET”), equipped on the Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs) in Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), Taiwan. Based on the developed electric power components such as battery integration, DC/DC converters, traction motor and control units, ITRI hybrid powertrains were thereby established by combining above items and existing engine technologies. Therefore, a power-assist 100kW powertrain for a SUV and an 18 kW fullhybrid powertrain in a light-duty vehicle were built. Several techniques of key subsystems such as a 50 kW PMSM traction motor, a GENSET, enhanced vehicle controllers, an 8 kWh/150A battery module, and battery management systems (BMSs) from the powertrains mentioned were utilized to integrate the prototype PHEV. From the experimental results, the 20 kW generator with a 1.2L 4-cylinder engine integrated into a GENSET can reach 20 kW output power and has a good performance in the narrow domain. Finally, we raised briefly several directions for future study.