Valeo Collaborates With Saft to Strengthen its Position in Electrical Energy Management

    PARIS--April, 19, 2002--Valeo continues to strengthen its leadership position in the strategic "Electrical Energy Management" domain by signing technical agreements with specialist companies like Saft, Alcatel's battery activity, to enhance its systems expertise further.
    Valeo and Saft have signed a collaboration agreement to develop an advanced battery management system for selected new Valeo electrical networks including 42 Volt and hybridization systems.
    One of the main reasons for the adoption of 42 Volt technology is the higher power required by new electrical and electronic systems for improved fuel economy, comfort and safety features. The traditional approach of always generating enough electrical power to manage the worst-case electrical load is becoming increasingly impractical, and the future lies in "managing" a limited store of electrical energy in a high performance, smart battery system. Valeo and Saft are developing an advanced battery management system that can not only cope with the additional power required for many of the new features enabled by 42 Volt, but can also provide battery state-of-charge and state-of-health information.
    The first applications of the battery management system are expected to be Valeo's electrical systems for future mild hybrid powertrains. These include a range of advanced starter-alternators, both belt-driven and integrated, which offer consumers significant fuel savings and greater acoustic comfort while protecting the environment through lower emissions. Such systems form an integral part of the collaborative work with Ricardo to develop i-MoGen, a demonstration platform which promises fuel savings of up to 30 percent, and which integrates a number of key Valeo 42 Volt systems.
    "As part of our marketing and technology strategy we are continuing to sign partnerships with companies who have technical expertise that complement and strengthen the strategic innovations we are offering to car makers. This collaboration with Saft is the latest one in a series that will further enhance our 42 Volt and hybridization systems," said Martin Haub, Group Vice President, R&D and Product Marketing.
    The company also signed an agreement with International Rectifier earlier this year to integrate power modules into Valeo's reversible starter-alternator and related energy management systems, such as its DC/DC converter and 42 Volt systems.
    Behind the partnership with Saft lies Valeo's visionary approach to customer-led innovation, called "Domains," which enables the company to anticipate and exceed customer expectations more efficiently and effectively as well as to continuously identify and exploit technology integration possibilities.
    The Valeo domain that drives the development work with Saft is "Electrical Energy Management." This domain centers on providing the technologies and products required to enable the generation, storage, control and distribution of electrical energy within the vehicle and is key to implementing many new electrical and electronic functions, many with customizable features, especially when linked to the introduction of powerful 42 Volt networks.

    Valeo is an independent industrial Group fully focused on the design, production and sale of components, integrated systems and modules for cars and trucks. Valeo ranks among the world's top automotive suppliers. The Group has 143 plants, 53 R&D centers, 10 distribution centers and employs nearly 71,500 people in 24 countries worldwide (end March 2002).
    For more information on the Group and its businesses, please consult our website: www.valeo.com.