Semcon Cooperating with Volvo Cars to Develop Plug-in Hybrid Technology

STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Aug. 20, 2009 -- Over the past year, Semcon has been working with Volvo Cars’ development of 3 demo plug-in hybrids in a cooperation project between Volvo Cars, Vattenfall, ETC and Energimyndigheten (The Swedish Energy Agency).

Semcon has worked on converting a vehicle with a conventional combustion engine to a plug-in by adapting and installing an electric motor and battery, constructing an adapted transmission and designing and constructing the wiring, logger and control units. Three prototype cars are being produced so that in the autumn of 2009 all information will be gathered about what requirements and demands drivers will place on this new technology, what the driving experience is like and how people will charge their cars.

In total, six people with different specialist skills from Powertrain, electronics, project management and calculation have been involved in the work.

“In an independent and resource-effective way, Semcon has designed the technical solutions demanded by the project and the cars have consequently been built at Volvo’s Concept plant in cooperation with Semcon,” says Anders Bj�rnberg, who is responsible for the plug-in project at Volvo Cars.

By utilizing the developments made in the different industries Semcon works with, customers can be offered cost-effective and innovative technological development. Close cooperation with companies in different sectors is essential in this type of project.

”Today all sorts of different projects are being run worldwide to convert vehicles to being hybrid-driven and solely electrically-driven. With the small series and different concepts that are flourishing among manufacturers, Semcon’s experience in constructing and installing the new technology is of course very valuable,” comments Stefan Ohlsson, president, Semcon Automotive R&D.