“Technology accelerator” for series development.
KERS powers Formula One into a new dimension.
Hybrid technology in Formula One has been given the go-ahead
and the development process is underway. Powered by a modified
drive concept, the top category of motorsport is poised to
enter a new dimension in 2009 – and deliver significant
impetus for the development of standard production vehicles
in the process. From the start of next season, the Formula
One regulations allow for the use of hybrid technology to
increase the output and efficiency of the cars. To this end,
the BMW Sauber F1 Team is working flat out on the development
of its KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) brake energy
regeneration system.
BMW Sauber F1 Team enhances the hybrid expertise of the BMW
Group. As Dr Klaus Draeger, member of the BMW AG Board of
Management responsible for development, reports: “The
BMW Group can transfer the knowledge gained within the BMW
Sauber F1 Team directly into the development of standard production
vehicles. This makes Formula One the ideal pre-development
platform for innovative drive technologies. The new Formula
One regulations give us the opportunity to use innovative
hybrid technology under extreme conditions and in so doing
to garner crucial expertise for series development as well.
BMW customers stand to benefit as a result. The KERS unit
designed for the BMW Sauber F1.09 is a highly effective variant
of brake energy regeneration technology, and is similar in
the way it works to the ActiveHybrid technology developed
for BMW standard production vehicles.”
BMW Sauber F1 Team develops electric KERS system. KERS enables
the regeneration and storage of braking energy, which is then
put on tap as an extra source of power under acceleration
to complement the output of the V8 engine. The BMW Sauber
F1 Team has decided to focus its efforts on an electric solution.
The BMW Sauber F1.09 will be equipped with a hybrid system
consisting of a combination of electric motor and generator,
the requisite power electronics and an energy storage module.
The BMW Sauber F1.09 will store enough energy under braking
to provide an additional 60 kW of output over around 6.5 seconds
of acceleration. The complete system will weigh under 40 kg.
This means that the power density of the F1 KERS technology
will be considerably greater than that of the systems currently
used in standard production vehicles. The newly acquired expertise
will flow straight into production car development over the
years to come.
“For us KERS is an extremely exciting project and
a great opportunity. We are standing at the threshold between
a conventional package of engine and independent transmission
and an integrated drive system,” explains BMW Motorsport
Director Mario Theissen: “The power density of the KERS
components will far exceed that of today’s hybrid vehicles.
KERS will see Formula One take on a pioneering role for series
production technologies going forward. F1 will give a BMW
Sauber F1Team baptism of fire to innovative concepts whose
service life and reliability have not yet reached the level
required for series production vehicles, and their development
will be driven forward at full speed. At BMW we have always
used the Formula One project as a technology laboratory for
series production. With KERS this approach takes on a whole
new dimension. Formula One will re-position itself and undergo
a change of image, allowing the sport to take significant
strides forward in terms of public acceptance.”
The BMW Group already includes a brake energy regeneration
system in a large number of its series-produced models as
part of its BMW EfficientDynamics package. It is also preparing
to introduce BMW ActiveHybrid technology in various model
series.
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