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Tata Motors and MAHLE Partner Together to Develop a Prototype Secondary Loop Mobile Air Conditioning System on a Vehicle

Jul 13, 2017   13:15 IST 
New Delhi, Delhi, India

Tata Motors Limited and MAHLE, one of the world’s 20 largest suppliers to the automotive industry, have signed a joint development agreement for designing and developing a Secondary Loop Mobile Air Conditioning System (SL–MAC), under the aegis of United Nations Environment. MAHLE and Tata Motors, along with the Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development (IGSD), which is coordinating the project, received funding for developing the SL-MAC system from the Climate and Clean Air Coalition to Reduce Short-Lived Climate Pollutants (CCAC), a global initiative to support fast action and make a difference in the areas of climate, public health and food and energy security (www.ccacoalition.org).This project envisages use and trial of environment friendly, low global warming potential (GWP) refrigerants HF01234yf (ASHRAE A2L) and HFC-152a (ASHRAE A2).

 

A team comprising of representatives of the California Air Resources Board (CARB), the Mobile Air Conditioning Society Worldwide (MACS), the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL), MAHLE, Tata Motors and IGSD reviewed the newly constructed SL-MAC system and the prototype at the MAHLE Behr facility in Lockport, New York, USA, on 7 April 2017.

 

A Tata vehicle based on a new generation platform for utility vehicles, consisting of a more complex architecture with front and rear air conditioning system, has been selected for this joint development program. The SL–MAC system will first be installed in the Tata utility vehicle as a prototype. In the SL-MAC system, the alternative refrigerants first cool a secondary fluid/coolant, which in turn cools the air to comfortable temperatures inside the vehicle cabin. This process allows the safe use of slightly flammable refrigerants that have a low GWP and in turn achieves high cooling capacity, minimizing the losses and achieving an optimized overall thermodynamic efficiency in the process. This is in contrast to the conventional mobile AC system, where the cabin air is directly cooled by the refrigerant HFC-134a, which is ozone safe but has a high GWP.

 

According to Dr. Tim Leverton, Chief Technology Officer, Tata Motors, “Tata Motors has been at the forefront of innovation and is constantly working towards shaping the future of mobility. As a part of our R&D efforts, we are committed to pioneering and inventing solutions to a greener future in the auto industry and this initiative is a step in that direction. We are the first OEM in India who is developing and evaluating an SL-MAC system on a car, using environmentally friendly refrigerants. We are delighted to work with class leading global suppliers like MAHLE and institutions like IGSD to contribute to the United Nations Environment initiative.”

 

The new SL-MAC system, which is testing the low-GWP refrigerants,is expected to increase vehicle energy efficiency through engineering. This system will turn off the compressor during acceleration and will retain coolness when the compressor is inactive or the engine is turned off for a short duration, allowing rapid cool-down at re-start. In addition to the expected energy efficiency benefits (fuel saving of up to 3%), the SL-MAC system allows the use of refrigerants that should avoid flow into the vehicle cabin. The refrigerant never enters the passenger compartment and instead stays in the engine area. Only the coolant circulates through the interior air conditioning unit.

 

According to Dr. Stephen O. Andersen, PhD, Director of Research for IGSD, “The Secondary Loop System will permit the use of alternative refrigerants like HFC-152a (GWP of 138) and HFO-1234yf (GWP<1) which have much lower GWPs than the current most-commonly used refrigerant, HFC-134a (GWP of 1300). We will be comparing the life-cycle carbon footprint of HFC-152a - with a higher GWP offset by higher energy efficiency – to the carbon footprint of HFO-1234yf and we will be estimating the cost of manufacture and ownership for each system.”

 

The SL-MAC project is on schedule, as expected, with anticipated environmental and cost advantages to be determined in the next stages. The prototype will be tested on the Indian roads later in the third quarter of 2017, where long seasons of hot and humid weather and stop-start driving conditions make a secondary loop air conditioning system highly advantageous.

 

About MAHLE

MAHLE is a leading international development partner and supplier to the automotive industry. With its products for combustion engines and their peripherals as well as solutions for electric vehicles, the group addresses all the crucial issues related to the powertrain and air conditioning technology - from engine systems and components to filtration to thermal management. MAHLE products are fitted in at least every second vehicle worldwide. MAHLE components and systems are also used off the road - in stationary applications, mobile machinery, as well as railway and marine applications.

 

In 2016, the group generated sales of approximately EUR 12.3 billion with around 77,000 employees and is represented in 34 countries with about 170 production locations. At 15 major development locations in Germany, Great Britain, Luxembourg, Slovenia, the USA, Brazil, Japan, China and India, about 6,000 development engineers and technicians are working on innovative solutions for the mobility of the future (www.MAHLE.com)

 

For further information, please contact

Jeff Trent

MAHLE

Jeff.trent@us.mahle.com

+1-423-318-3124

 

Alma Zgodic

MAHLE

Alma.zgodic@us.mahle.com

+1-248-743-8045

 

About IGSD

IGSD promotes just and sustainable societies and works to protect the global environment for future generations by advancing scientific, technical, legal and economic analysis. It supports basic and applied research, graduate education and related activities in collaboration with leading international and academic institutions (www.igsd.org).

 

For further information, please contact

Dr. N. J. Sherman,

Director of Technical Assessment, IGSD

nsherman@igsd.org

+1-434-409-0346

 

About Tata Motors

Tata Motors Limited, a USD 42 billion organisation, is a leading global automobile manufacturer of cars, utility vehicles, buses, trucks and defence vehicles. As India’s largest automobile company and part of the USD 100 billion Tata group, Tata Motors has operations in the UK, South Korea, Thailand, South Africa, and Indonesia through a strong global network of 76 subsidiary and associate companies, including Jaguar Land Rover in the UK and Tata Daewoo in South Korea. In India, Tata Motors has an industrial joint venture with Fiat. Engaged in engineering and automotive solutions, with a focus on future-readiness and a pipeline of tech-enabled products, Tata Motors is India’s market leader in commercial vehicles and among the top in passenger vehicles with 9 million vehicles on Indian roads. The company’s innovation efforts are focused on developing auto technologies that are sustainable as well as suited. With design and R&D centres located in India, the UK, Italy and Korea, Tata Motors strives to pioneer new products that fire the imagination of GenNext customers. Abroad, Tata cars, buses, and trucks are being marketed in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, South East Asia, South America, Australia, CIS and Russia.

 

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