ETK company, together with KamAZ, continues to develop a domestic hybrid power plant for commercial vehicles. The project is being implemented with the support of the Russian Science Foundation.
The basis of the new system is a starter-generator unit designed for vehicles with a mild hybrid architecture. It combines an internal combustion engine and an electric machine. During intensive acceleration or uphill driving, the electric motor assists the main engine, and during braking, it returns part of the energy to the battery.
The developers expect that the use of this scheme will reduce fuel consumption, increase torque, and improve the efficiency of commercial vehicles without switching to a fully electric power plant.
Engineers are focusing on a disc electric machine with a Halbach magnetic system. It is assumed that this solution will surpass current technologies in terms of parameters.
In parallel, specialists are creating their own test bench, which allows testing the unit's operation in modes as close as possible to real-world operation. The next goal will be to achieve Technology Readiness Level 5 (TRL-5), which involves successfully passing full-scale bench tests before proceeding to further implementation.
Another direction of the project is localization of production. Engineers are working to reduce dependence on imported components, including rare-earth magnets, and are also studying new materials for future generations of electric machines.