No. 372: Denso’s next-generation idle reduction mechanism is practicable in 2015 (December 6, 2011)

Denso, Japan’s leading maker of vehicle equipment, will translate the next-generation idle reduction mechanism into practical applications toward 2015. The new mechanism not only stops the engine during deceleration and shutdown but also stores regenerative energy as electric energy to supply electricity to the car navigation system and auxiliaries including head lamps. The current idle reduction mechanism can reduce fuel consumption by 3%, but the new mechanism can realize a 10% reduction in fuel consumption and allow a gasoline vehicle to have the same level of fuel consumption of a hybrid vehicle.

The new mechanism can improve fuel consumption drastically because storing and using regenerative energy mitigates the load of an engine and eliminates the necessity to run an alternator. As a result, a vehicle loaded with this mechanism is very close to a hybrid vehicle that uses a motor at start-up, though the new mechanism does not have a function to assist the engine drive using a motor like a hybrid vehicle. The company plans to combine the new mechanism with multiple technologies for lower fuel consumption including the exhaust gas recirculation system (EGR) to build a system that improves the fuel consumption of a gasoline vehicle by 20%.