Frost & Sullivan: Upgrading the On-Board Power-Net to 42V Will Pave the Way for a 48V Power Net

Frost & Sullivan: Upgrading the On-Board Power-Net to 42V Will Pave the Way for a 48V Power Net PR Newswire LONDON, June 26, 2012 - Suppliers actively working with car OEMs in close coordination to develop 48V-specific solutions LONDON, June 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Electrification of the automobile is not limited to the Electric Vehicle (EV) space. Conventional automobiles of today are partly electric in their own way, with most systems in the vehicle having electrical and electronic connections for better functionality. Certain high-end vehicles possess more than 90 Electronic Control Units (ECUs) to control the various modules within the car, making the car both sophisticated and complicated. However, added functions such as Electric Power Steering (EPS), Electronic Braking Systems (EBS), GPS-based Navigation units, Engine Management Systems etc. make the Electrical and Electronic (E/E) architecture of the car highly complicated. Future systems are expected to be all the more refined, warranting more ECUs and a much more robust E/E network. "The car of today has to step-up from a simple 12 Volt on-board power supply to 42V or a proposed 48V power net, in order to support all new systems and applications for enhanced performance, thereby demanding a massive investment across the entire ecosystem," says Frost & Sullivan Industry Analyst, Prana Tharthiharan Natarajan.