Photography Courtesy Honda
Indycar will join the likes of IMSA and Formula 1 this weekend as the series will make use of a hybrid powertrain with the introduction of its new “Energy Recovery System.”
Weighing in at 42.5 kilograms–about 93 pounds–the ERS can generate up to 60 additional horsepower and approximately 33 lb.-ft. of torque. (With “room for upward development if needed,” says Honda.) The 2.2-liter, twin-turbo V6 currently in use will remain, with the ERS system placed in the bell housing between the engine and transmission.
More specifically, the ERS system is comprised of four major components: The Energy Storage System (ESS), the Motor Generator Unit (MGU), a DC/DC converter and the Voltage Control Device.
The ESS is a series of 20 supercapacitors (from a company called Skeleton) that store the energy recovered by the MGU until that energy is deployed by the driver via a button on the steering wheel. The ESS, with a maximum operating voltage of 60 Volts and 2000 Amps, can fully charge and deploy in about 4.5 seconds.
One of the 20 Skeleton supercapacitors that make up the Energy Storage System
The MGU (model name EMPEL 180), which is linked to the driveshaft of the car, is the part that harvests the energy produced under braking, turns it into electricity and then sends it to the ESS for storage. The system can operate at up to 12,000 rpm, and the level of regeneration that occurs can be set manually or automatically.
The EMPEL 180 Motor Generator Unit
The DC/DC converter (from BrightLoop Converters) takes the energy coming from the ESS or MGU and converts that energy to the correct 12 volts used by the existing powertrain if needed.
The BrightLoop Converters DC/DC converter
Lastly, the Voltage Control Device is, as Honda explains, “essentially an oversized fuse” that simply makes sure the entire ERS system never exceeds 60 volts.
The Voltage Control Device
The major components of the ERS “will interface with the existing McLaren Applied-provided TAG-400i ECU or Engine Control Unit,” explains Honda, adding that “additional software will be used to ensure the correct synchronicity between the ERS and the Honda—or any other manufacturer—provided engines.”
Honda also notes that the State of Charge (SOC) of the ERS can be switched between 60 and 30 Volts by the driver, and that, even in the event the driver has emptied the ESS, the system will retain 30 Volts “in order to restart the car in case of an off or stall.”
Look for the new ERS-equipped Indycar race cars at the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio presented by the 2025 Civic Hybrid on July 7.
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