Eaton in Southfield Introduces eMobility, an Electrified Vehicles Technology Company

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Southfield’s Eaton, a power management company, today announced it has created its new eMobility business in response to an increasing demand for high-voltage electrified vehicle technologies. The company will focus on intelligent power electronics, power systems, and advanced power distribution and circuit protection.

The company was formed by combining products, expertise, and global manufacturing capabilities from Eaton’s electrical and vehicle businesses. The company plans to invest more than $500 million over the next five years to develop new products and technologies, including smart diagnostic technologies, intelligent power electronics, and predictive health monitoring.

“Our understanding of the unique needs of vehicle customers, along with our experience in transmissions and power electronics in the hybrid space, gives us a distinct advantage versus other suppliers,” says Jeff Lowinger, president of eMobility. “Customers using Eaton hybrid systems have collectively accumulated an estimated 2 billion miles of clean, reliable service.”

The new entity will focus on three primary areas for automotive and commercial vehicle customers: intelligent power electronics, power systems, and advanced power distribution and circuit protection. The power distribution and protection category includes fuses, supercapacitors, and power distribution units. Converters and on-board chargers fall under the power electronics umbrella.

Power systems include electric vehicle transmissions for medium- and heavy-duty applications, as well as a 48-volt regenerative accessory drive system for heavy-duty trucks.

Eaton has more than 15 years of expertise in developing hybrid systems with more than 15,000 HEV and PHEV systems on the road in the U.S., Europe, China, and other Asian-Pacific markets. The company has high-voltage, fast-acting fuses in nearly 50 percent of global electrified cars and power electronics on a leading European battery-electric vehicle platform.

The company also has knowledge of vehicle dynamics and safety standards, as well as experience managing high-voltage power distribution, circuit protection and advanced electric power quality systems.

The organization’s existing line of electrified products, which includes DC/DC converters, PDUs, hybrid and battery-electric transmissions, and high-voltage fuses, serve as the foundation for additional growth for eMobility. Eaton predicts its current electrified portfolio will account for approximately $300 million in revenue in 2018, and forecasts revenues of $2 billion-$4 billion by 2030 as new products and customers are added to the eMobility portfolio.

The global vehicle electrification market is projected to grow to 15 million pure battery-electric vehicles and another 30 million hybrids, from mild to plug-in, by 2030.