OREANDA-NEWS. Hitachi Automotive Systems, Ltd. and Hitachi Vehicle Energy, Ltd. announced that the two companies have decided to transfer and integrate Hitachi Vehicle Energy's design and research & development operations into Hitachi Automotive Systems on April 1, for further growth and expansion of the electric powertrain business and optimization of the business structure. Hitachi Vehicle Energy will continue to strengthen its production technology, quality and other monozukuri capabilities as a manufacturer of lithium-ion batteries.

With environmental regulations being strengthened globally and automotive technology aiming to achieve greater sustainability, hybrid and electric drive vehicles are expected to become increasingly widespread to utilize energy that is clean as well as reproducible and sustainable. Attaining the wider use of electric drive vehicles requires the development of revolutionary technology for delivering performance that exceeds that of gasoline engines. Key to that is improving the performance of lithium-ion batteries (for quicker charging, longer drive distance and higher capacity), while at the same time optimizing the components of the electric powertrain such as the motor and inverter.

While the aim of the transfer and integration move is to optimize synergies involved in the development and design of electric powertrains, at the same time it will strengthen the ability to develop technologies for improving battery performance, and the fusion of Hitachi Vehicle Energy's battery control technology with Hitachi Automotive Systems' electric drive vehicle system control technology will also enhance the ability to provide more optimized solutions proposals.

Specifically, Hitachi Automotive Systems' electronics, control and software technologies will also be utilized in the development of battery management systems, for more sophisticated battery control, and to improve the pace and efficiency of next-generation battery development as well as battery performance and quality. Hitachi Automotive Systems will also continue to strongly promote ways of combining products optimized for its customers, using functionally and efficiently integrated control of the motors and the inverters as well as the batteries that are the key components of electric drive vehicles and various electronic control system products.