To accelerate engine warm-up and lower fuel consumption and emissions, BorgWarner’s Exhaust Heat Recovery System (EHRS) uses an EGR system to harvest heat that would normally be wasted through the exhaust system. The system was developed for HEVs and PHEVs and will go into production with a major American car manufacturer later this year.
During cold starts, a valve controls the exhaust gas flow, routing it through a heat exchanger, where the thermal energy of the gas heats up the vehicle’s subsystem fluids. This warms up the engine more quickly and reduces fuel economy and emissions, by up to 8.5%, BorgWarner claims.
The system is said to be cost-effective, compact and light, so it can be easily integrated into existing vehicles. BorgWarner’s low-pressure EGR valve also controls the temperatures in the combustion chamber to improve engine efficiency and combustion timing.
Joe Fadool, president and general manager of BorgWarner emissions and thermal systems, said, “With the EHRS, BorgWarner serves the growing demand for highly efficient solutions to reduce emissions and strengthens its position as a leading supplier of clean technologies.”