SEOUL, South Korea--(BUSINESS WIRE)--On November 23, Hyundai Mobis (KRX: 012330) announced that the company became the first in Korea and the second in the world to successfully develop the next-generation electronic integrated regenerative brake system known as iMEB (Integrated Mobis Electronic Brake) for environment-friendly cars such as hybrid, EV, and PHEV.
iMEB, developed by Hyundai Mobis, is an advanced brake system that integrated the pressure supply unit and the pressure control unit of the regenerative brake system into a single electronically driven type. This allows more than 30% cost and weight reduction. Moreover, cutting-edge brake functionality, such as ESC (Electronic Stability Control), ABS (Anti-Lock Brake System), SCC (Smart Cruise Control) and AEB (Autonomous Emergency Braking) functions are also integrated.
The ‘regenerative brake system’ uses kinetic energy created while car is decelerating, to charge the batteries for environmentally-friendly cars. As it can reduce the energy dissipation rate by close to 70% compared to existing brake systems, it is considered to be a core part for environmentally-friendly cars. In particular, it is an essential device for implementing environmentally-friendly cars in view of the fact that the regenerative system accounts for about 40% of the fuel efficiency improvement in hybrid cars over existing gasoline cars.
In the existing ‘regenerative brake system,’ the ‘pressure supply unit,’ which amplifies the power with which the driver steps on the brake, and the ‘pressure control unit,’ which calculates how much braking force will be applied to each wheel and controls it, are separated. So it is less competitive in terms of cost and weight.
For this reason, all global automotive parts makers have recently become focused on developing electronic regenerative brake systems that integrate the pressure supply unit and the pressure controller. Functions implemented by several systems must be integrated into a single system, however, it is very difficult technologically. Accordingly, most companies are facing difficulties with developing this system.
Hyundai Mobis, a late starter in brake systems, was able to acquire the core technology for environmentally-friendly cars ahead of other makers due its insightful and strategic savvy. The company opted to forgo developing the separated regenerative brake system, which other companies were developing intensively, and began to develop an advanced integrated regenerative brake system. In this process, Hyundai Mobis applied for a total of 109 patents including 20 overseas patents.
As Hyundai Mobis was able to secure advanced technology ahead of its competitors, it is expecting to capitalize on iMEB to gain the upper hand in competition for contracts related to environmentally-friendly brake systems.
“Preempting the high value-added parts market for environmentally-friendly cars is equal to gaining a new growth engine for the future,” said Jeong Seung-gyun, head of the R&D Division of Hyundai Mobis. “We will further reinforce our investments in R&D for the core parts of environmentally-friendly cars and secure many high value-added products like iMEB.”
Meanwhile, Hyundai Mobis is strategically developing various environmentally-friendly parts such as in-wheel systems and low-voltage hybrid systems besides iMEB. Hyundai Mobis is planning to actively engage in sales activities with the core parts of these environmentally-friendly being the center of focus, and preempt the parts market for environmentally-friendly cars.
