BMW Sauber F1 Team - “Technology accelerator” for series development. KERS powers Formula One into a new dimension.

Munich/Hinwil, July 14 2008. Hybrid technology in Formula One has been
given the go-ahead and the development process is underway. Powered by
a modified drive concept, the top category of motorsport is poised to
enter a new dimension in 2009 – and deliver significant impetus for the
development of standard production vehicles in the process. From the
start of next season, the Formula One regulations allow for the use of
hybrid technology to increase the output and efficiency of the cars. To
this end, the BMW Sauber F1 Team is working flat out on the development
of its KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) brake energy regeneration
system. BMW Sauber F1 Team enhances the hybrid expertise of the BMW
Group. As Dr Klaus Draeger, member of the BMW AG Board of Management
responsible for development, reports: “The BMW Group can transfer the
knowledge gained within the BMW Sauber F1 Team directly into the
development of standard production vehicles. This makes Formula One the
ideal pre-development platform for innovative drive technologies. The
new Formula One regulations give us the opportunity to use innovative
hybrid technology under extreme conditions and in so doing to garner
crucial expertise for series development as well. BMW customers stand
to benefit as a result. The KERS unit designed for the BMW Sauber F1.09
is a highly effective variant of brake energy regeneration technology,
and is similar in the way it works to the ActiveHybrid technology
developed for BMW standard production vehicles.” BMW Sauber F1 Team
develops electric KERS system. KERS enables the regeneration and storage
of braking energy, which is then put on tap as an extra source of power
under acceleration to complement the output of the V8 engine. The BMW
Sauber F1 Team has decided to focus its efforts on an electric
solution. The BMW Sauber F1.09 will be equipped with a hybrid system
consisting of a combination of electric motor and generator, the
requisite power electronics and an energy storage module. The BMW
Sauber F1.09 will store enough energy under braking to provide an
additional 60 kW of output over around 6.5 seconds of acceleration. The
complete system will weigh under 40 kg. This means that the power
density of the F1 KERS technology will be considerably greater than
that of the systems currently used in standard production vehicles. The
newly acquired expertise will flow straight into production car
development over the years to come. “For us KERS is an extremely
exciting project and a great opportunity. We are standing at the
threshold between a conventional package of engine and independent
transmission and an integrated drive system,” explains BMW Motorsport
Director Mario Theissen: “The power density of the KERS components will
far exceed that of today’s hybrid vehicles. KERS will see Formula One
take on a pioneering role for series production technologies going
forward. F1 will give a baptism of fire to innovative concepts whose
service life and reliability have not yet reached the level required
for series production vehicles, and their development will be driven
forward at full speed. At BMW we have always used the Formula One
project as a technology laboratory for series production. With KERS
this approach takes on a whole new dimension. Formula One will
re-position itself and undergo a change of image, allowing the sport to
take significant strides forward in terms of public acceptance.” The
BMW Group already includes a brake energy regeneration system in a large
number of its series-produced models as part of its BMW
EfficientDynamics package. It is also preparing to introduce BMW
ActiveHybrid technology in various model series.