Dual-speed supercharger for the Hummer H3

“The experience we’re gaining from these high performance installations is proving invaluable,” said Moore. “It’s a tough market and our drive system needs to be pretty robust to survive. For the US tuner market the 2-speed supercharger drive simply does a phenomenal job of boosting vehicle performance … but there are additional mainstream powertrain applications we’re actively pursuing, where the primary aim is to calibrate the system to enhance efficiency and reduce carbon emissions.”

Antonov is already investigating the potential for its compact 2-speed supercharger drive system to replace a much larger positive displacement compressor in a high volume production engine, where very tight packaging and close matching of the supercharger to the engine is the primary motive. Further applications to improve powertrain efficiency are also being investigated through research into front end accessory drives. This enables the vehicle alternator and air conditioning to be run more efficiently, whilst providing the output needed by modern cars when the engine is idling.

The mainstream automotive trend towards fuel cell and hybrid electric vehicles, as well as smaller displacement internal combustion engines, similarly implies a need for more forced induction systems and hence centrifugal superchargers … again another opportunity to better match the characteristics of the blower to the engine with 2-speed drive systems. There is also growing interest in the use of 2-speed drives in conjunction with alternating current electric motors as a lower cost alternative to permanent magnet motors in electric vehicles.

The Antonov Mechanical Module (AMM) is patented technology and provides a small stand-alone, self-controlling multi-speed drive system which can be designed and manufactured for 2, 3 or even 4-speed applications. The mechanism is entirely self-changing with no electronic, hydraulic or pneumatic control systems and during the design stage the shift points can be set to any desired engine speed. The benefits of a fully automatic mechanical system applied to a supercharger include high transmission efficiency, compact size and moderate cost. The Antonov drive can be fully integrated with the latest Rotrex C30 and C38 superchargers with no power consumption other than minimal gear losses.

“These US applications are strategically important for the company as they address one of the world’s largest markets for tuner products,” said Moore. “It enables Antonov’s drive system to be released into the marketplace as a proven technology and underpins our discussions with carmakers interested in high volume global applications for addressing more fundamental carbon emission issues.”