n Powertrain specialists, Horse, is responding to the ever-changing pathway that automotive companies must follow with a hybrid unit that can be added to platforms that were previously battery-electric only. The company, part-owned by the Renault Group( 45 %), Geely( 45 %) and Aramco( 10 %), sets out to solve some of the drivetrain problems that big automotive companies are facing.

Called the Future Hybrid Concept, the power unit combines an internal combustion engine, electric motor, and transmission into a single, compact unit. It’ s designed so that car makers with electric-only platforms can easily add hybrid alternatives to their range of vehicles. Ragnar Burenius, Chief Engineer of xHEV systems at Horse Powertrain, says,‘ The Future Hybrid Concept is designed as a singlepiece combustion engine, motor, and transmission unit, reducing the complexity of a hybrid powertrain. This allows more flexibility for its packaging, allowing for it to be integrated into existing BEV

platforms with minimal modifications to the vehicle.’

The ICE unit within Horse’ s Future Hybrid Concept unit serves as a range extender, adding power to the vehicle’ s existing battery pack. It has been developed to be as compact so it can be added to as many existing platforms as possible with ease. The entire unit is designed to bolt to a front-drive vehicle’ s subframe and mount transversely where preciously just an electric motor would sit.

The appetite for hybrid vehicles is beginning to grow again as Matias Giannini, CEO at Horse Powertrain,

explains.‘ For over a decade, it looked like battery electric vehicles were the only path to net zero, and OEMs planned accordingly. However, we’ re now shifting towards a technologyneutral world, with different markets and applications each pursuing their own sustainable mobility journey.’

To allow it to work globally, Horse has made sure its Future Hybrid Concept can run on a variety of fuels including E85 ethanol flex fuels that are often used in South America; M100 methanol that’ s rapidly becoming popular in China, India, and sub- Saharan Africa; and synthetic fuels.

Compact dimensions make Horse’ s hybrid package suit all sorts of vehicles