Shanghai (China), Regensburg (Germany), November 10, 2022. Vitesco Technologies, a leading international supplier of modern drive technologies and electrification solutions, has been awarded by the Chinese technology company Human Horizons, which is aiming to use different electrification technologies from Vitesco Technologies for its innovative electric cars. Vitesco Technologies will deliver its new zone controllers, plus cell supervising circuits for battery management, and high voltage current modules to a new E/E architecture developed by Human Horizons. The order addresses the Chinese market. 

Human Horizons develops smart, software-defined vehicles, smart transportation technology, and smart city solutions. 

Zone controllers are a new type of automotive control electronics, needed within the oncoming new E/E architecture. This new architecture is based on a few master controllers (one of which is dedicated to all functions related to vehicle motion) and several zone controllers which execute the commands from the master controller and provide power to all local sensors and actuators in the respective zone. The new E/E architecture, developed by Human Horizons, is more simple, more powerful, and easier to handle.

Human Horizons entered the Chinese market with a distinctive electric luxury SUV and is now preparing to widen its portfolio. In 2022, they launched its second model named HiPhi Z. The great importance of innovations since day one, can be seen in the use of zone controllers. By anticipating the need for this type of electronics in a new E/E architecture and developing the technology in time, Vitesco Technologies is now in full speed to bring its innovative technologies to markets. 

The zone controllers’ focus is on the I/Os, the gateway functionality and the power supply or power distributions plus electronic fuses. The computing power of a zone controller is scalable. Currently it is specified to range from versions with a single microcontroller (µC) on to versions with two µCs and a microprocessor (µP), depending on whether an AUTOSAR Classic or AUTOSAR Adaptive architecture is chosen. The interaction between master controller and zone controller greatly simplifies the E/E architecture.

Cell supervising circuits monitor the individual battery cells and balance differing charging levels of individual cells in an electric car. This is an important element of global strategies to achieve the maximum vehicle range along with a maximum battery service life.

High voltage current modules are the third product type which Vitesco Technologies will deliver to Human Horizons. It is a multifunctional module integrated with current measurement, high voltage measurement, isolation measurement and Pyrofuse driver. In total, all three business units of Vitesco Technologies contribute to the award.