Yazaki Battery Mounted Power Management Module Named a 2020 Automotive News PACE Award Finalist

Innovative circuit protection and power distribution solution packs more performance in a smaller package

CANTON, Mich. – April 28, 2020 – Yazaki Corporation’s Battery Mounted Power Management Module (BMPMM) has been named a finalist of the 2020 Automotive News Premier Automotive Suppliers’ Contribution to Excellence (PACE) Award due to its innovative battery mounted design, visual over current circuit protection, and flexible power distribution benefits.

The honor was announced during the 26^th annual PACE Awards virtual ceremony on April 28, 2020. The prestigious awards are recognized globally as industry benchmarks for innovation.

“We are grateful Automotive News found a new and different way to host the PACE Awards celebration,” said Yazaki North America Vice President, Engineering, David Scheffler. “It is truly humbling to be a part of our industry’s best problem solvers. Especially during this global crisis that is testing our ability to innovate as never before. We were pleased to be a finalist and congratulate the winners.”

Yazaki’s compact battery module is a circuit protection and power distribution unit that is directly attached to the vehicle battery for maximum safety and design flexibility. Its innovative design is more than 60 percent smaller and 50 percent lighter on average than comparable products on the market, offering a cost effectiveness advantage.

The innovative module offers:

Vehicle primary power wire protection to improve reliability and safety

An enhanced power distribution system designed to improve cost, functionality, and enabling the use of standard components

Compact design addressing minimal packaging space around the battery

Improved ease of installation during vehicle assembly and servicing

The module integrates the power distribution and wire protection functions to provide greater flexibility for wire harness packaging and routing design variations. Yazaki designed the battery module to address the increasing number of electrical components driving the need for more power to safely flow through the vehicle.

“Automotive electrical systems are undergoing constant change as the technology deployed in new vehicles continues to evolve,” said Scheffler. “To support design flexibility for our customers, we developed the BMPMM to attach directly to the vehicle’s 12-volt battery and provide power distribution and circuit protection for high power vehicle features. Relocating circuit protection from Power Distribution Center (PDC) to BMPMM realized as much as a 51 percent reduction in PDC components for some customers.”

The module’s integrated triple-protection fuse elements protect electrical systems from multiple circuit failure modes - normal overcurrent, large inrush current, or direct circuit (short-to-ground). The type of overcurrent event can be determined by visually inspecting the melting position on the fuse element. To improve fuse performance, typical fuse element crimping methods have been replaced by a new stitching process for more consistent fuse performance.

For the past quarter of a century, the PACE Awards have honored superior innovation, technological advancement and business performance among automotive suppliers. This award, judged by an independent panel of technologists, is recognized around the world as the industry benchmark for innovation.