Littelfuse and Hirtenberger Automotive Safety Announce Product Development Joint Venture
July 9, 2021
Littelfuse, Inc., an industrial technology manufacturing company empowering a sustainable, connected, and safer world, and Hirtenberger Automotive Safety, recently announced a product development joint venture referred to as PYTIC, or Pyro Technology for Intelligent Circuit Disconnection. PYTIC is focused on the development and distribution of a new and innovative pyrotechnic-based separator — acting as a true galvanic cut off device — for eMobility applications and other industrial electrical energy storage applications. As hybrid-electric vehicles and fully electric vehicles are seeing tremendous growth across passenger car and commercial vehicle applications, there continues to be strong demand for safe, reliable products within these markets.
The PYTIC Solution — the Pyro Safety Module (PSM)
PYTIC brings together the core competencies, development expertise, and production know-how of both companies — sensors, fuses, and signal processing from Littelfuse; and pyrotechnically driven circuit breakers from Hirtenberger Automotive Safety. Through this collaboration, PYTIC has jointly developed a highly innovative product, the Pyro Safety Module (PSM). The PSM consists of individual components, which are optimally aligned with each other, resulting in a fully integrated product with higher performance at lower system costs. In addition, it requires less installation space. The PSM’s most important advantage over other products in the market is its even faster detection of the overcurrent event and thus a significantly faster and safer disconnection of the battery from the rest of the vehicle (as quickly as 1 millisecond; for comparison, the blink of an eye takes about 100 milliseconds). This means that vehicle fires and electric shocks to passengers and rescue forces can be avoided in the best possible way.
The PYTIC PSM is currently offered in the 500V and 1,000V power classes and customers can choose between different sensor options. In addition, PYTIC development teams are working on additional solutions that integrate circuit protection technologies as well as analytical and monitoring features focused on the safety and performance of electrical energy storage systems. With the development of these innovative solutions, PYTIC seeks to be the supplier-partner of choice for products that monitor and disconnect electrical energy storage systems for vehicles and other stationary applications.
In addition to the technical synergies, Littelfuse and Hirtenberger Automotive Safety bring together global customer reach and local support for leading automotive manufacturers and Tier-1 suppliers all over the world. Together, this joint venture will drive new opportunities, far beyond those each company might achieve on its own.
“With the development of the PYTIC joint venture, we are excited to see the Littelfuse and Hirtenberger teams working together to bring innovative, value-added technology solutions to customers across the global automotive industry,” said Alexander Conrad, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Passenger Vehicle Business, Littelfuse. “With the unparalleled expertise of our two companies working together, we are able to offer the precision, protection, productivity and performance that customers demand.”
