Jaguar Land Rover is researching innovative technologies to reduce vehicle emissions and improve fuel efficiency, including a "Warm Air Blanket" system that could cut HVAC energy use in half. This system would directly heat occupants with warm air through porous surfaces like seats and panels, rather than continuously heating the entire cabin. Researchers are also developing lighter seats through new materials and manufacturing techniques, and exploring replacing wiring with printed electronics. The goal is to significantly reduce vehicle weight and emissions through innovations in thermal management, lightweight materials, and electronic systems.

1. EMBARGOED 09.00 9th
SEPTEMBER 2015 NEWS RELEASE
JAGUAR LAND ROVER REVEALS INNOVATIVE
WARM AIR BLANKET RESEARCH TO REDUCE VEHICLE EMISSIONS
• Jaguar Land Rover demonstrate ‘Warm Air Blanket’ research. This new technology
could dramatically reduce the energy consumed when heating a vehicle
• Innovations to reduce vehicle weight include concept seats 30 per cent lighter than
they are today and components made from carbon fibre mixed with flax
• Research to replace wiring looms and electrical components with innovative wafer-
thin printed electronic circuits, currently used in curved televisions
Whitley, UK: Jaguar Land Rover has showcased some of the new and innovative low and zero
emission technologies it is researching at this year’s CENEX Low Carbon Vehicle event.
As well as showing Battery Electric Vehicle, Plug-In Hybrid and Mild Hybrid technologies, Jaguar Land
Rover’s research engineers have revealed how they are researching more efficient heating and
ventilation systems and new solutions to reduce vehicle weight to improve emissions and fuel
economy.
Because Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning systems (HVAC) consume substantial amounts of
energy and therefore fuel, or electrical energy stored in the battery of a Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV),
Jaguar Land Rover is working on research projects that could dramatically reduce the energy
consumed when heating and cooling a vehicle.
Dr Wolfgang Epple, Director of Research and Technology, Jaguar Land Rover, said: “Today’s HVAC
systems can draw 8-10kW from an electric vehicle battery, enough to reduce the range by up to 40 per
cent, while air conditioning can reduce the range of an internal combustion engine by up to 20 per
cent.
“So to improve the fuel economy and emissions of internal combustion engines and to enhance the
range of a future BEV, we have been rethinking the thermal management of a vehicle cabin. We are
developing new methods of heating and cooling the cabin, to achieve substantial reductions in energy
consumption.”
Rather than continuously heating or cooling a flow of air as it enters the car, Jaguar Land Rover is
researching how a car could heat or cool an ‘Air Bubble’ inside the vehicle once, and then maintain
the temperature and quality of this air bubble using innovative new HVAC technologies. These include

2. infra-red reflective (IRR) glass, tailor-made for the solar radiation profile of an individual region or
country. The glass would reflect the sun’s rays so less energy is required to cool the inside of the car.
To maintain the breathable quality of the warmed or cooled bubble of air, cabin air would be passed
through a special filter in the vehicle boot. This filter would remove CO2, moisture and particulates
from the cabin air and provide better air quality inside the vehicle than out.
Warm Air Blanket: In the future it may also not even be necessary to heat or cool the volume of air
inside the car. Instead the car could directly heat or cool the occupants with warm or cold air flowing
through porous surfaces in the seats. Infra-red panels, invisibly embedded inside sun visors, door
tops, the glove box door and the sides of the transmission tunnel would surround each occupant and
would radiate heat to the body. This ‘Warm Air Blanket’ would cocoon individual occupants in their
own microclimate, and warm just the occupant’s skin rather than maintaining the entire cabin at a
given temperature.
Because the panels heat up quickly and efficiently, and because the sensation of feeling warm is
almost immediate, energy consumption could be dramatically reduced. By combining these
techniques, early test results show it is possible to reduce the consumption of an HVAC system by
half, from 8-12kW, to 4-6kW.
“Weight saving is crucial to improve fuel consumption and emissions. Jaguar Land Rover’s engineers
lead the world in the development of lightweight vehicle bodies to reduce weight to improve handling,
fuel efficiency and emissions. Our researchers are moving beyond lightweight body structures and are
looking at every component in the car, from how to replace traditional wiring looms with printed
electronics, to developing prototype seats much lighter than they are today,” added Dr Epple. “We are
also investigating how we could make use of carbon fibre in future vehicles by mixing carbon fibre with
innovative new materials like flax, as well as new techniques for manufacturing carbon fibre
components in higher volumes than is feasible today.”
Jaguar Land Rover’s research team is investigating whether a vehicle’s copper-based wiring loom and
electrical components could be replaced with innovative wafer-thin printed electronic circuits,
currently used in curved televisions. The technology could be deployed as a lightweight and space-
saving alternative to traditional wiring for features including instruments, switches, sensing, lighting,
heating and displays.
Using a forming process called thermoplastic composite stamping, Jaguar Land Rover research
engineers have succeeded in developing a new type of lightweight polymer seat structure that weighs
30 per cent less than an equivalent steel-based seat structure. The PLACES seat technology makes
the structural components work as part of the comfort system and enables consolidation of parts,
reducing weight. Seat cushions and fabric covering are also optimised for weight without impinging on
comfort. This enables less foam depth, which offers a slimmer seat profile. This could also aid
packaging and liberate more space within the vehicle.

3. The CARBIO project is looking at how we could make carbon fibre more environmentally friendly and
cost effective, while improving its noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) properties.
CARBIO combines layers of carbon fibre and flax with an environmentally-friendly cashew nut oil
resin. Flax is a natural and sustainable plant material and was chosen because of its inherent sound
dampening properties. CARBIO brings the strength and lightweight benefit of carbon fibre together
with the sustainability and lower cost of flax. While the manufacturing cost of CARBIO is similar to that
of traditional carbon fibre, the material cost of mixing carbon fibre and flax is one-third cheaper.
Components made from CARBIO are 28 per cent lighter than aluminium and 55 per cent lighter than
steel and because of the improved NVH properties provided by the flax, a CARBIO component
requires less additional sound deadening material around it than traditional carbon fibre, aluminium or
steel, potentially saving even more weight.
/ends
Jaguar Land Rover:
• In 2015/16 Jaguar Land Rover will spend £3.5 billion on new vehicle creation and capital
expenditure. In the same period, the company will launch 12 new and refreshed vehicles from
its UK plants, such as the Jaguar F-PACE at Solihull.
• In the past five years, Jaguar Land Rover has tripled its turnover, doubled its sales and
doubled its global workforce to nearly 36,000.
• Jaguar Land Rover has recruited some 2,000 young people on its graduate and apprentice
programmes in the last four years.
• Jaguar Land Rover employs 8000 engineers and technologists based at two UK product
development centres at Gaydon and Whitley, and an Advanced Research Centre at the
University of Warwick.
Notes to editors
For more information, please visit www.newsroom.jaguarlandrover.com or contact:
Nick O’Donnell, Global Corporate PR Manager
M: +44 7825 115951 E: nodonne2@jaguarlandrover.com
Liam O’Neill, Technology Press Officer
M: +44 7469 021100 E: loneill3@jaguarlandrover.com