On Friday GM officially kicked off use of its new Powertrain Engineering Development Center in Pontiac MI. The new $463 million facility includes 120 dynamometer test cells for exercising all manner of new drivetrains. Among those cells 20 are specifically dedicated to testing motors for electric and hybrid drive systems. Others are split among fueled and non-fueled cells for testing gas, diesel, and flex-fuel engines and transmissions respectively. A new quick connect pallet system allows technicians to assemble a test configuration outside the cell and then have it installed and running within 20 minutes. The photo above showse a technician connecting the 1.4L engine and generator combination that will serve as the Chevy Volt range extender.

[Source: Green Fuels Forecast]

Like Rhodia, another name that is new to the AutoblogGreen pages is IAV, a global auto industry player that has been operating in North America since 1998. IAV's president, Utz Beister sat down with AutoblogGreen for a few minutes to talk about where the company is today and how they're helping the OEMs calibrate new powerplants to get the most efficient engines possible into new vehicles. IAV's main business in Michigan is to test various engines in their dynometers. With the industry moving toward more and more diesel and hybrid powertrians, IAV's new Powertrain Test Facility that will open in Northville Township, Michigan later this year or in early 2009, is being set up to be able to test these gasoline alternatives.

Of course, there are a lot of engine testing facilities in the Detroit area, and Beister said that being able to test engines that don't use gasoline on their dynos will set them apart. The dedicated hybrid powertrain dyno, for example, can test the ICE, the electric motor and the transmission. Beister couldn't give many details about what IAV has tested in the past or what they're working on now, but did say that IAV worked on GM's hybrid powertrain and integrating a VW diesel engine into a Chrysler vehicle.

In Germany, IAV has commissioned the first hydrogen dyno, and the new North American technical center has room to expand up to four more dynos. A hydrogen dynometer is quite likely, Beister said. Listen for yourself by clicking play, below.

There are plenty of dynamometers in the world which are capable of helping tuners get the most from their engines. There aren't very many that allow the same type of tuning for hybrids, though. Hybrid drivetrains can be very complex pieces, featuring both the internal combustion engine of a normal passenger car and the motor, controller and batteries of an electric vehicle. To get the most out of each independent system, testing is becoming increasingly important.

As any tuner knows, there's a fine line between getting everything available from the drivetrain and artificially shortening its life because its being pushed too hard, and this is especially true when it comes to batteries. To help carmakers meet these growing demands, FEV, Inc. is planning to open eight new sites equipped to allow for hybrid drivetrain development. Each site allows for the monitoring of both the engine and the electrical systems. With the increasing numbers of hybrids being sold, expect more locations like these to pop up in the near future.

[Source: FEV, Inc]