System and method for axial zoning of heating power

A heater system for an exhaust system of an internal combustion engine, the heater system comprising:

• a heater disposed in an exhaust conduit of the exhaust system, the heater including a plurality of heating elements disposed along an axial direction of the exhaust conduit;
• and
• a heater control module operable to actively control power being supplied to at least two heating elements among the plurality of heating elements differently with respect to each other according to at least one operating condition specific to the at least two heating elements among the plurality of heating elements,
• wherein the at least two heating elements includes a first upstream heating element and a first downstream heating element and the heater control module controls the first upstream heating element to be at a higher power level than the first downstream heating element.