UK-based Aeristech, a developer of high-speed electric motor and controller technology (earlier post), closed a £5.15-million (US$7-million) private funding round led by investors Sabien Technology, Vela Technologies and SAIC Venture Capital, the venture capital arm of China-based automaker SAIC Motor. The funding round will supercharge the company’s investment in its... Read more →
Unifrax, a leading manufacturer of high-performance specialty materials, introduced a new, nano-structured alumina catalyst support technology for the transportation market: Eco-lytic. Housed within a vehicle’s catalytic converter, the Eco-lytic catalyst support fiber is designed to replace the existing catalytic converter or add to existing systems in order to enhance emission... Read more →
Power management company Eaton announced its eMobility business secured a contract to supply power distribution units (PDUs) and Bussmann series fuses to a global vehicle manufacturer for use in a new battery electric (BEV) light-duty commercial vehicle—a rapidly growing segment for BEVs. The PDUs are scalable in design to be... Read more →
Power management company Eaton and Tenneco announced a joint development agreement between Eaton’s Vehicle Group and Tenneco’s Clean Air business group to produce an integrated exhaust thermal management system that will enable commercial truck and light vehicle manufacturers to meet upcoming emissions regulations. Across the globe, emission standards are tightening... Read more →
Israel-based REE Automotive (REE) revealed 5 new and improved REEcorner architecture designs and the technology behind its EV platforms designed to support a broad range of commercial electric vehicles. REE intends to provide a comprehensive range of technical configurations to fulfill specific B2B customer needs, including EV platform size selection... Read more →
Magna is introducing a scalable solution enabling automakers to electrify their pickup trucks and light commercial vehicles without sacrificing utility and functionality. eBeam is a drop-in replacement for traditional beam axles, using existing suspension and chassis architectures. It integrates with a battery electric or hybrid powertrain system and offers a... Read more →
High-voltage batteries, electronics, and other vehicle components are exposed to a variety of punishing environmental influences during their life cycle. FEV, a leading global service provider in vehicle and powertrain development for hardware and software, supports manufacturers and suppliers with a comprehensive test facility capable of accounting for virtually all... Read more →
The Supervisory Board of Porsche AG agreed to increase its stake in Rimac Automobili from 15% to 24% with the investment of an additional €70 million. The Croatian company develops and produces high-tech components for electromobility, including high-performance drives and battery systems. It also produces electrically powered super sports cars.... Read more →
Trane Technologies is bringing Thermo King’s fully electric E-200 refrigeration unit for small trucks to the United States. Ideal for last mile delivery of foods, medicines, vaccines and other perishables, this solution was first launched in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). The E-200 is already in use with US... Read more →
Teijin and its joint development partner Applied Electric Vehicles have developed a polycarbonate solar roof for future mobility applications. The new solar roof uses Teijin’s Panlite polycarbonate resin glazing for its surface. Solar roof Teijin used its proprietary know-how in polycarbonate resin glazing and technologies to integrally mold the roof’s... Read more →
ARPA-E released $10 million in funding for 6 projects as part of the Connecting Aviation By Lighter Electrical Systems (CABLES) topic. CABLES is one of a set of projects supported by an ongoing funding opportunity for a range of the most innovative and unconventional ideas across the energy technology spectrum,... Read more →
Knorr-Bremse, a leading provider of braking systems and of other systems for rail and commercial vehicles, is bundling its know-how in the field of e-mobility in a new, in-house development unit, eCUBATOR. Up to 60 internal and external experts are to work on future solutions at the Knorr-Bremse locations in... Read more →
Nidec Corporation’s Board of Directors approved a resolution to acquire the shares of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Machine Tool Co., Ltd. , a company that designs, manufactures, and sells machine tools, cutting tools, and related products. The acquisition of the machine tool business complements Nidec’s existing businesses and strategy. Nidec has... Read more →
Rheinmetall Automotive has booked its first orders for an environmentally friendly fuel tank isolation valve (FTIV). Developed by Pierburg in Neuss, Germany, it is used in modern plug-in hybrid vehicles, which generally feature a hermetically sealed tank system so that fuel fumes cannot escape when the vehicle is operating in... Read more →
Volta Trucks has selected Meritor as the strategic drivetrain component supplier for the Volta Zero electric truck. This major purchasing milestone will support the delivery of Volta Zero vehicles for customer trials during 2021, and the start of series production around 12 months afterwards. The Volta Zero will be the... Read more →
The latest in ZF brake control solutions will be established as standard in Volkswagen’s ID.3 and ID.4 models as well as in Volkswagen Group’s globally marketed MEB modular e-drive system platform. Volkswagen Group’s order for the new ZF brake control system covers several million vehicles—starting with the recently introduced ID.3... Read more →
LG Innotek has developed a digital car key module with improved location detection precision and security. A digital car key module is a communication component that is installed in a car and allows wireless data transmission between a car and a smartphone. A digital key is a next-generation car key... Read more →
SAKOR Technologies Inc., a leader in the area of high-performance dynamometer systems, recently provided a performance test stand for validating designs for new hydraulic variable timing cam phaser systems for a major international provider of powertrain components. The cam phaser test stand will be used for research and development on... Read more →
Shin-Etsu Chemical has developed innovative silicone thermal interface materials for applications in electric vehicles (EV) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEV). With the electrification of automobiles, the demand for heat dissipation measures for lithium-ion batteries and for various other electronic control systems are increasingly becoming more sophisticated and diversified. With the... Read more →
At cruising altitude, airplanes emit a steady stream of NOx into the atmosphere, where the chemicals can linger to produce ozone and fine particulates. Previous research has shown that the generation of these chemicals due to global aviation results in 16,000 premature deaths each year. Now, MIT engineers are proposing... Read more →
Octillion Power Systems, a global provider of advanced lithium-ion batteries, is providing battery packs for all-electric motorcoaches and city transit buses offered by ABC Companies and Lightning eMotors. The order marks the company’s first time supplying batteries for motorcoaches and buses in North America. With its entry into the motorcoach... Read more →
Power management company Eaton has introduced a complete suite of solutions from its Vehicle Group to reduce vapor emissions produced during the refueling of gasoline-powered vehicles. Industry data reveals that significant amounts of hydrocarbons are commonly forced out through the filler neck and released into the atmosphere while a gasoline-powered... Read more →
Via its subsidiary Pierburg GmbH of Neuss, Germany, the Rheinmetall Group plans to supply hydrogen recirculation blowers to Daimler Truck Fuel Cell GmbH & Co. KG, the company which bundles all of Daimler AG’s activities in the field of fuel cell technology. The deal represents sales volume in the two-digit... Read more →
Volkswagen has provided an overview of the intelligent regenerative braking system on the ID.4 electric SUV. Regenerative braking can significantly boost the range of any electric vehicle. However, Volkswagen says, what should happen when drivers of electric vehicles take their foot off the right-most pedal is a nuanced design question.... Read more →
LG Electronics and Magna International announced a joint venture (JV) to manufacture e-motors, inverters and on board chargers and, for certain automakers, related e-drive systems to support the growing global shift toward vehicle electrification. The new company, tentatively called LG Magna e-Powertrain, combines Magna’s strength in electric powertrain systems and... Read more →
Middleware—a computing concept that has been around since the late 1960s, but that especially gained traction in the 1980s—is software that provides common services and capabilities to applications beyond what is offered by an operating system. Middleware serves, in effect, as a mediator between an operating system and software applications,... Read more →
Noble Gas Systems, a startup founded to create safe, conformable, lightweight compressed gas storage and delivery systems, has demonstrated its latest generation of conformable gas tanks, which can be configured into existing vehicle architectures. The new tanks, with working pressures of 350 bar (5,000 psi), are lightweight and less than... Read more →
Norsepower Oy Ltd., the leading global provider of auxiliary wind propulsion systems, announced its first newbuild order—the installation of a record five tilting Rotor Sails (earlier post) on board a large bulk carrier. The agreement marks the first installation of Norsepower’s innovative Rotor Sails on a bulk carrier, demonstrating the... Read more →
Tula Technology, Inc., a tech leader in improving propulsion efficiency and reducing emissions in passenger cars and commercial vehicles, announced that the one-millionth vehicle utilizing its award-winning Dynamic Skip Fire (DSF) technology (earlier post) was produced in November 2020. Unlike cylinder deactivation strategies that shut off a fixed number of... Read more →
Autonomous electric vehicles draw power from two sources: a high-voltage battery and, additionally, a conventional 12-volt battery that supplies the vehicle when idling or in high load situations while driving. Safety-critical systems such as brakes and steering can therefore be connected to two sources of power. But what happens when... Read more →
Hyundai Motor Group has unveiled its new Electric-Global Modular Platform (E-GMP), a dedicated battery electric vehicle (BEV) platform. Revealed online during an ‘E-GMP Digital Discovery’ event, the platform will serve as the core technology for Hyundai Motor Group’s next-generation BEV line-up. From 2021, the E-GMP will underpin a range of... Read more →
UK-based electrified powertrain engineering consultancy Drive System Design (DSD) announced a strategic expansion of its test facilities, adding two further test cells for high-performance hybrid axles and e-machines. The move reflects a growing demand for outsourced test capacity suitable for electrified powertrains, as the industry prioritizes its development in response... Read more →
The Product Development group at ArcelorMittal Tailored Blanks (AMTB) has developed a novel floor ring which integrates battery and occupant protection in battery electric vehicles (BEVs). The concept enables OEMs to integrate BEV powertrains in existing body architectures for internal combustion engine (ICE) models. The floor ring concept integrates passenger... Read more →
Volkswagen Group Components is the central supplier for the first models of the new Volkswagen ID. family and numerous other Group brand models based on the modular electric drive matrix (MEB). Volkswagen Group Components contributes around 40% of the overall added value of the first fully electric SUV by the... Read more →
Audi is now enabling faster charging with alternating current (AC). Effective immediately, e-tron 55 and e-tron Sportback 55 customers can order a second on-board charger that doubles the power from 11 kW to as much as 22 kW at appropriate charging terminals. This option will follow for the e-tron 50... Read more →
In a new report, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Air Enforcement Division (AED) estimates that the emissions controls have been removed from more than 550,000 diesel pickup trucks in the last decade. The AED report includes only tampering that involves the complete removal and disablement of emissions controls hardware.... Read more →
Freudenberg Sealing Technologies is starting high-volume production of its DIAvent pressure compensation component for the first time for use in a Chinese passenger car: the new ARCFOX α-T electric car from the Chinese manufacturer Beijing Electric Vehicles (BJEV). In 2017, Freudenberg introduced the innovative pressure compensation element DIAvent. In batteries... Read more →
IAV and Louisenthal, a technology leader in the production of security foils and papers for banknotes, have developed an energy-efficient heating concept for electric vehicles that requires considerably less energy while increasing comfort for drivers and passengers. This increases cruising range by up to 6%. At the heart of the... Read more →
REE Automotive (REE), the developer of an electric vehicle platform, and Iochpe-Maxion, a multi-billion dollar global leader in the production of automotive wheels and a leading producer of automotive structural components in the Americas, announced a partnership to co-develop and manufacture an exclusive wheel design and chassis solution for REE’s... Read more →
Nuvera Fuel Cells, LLC, a provider of fuel cell power solutions for motive applications, announced that its Nuvera E-45 fuel cell system is now commercially available. The most recent addition to the Nuvera product line, the E-45 fuel cell system enables seamless integration into commercial medium- and heavy-duty vehicle applications... Read more →
Volkswagen unveiled the latest generation of the brand’s performance halo, the new Golf R. In addition to improved power, torque and fuel economy, the new Golf R features a newly developed torque vectoring 4Motion all-wheel-drive system and a Vehicle Dynamics Manager. The new performance-oriented all-wheel-drive system is exclusive in North... Read more →
SAKOR Technologies Inc., a recognized leader in the area of high-performance dynamometer systems, recently upgraded an existing electric variable cam timing (eVCT) durability test system for a major international provider of powertrain components. Custom-designed for use with cam phasers driven by an electric motor, the new test stand will be... Read more →
HORIBA has introduced the automatic driving system ADS EVO, which is a driving robot for vehicle testing. The ADS EVO improves the efficiency of vehicle testing by reducing the number of repeat tests, laboratory operating costs, overall test time and the amount of human errors. The ADS EVO addresses changing... Read more →
In its fight against COVID-19 and for the protection of bus occupants, Daimler Buses is relying on a high fresh air content, a fast exchange of air and anti-viral high-performance particle filters in its vehicles. The effectiveness of these protective measures has been confirmed by a research report issued by... Read more →
Nuvera Fuel Cells, a US-based manufacturer of heavy-duty fuel cell systems, is now using BASF’s polyphthalamide (PPA) Ultramid Advanced N to manufacture several components in its latest generation of 45 kW fuel cell engines. The fuel cell engines will be integrated into transit buses and delivery vehicles in China over... Read more →
The use of artificial intelligence (AI) is a central element of the digital transformation process at the BMW Group. The BMW Group already uses AI throughout the value chain to generate added value for customers, products, employees and processes. The BMW Group continues to follow global developments in terms of... Read more →
As part of the FC Komp funding project of the German government, which runs until 2021, Pierburg GmbH, a member of the Rheinmetall Group, is currently involved in the development of a highly integrated high-power fuel cell driveline. The automotive supplier is contributing an innovative hydrogen recirculation blower, the development... Read more →
Allison Transmission, the largest global manufacturer of medium- and heavy-duty fully automatic transmissions and a supplier of commercial vehicle propulsion solutions, including electric hybrid and fully electric propulsion systems, launched eGen Power, Allison’s new series of fully integrated electric axles. The eGen Power product family, previously referred to as AXE... Read more →
MAHLE Powertrain’s (MPT’s) latest development of its passive MAHLE Jet Ignition (MJI) technology (earlier post) can now be added into existing engine designs with only minimal changes to the final machining process. Continued work throughout the lockdown period means that passive MJI can now be installed as a press-in unit... Read more →
EIT InnoEnergy announced a €4.2-million A+ investment in Elaphe Propulsion Technologies Ltd. (Elaphe), a developer of electric in-wheel-drive technology for electric vehicles. The investment will serve as a springboard to secure further growth. Elaphe’s approach to the in-wheel powertrain system is a fully modular platform, combining the in-wheel powertrain with... Read more →