The specialist in electric motors ePropulsion has presented a new 500W model called eLite. It is an outboard with much more modern design that is expected to shake up the market.
With the release, in January 2024, of eLite, with just 500W, the Chinese manufacturer faces the low-power segment with a model purposely designed for transportable use. The eLite electric motor is designed for dinghies or small sailing boats, for applications that need little power, despite a power in boost modality of 750 W. ePropulsion has adopted a design with the battery integrated into the vertical motor barrel, conferring it a more sophisticated look in comparison with the historical Spirit range. However, the battery, with a capacity of 378 Wh and a range of 45 minutes at full power, cannot be removed. It is necessary to charge the motor directly from a power supply network at 12, 110 or 220 V or through solar panels.
Boating, electric outboard motors
Electric truck, Volta Trucks signs a new agreement with Steyr
Steyr Automotive has revealed the new agreement with Volta Trucks that unveils the recovery of the production of its fully electric truck, Volta Zero. The agreement is fruit of intense negotiations and of a fruitful cooperation between the parties involved, as Steyr explained. «We are extremely satisfied with the signature of the agreement because it represents an important milestone for us for the manufacturing recovery in this crucial sector. Our team is strongly motivated to bring the innovative truck on roads together with our partner Volta Commercial Vehicles», we read in the press release. Volta Zero project has then resurrected and succeeds in it also through the big investor Luxor Capitol, United States fund.
Automotive, Nissan and Honda establish a strategic partnership
Historically in competition, the Japanese automotive companies Nissan and Honda have announced they are evaluating a strategic partnership for the segment of electric vehicles and of software, as well as in key components for electric vehicles and other complementary products. «Our sector lives a significant turning point due to the arrival of new players, in addition to historical automotive companies», declared Makoto Uchida, the managing director of Nissan and Toshihiro Mibe, CEO of Honda, specifically referring to the emerging Chinese automotive companies that promise more and more electric low-cost vehicles. «We cannot win this competition with a traditional approach», then the decision of shaking hands and of collaborating in the electrification field. Last year, Nissan announced huge investments for the production of electric vehicles in its English factory in Sunderland and foresees to invest 600 million Euros in Ampere, Renault unit that takes care of electric vehicles. Honda, in its turn, has already been committed to electric vehicles since 2022 with the Japanese technological Sony giant, with which it has created a new high-end car brand, Afeela.
Tacita releases new electric motorbikes on the market
Tacita Italian motorbike manufacturer, producer of electric models, has officially presented the 2024-range with the launch of 5 models in 2 versions and with various possible configurations, result of over 10 years of research and development. Tacita defines its range with the T-Cruise line, declined on the 2 Urban and Turismo models and the T-Race line, developed on the 3 Enduro, Motard and Motorally models. In 2025 Discanto and Pitbike Maestro will join them. The new models are provided with a 0.7mm-thick fairings in mixed carbon and ballistic Kevlar. The traction battery options are 9kWh for Enduro and Motard, and 13 kWh for Motorally, with a weight that does not exceed 196 kg. Interchangeable batteries allow a replacement in 3 minutes and the Battery Management System, equipped with proprietary software, allows increasing the range and the overheating prevention. All models have a continuity power of 11kW with a max power of 34kW, enabling their drive with A1 or B Driving licence. Today the motorbikes for 2024 are already in in pre-order in Europe on the site and since 2025 they will be available in Canada and USA, directly shipped from the headquarter at Poirino (Turin) to the new “Tacita North America” Headquarter.
Investment round worth 1.25 millions for the modular electric vehicles
To support the development of robotics and cybersecurity sectors, Cysero Euveca fund, promoted by AVM Gestioni SGR Spa Gestore Euveca SocietĂ Benefit, jointly with Kilometro Rosso, the scientific and technological park in Bergamo, has invested 1.25 million Euros in Next technology. It is a SME specialized in the design and implementation of a mobility system based on robotic modular electric vehicles able to connect one another autonomously on public roads, even while racing.
NExT project consists in the development not only of a vehicle but of a mobility system that bases its peculiarity on the intelligent collaboration, both digital and physical, among these transport means, a physical-internet where the robotics of Next modules is managed by an AI system able to organize the only modular transport in the world with transport of passengers in motion.
“This investment marks an important goal, but especially the establishment of an expansion course, where is concretized our ambition of using robotics to promote both smart and sustainable mobility. It is a reason for great pride for us having the opportunity of showing our vision to an investor with such a high profile, acknowledged both on a domestic and on an international scale, which has decided supporting and joining us in this exciting travel”, stated Tommaso Gecchelin, CEO of Next.
eVTOL, the first by Autoflight delivered
The high-tech Autoflight start-up has delivered its first eVTOL aircraft, the five-seater Prosperity, to an Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) player in Japan, which will make it fly on the occasion of the Osaka World Expo in 2025. In another recent milestone for the eVTOL innovator, AutoFlight’s CarryAll aircraft, the cargo variant of Prosperity, obtained Type Certification (TC) from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) on March 22, 2024. This marks the world’s first eVTOL aircraft above one ton to have been awarded type certification.
“The official delivery of the first Prosperity to a customer signifies a new chapter for AutoFlight as we begin to ship our innovative electric aircraft to global markets. Additionally, on the cargo side the receipt of orders for over 200 CarryAll planes already demonstrates a very strong market demand for our products”, said Tian Yu, founder and co-chairman of AutoFlight.
In February, AutoFlight presented the world’s first inter-city electric air taxi demonstration flight between the southern Chinese cities of Shenzhen and Zhuhai. AutoFlight’s Prosperity aircraft completed the significant milestone by autonomously flying the 50km (31 miles) route from Shenzhen to Zhuhai. The flight across the Pearl River Delta took just 20 minutes, a journey that would require three hours by car. This achievement marks the world’s first public flight of an eVTOL aircraft on a cross-sea and inter-city route.
Mecspe and Tecniche Nuove Media, a landmark for manufacturing industry
The 22nd edition of MECSPE achieved record numbers: 66,906 visitors, 92,000 square meters of exhibition space and 2,073 attending companies. The fair has scored its best results ever.
From March 6 to 8, Bologna was the hub of innovation in the manufacturing sector, with a programme rich in 72 conferences and 18 special initiatives.
A must for those who visited the trade fair was Tecniche Nuove Media booth, with a rich schedule of events and initiatives.
Here are the highlights of the three-day exhibition at Tecniche Nuove Media booth where specialized magazines, technical manuals, workshops and people were the protagonists:
During the three days of the exhibition, the booth attracted many people, including many young people, very interested and willing to be inspired, who attended workshops and hands-on demonstrations on how to use the technology. Professionals and students had the opportunity to attend workshops, panels and interviews. Here are just some of the topics covered: 3D printing, additives, recovery of raw materials from WEEE, Arduino and Python.
Undisputed star of the days was STEM influencer Greta Galli, who taught courses on 3D printing, open to all students. Following this, she challenged participants with a pop quiz titled, “How much do you know about 3D Printing?” The influencer was then interviewed during “I pomeriggi dell’Additive,” by journalist Emanuela Bianchi, editor-in-chief of “Il Progettista industriale” magazine. Other stars of the events at Tecniche Nuove Media booth included: Dario Gozzi, electronics and process control expert, contributor to PCB Magazine and other Tecniche Nuove trade magazines and author of the book “The Recovery of Raw Materials from WEEE,” presented at MECSPE by PCB Magazine editor-in-chief Riccardo Busetto; Michele Dibenedetto, market manager Educational Project at Omron Industrial Automation Europe; Emiliano Corrieri, founder of the Bending Academy, the only training school dedicated exclusively to sheet metal bending; Lino Garbellini, a journalist who has been reporting on technology in newspapers, magazines and books for more than 15 years; and Umberto Fioretti, industrial designer and founder of Formame, a company focused on training and consulting in SolidWorks, for which Fioretti has been a certified trainer since 2010.
Tecniche Nuove Group, with about 300 employees and more than 65 million euros in sales, is a leader in specialized publishing for manufacturing and professional activities in the Manufacturing, Healthcare, Architecture-Design, Building-Planting, Agriculture-Farming, Horeca and Retail sectors. With more than 147 publishing platforms, Tecniche Nuove Group has been operating in B2B communication for 60 years, training and informing companies and professionals. 1,500 books in the catalogue, 550,000 copies distributed monthly, 1,450,000 monthly contacts and nearly 250,000 visitors attending the Group’s trade fairs and conferences in a year represent the strength of the Country system’s professional culture and updating.
What’s new in the manufacturing sector?
The second edition of Manufacturing News is available! The online news programme by Tecniche Nuove Media’s Manufacturing Division highlights the most important sector updates, from current events and industry data to the latest technologies.
Here are the previews:
- European Artificial Intelligence Regulation approved
- ITS narrows the gap between demand and supply of skilled labour
- Launch of the Transition 5.0 Plan
- Copper shortage on the horizon
- The book | The Plastic Paradox: Did you know that plastic has only a 1% impact on the planet’s overall pollution
MECSPE Observatory: Relaunching manufacturing with NRRP
The MECSPE Observatory data for the third quarter of 2023 highlight the role of the NRRP in relaunching the sector and the companies’ desire for growth, despite the sector’s difficulties.
The NRRP contributes to the growth and digital transition of manufacturing companies, which have taken advantage of 4.0 incentives to make important investments that would otherwise be difficult to realise. Without incentives, more than 60 per cent of entrepreneurs would have reduced or renounced investments.
The companies plan to grow in the coming years also thanks to the Transition 5.0 Plan, integrating the digital transition with the energy transition, demonstrating a real desire to include sustainability in the production processes of a sector, the manufacturing one, that with its 511 thousand active companies [1] is still the backbone of the Italian economy.
The MECSPE Observatory showed that, although down from the same period last year, the majority of entrepreneurs in the sector (8 out of 10) reached a medium/high level of satisfaction with the current performance of their company.
Transition Plan 5.0
Turnover is holding up in the short term, remaining stable or growing for 63%, while, for almost two thirds of the companies, the order book is adequate. The sector, therefore, has no intention of slowing down; indeed, not a few companies are planning a growth path over the next two years (60%).
Thanks to the NRP, industry is gaining access to significant government resources. More than 50 per cent of entrepreneurs, in fact, applied for Industry 4.0 incentives to support their growth in order to invest in digital transformation (31%), R&D (14%), training (26%) and sustainability (14%), making investments that they would otherwise not have been able to make: 63% of entrepreneurs, in fact, would not have invested – or would have done so to a lesser extent – without the incentives.
Thanks to these investments, entrepreneurs were able to see an improvement in the productivity of their company (44%), technological equipment (35%) and, more generally, an improvement in working conditions (25%).
The positive impact of the 4.0 incentives paves the way for the 5.0 Transition Plan: one third of entrepreneurs are willing to take advantage of the new measure: today, more than 80 per cent of companies are also ready to innovate in terms of energy transition.
ESG and sustainability
Innovation towards Industry 5.0 also passes through sustainability and ESG criteria. As far as corporate sustainability is concerned, the number of companies describing themselves as fairly or very sustainable has increased, to 44% (vs. 37% last quarter).
The number of those measuring their CO2 footprint is also on the rise (at 23% vs. 20% last quarter), which is promising, and representative of the progress being made.
New challenges for the supply chain
The sector is also facing some critical issues related to the international geopolitical context: 44% of entrepreneurs say they are concerned about the consequences of recent international conflicts.
A situation of uncertainty that could have a strong impact on the Italian entrepreneurial fabric, not only for the supply of raw materials, but also for exports; in fact, 71% of the companies surveyed export. Inflation, energy costs and interest rates, on the other hand, are perceived with much less concern than in the previous quarter.
Digital growth and AI
Where does Italian manufacturing stand when it comes to digitisation? Almost 7 out of 10 entrepreneurs state that their company has experienced medium to high digital growth in recent years.
Among the technologies introduced in 2023 alone, cybersecurity, cloud computing and the internet of things excel; leapfrogging in 2024, on the other hand, is artificial intelligence, the introduction of which is planned by 13% of entrepreneurs, followed by further investments in cybersecurity and collaborative robotics.
Still on the subject of AI, the majority of entrepreneurs continue to have positive opinions about it, with more than 6 out of 10 believing it will bring benefits. In this regard, 25 per cent have already introduced it or intend to introduce it in their company, while 38 per cent are in the process of doing so.
Looking for qualified human resources
The manufacturing industry is looking for qualified human resources: the shortage of talent is one of the issues that has challenged the sector the most in recent times.
In fact, according to the MECSPE Observatory, in 2023 more than a half of the companies surveyed were significantly impacted by the difficulty in recruiting human resources (51%).
This figure is in line with recent Unioncamere reports, which show that in February 2024 127,270 specialized workers were being sought, but as many as 60% of these could not be found [3].
ITS at the service of companies
To overcome the shortage of qualified personnel, more and more companies have turned to cooperating with universities and ITS institutes, which deliver highly specialized training courses for technical fields and provide an alternative higher education to the university route, aimed at immediate entry into the world of work.
The employment data show that, 12 months after graduation, 86.5 per cent of the ITS graduates found a job [4], confirming the great value represented by these institutes in terms of the workforce. In general, it is fundamental for companies to collaborate with training institutes and universities to intercept new resources and young talents to support company growth and the new skills required by the market.
For this reason, almost 6 out of 10 companies in the MECSPE survey sample already collaborate with ITS and/or universities and almost 3 out of 10 companies are planning to do so.
Internal training incentives
On the other hand, with regard to the skills of internal staff, according to the Observatory, only 47% of the surveyed companies claim to have resources with adequate skills for their objectives.
Therefore, many of them have already taken steps to introduce in-house training courses (57%), while 13% intend to introduce them soon.
In fact, among the most popular government incentives in 2023 is the Training 4.0 Tax Credit, which more than a quarter of the sample would like to take advantage of
For 25 per cent of the companies, one of the main benefits of the investments was the ability to take advantage of more qualified personnel, demonstrating the positive impact of the incentives on training.
There is a growing need for new skills in companies, as many entrepreneurs in 2024 will introduce innovative technologies, primarily artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity and collaborative robotics; therefore, training resources becomes a priority.
[1] Movimprese data Q4 2023.
[2] MECSPE Observatory on the manufacturing industry, made by GRS Research and Strategy on a sample of 731 Italian manufacturing companies.
[3] Unioncamere-ANPAL, Excelsior Information System.
[4] INDIRE, Monitoring ITS Academy 2023.
Steel sheets in focus, the International Steel Sheet Summit
The International Steel Sheet Summit will once again take place at the TEMA Pyramid in Aachen, Germany, 24-25 April 2024.
The first edition of IESSS took place in 2022, since then new technology and progress has been made with Electromobility, where electrical steel sheets are the central product. Highly powerful electric drives must now be further developed. Moreover, high electricity costs and climate change are having an even greater impact on the global community and yet, further reduction of CO2 emissions is essential.
ESSS will bring all partners of this specific value chain together, to exchange experiences and to improve the power and efficiency of e-drives. This is an elementary condition to increase customers’ acceptance and awareness of this technology.
IESSS fosters collaboration among stakeholders for research exchange, aiming to enhance electric vehicle performance and increase customer acceptance through standardization.
Topics and sessions
Steel grades: compositions, microstructures, textures, mechanic and magnetic properties, dimensions, applications, customized grades for special motor designs such as EV (including design studies).
Production of es-sheets: melting, casting, cold rolling, annealing, coating, process-integrated testing methods, new process routes such as Twin-rolling, Belt-casting, additive manufacturing.
Processing technologies: cutting technologies such as stamping, laser cutting, join-ing technologies for stack production such as welding, interlocking, bonding, bond-ing varnishes like Backlack.
Modelling, simulation and testing: material properties, components, joints, process-es, innovative testing methods, characteristic values, drive cycle consideration for e-mobility, quality assessment and parts integrity.
Standardization: international standards for material and testing (ISO, IEC, EN), technical rules such as VDA (automotive) and others.
Other focuses: In addition to Electromobility, further processes to be discussed will focus on cutting, joining, production of electric drives, as well as their design and adaption in vehicles. Greater testing, scientific research, modelling and simulation of microstructure properties and the behavior of components in real operation is critical for further development.