Schaeffler tests innovations in electromobility in all environments

Schaeffler tests innovations in electromobility in all environments. In temperatures ranging from -40 °C to +150 °C or in salt fog.

Schaeffler specializes in testing entire systems as well as components of their own products within the Schaeffler Group. These tests are functional, life cycle tests as well as simulations of external environmental influences concentrated in individual test sequences, which are technically and technologically demanding and can perfectly test our innovations for hybrid and pure electric cars. In most cases, Schaeffler engineers are testing innovations and prototypes that will go into series production in a few years’ time. Some of them will also be part of autonomous vehicles.

Sequential tests are a block of up to a hundred different tests, including mechanical, electrical and environmental tests. The test facility is equipped with state-of-the-art technology, measurement systems and stations that meet the most stringent safety requirements.

Thanks to special climate chambers, Schaeffler can create a simulation of the real environment for the test sample as if it were in a real vehicle, including extreme situations. Schaeffler can control the ambient temperature, but also the temperature of the oil or coolant. Schaeffler engineers also use universal climate chambers in their tests, as well as salt chambers that are equipped with inputs to control the sample via additional measuring technology, or shock chambers to test samples during temperature shocks. In the shock chamber we can induce a thermal shock from +220 °C to -80 °C in 20 seconds.

A total bandwidth of electrification options

Only by electrifying the powertrain mechanism can future fuel consumption and emission targets be fully achieved. That’s why Schaeffler offers products covering the total bandwidth of electrification options – from 48-volt hybridization through plug-in hybrid technologies to all-electric vehicle drives.

Comau unveils new electric activation technologies

Editorial Staff

Comau recently unveiled electric activation and cell testing technologies as part of its full range of e-mobility solutions, offering a European alternative to the battery manufacturing process. The goal is to support customers at all stages, from lab-tested prototypes to giga-scale production. Comau’s proprietary technology offerings for electrical cell activation include the core processes that transform assembled cells into stable, electrically charged batteries-a crucial step in the battery manufacturing process, involving a series of charge and discharge cycles that ensure optimal cell performance and durability.
Comau also participates in several pan-European e-Mobility projects. For example, the company is helping to develop a more compact solution of electrical cell activation chambers and a storage management strategy, optimizing the recovery and reuse of electricity and heat.
«Demand for batteries is estimated to increase significantly between now and 2030, supported in large part by the goal of creating an autonomous European supply chain. Despite some recent uncertainty about the growth rate, the battery market is estimated to exceed 170 billion euros in 2030. Our extensive expertise and versatility will enable us to respond to these changing scenarios,» explained Pietro Gorlier, CEO of Comau.

Launch of 5 million Euros EU Horizon battery research project

Editorial Staff

A strong consortium of European partners within research, battery cell manufacturing, testing, and battery system providers has launched the EU Horizon DigiBatt Research Project – a significant initiative aimed at addressing the growing demand for batteries in Europe and the need for clean and sustainable energy solutions.

DigiBatt is dedicated to reducing the cost and time to market for new batteries by combining traditional battery testing methods with cutting-edge digital technology.
The primary objective of the project is to standardize, automate, and expedite the battery testing process through innovative methods. This involves creating standard semantic data models for battery testing, establishing a digital-twin infrastructure to connect experimental testing setups with virtual testing workflows, and implementing automatic test triggering and data-driven approaches to facilitate intelligent experiment design and customized testing workflows. Ultimately, the project strives to develop reliable new models for predicting battery lifetime and safety within system-level infrastructure.

These developments are expected to streamline testing workflows, enhance the quality of results, and make digital battery testing accessible to the broader battery community by developing open-source solutions. Francesca Watson, Research Scientist at Sintef and project coordinator, explains «The forecasted battery demand of 450 GWh in Europe by 2030 highlights the urgency and significance of initiatives to support the transition to a sustainable and low-emission future. The DigiBatt project will be a big step in the right direction as the potential for advances in battery testing and new digital tools is huge. By establishing a common way to describe and share all the data, we will get more learning from the data we already have. This will enable the DigiBatt project to develop more advanced simulation tools, more efficient testing as well as shorten the time for new battery».

The aero-taxi by AutoFlight has passed the first transition test

Editorial Staff

Great success for the first recent transition flight test of Prosperity aero-taxi with vertical take-off by the Chinese company AutoFlight, which has risen to an altitude of 150 metres, reaching a maximum speed of 198 km/h. A transition occurs when a plane moves from a vertical to a horizontal motion and it is one of the most committing parts for an eVTOL.
The vertical test flight of the Prosperity I concept has needed eight rotors to lift the 1,500 kg of the electric aircraft into the air. Once the plane has reached an altitude of 150 metres and the relative speed of 160-170 km/h, the fixed-wing part of the eVTOL has generated a lift. In this stage, Prosperity I has entered the transition phase: top rotors have stopped turning and are blocked in an aerodynamic position whereas rear propellers have pushed the aircraft forward as a conventional fixed-wing aircraft.
However, let us go back to the plane: Prosperity I is an innovative eVTOL with declared autonomy of 250 km at a maximum cruise speed of 200 km/h. The design is lift & cruise, with the passenger pod surmounted by a pair of big wings, equipped with long propulsion pods.
AutoFlight hopes to obtain the certification with both the Chinese CAAC and with the European EASA within 2025 to perform the function it has been designed for: short transfers among city zones, transfers to the airport and connections between two neighbouring cities, so avoiding the road traffic. It is estimated that a travel taking hours by car will be reduced to about 10 minutes with eVTOL, without being less safe or more expensive than a taxi ride.

Testing facilities: innovation in UK

Editorial Staff

MAHLE Powertrain has announced the completion of two new facilities in Northampton, the result of a £15m (US$18m) investment over the last five years.
The purpose-built facilities allow MAHLE Powertrain to support customers with the development of decarbonized propulsion technologies, with a focus on mobility, safe testing of vehicles, batteries, and hydrogen technologies under extreme simulated environmental conditions.
The center was declared open for business by Andrew Lewer, MP for Northampton South.
«We’re extremely proud of our new test facilities which complement our end-to-end development process – said Simon Reader, MAHLE Powertrain’s managing director – As the industry accelerates the development of a new generation of vehicles that will offer carbon-neutral solutions for the transport sector, it creates a huge demand for testing facilities. Our new center has been designed with both battery and future-fuelled vehicles in mind and provides a spread of capabilities that is almost unique anywhere in the world».
The new Vehicle Development Centre (VDC) allows manufacturers to test both two and four-wheel-drive vehicles in a variety of conditions and circumstances, without international travel. The facility can replicate the conditions of arctic climates, deserts, tropical rainforests and mountainous regions. The facility also supports the testing of hydrogen-fuelled technologies by monitoring and safely venting any escaping gases.
Andrew Lewer, MP for Northampton South, said: «I’m delighted to be able to declare this important new facility open for business. MAHLE Powertrain’s investment recognizes the huge wealth of engineering talent in this country, and this region in particular – a stone’s throw from the heart of British motorsport – with 160 skilled technicians and engineers already employed at the site».

Aerospace: solutions for tests on electric motors

Editorial Staff

One of the most critical aspects for electric or hybrid aircrafts, deemed by many people the main future means of transport, are the high safety and redundancy standards they must conform to. Concerning the certification, Easa (European Aviation Safety Agency) is working at a new specific regulatory framework for this type of aircrafts, while FAA (Federal Aviation Administration of United States) has decided adapting the certification procedures of small airplanes to eVTOL.
Therefore, this might lead to satisfy different requisites, with the possibility of having to obtain a double certification, in other words an eVTOL project developed in one of the two continents can need substantial modifications and additional validations to be compliant in the other.
For specific applications, HBK relies on solutions such as eDrive, a platform of power and data acquisition analysis for the execution of innovative tests on electric motors. eDrive consists of two components: a power analysis device and a data collection system, which detects in synchronous modality electric signals, torque, speed, temperature, acceleration, CAN bus signals and other variables.
Moreover, the possibility offered by the system of storing raw data allows the user to analyse the data in post process, using complex functions equipping the software. eDrive Testing offers then unique functions compared to standard power analysis devices and can be used also with multi-phase and multi-channel applications.

Testing of electric vehicles: the new centre of Emitech Group

Editorial Staff

Emitech Group has just bought the French technical centre of Vitesco Technologies situated in Osny town. This new test centre enhances testing performances of Emitech Group, especially the validation of all vehicle technologies and more specifically of its powertrain group.
With an electric power of 2×800 kVA, a laboratory environment taking up over 1000 sq. m. and an overall area of 6000 sq. m., Osny site is an ideal base for the development of batteries and electric motor activities inside the Group.
The structures host 3 test benches of motors, climatic chamber, roll test bench. This acquisition represents a starting point in the forefront testing course: Emitech Group is investing several million Euros to assure the development of testing structures to test batteries, electric motors and their electronic control systems, as well as hydrogen power supply technologies.
All these competences and the long expertise gained essentially address the automotive industry but they extend to all road vehicles, as well as railway, maritime, energy and aeronautical sectors.

Volvo invests in a new laboratory in Shanghai

Editorial Staff

Volvo Electric Site to provide model for sustainable construction in China

To design and to manufacture in-house electric motors for the next car generation, Volvo Cars has inaugurated in Shanghai, in China, a new laboratory precisely dedicated to electric propulsion systems. This structure, in operation since last month, joins the unit that constantly develops electric motors in Gothenburg, Sweden, and modern laboratories for batteries in China and Sweden.

«Through in-house design and development processes, we will be able to perfect our electric motors, reaching higher and higher qualitative levels. Constantly ameliorating the overall performance levels of propulsion systems in terms of energy efficiency and comfort, we create an electric drive experience that exclusively identifies Volvo brand» – stated Henrik Green, Chief Technology Officer of Volvo Cars.

The laboratory activity will focus on the development of electric motors for applications in purely electric and hybrid cars based on the modular architecture for SPA 2 vehicles. The future of the brand is well outlined: the target is rising to 50% the share of fully electric models out of the total of global sales by 2025, with the remaining part constituted by hybrid models.

Good news about fast recharge

Editorial Staff

State-of-the-art columns for fast recharge, developed by Nidec ASI are ready. Some days ago, the Italian company delivered the University Federico II in Naples the first Ultra Fast Charger column for electric cars that minimizes the impact on the electric net, a test aimed at assessing the technology validity for the widespread diffusion on the territory under various conditions, also in compatibility with photovoltaic systems.

The Ultra Fast Charger is entrusted with the task of simplifying and speeding up the electrification process of infrastructures and of decreasing operational costs to recharge electric vehicles: the presence of 160 kWh internal batteries allows not drawing directly from the network, so avoiding power peaks and consequent blackouts. Despite an energy requirement of just 50 kW, it allows supplying the vehicle with 320 kW power, achieving 80% of the capacity in less than 15 minutes.

Electric cruise motors under testing for NASA’s first all-electric X-plane

Editorial Staff

An important step forward for the X-57 Maxwell, NASA’s first all-electric X-plane.
Several rounds of tests, high power, and endurance testing are undertaken at Empirical Systems Aerospace, or ESAero, of San Luis Obispo – California, to verify that the electric cruise motors are ready before they are installed in the X-57 vehicle itself.
X-57, modified from a Tecnam P2006T airplane, is currently in its first of three configurations as an all-electric aircraft, called Modification II, or Mod II.
Only at last phase 12 smaller high-lift motors along the wing’s leading edge will be ready to be activated during takeoff and landing.
All three mods of X-57 will utilize the same cruise motors and these verification and validation steps are to reduce risks and increase the safety and reliability of the components on the vehicle.
The results from cruise motor functionality acceptance and qualification tests will help in the effort to set airworthiness standards for electric aircraft.