• AB Dynamics showcases capability to replicate simulated swarm testing in the real world and vice-versa
• Enables thousands of iterations of virtual tests to be accurately correlated in the real world
• AB Dynamics is the only company to use a common toolchain which enables complex scenario testing to be simply ‘copy and pasted’ saving time and cost
MAHLE Powertrain has unveiled plans to invest in a second test chamber at its Real Driving Emissions (RDE) Centre in Northampton UK. The chamber will be ideally suited to develop and validate electric vehicle performance under wide-ranging climatic conditions and will be equipped with a four-wheel drive dyno and a battery emulator, as well as safety measures to enable testing of vehicles powered by hydrogen. The latest investment comes as a result of unprecedented demand for the RDE Centre’s facilities, originally opened in 2018.
“This next phase of our on-going investment programme at the RDE Centre will provide vital extra facilities for our vehicle manufacturer and tier 1 customers,” says David Pates, Head of Engineering . “Since the original opening in July 2018, our hypobaric & climatic test chamber has been in virtually constant use. This was even the case during lock-down conditions last year, when we helped manufacturers to sign off whole vehicle test programmes despite Covid-19 travel restrictions. While avoiding costly delays at the time, it also points the way to a reliable, faster and more cost-effective way to undertake such programmes post-pandemic.”
MAHLE’s research estimates that in 2035, globally 73% of passenger cars will still make use of an internal combustion engine (ICE) as part of their propulsion system, while MAHLE Powertrain estimates this will still be over 50% by 2040, so demand for the existing test chamber is forecast to continue as ICE development refocuses on hybridised units. “Given that statistic, it therefore made perfect sense to have a second chamber with a battery emulator, suitable for EV development,” says David Pates. “This second chamber will have an operational temperature range of -20 oC to +40 oC with the ability to simulate solar loading. For hydrogen-fuelled vehicle development we are building-in safety measures such as blast walls and a domed chamber roof for stray H2 gas collection. We plan for the new chamber to be ready for customers by the end of Q1 2022.”
The £5.1m investment is being part-funded by a £1.5m grant from the South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership (SEMLEP), a public-private sector-led organisation tasked with promoting economic growth in the region. Judith Barker, Director of Programmes and Governance at SEMLEP, said “We are really pleased to be able to support MAHLE Powertrain’s continuing investment into EV development at Northampton. Enhancing technologies and decarbonising our transport choices is very much aligned to our Local Industrial Strategy priorities and the ambitions of the Oxford-Cambridge Arc. We look forward to this further success and see this new facility as an important part in supporting the economic recovery of the South East Midlands post COVID-19.”
MAHLE Powertrain’s latest announcement comes after news of a number of recent investments for its facilities around the globe, including a new powertrain dyno at their US facility in Michigan and a new e-axle test facility in Fellbach, Germany. Following on from its investment in battery cell test facilities last year, the UK site in Northampton has also unveiled plans for a significant battery pack testing facility which will open later in 2021.
“Our heritage is founded on ICE development, dating back to the first Cosworth road car engines, and since those times we have some notable landmark engines to our credit. However, back in 2008 we could see the way the future of the automotive industry was developing and have been keenly focussed on our dual propulsion strategy of ICE and electrification for over a decade now,” concludes Pates. “There has never been a more technically challenging time in auto powertrain development and our aim is, as always, to help our customers develop the most effective powertrain possible within their budget and timescale. In that respect at least, nothing’s changed.”
https://www.mahle-powertrain.com
• SYNETIQ reflects on the way its IT team implemented four new improvements to the way it serves customers
-1200x574.webp "MAHLE Powertrain sets its sights on e-mobility of the future 4")
MAHLE Powertrain (MPT) is expanding its portfolio with an intensified focus on e-mobility. Over recent years, the development service provider headquartered in Northampton, UK has established itself as a strong partner for companies in the automotive and commercial vehicle industries and other sectors—and it is aiming for further growth in 2021. A total of EUR 12 million is to be invested in the construction of five new testing and development facilities. The MAHLE subsidiary already operates state-of-the-art equipment at locations in the UK, the USA, Germany, China, and Brazil, where it develops innovative solutions for its global customers.
“Our portfolio includes electrification, the development of fuel cells, and solutions to support the use of hydrogen and alternative fuels in smart electrified combustion engines. We want to grow further in this area in particular,” Simon Reader, MAHLE Powertrain’s Director of Engineering, explained at a press conference. “We’re in an excellent position to help our customers develop their sustainable mobility solutions.”
MPT’s main activities lie in the design, simulation, and development of batteries, fuel cells, electric motors, and powertrains, transmissions, software, vehicle electronics, and control systems. That is why the MAHLE subsidiary also aims to increase its focus on the further training and retraining of its employees in these fields in particular.
New battery development center
With the construction of a test center for traction batteries in Northampton in 2021, the company will fulfil the next step of its electric powertrain strategy. The new facility will have a dedicated area for the construction of battery modules and three climatic chambers for testing complete battery packs. It will be available from this autumn for battery development and validation as well as for measuring and optimizing charging and discharging processes. MPT’s first development unit designed to test batteries under various climatic conditions went into operation in 2019.
New test rig for electric drives
In Stuttgart, Germany, MPT now operates a new test rig for electric drives. This equipment is being used to develop and test e-axles and e-drive units for a wide range of electric and hybrid vehicles.
New RDE test chamber
In addition, MAHLE Powertrain will open a second test chamber at its Real Driving Emissions (RDE) Centre in Northampton,UK this year. The chamber will be ideally suited for the development and validation of electric vehicles under a wide range of climatic conditions and will be equipped with a four-wheel-drive chassis dyno and a battery emulator. It will also have all the safety features needed for testing hydrogen-powered vehicles.
Further new test facilities in Germany and the United States will focus on the development of e-bike drives and the targeted ongoing optimization of clean internal combustion engines.
Power management company Eaton and Tenneco have 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 for vehicle manufacturers. In Europe, the next stage of emissions standards, known as Euro 7 (for light-duty vehicles) and Euro VII (for heavy-duty), are targeted for introduction in 2025. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have similar actions planned for 2024 and 2027, respectively. Collectively, these new regulations will reduce tailpipe NOx limits by 90 percent, thus accelerating the need for global engine manufacturers to employ additional emission reduction strategies.
Under terms of the agreement, Tenneco’s Cold Start Thermal Unit (CSTU) will be combined with Eaton’s TVS® blower technology. The integrated exhaust thermal management system will provide heat directly to the vehicle’s aftertreatment system, which is essential for reducing harmful exhaust emissions. Upon heating the SCR catalyst to approximately 200 – 250 degrees Celsius, the aftertreatment system can efficiently convert NOx into clean emissions (e.g., nitrogen and water particles) upon exiting the SCR catalyst. Eaton’s electrically driven TVS Roots blower allows the airflow to be efficiently and precisely controlled so the CSTU can maintain optimal aftertreatment temperatures.
“CSTU is an active thermal management technology that rapidly heats and maintains the emission control system temperature,” said Nick Morley, director, global advanced engineering, Tenneco’s Clean Air business group. “Since the majority of emissions are generated during the initial start of engine operation and during extended idle conditions, the addition of an integrated exhaust thermal management system in front of the catalyst enables rapid light-off and efficient NOx conversion through the full range of operating conditions.”
“It became clear about three years ago that future CARB and EPA NOx regulations would be drastically stricter than they are today, and the exhaust thermal management system is an effective technology to actively heat up an aftertreatment system for commercial vehicle diesel engines to dramatically reduce cold-start NOx emissions,” said Justin Hopkins, technology development manager, Eaton’s Vehicle Group.
“Tenneco is an established leader in the design and development of aftertreatment solutions,” said Dmitri Konson, vice president global engineering for Tenneco’s Clean Air business. “We are pleased to partner with Eaton to develop a fully optimized system for engine manufacturers, leveraging our aftertreatment technology and engineering capabilities.”
The integrated exhaust thermal management system is already drawing attention from several global manufacturers, who are currently selecting which powertrain technology will help them meet future emissions regulations. By adopting this solution complicated multi-injector, light-off catalyst systems, with close-coupled packaging can be eliminated thereby reducing complexity. The CSTU and TVS blower will be sold individually by Tenneco and Eaton, respectively, but will be engineered as a system enabling vehicle manufacturers to seamlessly integrate the components.
SYNETIQ is delighted to announce it has renewed its multi-year agreement with Covéa Insurance, to continue providing salvage management and green parts supply across the UK. SYNETIQ and Covéa’s shared values and strategic alignment are seen as the primary reasons for the success of the partnership.
Alastair Sherwin, Claims Motor Engineers Manager at Covéa Insurance, said “SYNETIQ’s values of care, simplicity and integrity align perfectly with our own vision, and we’ve stood side by side throughout the pandemic to continue helping our customers.
“SYNETIQ are transparent, reliable and friendly to deal with, and operate with high standards in compliance, GDPR protection and ISO accreditation. We’re also impressed with the way they’re investing in the future, as we all strive towards becoming more sustainable,” continued Alastair.
Simon Schofield, Client Director at SYNETIQ, said: “Having worked with Covéa on designing and implementing new processes, I am delighted that our excellent relationship has been recognised with a new agreement. Our recent investments in new technology, reporting and processes are in-line with our corporate strategy. As we look to the future, we will be focusing on providing a great service, with sustainability at the core.”
SYNETIQ has recently implemented new storage and recovery processes, along with document and key management, to maximise efficiency and customer experience for Covéa and its policyholders.
SYNETIQ, the UK’s largest integrated salvage and vehicle recycling company, recently announced a new, state-of-the-art facility for processing electric vehicles at its Winsford site. As the UK heads towards a ban on new petrol and diesel car sales by 2030, SYNETIQ is gearing up its capacity to process new vehicle technology at scale.
Covéa Insurance is part of the French mutual insurance group Covéa and was established in the UK over 60 years ago. It offers a range of insurance services, including commercial, motor, property and protection, as well as life and critical illness cover.
For more information on this SYNETIQ story, or to arrange an interview, please use the contacts below.
Prodrive is working with Volta Trucks to help engineer its revolutionary 16-tonne electric HGV designed, not only to meet zero emissions requirements, but also to help keep vulnerable road users safer in crowded urban environments. The Volta Trucks concept HGV positions its driver low down, centrally and forward of the front axle, to give uninterrupted vision at street level through 220 degrees. Prodrive will help develop the design into a drivable demonstrator by early summer 2020.
According to the London Mayor’s office, 23% of pedestrian and 58% of cyclist deaths in London involved a Heavy Goods Vehicle, despite HGVs making up only 4% of road miles in London*. By positioning the driver in the centre of the cab at eye level with a pedestrian; using extensive cabin glazing and replacing conventional rear-view mirrors with cameras, dangerous blind spots are eliminated. Passenger seating is arranged behind the driver, on either side.
To further reduce potential hazards, the truck uses bus-style doors on both sides with a slide/swing action to minimise intrusion into the path of pedestrians or cyclists, and allowing the driver to easily access the central driving position. To maintain compatibility with existing loading bays, the rear of the truck and the tail lift arrangement follow conventional practice. This approach means the demonstrator vehicle can be created by combining an existing donor rear chassis ladder frame with the innovative cab and frontal arrangement.
Targets for the truck include a range of 100 miles, a top speed of 50 mph and a gradeability sufficient to briskly negotiate the on-off ramps and slip roads typical of urban elevated routes. To maximise payload, the new cab will be a composite-clad spaceframe structure, the composite panels using natural rather than carbon fibres. The vehicle can be produced in a range of sizes from 14-18 tonnes.
Such is the pressure to improve urban air quality as quickly as possible, that Volta’s target is to show the finished prototype vehicle in mid-2020 and make it available for driving demonstrations later in the year. In parallel with the demonstrator schedule is a program to manufacture a fleet of prototypes for field trials in London and Paris with interested parties during 2021.
During the manufacture of the prototype batch, Prodrive will gradually hand over build responsibility to the confirmed production supplier, but will retain engineering responsibility and oversee ongoing development. The target manufacturing volume is 2000 units per year.
The world’s most successful independent motorsport constructor establishes its official restoration programme as interest builds in its historic cars, including Subaru Imprezas, BMW M3s and Aston Martins.
Prodrive is seeing a growing demand for its historic race and rally cars and has launched Prodrive Legends, a new operation dedicated to the authentication, restoration and support of these cars.
The creation of Prodrive Legends is a direct response to a significant rise in requests from vehicle owners to verify the provenance and then restore race and rally cars that Prodrive has constructed over the last three decades. There are also an increasing number of opportunities to race historic competition cars and a dramatic rise in values, especially for vehicles that have won high-profile events, fuelling the market for historic cars.
Since its formation in 1984, Prodrive has built more than 1,100 race and rally cars, from the first Porsche 911 SC RS to the latest Aston Martin Vantage GT cars. These cars have won titles across a range of motorsport disciplines, from World Rally titles for Subaru with Colin McRae, Richard Burns and Petter Solberg, to world sports car and Le Mans titles with Aston Martin and Ferrari; and British Touring Car Championships with BMW and Ford.
“Many of these cars are now appreciating classics with immense value to their passionate owners,” says Paul Howarth, head of motorsport operations. “With the formation of Prodrive Legends, owners can now bring the cars home to the same company – and even many of the same people – who originally designed and built them and took them to multiple wins.”
The programme, which only covers Prodrive vehicles, includes: a ‘fixed price’ authentication service that will verify whether a chassis is a genuine Prodrive car; factory specification engine rebuilds in Prodrive’s new powertrain centre; and whole-vehicle work from servicing and race preparation to ground-up restorations to the original Prodrive specification.
Over the years, Prodrive has built more than 700 Subaru rally cars, including nearly 100 Impreza and Legacy Group As and 160 Impreza World Rally Cars. In the 1980s the company also built nearly 40 BMW E30 M3s and, more recently, nearly 50 Aston Martin racing cars based on the DB9 and a further 180 on the previous generation Vantage.
All restoration work, including chassis, engine, transmission and bodyshell preparation, is carried out in-house at the company’s world-class engineering facility in Banbury.
For owners of ex-Prodrive vehicles or those considering purchasing one, utilising the expertise of Prodrive Legends offers numerous benefits, as Howarth explains: “Quite simply, there is nobody in a better position to rebuild a Prodrive car – we literally know them inside out and many of the people we have on the Prodrive Legends team built the cars originally.
“What’s more, we have all the original build data and also hold the rights to reproduce key parts of the cars, while sourcing genuine components that are notoriously hard to find doesn’t pose an issue thanks to the network of contacts we have established since the early 1980s.”
He continued: “The level of our work pays dividends for customers who wish to compete with their car and those that lean more towards seeing it as an investment. Some owners choose to run their cars in less demanding exhibition events or merely show them, but any car that leaves us will be turnkey and ready to run competitively.
“For those that wish to optimise the value of their car, as well as its performance, having Prodrive Legends authenticate and rebuild it ensures that it meets market expectations, where only the cars with the most impeccable provenance command the highest prices. The difference between two cars that are similar in all respects other than provenance can run into tens of thousands of pounds or, if there is evidence of significant competition success, even six figures.”
Grainger & Worrall, the leading specialist in casting and materials technology, has experienced a new demand for its flexible and rapid machining expertise during the COVID pandemic, from automotive manufacturers and suppliers seeking to protect their supply chain operations. The globalised automotive supply chain that sustains automotive production has been under increased strain due to the international lockdowns and variance on worldwide legislation that has hampered the ability of suppliers to continue operation, or to ship completed orders on time.
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