At a recent ‘Tech Day,’ Mahle, the German automotive supplier, shed light on its groundbreaking developments in the field of e-mobility. Departing from merely selling individual components, the company is now emphasizing its system competence in the eMobility business.
Central to this shift is the introduction of their innovative electric drive system, a modular technology that amalgamates the best features of SCT (Superior Continuous Torque) and MCT (Magnet-free Contactless Transmitter) electric drives. By combining high performance and contactless power transmission while eliminating rare earths, this cutting-edge system promises exceptional efficiency. It is noteworthy that Mahle had first mentioned the development approach in 2021.
Moreover, Mahle unveiled a new thermal management module that integrates essential components, effectively reducing installation space, development efforts, and overall costs. This integrated module leads to significantly enhanced system efficiency, with the potential to extend the vehicle’s range by up to 20 percent. Both groundbreaking products are slated to make their debut at the highly anticipated IAA Mobility event in September 2023.
Chairman of the Mahle Group Management Board, Arnd Franz, expressed their commitment to establishing Mahle as a leading system champion in e-mobility. He emphasized the crucial role of system competence in the successful electrification of vehicles, citing the complexities that arise due to the intricate interaction of individual components in electric drives.
Being historically rooted as a supplier for combustion engines, Mahle has actively embraced the transformation towards electromobility. With an eye on the future, the company now envisions nearly three times higher sales potential for battery-electric cars compared to conventional combustion engine vehicles. Leveraging their expertise in thermodynamics, Mahle aims to transfer knowledge to electromobility, particularly in the cooling of the drive and batteries, which is essential for fast charging.
According to Mahle’s press release, thermal management plays a pivotal role in determining key factors affecting end customer acceptance of electric vehicles, such as battery lifespan, cruising range, drive system performance, and fast-charging capability. The newly developed thermal management module addresses this complexity, promising increased efficiency and streamlined operations.
In the domain of charging infrastructure, Mahle is actively exploring wireless charging as a convenient and promising alternative alongside traditional wired solutions for long-term parking (Mahle chargeBIG). Collaborating with Siemens, Mahle is at the forefront of developing an integrated system comprising infrastructure and vehicle technology, with the aim of setting industry standards for inductive charging systems. Notably, the Tech Day showcased a novel automated positioning system for this charging technology, wherein the vehicle autonomously detects the induction surface on the ground, providing the driver with positioning support.
