Electrified drive architectures are shaping progress in future automobile technology and are posing groundbreaking challenges for the vehicle industry. At the International Motor Show IAA, Schaeffler is showcasing future technologies for low-emission and zero-emission driving under the motto “Mobility for tomorrow.”
According to the company, Schaeffler’s engineers are working on drivetrains based on an all-electric or hybrid design and an internal combustion engine. All of the various concepts will make a significant contribution to the development of environmentally friendly drive architectures.
“We want to actively shape ‘Mobility for tomorrow,’” says Klaus Rosenfeld, CEO of Schaeffler AG. “The key to success is our broad range of technologies. We are continuously developing our products so that we can offer customized, comprehensive solutions for different drive concepts.”
Before the show, Rosenfeld provided detail as to the company’s strategy to address the shifting demands of vehicle design to come.
“Electric mobility is an important focal area for the future,” he said. “We will invest a further half a billion euros and hire an additional 1,200 employees in this area.”
In future, the development of electric drive technologies at Schaeffler will be managed centrally by an independent ‘E-Mobility’ business division, in which the company is bundling all its products and system solutions for hybrid and purely battery-driven vehicles.
With the latest generation of the electric axle, which is being presented at the IAA, Schaeffler has developed a modular system solution for hybrid vehicles and all-electric cars. During the development of alternative drives, a wide range of varying requirements in different regions of the world must be taken into consideration. According to the company, monitoring local emissions from vehicles is not enough. Sustainable mobility can only be successful if the entire energy chain is used as the assessment benchmark for drive concepts. Furthermore, to ensure that the energy reaches the vehicle, it must be stored as needed. All of this results in a large number of drive variants for which Schaeffler researches and develops individual solutions. This is how the automotive supplier creates tailored products, with which it supports the global automobile industry in the development of environmentally-friendly vehicle and drive concepts.
Schaeffler also uses technologies that improve the efficiency and performance of conventional drives. One solution is offered by the latest generation of the thermal management module (TMM), which is being presented at the IAA. It controls the cooling circuits of engines, transmissions, and, in the near future, also the cooling circuits of additional electric drives if required.
