- Technological diversity is key to
fast decarbonization
- MAHLE is broadly positioned with components and high systems
expertise for battery electric drives, hydrogen engines, fuel cells
and the use of renewable fuels
- CEO Arnd Franz: "Our products are developed, tested and
ready for volume production"
- Group supplies over 120 international commercial vehicle brands
in the on- and off-highway sector
- MAHLE is represented in all current electrified trucks
- Group is involved in all current major hydrogen engine projects
and development projects for fuel cell vehicles
- MAHLE will present components and systems for climate-neutral
heavy-duty transport at this year's IAA Transportation
STUTTGART, Germany, July 23,
2024 Technological diversity is key to
fast decarbonization of the global transportation and
commercial vehicle sector.
"The wide variety of applications and requirements for
today's commercial vehicles will require an array of technical
solutions for sustainable drive systems which are just as
multifaceted," said Arnd Franz,
chairman of the MAHLE Management Board and CEO, at a technology
event in Stuttgart.
MAHLE is broadly positioned with components and high systems
expertise for battery electric drives, hydrogen engines, fuel cells
and the use of renewable fuels in order to actively shape
tomorrow's climate-friendly transportation sector. The automotive
supplier is extensively represented with components in all
electrified trucks that are currently being launched. In addition,
the group is involved in all current major hydrogen engine projects
and development projects for fuel cell vehicles.
The company supplies more than 120 international commercial
vehicle brands in the on- and off-highway sector. The commercial
vehicle segment accounts for about one-fifth of the company's
original equipment business, and the trend points up. MAHLE expects
particularly strong growth in China.
At the international commercial vehicle trade fair "IAA
Transportation" in September, the automotive supplier will present
its systemic approach to a fuel cell truck: with fuel cell
peripherals, thermal management, and a fully functional electric
axle with two integrated SCT electric motors.
Other world premieres include a new evaporative cooling
system and a bionic fan for demanding fuel cell and electric
vehicles. "Our products are developed, tested and ready for volume
production," Franz said. The IAA Transportation takes place from 17
to 22 September in Hanover,
Germany. The MAHLE stand is located in Hall 12.
Commercial vehicles are the backbone of the global economy. 80
percent of overland transport is carried out by commercial
vehicles. Each individual truck has an average annual mileage of
150,000 km to keep the flow of goods in the economy flowing. The
need for transport will continue to grow.
"Without the contribution of the transportation sector, there
will be no rapid decarbonization in transport," emphasized Franz.
"The industry must strike a balance between necessary climate
protection, global market developments and customer requirements
for reliable and affordable transport."
According to forecasts, purely electric trucks with batteries
and fuel-cell trucks will account for around 30 percent of global
production by 2035. This means that the internal combustion engine
will remain an essential drive system around the world for the
foreseeable future. Battery-electric drive systems will mainly be
used in the medium-duty truck segment and in the heavy-duty truck
segment on short-haul routes. Fuel cells and combustion engines,
powered by either hydrogen or other renewable fuels, capitalize on
their advantages on the long haul. MAHLE therefore stands for
technological diversity and, with its three strategic fields of
electrification, thermal management, and highly efficient
sustainable combustion engines, develops the best solutions for
every use case worldwide. In this way, the company enables the
reduction of the carbon footprint of road freight transport.
The MAHLE SCT electric motor (Superior Continuous Torque) is the
endurance champion among electric motors. Its high continuous power
and efficiency make it the ideal electric drive for heavy-duty
traffic in all-electric trucks and in fuel cell applications. At
the IAA Transportation, MAHLE will show a heavy-duty e-axle for the
first time, in which two SCT electric motors with a total output of
520 kW as well as the complete liquid management are compactly
integrated, demonstrating its systems expertise and the suitability
for series production of its innovations.
Together with a fully functional fuel cell, the e-axle, battery
cooling and fuel cell peripherals from MAHLE form a technology
exhibit. "This demonstrates how we can integrate our technologies,
including thermal management, into electric vehicles and thus
develop and optimize a wide range of options for different customer
applications," said Dr. Marco Warth,
vice president of Corporate Research and Advanced Engineering at
MAHLE.
The conversion of hydrogen into electricity in the fuel cell
places high technical demands on the vehicle—particularly with
regards to thermal management. MAHLE plays a leading role in this
field of technology. Also part of the technological exhibit is the
evaporative cooling device, presented as a world first at the IAA.
This technology ensures the optimal temperature for fuel cells and
offers up to 50 kW more cooling capacity in a given installation
space. This enables a reduction of the required fan performance and
reduces hydrogen consumption by up to 1.5 percent.
At the moment, hydrogen is the renewable fuel with the greatest
potential to decarbonize the transportation sector. Several
hydrogen engines are currently being tested at MAHLE. This year,
DEUTZ, another engine manufacturer using MAHLE components, will
enter series production. This flagship project will first focus
upon stationary engines before expanding to mobile, off-highway
applications. "We are very confident that serially-produced
hydrogen engines will enter widespread use as early as this
decade," said Franz.
But even the most modern and sustainable truck is useless
without the right infrastructure. "We welcome the fact that the EU
has set targets for the expansion of charging and refueling
facilities. Still, increased efforts in this sector will be needed
to serve a broad fleet of zero-emission vehicles," Franz said. "The
member states are now called upon – and we hope that they will go
beyond the minimum and accelerate expansion efforts. This will
ensure that industry – and, especially, the transport industry –
receive the planning security they need."
Franz reiterated that, for users to invest in emission-free
vehicles, it must make sense economically. Legislators, then,
should create a framework which allows the market to build
climate-neutral drives. In lieu of meticulous requirements and
technological regulations, renewable energy sources should be
promoted with market-based instruments, said the CEO. This could be
achieved by, for example, taking the effect upon the climate into
consideration when levying taxes, tolls or other payments.
Franz cited synthetic fuels – or biofuels, until synthetic fuels
are more widely available – as energy sources which should not be
underestimated.
These fuels could make an additional contribution to the
reduction of carbon emissions in the transportation sector. Some
regions, such as South America or
India, are already focusing fully
on biofuels. MAHLE also utilizes them wherever possible.
For example, in Germany, the
company uses the environmentally friendly HVO 100 fuel in its
shuttle traffic between the central warehouse in Freiberg am Neckar
and its two plants in Vaihingen an der Enz and Mühlacker, saving up
to 90 percent carbon in the process. In addition, the Group has
converted the approximately 70 diesel vehicles in its fleet in
Stuttgart to HVO 100 – reducing
annual carbon emissions by up to 250 tons.
About MAHLE
MAHLE is a leading international
development partner and supplier to the automotive industry with
customers in both passenger car and commercial vehicle sectors.
Founded in 1920, the technology group is working on the
climate-neutral mobility of tomorrow, with a focus on the strategic
areas of electrification and thermal management as well as further
technologies to reduce carbon emissions, such as fuel cells or
highly efficient, clean combustion engines that also run on
renewable fuels, such as hydrogen. Today, one in every two vehicles
globally is equipped with MAHLE components.
MAHLE generated sales of almost EUR 13
billion in 2023. Employing more than 72,000 people at 148
production locations and 11 technology centers, the company is
represented in 29 countries. (Last revised: December 31, 2023)
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