ZF showcases its e-drive innovations at the IAA
ZF says it will use IAA Mobility to show “how cars will drive tomorrow: electrically, connected, safe.” For the first of these three points – electric mobility – the German supplier is moving away from standard off-the-shelf products. “In the market for electrified drives, ZF is positioning itself with a flexible platform approach that allows a wide range of drive configurations,” the company explains. “This is the key to achieving the shorter development times, faster innovation cycles, better integration and optimized costs expected by customers.”
ZF unveiled the technical foundation for this in the summer and is now bringing it to Munich: the SELECT e-drive platform. It comprises the electric motors themselves, inverter, converter, reduction gearbox and software. Each module comes as a kit with multiple technical options, allowing customers to configure the right drive – from an affordable solution for entry-level models to a high-end system for premium vehicles. Despite the many possible variants, the result is always a highly integrated drive that can be developed quickly and cost-effectively, since all modules are pre-matched.
At its Tech Day in July, ZF also presented another innovation now on display in Munich: the TherMaS thermal management system. Tailored for electric vehicles, it improves efficiency and increases acceptance of e-mobility, ZF says. By optimising thermal management and making more efficient use of drivetrain waste heat, tests showed TherMaS can boost electric range by up to 10 per cent in demanding winter conditions and even up to 30 per cent under extreme circumstances.“The use of propane as a refrigerant results in significantly better thermal performance at high and low temperatures, as well as a smaller and lighter system design,” the supplier adds.
While pure electric cars are gaining market share, hybrids have largely replaced combustion-only vehicles in most markets. For this segment, ZF has further developed its well-known eight-speed automatic transmission into the 8HP evo, designed for vehicle manufacturers “expanding their hybrid model range to meet different customer requirements.” According to ZF, it has enhanced the electrification and efficiency of the transmission, particularly in the electric motor and power electronics. The 8HP evo also uses fewer components than its predecessor, making it lighter and simpler to assemble.
With the 8HP evo, ZF taps into the SELECT platform and brings the new e-drives to hybrid cars. A plug-in hybrid can now deliver up to 200 kW of electric power, compared with a maximum of 160 kW in the previous generation. Torque rises from 500 to 600 Nm. Input shaft losses drop by 28 per cent, and ZF claims the overall improvements boost a PHEV’s electric range by up to 10 per cent – with the same battery size.
“In this way, we are ensuring that we can also fully exploit the possibilities of electrification in hybrid drives,” says Otmar Scharrer, Head of Development for Electrified Drive Technologies. Alongside the SELECT platform and the 8HP evo, ZF will also showcase its range-extender system in Munich – its IAA premiere after debuting at Auto Shanghai in April.
Beyond drive technologies, ZF will present chassis innovations at IAA, such as steer-by-wire and brake-by-wire solutions, as well as ZF ProAI – a scalable central computer for driver assistance systems.
“At ZF, innovations were and are the basis for a successful future,” says CEO Holger Klein. “We have consistently aligned our product range with the future of passenger car mobility and today we see ourselves ideally positioned for stable trends such as the software-defined vehicle and the electrification of the driveline.”
This article was first published by Sebastian Schaal for electrive’s German edition.
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