Sponsored feature: FEV Day Of Future Mobility- Solutions

L-R (top row): Mr. Vijay Sharma, Dr. Henning Baumgarten, Mr. Philippe Lacassagne, Mr. Ventker Kai, Mr. Klaus Wolff, Mr. Sachin Wagh.
L-R (lower row): Mr. Manoj Panda, Mr. Ajith Kumaran, Mr. Prashant Tuli, Ms. Grace Overlander, Dr. Yashodhan Gokhale.

Automotive sector technologies have always been emission driven. To further achieve the global goals for clean mobility, the industry is striving for cleaner solutions with CO2 reduction technologies, hybridization, electrification and more.​

What’s the way forward and which mobility solution is most efficient, and what are the impacts of the choice of the mobility solution on the overall air quality in the atmosphere? Will overall CO2 reduce or are we just transferring the source?

These were the concerns discussed at this year’s 'FEV Day of Future Mobility — Solutions India', which saw participation from eminent automotive industry stakeholders. FEV India Managing Director, Mr. Vijay Sharma set the tone for the event in his inaugural speech, highlighting the transition for India Auto Inc after the BS VI era towards clean mobility solutions through hybridization, CO2 reduction further towards e-mobility solutions.

Dr. Henning Baumgarten, FEV Global Vice-President, Gasoline, in his presentation, made a persuasive appeal for technology openness and necessity for reduction of CO2, which was also recapitulated by all the speakers. He also emphasized the importance of advanced IC powertrain solutions for the future. He very proudly presented how the evolution of hybrid optimal engines facilitates higher CO2 savings at moderate add-on cost on the engine. The forecasts as regards which type of powertrain will have how much of a share in the future were interesting. Also, electrification in India is expected to enable the transition through micro and mild hybrids towards full battery electric vehicles.

FEV’s Technical Program Manager for Electrification, Mr. Ventker Kai, defended electro-mobility. In his opinion, both fuel cell technology and clean combustion engines will co-exist along with other electrification technologies. He also provided an insight on how a range extender module developed by FEV will provide high Tank-to-Wheel efficiency. He also pointed out that the combination of fuel cell and battery technologies leads to different topology concepts — FCEV (Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle) and FC-PHEV (Fuel Cell Plug-In Hybrid Vehicle) — contributing towards enhanced well-to-wheel efficiency.

Mr. SachinWagh, Chief Engineer – NEP & Vehicle, explained crash optimization for battery structures in sparring with the BIW. The strategy on how enhanced materials and manufacturing processes will enable refinements in optimized battery structures in an economic way was also discussed.

Mr. Manoj Panda, Department Manager - Diesel Powertrain, FEV India, drew attention to the advantages of advanced virtual development processes for stringent RDE regulations. He spoke about FEV’s unique approach for OBD fault simulation that is made possible through the exclusive FEV-ASM BOX.

Mr. Philippe Lacassagne, Chief Sales Officer STS of FEV, exhibited the best software solutions and testing services that FEV offers globally, in the areas of battery pack testing, inverter testing and e-motor testing.

Mr. Klaus Wolff, Vice-President, Vehicle programs and Integration at FEV, presented an extremely efficient solution that has a potential of considerable weight saving for electric vehicles. 'The Skateboard Chassis' is a concept developed by FEV that integrates batteries with vehicle chassis for potential weight reduction. Mr. Ajith Kumaran, Department Manager Electrification, FEV India, discussed a low-cost EV platform for an electric 3-wheeler, developed by FEV using a customized vehicle control unit incorporating safety features to enhance battery durability.

The clean mobility aspect was elaborated by industry experts as well. Mr. Prashant Tuli, General Manager — xEV, Maruti Suzuki India Limited, expressed his views on the barriers for EV adoption. Ms. Grace Overlander, CEO, Pinnacle Engines, presented her views on  novel ultra-efficient spark ignition engines. Dr. YashodhanGokhale, Vice-President, Octillion Power Systems, elaborated on future battery solutions for India.

We believe the automotive industry needs all the energy carriers and all the powertrain systems, from combustion engines with spectrum of its hybrid alternatives, via purely battery-powered EVs to fuel cell-driven vehicles, to meet the clean mobility demands.