Continental and DeepDrive develop wheel hub drive with integrated brake for EVs

Continental has entered a strategic partnership with Munich-based high-tech company DeepDrive to develop core technologies for electric vehicles. Both companies will jointly develop a combined unit comprising drive and brake components for mounting directly on the vehicle wheel.

While DeepDrive is a specialist in the development of efficient electric motors, Continental will contribute its technological know-how in brake systems and its expertise in the industrialisation of innovative technologies.

“With DeepDrive, we have gained a strong partner with whom we can jointly and sustainably advance the market penetration of electric mobility,” says Matthias Matic, head of Continental’s Safety and Motion business area. “The electric motors developed by DeepDrive extend the range of electric vehicles. They are lighter, more economical, and more resource efficient. Combining all that with our efficient, high-performance brake technology to produce a new, compact unit is a decisive contribution to the success of electric mobility. What belongs together grows together here.”

“We are convinced that the development of our dual-rotor motor will revolutionize the electrification of motor vehicles,” says Felix Poernbacher, co-founder and managing director of DeepDrive. “The strategic partnership with Continental makes it possible to combine our drive system with the brake technology needed to create an innovative electric component essential to the mobility of tomorrow. The soaring demand for such technology demonstrates that this is the right way to go.”

Both companies see great potential in their collaboration as the electrification of vehicles makes it possible in the future to place all chassis functions, including the drive, directly on the wheel. In order to best implement the different requirements of electric vehicles, such as maximize the range while minimizing installation space and simultaneous modularity, comprehensive optimization at vehicle level is necessary. The optimal coordination of brake and drive system makes a decisive contribution here. The integration of both elements in one unit enables a particularly high level of efficiency in the drive and when braking. Moreover, integrated components reduce complexity through modularization and facilitate the manufacturing process.