Today, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy has opened the European Conference on Batteries, an event taking place within the framework of Germany’s Presidency of the Council of the EU. The focus of the event is on the two Important Projects of Common European Interest in the field of batteries.

Alstom has joined the Spanish Hydrogen Association, whose aim is to foster, promote and drive the technological and industrial development of hydrogen technologies in Spain. By joining, Alstom once again shows its commitment to sustainable mobility and the promotion of hydrogen as an energy vector in the decarbonization process of our society.

There are a number of important differences between a combustion engine and an electric engine that play a part in the appeal of both types of propulsion. This article explains how the drives differ from one another and how this affects suppliers.

The researchers of the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT developed a quick, reliable and nondestructive method of ablating lithium-ion batteries’ anode material with an ultrashort pulsed laser beam. This ablation technique exposes electrical contact points called tabs.

While it’s not entirely a new industry, the prevalence of intelligent transportation systems is only set to grow as the number of market players increases and demand grows to connect vehicles to infrastructure.

German carmakers and their suppliers assessed their business situation in October as noticeably better than in the previous month. However, they are somewhat more pessimistic about the future. This is the finding of the ifo Institute’s latest Business Survey.

Following the resignation of Dr. Elmar Degenhart (61) at short notice, the Supervisory Board of Continental AG has confirmed Nikolai Setzer as his successor in the position of CEO. Setzer, who studied mechanical engineering and economics, joined the company more than 23 years ago and worked in various positions.

BMW Group will produce high-voltage batteries and battery components at three of its German sites: Dingolfing, Leipzig, and Regensburg. More than 150 million euros will be invested in the Regensburg site alone by 2022.

Siemens Mobility and prominent partners have won two innovative research projects from the German Center for Rail Traffic Research to study the safety of automated rail operations. The aim is to define the criteria needed for approving fully automated regional and mainline rail service. The two projects will be funded with €1.7 million and are scheduled to run for 30 months.

The Tesla management announced their plans for its battery development. This decision emphasizes electric vehicle manufacturers' importance in developing future batteries themselves to meet their own models' requirements. Furthermore, access to the resources necessary for battery production is a relevant factor, which the manufacturers want to control more closely themselves.

While driver monitoring may have been looked at some years ago as a “nice-to-have” or “extra” feature for autonomous vehicles, it’s quickly becoming an integral part of advanced platforms for these automobiles. Here are some of the leaders in this technology.

Acceleration is essential, but braking is even more critical. The Darmstadt Fraunhofer Institute for Structural Durability and System Reliability LBF and its partners have researched intelligent brake pads with integrated sensors that enable self-diagnosis.

Increasingly, cars are incorporating more and more advanced technology, such as self-driving and other intelligent capabilities. Such functionality can not only be beneficial; it also has the potential to cause great harm if misused. Automotive cybersecurity has thus become a top priority for carmakers. Here are some of the leaders of this nascent field.

Lattice Semiconductor Corporation, a low power programmable speacialist, announced new versions of its MachXO3LF FPGAs for flexible deployment of robust automotive control applications and MachXO3D FPGAs for system security that support extended temperature operating ranges for automotive and other ruggedized applications.

Allison Transmission recently opened its new Vehicle Environmental Test (VET) center to conduct year-round testing, replicating vehicle environments and duty cycles, compressing product development times and supporting innovation for the industry.

Smart traffic lights create the opportunity to upgrade the road through the use of real-time data resulting in responsive lights to the specific needs of road users. Numerous initiatives are underway to improve the journey of road users, reduce congestion and pollution, and increase safety.