Electric and Hybrid Vehicles

Largest aluminium manufacturer

TRIMET Automotive Holding GmbH

The available know-how is incorporated into visionary product and process development. Trimet, Germany’s biggest manufacturer of aluminium, also appreciates the importance of this traditional location. In 2001, Trimet took over the aluminium foundry founded in 1870 and the recycling plant set up in 1995 in Harzgerode. The full recycling of aluminium is unique in Germany. Scraps are melted down in the recycling plant and the alloy is processed, directly in the neighbouring foundry, into die-cast components for chassis, engines, gearboxes, structural components, and bodies. “This way we can achieve increased added value and protect the environment”, emphasises Erich Jürgens, Director and Head of Metal Management at TRIMET Automotive Holding GmbH. “Process optimisation is important for the quality of the products and for competitiveness.”

A key competence of Trimet Aluminium SE is the development and production of special alloys. The requirement profiles such as strength, hardness, and ductility are determined by the wishes of the customers. The alloys are developed on the basis of thermodynamic calculations and experimental testing. Automobiles are an important field of application because lighter vehicle components are indispensable for meeting future CO2 targets. The most energy-efficient and resource-saving production possible is optimally realised in Harzgerode due to the short distances travelled between melting and casting. Jürgens is convinced that “Aluminium lightweight construction is the guarantee that the social demand for adherence to limit values for the reduction of global pollution will also actually be met.” “Aluminium is the material of the present and future.” Globalisation and the desire for contacts in the core markets led to a joint venture with the Chinese parts manufacturer Bohai Automotive in summer 2018. Bohai Automotive has a 75 percent share in TRIMET Automotive Holding GmbH, and Trimet Aluminum SE has a 25 percent share. This cooperation will further strengthen the site in Harzgerode, which is already one of the big five aluminium die-casting foundries in Germany, with around 630 employees.

Crash-relevant parts

KSM Castings GmbH

Another clear advantage of the site in Saxony-Anhalt is the proximity to the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), such as VW, Daimler, BMW and Porsche. The good infrastructure, available industrial sites, and uncomplicated support from the state and municipalities are decisive for the settlement of world market leaders in Saxony-Anhalt. For example, KSM Castings, the world’s biggest manufacturer of vehicle parts in the CPC process was already investing in its site in Wernigerode in 2001. The strategically favourable location between the headquarters in Hildesheim and the Volkswagen plants and the available know-how at the traditional foundry site were good reasons for this decision. “Wernigerode is our newest plant in Europe”, emphasises Dr. Marc Menge, Plant Manager of KSM Castings Group at the Wernigerode site. “With currently 440 employees and a turnover of 96 million euros, the choice of location has proved to be exactly right.”

KSM Castings produces, among other things, crash-relevant chassis parts, such as wheel carriers, swivel bearings, and front axle subframes/components, which have to possess high strength. Dynamic performance for endurance strength and crash is becoming increasingly important. Using in-house developed production processes, such as the Counter Pressure Casting (CPC) and the constant further development of existing processes and alloys, sturdy and safe components are created that save up to 30 percent in weight. The latest development tools are used for the component design. Component testing is also an important field, for the safeguarding of product liability, and the expansion of added value and know-how. “Another exciting field for us is e-mobility”, says Menge. “Our group’s development department has already been busying itself for a long time with new components that will in future find their way into e-vehicles.”

Cluster MAHREG

MAHREG Automotive – Creating a technological lead for aluminium casting and lightweight construction

For 18 years now, the Cluster MAHREG Automotive, an initiative of Saxony-Anhalt Automotive e.V., has been developing regionally and nationally into an innovative alliance between science and business. 65 members and more than 170 partners work hand in hand on innovations for the automobile of the future.

MAHREG is the technological leader for the Research and Development Department of the aluminium competence cluster in the Automotive Cluster East Germany (ACOD). Essential tasks include the development of innovative cast products as well as process optimisation, in order to ensure profitability and competitiveness, and to establish environmentally-friendly processes. The intensive cooperation between research institutions, automobile suppliers, toolmakers and special engineers delivers a technological lead: made in Saxony-Anhalt. The cluster wants to be available as a full-service partner to customers around the world. Research, development, and realisation of the prototype up to series maturity are covered by the competence network.

synthetic honeycombs

Here, the company THERMHEX WABEN GmbH is producing a unique and above all continuous production step of plastic honeycomb cores for light-weight panels and components. Until now, the manufacture of these honeycomb units required diverse individual steps which made the products more expensive. Each layer of the honeycomb had to be manufactured individually and subsequently joined together to form panels. At THERMHEX WABEN GmbH, all of this can be done in a single step.

"So far, these honeycomb cores were relatively expensive, complex and had to be produced in a lot of individual steps. They could not meet the combination of cost and weight saving that so many customers require today" explains Jochen Pflug, business manager of THERMHEX WABEN GmbH. The internationally patented ThermHex process involves extruding a roll of polypropylene foil and continually thermally reshaping it with a vacuum roller. Afterwards this roll is immediately unrolled. This process allows the production of honeycomb cores 3 to 30 mm thick, with individual lengths of up to 6 metres and at speeds of up to 10 metres per minute.

THERMHEX WABEN GmbH's customers each process the honeycomb cores into sandwich panels according to application and requirements with corresponding surfaces. From aluminium or steel to wood, acrylic, textiles to carbon fibre – a special non-woven fabric surface of the honeycomb core makes sure that all cover layers hold together perfectly. The application possibilities are broadly based: panels for lorries and busses, walls for pre-fabricated bathrooms, bodies for lorry trailers, the most diverse fibre compound components as well interior and structure components for vehicles or yachts. Even components with complex shapes such as nacelle covers for wind turbines are possible.

Due to the very thin THERMEX honeycomb cores of only 3.5 mm, even thin fibre composite panels and components can be replaced through sandwich panels. This allows a weight reduction of up to 50 percent compared to homogenous conventional fibre composite panels of the same rigidity and flexibility. Through the automated production, the quality control could also be automated and completely guaranteed.

"We have managed to unify maximum cost savings, maximum weight reduction at a minimal amount of material usage in one product and one continuous production line", says Jochen Pflug. Since his studies, the aerospace engineer has been working with honeycomb cores. In addition to this, he has been the business manager of the Belgian company ECONCORE that works exclusively in the research and development of light-weight construction. THERMHEX WABEN GmbH is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Belgian company.

Because fibre composites and light-weight construction are key technologies in Saxony-Anhalt, the federal state promoted the business set-up at the Halle site with 50 percent of the 1.4 million Euro investment amount. The second production facility should soon spring up on around 4,000 square metres and the number of staff members double from 10 to 20.

And something else also makes THERMHEX honeycomb stand out: The strong focus on the economic use of resources. All of the remains left by the production are immediately and completely fed back into the production cycle. The polypropylene raw materials are sourced from the nearby Leuna chemical site to minimise logistic expenses.

In 2014, THERMEX WABEN GmbH was awarded with the Hugo-Junkers prize by the state of Saxony-Anhalt for the development of the automated production of light, robust and comparatively inexpensive honeycomb cores. Hugo Junkers himself developed and patented the sandwich construction with honeycomb cores for his aeroplanes.

That the business decided to settle in Halle on the Saale in Saxony-Anhalt is no coincidence. In 1901 the paper goods factory HEILBRUN & PINNER developed the patented process for expanding paper combs. And so the idea, that at the time was only thought of for paper goods, returns to its place of birth. It has only been developed further for the requirements of modern light-weight construction.

There is another reason in favour of this region. Apart from its excellent funding perspectives, Saxony-Anhalt offers the best pre-requisites for companies that work with the production and processing of plastics. The federal state in central Germany has turned itself into a world-leading centre of excellence in the production and processing of polymers. As one of Europe's most important chemical centres, the federal state readily offers raw materials as well as efficient value-added chains, a qualified work-force and a specialised industry-oriented landscape for research and development.

Lightweight Box Bodies

RAPID Leichtbau GmbH specialises in the manufacture of weight-reduced box bodies for transporters and HGVs

RAPID Leichtbau GmbH is a specialist in the manufacturing of weight-reduced box bodies and has developed into the market leader in payload maximisation. Because nobody is lighter!

With the body concepts of RAPID lightweight construction, a weight reduction of more than 500 kg can be achieved, which provides substantial added value for the user and at the same time saves costs. Depending on the chassis and body size, 30% higher load capacity can be achieved. This means: more load in the same space.

RAPID box bodies are at the same time sturdier than products made of comparable lightweight materials. The plastic elements used are welded into a sturdy body before mounting on the HGV. This elaborate process is unique in Central Europe and guarantees maximum stability with low weight.

All big-name vehicle manufacturers (e.g. Mercedes-Benz, Peugeot, Volkswagen etc.) trust the quality of the company. RAPID-Leichtbau has also attained a high level of system competence in lightweight construction with its own development and production of innovative composite materials.

New Drive Technologies

NTN-Antriebstechnik GmbH

The world’s second biggest producer of side shafts, the Japanese NTN Corporation, operates one of three European production sites in Gardelegen in the north of Saxony-Anhalt. NTN Antriebstechnik GmbH, founded in 2002 as IFA Antriebstechnik GmbH and since 2017 a 100-percent subsidiary of the Japanese NTN Corporation, produces fixed joints, profile shafts, VL joints and side shafts for German and international automobile manufacturers. Weight, efficiency factor, and angulation are decisive parameters for drive shafts. Although the development department is based in Japan, the processes are optimised as much as possible in Gardelegen. “When it comes to drive shafts, it’s more a question of evolution than revolution”, explains Guido Steffen, Managing Director of NTN Antriebstechnik GmbH. “What gives our production a competitive advantage, however, are the optimised processes and flows.” Due to coordinated linking of the machinery and a high degree of automation, production takes place almost independently, from the raw material to the packaged product. Humans are here primarily responsible for supervision of the production flow. “Our machines are sometimes equipped with measuring technology and check themselves”, says Steffen. “This enables us to deliver consistent, very high quality.” With a new order for the production of drive shafts in electrical vehicles, NTN can render a further contribution to the mobility of the future, appropriate to the self-perception as the New Technology Network (NTN).

Production Cycles

Novelis Deutschland GmbH - Process Technology for Unique Aluminium Alloys

There is a 50-year history of aluminium production at the Novelis site in Nachterstedt. With a current workforce of around 1,150 Novelis employees, aluminium rolled products are manufactured here, and since 2014 the world’s largest recycling plant for aluminium has also been operating at this location.

Innovative solutions for lightweight car body construction with aluminium are created in the group’s Research and Development Department in the Swiss city of Sierre. Automobile manufacturers are demanding sustainable, safe, light and energy-efficient multi-material concepts for the future. One new development at Novelis is a remotely laser-weldable alloy that makes possible an increased welding speed and greater flexibility. The key element in the manufacturing of the alloy is the process technology Novelis FusionTM, a continuous casting technology, patented by Novelis, in which several different alloy layers are simultaneously cast in a single aluminium ingot possessing one core and two outer layers. After solidification it is rolled into sheet, which combines unusually versatile attributes such as strength, corrosion resistance, and surface finish.

With its innovative and flexible process technology in the areas of crushing, scrap sorting, decorating, and melting, the recycling plant is unique within the Novelis group and will act as a model for future facilities around the world. These aspects form an important basis for the “Closed Loop Principle”, closed production cycles which are conceived in cooperation with customers in the automobile industry. Aluminium scrap from vehicle production is collected and is melted down, cast, and rolled into aluminium sheet by Novelis. This avoids the emission of large quantities of CO2 into the atmosphere.

“For us, the available know-how, good infrastructure, strategically favourable location in the centre of Europe, sufficient space for expansion, and support from the state and municipalities are decisive for our commitment in Nachterstedt”, says Michael Hahne, Vice President Automotive Europe Novelis. “It is one of our most important sites in the world.”

Friction Welding Process

Environmentally Friendly, Dynamic, Pioneering Drive Technology Created in Saxony-Anhalt

In order to secure the competitiveness of the companies through advantages in technology, there is close networking of business and science in Saxony-Anhalt. For example, the Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences, and IFA Holding GmbH from Haldensleben developed an innovative friction welding process for the automobile industry in joint research projects. As a global supplier of joints and drive shafts, the IFA Group uses its proximity to the region’s scientific institutions with its own research department at the Haldensleben site. Innovative solutions are thus created in both process technology and process development.

Testing Center for High-Voltage Batteries

Highly Anticipated: The World’s Largest Testing Center for High-Voltage Batteries Opening in Saxony-Anhalt

FEV has been building in Saxony-Anhalt since 2007

The world’s largest development and testing center for high-voltage batteries (known by its German acronym: eDLP) is beginning operations in Sandersdorf-Brehna in late September 2020. This marks a new milestone for FEV, an international leader and independent service provider for vehicle and drive development. At the same time, the company continues to draw on its track record of success with the business location of Saxony-Anhalt, which got started when the foundation was laid for an endurance testing center for conventional, electric, and hybrid vehicles in 2007.

It is impossible to ignore the development in Sandersdorf-Brehna, which was already making headlines before its inauguration. The impressive modern complex in the triangle between Halle (Saale), Dessau, and Leipzig has 69 units for electrical testing on modules and complete high-voltage batteries. The 54 climatic chambers alone are equipped with an electric output of 30,000 kW. By the company's own account, this means the development center has the largest independent battery test facility. “With eDLP, we are able to offer customers a development service for passenger and commercial vehicles in one place, which is unique in this format,” says Professor Stefan Pischinger, President and CEO of FEV Group. “We can cover all the common test methods for batteries in life expectancy, environmental and transport tests, as well as crash safety for cells, modules, and packs.” Another unique feature is the 350 kN shaker that can be used to perform combined mechanical and electrical tests on batteries under ambient conditions from -40°C to +90°C, such as charging and discharging with simultaneous vibration strain. The overall system includes facilities for validating all environmental and mechanical tests, four bunkers, a fire hall, and a disassembly and diagnosis workshop. It is also ensured that test items are disposed of in an environmentally friendly manner or recycled once the test run completes.

Additional development expertise for new mobility

With over 6 million euros in funding from the federal state of Saxony-Anhalt, FEV is gaining additional development expertise for future mobility in Sandersdorf-Brehna through the eDLP. The company already has seven test rigs for electric powertrains and more than ten for hybrid powertrains at the company’s endurance testing center (known by its German acronym: DLP), located close by. More than 100 new jobs were created at the battery development center, with FEV thus employing a total of around 350 people* in Saxony-Anhalt, making it a leading employer in the federal state. This path of success did not happen by chance. “From the start, we found excellent conditions in Brehna and the surrounding area, and we are strategically investing as a result,” notes Hans-Dieter Sonntag, a Managing Director of FEV eDLP GmbH.

Always benefiting from proximity       

The path for this success in Saxony-Anhalt was cleared in 2007, when FEV Dauerlaufprüfzentrum GmbH (FEV DLP) was founded in Sandersdorf-Brehna with the goal of offering highly efficient solutions for endurance testing on vehicle powertrains. The FEV Group company started off with 80 employees* and continuously expanded its portfolio, technology, research, and number of specialist employees. It is committed to its competence field of new mobility, collaborates with institutions and research facilities, ensures knowledge is transferred, and continuously builds on the Saxony-Anhalt location in doing so. “We have always benefited from the proximity here – geographically and at the decision-making level,” says Dr. Christoph Szasz, another Managing Director at FEV eDLP GmbH. Since 2006, the company has been assisted by Saxony-Anhalt’s business development company, Investitions- und Marketinggesellschaft Sachsen-Anhalt – from active support during the international site selection process and authority management to establishing a corporate network for academia, research, clusters, and associations.    

“We are connected to this site and want to encourage research and development here as well,” says Hans-Dieter Sonntag. One example of this is FEV’s involvement in the MAHREG Automotive cluster, the network that bundles the services of local automobile suppliers and promotes development partnerships to enhance value creation. “We always think several steps ahead – it's the only way to ensure our future viability. It's more challenging to stay in the lead position that to reach it,” notes Hans-Dieter Sonntag. It was true back when ground was first broken, and it remains so today – as FEV is one of the companies gaining momentum from the energy and transport revolution at the business location of Saxony-Anhalt and hoping to turn the former Solar Valley into Energy Valley. “We could become an innovation center for green energy here,” claims Dr. Christoph Szasz. At the new testing center, the company is showing how this focus is already being put into practical use. “We use a wide variety of technologies for entirely sustainable operations,” says Hans-Dieter Sonntag. “The test rigs are supplied almost entirely by renewable energy – power is already being generated in the photovoltaic panels on the roof.”

Focus on green energy and new mobility    

According to Hans-Dieter Sonntag, the possibilities for green energy at the Saxony-Anhalt location constituted an important factor in the decision to continue to invest here. “From the start, we’ve also had similar experiences with new mobility. For us, new mobility is the key to social development and progress. The signs are clearly pointing towards change in Central Germany. This was also a reason for investing here and taking additional steps to expand back then.” The success story went on in 2008 – a year after FEV DLP was founded. The company opened 31 engine and powertrain test benches and thus laid the foundation for the endurance testing center. In 2010, FEV Group launched FEV Automatisierungssysteme GmbH (FEV AS) in order to improve the methods of development for powertrains. A year later, there was so much demand for FEV DLP that additional engine test benches were set up, and all the engine and powertrain test benches were adapted to future developments and equipped with high-voltage technology as well as the corresponding battery simulations. As a subsidiary of the globally active FEV Group, FEV Dauerlaufprüfzentrum GmbH uses the efficient endurance testing on powertrains to gain an innovative edge. “We can simulate anything from an arctic cold start to a desert climate, which made us interesting to engine and powertrain manufacturers around the world who wanted to have their powertrains tested by us,” recalls Hans-Dieter Sonntag. “We already had an international presence back then, and we’ve had solid growth, made frequent investments, and provided additional capacities and new jobs.”

Rising demand for electric powertrains

Alongside this, the company has been expanding its development unit in close collaboration with Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg and universities in Central Germany. The continuous testing center in Brehna has grown, with seven e-test benches added in 2018. “With this fourth stage of expansion after its opening, we have met the rising demand for electrified powertrains,” explains Hans-Dieter Sonntag. That same year, in Landsberg, FEV Software and Testing Solutions GmbH was founded, under which the FEV business units were consolidated. The globally active company now offers state-of-the-art test facilities, measuring units, conditioning devices, and control units, as well as software solutions that have more efficient designs for development processes and convert process steps from the road to the test bench. Part of FEV’s growth in Saxony-Anhalt is also the idea of and dedication to establishing the Center for Method Development (CMD) in Barleben, near the federal state capital. Methods to speed up development in vehicle powertrains are also soon meant to be researched and put into practice at the automotive-related research and development center in cooperation with Guericke University. According to Prof. Stefan Pischinger, the opening of the eDLP is now complementing the full service in electromobility development. They are apparently accounting for demand to continue to rise for testing capacities. “We can react flexibly and scale up in the event of new testing requirements or development strategies,” says Hans-Dieter Sonntag.

https://www.invest-in-saxony-anhalt.com

About FEV
FEV is a leading independent international service provider of vehicle and powertrain development for hardware and software. The range of competencies includes the development and testing of innovative solutions up to series production and all related consulting services. The range of services for vehicle development includes the design of body and chassis, including the fine tuning of overall vehicle attributes such as driving behavior and NVH. FEV also develops innovative lighting systems and solutions for autonomous driving and connectivity. The electrification activities of powertrains cover powerful battery systems, e-machines and inverters. Additionally, FEV develops highly efficient gasoline and diesel engines, transmissions, EDUs as well as fuel cell systems and facilitates their integration into vehicles suitable for homologation. Alternative fuels are a further area of development. The service portfolio is completed by tailor-made test benches and measurement technology, as well as software solutions that allow efficient transfer of the essential development steps of the above-mentioned developments, from the road to the test bench or simulation. The FEV Group is growing continuously and currently employs 6700 highly qualified specialists in customer-oriented development centers at more than 40 locations on five continents.            
 

Shafts + Steering Systems

thyssenkrupp Presta Schönebeck GmbH and thyssenkrupp Presta Ilsenburg GmbH

Camshaft Made Easy

The thyssenkrupp plant in Ilsenburg is in a celebratory mood. Exactly twenty years ago the industrial concern from Essen opened this automobile supply site in the district of Harz in Saxony-Anhalt. Today, more than 700 people are employed at highly modern workplaces manufacturing engine components for different vehicle classes. Primarily, built camshafts and (in their further development) ready-to-install and variably adjustable valve train modules are manufactured in Ilsenburg.

Camshafts in combustion engines ensure the control of the inlet and outlet valves of the cylinders. They are decisive for the perfect functioning of the engine. “The design of the engine components, specially developed by the company, is essential for entrepreneurial success and the growth of production in Ilsenburg. With this we are reacting to the globally persistently high demand for efficient and drive systems with low CO²-emissions”, says Frank Altag, CEO of the Camshaft Group at thyssenkrupp. The camshafts built from different materials are more than 30 percent lighter and show a higher-performance than conventionally cast camshafts, he says. “The valve train modules”, says Altag, “are also distinguished by substantially lower weight and fuel consumption.” Optimised bonding techniques made it possible for thyssenkrupp to further develop the design. Components for electric engines have been newly developed during the past few years on the basis of this know-how. For example, rotors for electrical vehicles will soon be produced on a large scale in Ilsenburg.

“The building up of new plants around the world has been guided from our site in the Harz in the past few years”, emphasises the Managing Director of the Camshaft Group. The company is now producing at a total of ten sites all over the world, including in China, the USA, Mexico and Brazil. The Ilsenburg site is one of the world’s leading producers of drive components. Every year, more than five million vehicles have been equipped with the products from Ilsenburg alone. The customers include well-known automobile manufacturers such as BMW, VW, General Motors, Ford, Audi, Porsche, PSA, Volvo, Iveco, and the Fiat Chrysler Group.

Intelligent Steering Systems

In order to be able to face global competition, there also always has to be a demand-related and intelligent production control as well as product innovations. On the threshold to Industry 4.0, smart factories that operate independently, flexibly and are adaptive are an essential competitive advantage. The Ilsenburg plant of thyssenkrupp is well equipped for the transition into the digital age.

“Things are just as modern in our production at Schönebeck”, says Sascha Singer, Director of the thyssenkrupp steering factory at Magdeburg. Steering components for electrically assisted steering systems are manufactured here. These are a technological pre-requirement for many advanced driver assistance systems, such as for example automated parking, lane recognition, and partial and/or completely automated driving. “On the basis of these electrical steering systems, our steering group is also developing entirely new chassis and steering concepts, such as steer-by-wire systems for example”, says Factory Manager Singer and explains: “These are steering systems that do without continuous mechanical connection between steering wheel and wheels. The steering command is exclusively electrically conveyed from the steering wheel to an electrical engine, via a control unit.”

E-Mobility

Krebs & Aulich GmbH - Pioneer of E-Mobility

A company from Wernigerode that develops electric engines for highly specific requirements is attracting attention with the slogan “Krebs & Aulich – peculiar electrical machines”. This company from Harz was one of the first to focus on the future market of e-mobility. Almost ten years ago, a field experiment was launched together with the Fraunhofer Society in which fourteen Audi A2 were converted to electrical drives. “We regularly check the twelve still running Audi A2, which are used by private people, administrations, and companies.

The results are incorporated in the further development of the electrical drive concepts”, says Krebs & Aulich Managing Director Martin Sobczyk. The core business of the company, however, is the manufacturing of drives for automobile test benches. “Everyone who develops automobiles, drives, or components for it tests these with machines from Krebs & Aulich”, says Sobczyk with pride. The company is globally regarded as the technological leader of the industry and is often asked for advice on research projects.

To meet the rising requirements, Krebs & Aulich is currently developing a new generation of test-bench engines, based on the latest calculation and simulation methods. “Our objective is to have even higher-performance, more efficient test-bench engines individually adapted to the customer”, says Sobczyk and draws attention to another research project: Together with the Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences and three producing companies from mechanical engineering and metalworking, Krebs & Aulich GmbH is developing a new type of technology for the manufacturing of test-bench engines. The aim is to achieve effective and practicable production with the highest quality standards, especially for the rotor. The company’s own research and development department has since grown to 16 employees. The company is present in China. Since 2016, Krebs & Aulich has been operating its own branch in Shanghai, in order to handle distribution and service on site in the “Middle Kingdom”.

Engine Research

The drivers of the mobility revolution

Businesses from Saxony-Anhalt are literally putting alternative drive concepts on the test stand.

Active contributors to the mobility revolution from Saxony-Anhalt are researching and developing innovative drive concepts for efficient and environmentally friendly means of transport. The Scientific Technical Centre for Engine and Machine Research (Wissenschaftlich-Technisches Zentrum für Motoren- und Maschinenforschung) in Roßlau, for example, is currently focusing on the energy source of gas. The company Krebs & Aulich GmbH in Wernigerode focuses on drive systems for e-mobility. The Endurance Testing Centre in Brehna, which is part of the FEV Group, is expanding its range with new test stands for electric drive systems. The testing centre is one of the most advanced in the world, and marking its fourth stage of expansion, it has now invested more than 90 million Euros in Saxony-Anhalt since it originally opened in 2007.

"When the new AIDAnova sets sail, it will be the first cruise ship to be entirely powered by environmentally friendly liquid gas propulsion," explains Titus Tschalamoff. He has placed great faith in the performance of this, the latest generation of marine engine – after all, he was responsible for its initial test runs. "As a single-cylinder experimental engine," Tschalamoff adds. Titus Tschalamoff leads the department for engine research at the Scientific-Technical Centre for Engine and Machine Research Roßlau (Wissenschaftlich-Technisches Zentrum für Motoren- und Maschinenforschung) – WTZ for short. The three-letter acronym actually dates back to the early 1960s. It was in Roßlau that giant-sized systems once stood on huge test stands – engines for ships, locomotives and cogeneration power systems, mostly designed for customers in Eastern Europe. Titus Tschalamoff joined the enterprise in the early 1990s, just as its sales markets were collapsing. "Despite that, the staff team had an excellent amount of know-how and expertise that they had gained over the course of the decades," emphasizes the graduate of engineering, who was there when the WTZ was successfully privatised in 1994.

With its keen sense of vision, the WTZ is active in the field of climate protection and has found the niches that it now occupies with its three letters. The company focuses on the energy source of gas. "The emission regulations can certainly be fulfilled with the use of gas-powered engines," explains Tschalamoff. The first natural gas engines were first tested in Roßlau 30 years ago.

Research into renewable energies

"As a scientific and technical centre, it goes without saying that we make use of the state research funding which is available," says the manager of the research department. And renewable energies are consistently a key topic for the WTZ and its 60 employees.

Carsten Tietze, who studied mechanical engineering, has been working in the company’s in-house design department for more than ten years. Engines running on rapeseed oil or pyrolysis oil from organic waste, or even from shredded car tires, have already been put on the test stand. "Customers bring us their engines and the newly developed fuel. We then test and optimise the engine so that it operates with the fuel effectively," explains the graduate of engineering.

“When a manufacturer develops an engine, they are certain to know all about the General Administrative Rule on the ‘Technical Instructions on Air Quality Control’, but it is frequently the case that the customer-specific requirements only become clear during the actual process”, explains Carsten Tietze. That includes the increasing levels of public acceptance for hydrogen. Hydrogen from renewable sources of energy is increasingly being seen as an energy source of the future. The WTZ has been a member of the Central German Research Alliance HYPOS – Hydrogen Power Storage & Solutions East Germany for several years. The LocalHy research project, which was launched by the WTZ, is addressing the development of a hydrogen-oxygen-engine which doesn’t produce any exhaust emissions. A test engine of this kind is currently on the test stand in Roßlau – it is small and compact, and yet to be one of the "giants". So far, all of the research has been carried out on a single-cylinder engine, explains the expert Titus Tschalamoff, who goes on to discuss a reference system which the Scientific-Technical Centre for Engine and Machine Research is intending to develop from it. Carsten Tietze certainly knows from first-hand experience that the levels of interest in the energy-related use of the waste gases which arise in a wide variety of manufacturing processes are growing worldwide. It was 19 years ago that the WTZ originally launched the "Dessau Gas Engine Conference". As a trend barometer, the conference which also serves as a discussion and networking forum now has a large number of national and international participants.

Continuous Running Testing Centre

FEV Continuous Running Testing Centre

The FEV Continuous Running Testing Centre in Brehna near Halle (Saale) also has alternative drive systems on its test benches: Seven test benches are operated for electrical drives in addition to those for fatigue tests on conventional combustion engines. Its 200 employees are breaking new ground in the handling of electricity, says Hans-Dieter Sonntag, one of the FEV managing directors. He emphasises the growing demand. Many of his customers, including big-name automobile manufacturers, are investing in the pure form of electromobility and thus in the mobility change. On the way there, says Hans-Dieter Sonntag, the FEV Continuous Running Testing Centre will also take the intermediate step and test hybrid drives.

Push Boat

Shipbuilders from Saxony-Anhalt are building the world’s first electric tug for inland waterways 

The world’s first tug to run on battery power and hydrogen fuel cells is currently under construction at a shipyard in Derben on the River Elbe. Named ELEKTRA, the boat is one example of climate- and environment-friendly mobility from Saxony-Anhalt. 

The future of transportation is emission-free – and not just on the road and in the air. It will soon encompass maritime transportation, too, both for goods and passengers.  Companies from every corner of Saxony-Anhalt are rising to the challenge of the New Mobility strand in the state’s Regional Innovation Strategy.

And the Hermann Barthel shipyard in Derben, a district of Elbe-Parey, is among them. A family business founded over 200 years ago, it has built many vessels, some of them up to 80 meters long with a beam of 9 meters and a draft of up to 1.3 meters. The yard’s three-dozen or so workers are currently building an innovative all-electric tug for inland waterway transportation on the River Elbe, the River Havel and Berlin’s network of waterways. The tug, which weighs around 140 metric tons, is the first of its kind anywhere in the world. 

It is based on plans and conceptual studies developed by a team of researchers led by Professor Gerd Holbach, Head of Dynamics of Maritime Systems at the Technical University of Berlin. Eight partners from university research departments and industry have come together to implement the project, including the Hermann Barthel Shipyard with support from other regional businesses. CEO Hermann Barthel wasted no time in getting on board when he was invited to join the pioneering fuel-cell tug project. 

Elektra’s most remarkable innovation compared to conventional tugs is that it has no diesel engine, which means that it gives off no climate-damaging emissions such as carbon dioxide, diesel exhaust and nitrogen oxides. Thanks to cutting-edge lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide batteries from the Netherlands and three low-temperature fuel-cells produced by a Canadian firm, the tug is capable of pushing up to 1,400 metric tons. The batteries, together with the six hydrogen pressure tanks, take up a large proportion of the deck area behind the wheelhouse. This means the 20-meter-long vessel will be some three meters longer than a conventional tug. But that’s not a problem. When attached to the 65-meter-long heavy cargo barge, Ursus, the convoy will be able to navigate all the channels between Berlin and Hamburg. “We anticipate that the tug will be able to travel the roughly 400-kilometer route pushing 1,400 metric tons without having to stop and recharge,” says Professor Holbach. This is because it has the option to switch to the three water-cooled fuel cells. In addition, solar panels on the roof will store electricity in the onboard power supply system. The tug has an ingenious driver assistance system to minimize energy consumption and keep it on schedule as closely as possible.

The customary tug crew of two to three people will still be required, but the only new training needed on top of the existing apprenticeship is the safe handling of hydrogen technology and lithium batteries. 

ELEKTRA is due to be launched at the shipyard in Derben by the end of 2020. It will then be extensively tested on Berlin’s waterways and routes, starting out from its home port, Berlin West Harbour, where its future owner BEHALA (Berliner Hafen und Lagerhausgesellschaft) is headquartered. Going forward, the tug’s tasks will include delivering Siemens gas turbines – produced in Berlin and weighing several hundred tons – to the Port of Hamburg ready for export.

The practical test must prove that the electric tug is not only environment- and climate-friendly but also reliable and competitive compared to conventional inland freighters.  If all goes well it may only be a few years before we see more zero-emission ships in European waters, potentially benefiting people and nature with not only cleaner air but also much lower noise pollution. Unlike conventional marine propulsion engines, fuel cells and batteries are virtually silent when running.

There are current discussions around developing and rolling out “tank stations” where “green” ships could recharge their hydrogen containers and batteries. The industrial port at Magdeburg-Rothensee is ideal for this, as the highway, rail and waterway networks converge in a trimodal hub. Professor Holbach anticipates that freight will not be the only maritime transportation segment to renounce marine diesel. Houseboats and passenger ferries might also see an increasing transition to emission-free drive technologies if political and economic conditions permit more green mobility.  

Hydrogen train

The innovative railroad technology alliance TRAINS is tackling climate change on the railroads in Saxony-Anhalt

The flagship for the future railroad technology region of Anhalt is a train. Or to be exact, a “green” railcar that the Dessauer Verkehrs AG (Dessau’s local transport company) plans to test on the route between Dessau and Wörlitz. This technological innovation will be the first hydrogen train powered by a hydrogen-burning gas engine. The central project being carried out by the railroad technology cluster TRAINS is the retrofitting of existing multiple units with clean gas engines. The alliance is working hard to advance the fight against climate change in the rail industry while also transforming the region of Anhalt, which has a long history of railroad engineering, into a region of cutting-edge technology, creating jobs and promoting environmentally sound and user-friendly mobility in rural areas.

Chosen from 107 applicants

TRAINS was founded more than three years ago with the aim of further developing the Anhalt region. Its founders were the Verein Bahntechnologie Dessau e.V. (Dessau Railroad Technology Association), which numerous railroad engineering companies and institutions in the Anhalt region are part of, and Anhalt University of Applied Sciences. The alliance now boasts more than 50 members, including companies, research institutes, structural planners, the Chamber of Industry and Commerce, regional associations and politicians. Just over a year ago, TRAINS was awarded 12.2 million euros of funding by the funding program Wandel durch Innovation in der Region – WIR! (Transformation Through Innovation in the Region) run by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. The new, green mobility project based in Saxony-Anhalt came out on top alongside just 20 other projects out of 107 applications from across Germany.

Practical implementation has now begun. The first project, “Studies on Diesel Replacement Solutions for Existing Operational Trains,” began a few days ago. For the next year, engineers and scientists will be developing practical technical solutions for retrofitting diesel engines so that they are suitable for hydrogen combustion. “Until now, there has been no such solution available; previous experiments have been carried out only on truck engines. TRAINS wants to prove that it is economically viable for rail operators to retrofit their fleets with gas engines, helping to get green mobility onto the tracks,” says Sascha Ziesemeier, the TRAINS Alliance Manager from Anhalt University of Applied Sciences, the largest university for applied sciences in Saxony-Anhalt. Ziesemeier also explained that the aim is of course for this retrofitting work to take place in the Anhalt region. The alliance includes partners that already have the necessary theoretical and practical expertise for installing gas combustion engines in existing operational trains as part of the energy revolution. They are WTZ Roßlau and the Institute of Mobile Systems at the Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg. KEYOU GmbH is also supporting the conversion of diesel engines to hydrogen combustion engines in Unterschleißheim, just outside of Munich.

The green power of hydrogen

However, the Saxony-Anhalt train will only be a green railcar if it is powered by green hydrogen. The plan is to produce the hydrogen via electrolysis using wind and photovoltaic energy produced by a power-to-gas system. By using green hydrogen as fuel, TRAINS will succeed in integrating the renewable energy sector with the railroad sector. The regional alliance also includes partners that specialize in the production of hydrogen via electrolysis.   

The TRAINS alliance reinforces Anhalt’s expertise in railroad technology. The region’s history of railroad engineering goes back more than 100 years. Toward the end of the GDR, there were some 10,000 people employed in the industry in this area. Following a substantial dip in the 1990s, there are now around 2,500 employees in the industry, working predominately for medium-sized firms and their suppliers. Anhalt is the region surrounding Dessau-Roßlau, Anhalt-Bitterfeld and Wittenberg and has a population of some 390,000; it is one of Germany’s oldest industrial regions. The region continues to be shaped by the chemical, pharmaceutical and aviation industries as well as by mechanical and plant engineering, and by railroad engineering in particular.

“The TRAINS alliance, which is running around 20 sub-projects, is still in its infancy. With the capital provided by the industry companies involved, for example, around 16 million euros will have been invested by 2025,” says Alliance Manager Sascha Ziesemeier.  As part of a further sub-project, scientists at Anhalt University of Applied Sciences are working on a digital project in which the green railcar is fitted with sensor technology so that it can predict possible damage with the help of a digital twin. In addition to the “Studies on Diesel Replacement Solutions,” the construction of the TRAINS Center is also underway. This innovation and service center for railroad technology is where the different parties involved will implement technological developments with the hope of including national research partners, too. It is expected that all of the innovative railroad mobility projects in Saxony-Anhalt will have been implemented by the end of 2025.

Saxony-Anhalt revs up for mobility drive

Since lockdown measures were enforced in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, global pollution levels have dropped and many people claim to have benefited from lower emissions. As the restrictions ease, policy-makers will be examining ways in which future economic growth can be made more sustainable.

In Germany’s Saxony-Anhalt, leaders are bullish about future prospects for their new mobility sector. With its long history in automotive innovation, the state is positioning itself as the green hydrogen state. 

“Around 270 automotive suppliers currently employ 26,000 people, providing a considerable proportion of the state’s economic power,” says Jürgen Ude, Saxony-Anhalt’s state secretary at the ministry of economy, science and digitalisation. “Companies and research institutes in Saxony-Anhalt are contributing in key areas, putting forward the ideas and requirements for the cars of the future, be it in lightweight design, innovative drive technologies, or battery and fuel cell technologies.”

Research centre

Thomas Einsfelder, general manager of local economic development agency Investment and Marketing Corporation Saxony-Anhalt (IMG), reports that the region is establishing itself as a centre for drive technology research and production. 

“Components, systems and technologies are developed here to meet the needs of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and national and international trends, with factories less than 150km away,” he says. 

“Our companies are specialised in producing high-quality products, particularly shafts, wheelsets, steering and engine components, metal casting, sheet shaping and finishing.”

Mr Einsfelder lists Saxony-Anhalt’s attractions for investors. “The German legal system protects private property and individual rights. Competitive tax regulations and a wide range of funding options, especially for R&D, offer a strong framework for investments. The excellent infrastructure, local science and research institutes and the highly qualified workforce are further factors that contribute to sustainable business success.”

Attractive location

The state’s geography is also attractive, says Mr Ude. “Our location offers enormous potential for renewable energy, with many companies expert in the production and industrial use of hydrogen and there is an extensive production infrastructure for the gas which can also be used for green hydrogen,” he adds. “For example, central Germany not only has the nation’s second largest hydrogen pipeline network, but its salt caverns also offer high-volume storage capacity.”

The state has notched up several major investment projects in the mobility sector. “Farasis, one of the world’s leading battery manufacturers, is building a production facility for battery cells, modules and packs in Bitterfeld-Wolfen in the next few years,” says Mr Ude. 

“This will see an investment of €600m and the addition of at least 600 new high-quality jobs. The location of the Bitterfeld-Wolfen Chemical Park, one of 12 centres of excellence in Saxony-Anhalt, offers the US corporation the ideal conditions in which to accelerate its growth in the European market and to supply local OEMs such as Daimler,” he adds. “Another investment has been announced by Dutch company AMG, which plans to build Germany’s first refinery for the production of lithium hydroxide for batteries in the Zeitz Chemical and Industry Park.” 

Other projects of note include FEV’s expansion of its battery development and test centre in Sandersdorf-Brehna; battery and fuel cell specialist HORIBA FuelCon’s expansion of its facilities near Magdeburg; Tesvolt’s construction of a new manufacturing facility for producing lithium accumulators in Lutherstadt Wittenberg; and Porsche and Schuler’s joint plans to manufacture car body parts in Halle from 2021. 

“All of these business location and expansion projects will lead to the creation of new, high-quality jobs, which will have a sustained, positive impact on the economic development of the region as a whole,” says Mr Ude. “And it will also have a knock-on effect for further company projects. This will benefit Saxony-Anhalt as a location for business as well as the state’s science sector.”

Talent availability 

The region’s universities and research institutes, which include the Fraunhofer Institute, play an important role in the new mobility sector. Mr Ude says the state is also supporting the creation of a new centre for method development (CMD) at Otto von Guericke University in Magdeburg. 

“The main focus of the CMD will be to develop solutions for shortening engineering development processes in the automotive sector, which is undergoing a structural transformation. The transition to electromobility, lightweight design and environmentally friendly fuels also poses a significant challenge for suppliers in Saxony-Anhalt. In order to strengthen our companies, we will help strengthen the sector and develop the Magdeburg-Barleben region into an e-mobility campus,”  he says.

The region is home to several centres of excellence, including some that support the new mobility sector. 

“The highly specialised research institutes have aligned themselves with the production processes,” says Mr Einsfelder. “There is a very special experimental spirit in this area, which has been responsible for many historically important engineering achievements.

“Thanks to the innovative cooperation of the state’s clusters and the good research networking of local companies, Saxony-Anhalt has become a driving force for the automobile of the future. In lightweight construction and electromobility, the state is playing a steadily growing role as a supplier to the automotive industry.”

Established infrastructure

Joachim Wicke is chairman of Hypos, a network for stakeholders of the hydrogen economy, including small and medium-sized enterprises, industry, universities and research institutions. He says Saxony-Anhalt compares favourably with other regions because it offers an existing infrastructure for a green hydrogen economy, and industry, science and politics are networked in an exemplary manner through Hypos. 

“More than 100 Hypos members are pursuing the common aim of establishing a cross-sector green hydrogen economy,” he says. “Currently, there are 32 project consortia researching the innovation potential of electricity provision, from production and storage up to distribution and use of green hydrogen in the chemical industry, refinery, mobility and power supply. The German federal ministry of education and research is providing €45m of funding for the scheme as part of its Zwanzig20 – Partnership for Innovation programme.”

Mr Wicke believes the hydrogen industry will create jobs and help to overcome economic challenges. “We see potential for the application of green hydrogen in the power supply, chemicals, refining and mobility sectors. In addition to the significant potential to decarbonise these first three sectors, mobility is an extremely promising field of application for green hydrogen,” he says.

“Fuel cell vehicles are an ideal addition to battery electric mobility for the heavy duty sector and for long distances. Green hydrogen could be used for mobility solutions in rail transport, heavy duty, bus transport, and logistics, and for municipal fleets such as refuse vehicles or street sweepers.”

Life Cycle of Cells

Institute for Competence in AutoMobility – IKAM GmbH (IKAM) - Research into the lifetimes of fuel cells and battery cells

Charging and discharging, again and again. In professional terms: replenishing an energy carrier on a continuous basis and converting it into electrical energy with a chemical reaction. Also known as "cold combustion", this process describes the general functionality of a fuel cell. "We have now been testing the lifetime of a fuel cell of this kind for more than one-and-a-half years, in the form of a time lapse," as Dr Stefan Schünemann explains. He isn’t able to predict when the testing will be complete, however, i.e. when the cell loses its capacity. Stefan Schünemann is Managing Director of the Institute for Competence in AutoMobility – IKAM GmbH, which has two locations: in Magdeburg and at Barleben Technology Park. The company sees itself as the interface between science and industry in the automotive sector. Together with businesses from Saxony-Anhalt, IKAM tests products from various commercial fields, including electric mobility. In this respect, IKAM manages and oversees strategic collaborations between the participating partners, explains Stefan Schünemann.

At IKAM, fuel cells and battery cells are tested. Both technologies have fundamental differences: the battery is a storage medium for energy, while the fuel cell is a converter of energy. In this context, a fuel cell produces electricity from hydrogen or methanol, for example. "The principle works," explains Stefan Schünemann, "but at the moment it is still too expensive." This means that the manufacturing of cost-effective fuel cells on the basis of mass production remains a future goal. Stefan Schünemann is working with his partners on its achievement, however. BiS-Net is the name of his pet project, which is a network of 25 companies from all over Germany. The strategic orientation of BiS-Net has the objective of closing major development gaps, transferring technology and developing integrated value chains.

Research

Diversity of research – a location advantage

After, all Saxony-Anhalt's research landscape focuses on the requirements of the economy, and not least those of the end customer, when it comes to fuel cells and battery cells from a variety of perspectives... Anhalt University of Applied Sciences, for example, specialises in the field of photovoltaics and measuring the electrochemical storage systems of individual batteries. One of the focal points of the Department of Automation and Informatics at Harz University of Applied Sciences, meanwhile, is research into fuel cells, solar hydrogen storage systems as well as DC drives in the field of power electronics.

The researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Factory Operation and Automation (IFF) in the capital of the federal state Saxony-Anhalt, Magdeburg, are developing intelligent systems for energy management and designing integrated manufacturing and logistics networks to enable the safe use of volatile forms of energy. Together with the company Krebs and Aulich GmbH, a three-phase bidirectional on-board charging system with mains-based functions for electric vehicles has been developed for the purpose of intelligent power grid relief – initially in a small series batch for its own vehicle fleet. With the limited company ABO Wind, the Fraunhofer IFF is working with regional business partners on concepts for hydrogen-powered vehicle fleets in commercial use. In addition to this, in the form of a cooperation, the Fraunhofer IFF is currently testing one of the biggest mobile electricity storage systems in Germany. The 1-megawatt battery is housed in a container which is the size of a railway wagon, and it may be able to autonomously supply around 100 normal households with power for twenty-four hours.

Other major research players in Saxony-Anhalt include the Institute for Competence in AutoMobility – IKAM GmbH and the Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg.