Tech group bargains on no single powertrain

Stuttgart-based technology group Mahle Group will expand its research and development centres, including in Germany and China, particularly in battery systems and hydrogen applications.

“Viewed from an international perspective, there will not be one single powertrain of the future,” Mahle management board chairman and chief executive Dr Jörg Stratmann says.

“That’s why Mahle is continuing to follow its dual strategy – electrification, development of the fuel cell, and the use of hydrogen and alternative fuels in an intelligently electrified combustion engine.”

Stratmann calls for an approach open to all technologies to achieve climate targets

“We must tackle the climate targets using effective technologies and all the solutions currently available to us,” he says.

“At the moment, the change in powertrain technologies is driven primarily by political objectives.

“The current one-dimensional debate focused on a single drive is not productive. We want a dialogue that has a basis in technology.”

The group has recently established a new competence centre for mechatronics in Kornwestheim, near Stuttgart which will coordinate all international activities in this field.

In Fellbach, also near Stuttgart, a new test bench for electric drives has been commissioned – one of very few of its kind in Germany.

An e-mobility development centre in Suzhou/China is scheduled for completion in December. Mahle will pool its expertise in mechatronics, thermal management, and fluid management at the site and work on solutions specifically for the Chinese market.

The company has also recently begun to install hydrogen testing infrastructure at its headquarters in Stuttgart.

Mahle sees the use of hydrogen as key when it comes to shaping carbon-neutral mobility—both in fuel cell technology and in the combustion engine.

Corporate research and advanced engineering head Dr Martin Berger has outlined a current project involving a type IV hydrogen tank.

The design consists of a liner made of plastic and an outer casing of carbon fibre.

Mahle is working on the development of a new production process for this tank that will increase its hydrogen storage density and make it cheaper.

To accelerate the market penetration of battery electric mobility, Mahle is working on battery cooling.

Berger says that by harnessing the concept of immersion cooling, charging times can be reduced and batteries made smaller.

“Immersion cooling paves the way for a whole new generation of battery systems,” he says.

“With this technology, electric vehicles will be cheaper, lighter, and more resource-efficient.”

Mahle generated sales of about 12 billion euros and has more than 77,000 employees in 160 production sites and 16 major R&D centres in over 30 countries.