Continental will be presenting a broad portfolio of products, technologies and digital solutions relating to sustainability, connected commercial vehicles, data-based services as well as safe transport, at the IAA Transportation 2022 expo.
Visitors to the Continental booth can expect to see numerous innovations including intelligent driver assistance systems and autonomous driving functions, all-round connected components, services for greater compliance, high-performance computing, and sustainable tyres for the commercial vehicle sector.
In recent months, Continental has received many orders for various vehicle electronics control components in electrically powered commercial vehicles, including DC/DC converters and control components for the charging process and thermal management.
“Unlike the passenger car market, the commercial vehicle sector is still on the starting line for the transition to zero-emission mobility,” explains Dr. Ismail Dagli, head of the smart mobility business at Continental. “However, we can clearly see that the market is picking up speed, despite the significant challenges posed by range and the charging infrastructure. In the future, sustainable drives will also become more critical in the light of ambitious climate change mitigation targets and the continuous increase in freight traffic. This makes it all the more necessary for us to support manufacturers with our extensive portfolio for commercial electric vehicles.”
Continental offers a broad portfolio of components and solutions for electrically powered commercial vehicles, including consulting and design services, software development, and hardware such as DC/DC converters and control components including sound modules, intelligent sensors for battery monitoring, battery management systems and charge controllers, and high-voltage cables.
Continental‘s development team combines the knowledge gained over decades in the commercial vehicle sector and the latest findings from development projects relating to electric cars.
Continental engineers are working with Siemens Mobility in developing the pantograph for dynamic charging, which means supplying power from overhead lines to charge the e-battery while driving.
The National Platform for the Future of Mobility, an innovation initiative of the German Federal Ministry of Transport, recommends equipping 4,000 kilometers of highway with the overhead contact line technology by 2030.
“This could be an optimal solution for the future, especially for heavy-duty traffic – it avoids long waiting times at charging stations and the battery can be made much smaller,” says Alex Rupprecht, who is responsible for the development of the pantograph at Continental. “We believe that dynamic charging is the clear favorite to significantly reduce CO2 emissions, despite the competition of other technologies using fuels like hydrogen and other synthetic fuels.”
Continental is also highly involved in other usage scenarios as a development partner of vehicle and component manufacturers for electric mobility in passenger cars. For instance, the company has developed new sensors to protect EV batteries, which will also benefit the commercial vehicle sector in the future.
“We plan to systematically expand our product range in cooperation with our passenger car colleagues, since car components can often be used after only slight modifications have been made,” says Ismail Dagli.
Last year, Continental developed the Conti Urban city bus tyre, which has an increased load index designed specifically for electric buses in urban traffic. The load-bearing capacity of the tyre is based on the higher vehicle weights of electric buses. Since 2016, Continental has been active in several development partnerships, for instance, with all the relevant manufacturers of commercial vehicles, for tyres specifically designed to meet the requirements of e-trucks and e-buses.
High-performance plastics developed by ContiTech are also used in the commercial vehicle sector; for example, industry experts are equipping a major bus manufacturer’s e-buses with axle air springs that meet the high demands of urban traffic in the best possible way. Engine mounts provide even more comfort in the passenger cabin by dampening the vibrations of the electric motor, helping to prevent unpleasant, high-frequency whistling and booming noises. Continental experts are also developing wiring systems for electric vehicles. Electric trucks’ cooling and heating lines can comprise up to 100 individual pipes and hoses, in addition to many transition elements.