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The event highlighted Volkswagen's upcoming electric car innovations in the areas of batteries, charging, and electronic components, with particular emphasis on the electric drive system of the future. Volkswagen is developing pulse inverters and thermal management systems, along with batteries and electric motors, and is handling all of the central components internally. This move is offering a significant efficiency and cost advantages. Volkswagen expects up to 20% more efficiency due to the optimal combination of individual components.
Thomas Schmall, member of the Volkswagen Group Board of Management with responsibility for Technology, stated that the company's goal was to become one of the only car manufacturers globally that can offer a holistically optimised complete system. The know-how and innovative strength of the Volkswagen Group’s colleagues worldwide has been instrumental in supporting the company's transformation.
Volkswagen's developers of these core components have redesigned the hardware and software from the ground up for the pulse inverter, the brain of the electric drive train that is responsible for efficiency and performance. The technology can be used in everything from entry-level engines to sports cars with an output of over 500 kW and more in the future, thanks to the modular toolkit principle. The technology is being developed for series production maturity and is already usable with the next MEB generation.
Volkswagen is working on entirely new solutions when it comes to thermal management systems. The company is replacing today's large number of individual modules and long hose connections with an extremely compact, integrated thermal module, which will control the entire air conditioning, including for the high-voltage battery, thus significantly impacting the vehicle's range and fast-charging capability. The new all-in-one module is also significantly lighter, more robust, and more efficient than current systems.
The development of all central electric drive components is focused on scalability, with high economies of scale reducing costs. Volkswagen Group Technology bundles Group-wide activities in the areas of batteries, charging and electric components, and supports the brands as a group-wide technology supplier. The subsidiaries PowerCo (batteries) and Elli (charging and energy) are also involved here. Around the world, Volkswagen Group Technology employs around 70,000 people, and the high-tech portfolio comprises the unified cell, which will be utilised in all Volkswagen Group vehicles as of 2025, setting a new benchmark in terms of battery technology.
Source: Volkswagen
