www.auto-innovations.net
07
'23
Written on Modified on
Continental News
Continental and DeepDrive Develop Wheel Hub Drive with Integrated Brake
Innovative drive-brake unit is more efficient, more compact, and more economical.
Continental has entered a strategic partnership with Munich-based high-tech company DeepDrive to develop core technologies for electric vehicles. As a first milestone, both companies will jointly develop a combined unit comprising drive and brake components for mounting directly on the vehicle wheel. DeepDrive is a specialist in the development of efficient electric motors, with many years of experience in large-scale automobile production. Continental, in turn, contributes its technological know-how in brake systems and its expertise in the industrialization of innovative technologies.
DeepDrive has developed and patented what is called a dual-rotor, radial-flux motor that can be installed as a central drive unit or as a wheel hub drive in series production vehicles. The partnership is focusing on developing an efficient, compact wheel hub drive optimized with a view to cost-effective production. And Continental is contributing not only brake components for the joint drive-brake unit: With its expertise in industrializing products right through to series development, the company is ensuring that the motor innovation from Munich will be road-ready with state-of-the-art brake technology soon. In the first step, a hydraulic brake is integrated into the drive-brake unit. In a second step, it is also planned to integrate on the long-term dry braking systems without hydraulic components into DeepDrive's innovative wheel hub drive. The combination of drive and brake in one unit is also the first step towards a so-called corner module with integrated chassis components, such as air suspension systems from Continental, in a compact unit directly on the wheel.
The collaboration between the companies was initiated by Continental’s Corporate Venture unit (co-pace). The Corporate Venture unit also participated in the Munich-based company as a financial investor in a Series-A financing of DeepDrive that was completed at the beginning of the year.
www.continental.com
