Siemens is expanding its electromobility business by establishing a new location for the development, production and testing of electric powertrains for hybrid and electric vehicles.
The company manufactures converters for powertrains for electric cars in a facility covering 1,200m2. An inspection and testing area has been constructed on an additional 1,300m2, and houses various test rigs and laboratories, in which the development department can work on complete powertrains as well as charging technologies for hybrid and electric vehicles.
By combining development and production on one site, Siemens is able to respond faster to the individual demands of its customers from the automotive industry. At the new site in Frauenauracher Strasse, Erlangen, Germany, new offices have also been built – the international headquarters of the eCar Powertrain Systems business unit. In total, the location will accommodate a workforce of around 400. Jörg Grotendorst, CEO of eCar powertrain systems, opened the plant at an inauguration ceremony attended by numerous guests from economics and politics.
“With our new development and production center for converters in Erlangen we have moved toward series production of powertrains for the European electromobility market,” said Grotendorst.
“In combination with our motor production in Bad Neustadt, we are now in a position to equip tens of thousands of vehicles per year with our innovative electric powertrains. Siemens is committed to sending a clear signal in the market for electromobility.”
By locating the plant close to the development department and headquarters of the Motion Control business unit and the Equipment Manufacturing Plant in Erlangen (GWE), Siemens has pooled its converter technology expertise at the Frauenauracher Strasse site in Erlangen.
The company has been making converters for industrial use at the GWE since 1969 and is one of the world’s leading suppliers of electrical drive systems for industry. In 2014, Siemens opened a new production line for the manufacture of electric motors for hybrid and electric vehicles at its plant in Bad Neustadt. Motors and converters are the key components of electrical powertrains for hybrid and electric vehicles.
“Electromobility is a mega topic. We have recognized its huge importance, and we are working to drive this technology forward with our ‘Electromobility future offensive’. With its groundbreaking commitment to the field of electromobility, Siemens is helping to further strengthen the innovative capability of Bavaria’s economy.
“The achievements of its leading corporations and scientific institutions have placed Bavaria firmly at the forefront of the electromobility sector”, says Ilse Aigner, Bavarian state minister of economic affairs and media, energy and technology.
“Siemens is committed to the Erlangen site and investing in the technologies of the future,” adds Florian Janik, mayor of Erlangen.
“But it’s not only the business location of Erlangen that will benefit from the new eCar Powertrain Systems site. The site also provides answers to questions, such as how mobility in cities can be established on a sustainable basis: electric vehicles conserve resources, have low emissions and therefore represent an important contribution to the mobility of the future.”
April 30, 2015
