People + Companies

doi:10.1007/s41321-022-0489-8

People + Companies

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IAV | ATZheavyduty | New Member of the Scientific Advisory Board

Wolfgang Tschiggfrei, M. Sc., joins ATZheavyduty's scientific advisory board as a new member. He has worked at IAV GmbH since 1996 and has been Senior Vice President for Powertrain Calibration & Technology since 2017. Prior to this, he worked as a research and development engineer from 1989 to 1996 at Iveco's engine research in Arbon (Switzerland). His division is responsible for the engine calibration of passenger cars and heavy-duty vehicle engines as well as for the pre-development of powertrains.

Mahle | Arleth Left the Company

According to the company, Mahle and Matthias Arleth, Chairman of the Management Board and CEO, mutually agreed to terminate their cooperation by April 30, 2022. The reason given is the differing views regarding the future strategic orientation of the group. Arleth accepted the post in the technology group in January 2022. Michael Frick, Deputy Chairman of the Management Board and CFO, will assume the role of Chairman of the Board until a decision has been made by the supervisory board regarding the successor as CEO.

Northvolt | Battery Cell Factory in Germany

Northvolt plans to set up a new battery gigafactory near Heide in Schleswig-Holstein (Germany). With a potential annual production capacity of 60 GWh, "Northvolt Three" is expected to supply the European market with sustainably produced lithium-ion batteries. The capacity would be sufficient for around one million electric vehicles. The planned factory would increase Northvolt's capacity to a total of 170 GWh. Scheduled to produce its first batteries in 2025, the site is expected to create around 3000 new jobs. Plans also call for a battery recycling plant to be built at the site. Northvolt aims to source a large part of its raw material requirements from recycled battery metals.

Daimler Truck | Torc Robotics | Technology and Development Center Opened in Stuttgart

Torc Robotics, an independent subsidiary of Daimler Truck has opened a technology and software development center in Stuttgart. According to Torc, they are a leading company in the development of SAE Level 4 autonomous driving software for long-haul trucks. The team in Stuttgart will support the ongoing development of the driving software for use in autonomous trucks in the USA. "Torc is working closely with Daimler Truck to optimize the entire product including software, in other words, 'virtual driving', sensors and computer hardware, and the redundant truck. The goal is to be the first company to launch a scalable and profitable product for autonomous trucks on the market", Torc founder and CEO Michael Fleming states. "Our technology and software development center in Stuttgart enables us exploit the available regional competence in the fields automotive, trucking, and software."

VDMA Landtechnik | New Director

On April 01, the VDMA Trade Association for Agricultural Engineering (Landtechnik) appointed Dr. Tobias Ehrhard as the new director. The graduated industrial engineer and Dr. Bernd Scherer jointly headed up the Europe's largest industrial network for the agricultural machine and tractor industry. Erhard previously held the positions of director of the VDMA Trade Association for Large Engines and Deputy Director of the trade association for Engines and Systems. Starting on July 01, Erhard will carry sole responsibility for the trade associations Agricultural and Firefighting technology. Scherer will retire after 30 years of service in the European and global agricultural technology industry. Within the scope of overall executive board, he will continue to be responsible for the trade association's internationalization strategy until the end of June and carries the brand responsibility for the entire VDMA group.

Impulses

The Plan Is Not Working Out

The transport sector failed to achieve its climate targets in 2021, despite the reduction in traffic volumes caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the fall in production resulting from bottlenecks in the chip supply chain. Germany's coalition government has agreed on a plan for achieving the sector targets. In the case of cars, for example, this involves increasing the number of battery electric vehicles on German roads to 15 million by 2030. For this to constitute a zero-emission concept, PHEVs, which are very popular with customers, will not be included, contrary to the recommendation of the German National Platform Future of Mobility.

Is it realistic to expect 60 % of the new cars sold in Germany every year from now on to be BEVs? Can we guarantee a supply of renewable electricity to power them over the same period? Is the infrastructure expanding in parallel with the number of vehicles and is it easy for customers to use? Will the problem of range anxiety therefore begin to disappear? What will be the overall growth in Germany's existing fleet of vehicles?

The automotive industry strategists and experts at this year's International Engine Congress in Baden-Baden (Germany) regarded the 15 million BEVs as being only part of the answer. They called for a more reliable overall solution and recommended adding biofuels and other carbon-neutral fuels produced using electricity to the fossil fuels that cars are currently running on.

Betting everything on the 15-million card involves too many risks and is bordering on recklessness. Synthetic fuels for the existing fleet represent the key to a sustainable climate policy. Without them, we may find ourselves discussing the subject of imminent driving bans from 2028 onward.

ZF | Chairman of the Board Scheider Will Leave in 2023

Wolf-Henning Scheider has informed the supervisory board that he does not intend to extend his contract, which runs out in January 2023. After over three decades in the automotive industry and having reached his 60^th birthday, he has decided to end his active role in the sector at the end of the year in order to dedicate himself to new challenges. His term as chairman of the board saw the Wabco acquisition that enabled ZF to set a course toward being a system supplier in the heavy-duty vehicle market. The chairman of the supervisory board, Dr. Heinrich Hiesinger, regrets Schneider's decision but understands his wish to follow other paths after many years in outstanding and demanding management positions in the automotive industry. "Over the past few years, Wolf-Henning Scheider has made absolutely crucial contributions to enable ZF to grow in its fields of business to a leading supplier of cutting-edge electronic and mechatronic systems."