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The growing importance of electromobility presents automotive manufacturers with new challenges. For future generations of vehicles, a continuous improvement in driving range and comfort is expected. As technology leader, Autoneum is well-prepared to meet this demand. Among others, company experts are working alongside traditional and new automobile manufacturers on the optimal acoustic performance of electric vehicles at the “Competence Center New Mobility” founded in early 2017 in Sunnyvale (California), USA.

The multifunctional, lightweight components for noise and heat protection manufactured by Autoneum are particularly suited for use in electric vehicles, as they help to reduce the vehicle’s weight which is significantly increased by the battery. At the same time, they also reduce noise sources that were previously drowned out by the engine such as fans and pumps or new, battery-related noise emissions. There are thermal advantages as well: Since the temperature control of electric vehicles requires around 20% of the battery charge, thermal insulation components are needed to reduce the energy required for cooling and heating of the passenger cabin. Already today, five of the world’s best-selling electric vehicle models are equipped with lightweight components from Autoneum. As of 2018, nine additional models will follow, including two from new manufacturers in the USA and China, the world’s leading market for electric vehicles.

Trends such as self-driving cars or car-sharing services are changing mobility permanently. In the future, passengers will increasingly use travel time for work or recreation thanks to fully automated driving systems and jointly used transport services. This requires inno­vative technologies and products that enable undisturbed driving pleasure. Autoneum already supports automobile manufacturers worldwide with its many years of expertise in the development of lightweight components that ensure optimum acoustics in the passenger cabin and simultaneously enhance driving comfort.

In addition, the Company makes a significant contribution to preserving vehicle value, as the quality and aesthetics of the interior is becoming more and more important due to the increased demands on the passenger cabin. For example, carpet systems need to be particularly resilient and must efficiently reduce noise sources such as driving or rolling noises, especially in the case of e-cars. At the same time, the interior design of new models, which are geared to future needs, will require greater flexibility in terms of surface design since, among other things, the function of the instrument panel and the center console will change. This newly created space can be used to a greater extent for sound absorption.

However, thermal management continues to remain in the spotlight: Due to the electronic components required for vehicle control system such as sensors or high-end computers, cars of the future will need components that contribute to energy-efficient climate control in the vehicle. To meet this demand, Autoneum has launched new heat-reducing materials and technologies such as Tune-It and Di-Light for carpet systems and Hybrid-Acoustics ECO+ for inner dashes and floor insulators in 2017.

As a manufacturing company, Autoneum primarily benefits from digital transformation in production processes. The complex net­working of intelligent production systems (smart factories) enables accelerated and more efficient manufacturing processes as well as a more flexible and individual production. The Company’s digitalization strategy focuses on a variety of Industry 4.0 applications ranging from virtual reality applications and collaborative robots (“cobots”) to simulations and the internet of things. Autoneum has been implementing corresponding pilot projects at its global productions sites since 2017. For example, the performance of two cross-linked felt production lines in the USA and China is continuously monitored by means of web-based data exchange, thus optimizing production planning and maintenance as well as the reuse of production scrap. In addition, Autoneum makes use of digital 3-D simulations such as Computer-Based Manufacturing Simulation (CBMS) in order to simulate the layout and installation of equipment and production cells as well as the deployment of workers already during the planning phase. This enables improvements in working conditions, optimum plant utilization, in­creases in efficiency and associated cost-­savings. The Chinese plant in Yantai, which opened in 2017, and the US plant in Aiken (South Carolina), which has been expanded, are optimally prepared for future production requirements thanks to the use of CBMS. Simultaneously, the know-how gained is used in the CBMS-based design of new plants.