Coroplast Global | Insights Coroflex on the pulse of the industry – Trends in electromobility

"Wherever electric drives are used, electric cables are also used," emphasizes Helmut Wichmann. The electrification of mobility therefore represents a great opportunity for Coroflex, as one of the leading manufacturers of cables and wires. But it is essential to understand the needs of vehicle manufacturers precisely and sometimes even to anticipate them. "Thanks to our many years of experience, our close interlocking within the supplier chains and the permanent exchange with the industry at trade fairs and congresses, we are involved in concept developments and in problem-solving at an early stage," adds the senior product manager. This is one of the reasons why Helmut Wichmann and his colleagues were recently on the road again at the IAA Mobility 2021 and the 10th International Conference Automotive Wire Harness.
 

The team was able to observe the following trends:

From Coroflex's perspective, there are currently fundamental requirements where we can support the industry:

• the weight reduction of the line sets and thus of the vehicles as a whole
• functionally safe high-voltage cables for further increasing electrical, thermal and mechanical requirements
• increasing customer acceptance, especially for charging connection lines
• the fully automatic processability of all installed components.

Space-saving solutions were, are and will remain a major topic in the area of high-voltage cables: "Here we have interesting products which, due to their design and functionality, are suitable for particularly small bending radii in the tightest installation spaces". Another important field of development is new types of cable concepts to achieve shorter charging times for high-voltage batteries. "Here, for example, we can also contribute our expertise on actively coolable cables. “

The current voltage situation in the vehicle requires high-voltage cables of voltage class 600 V AC or 1,000 V DC. Already today, further increasing voltages are being discussed, which require high-voltage cables of the voltage class 1,000 V AC or 1,500 V DC. Here Coroflex can already deliver solutions: "We are also already one step ahead of the market demands " our expert is sure. "Coroflex high-voltage cables have already been tested for this next and higher voltage class through extensive and practice-relevant tests."

A rapid expansion of the charging infrastructure is an essential key to the success of the traffic turnaround. The charging cable plays a decisive role here, not only as the electrical connection of the vehicle to the charging station or wallbox. In addition to the minimum technical functions, vehicle users have further requirements in terms of reduced odour emissions, appearance, feel and handling of the charging cables.

This is where our charging cables make a valuable contribution. The Coroflex charging cable of the latest generation meets all these customer-oriented requirements. Furthermoreis they are weight-reduced and can be used in almost all countries thanks to its multi-standard approval.

Special Designer Class charging cables are available for discerning vehicle customers. In terms of look, feel and individualisation, no customer wishes remain unfulfilled.

With foresight, our engineers are also devoting themselves to alternative charging concepts. In the future, inductive charging robots may offer a convenience advantage over conductive charging. What at first glance does not look like a field of activity for a cable specialist is, however, quite interesting for us: inductive charging motors also require innovative connection cables for energy supply and for controlling this smart technology.

In particular, due to the trend towards autonomous driving of future road vehicles, powerful and reliable data lines are required. There is an increased need for communication between the autonomously operated vehicles. A wide variety of systems communicate with each other in the vehicles. Vehicle users demand the highest data transmission rates for all mobile comfort and office applications in the vehicle. At the same time, there must be no errors or failures with the lines used. Users of these systems require reliability and failure safety. Coroflex offers these powerful and reliable solutions today for the demands of tomorrow.

The Coroplast Group is a partner of the Arena2036 innovation platform. Together with renowned vehicle manufacturers and other partners in the supply industry, we exchange ideas on future requirements for the automated production of wiring harnesses and the automated assembly of wiring harnesses in the vehicle. Requirements for this consistent automation are developed through innovative teamwork between a wide variety of project groups. All relevant results of the project groups are documented in a new standard DIN 72036 covering all OEMs and made available for the development of future vehicle generations.

"The trend towards electric mobility is unstoppable," says Helmut Wichmann. "The automotive industry seems to be reinventing itself at the moment." And he can evaluate this: Coroflex has been involved in electromobility for over 15 years. Thus, opportunities arose to accompany today's important developments from the very beginning and to define standards. Cables developed according to the requirements of these standards are now in use worldwide "In this way, Coroflex gained a great advantage in experience and knowledge," explains Wichmann. The success proves us right. For some time now, the production figures for electrically powered vehicles have been going steadily upwards. "Depending on the continent, electric vehicles will overtake conventional combustion engines in terms of new registrations between 2028 and 2033. Whether it's Asia, Europe or the USA, we will be able to meet the continuing rise in demand with our innovative products." Our expert is certain of this. The global Coroflex sites are equipped with innovative production technologies.

Whether PHEV (Plugin Hybrid Electric Vehicle), BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle) or FCEV (Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle) - Coroflex cables for electric mobility are used in all variations of electric driving. Our reliable products also make us a trustworthy development partner for the future. "The topic of electromobility also harmonizes perfectly with our sustainable thinking and actions," Helmut Wichmann is pleased to say, "which we are driving forward with the Coroplast Group Sustainability Initiative"