Volkswagen Group of America’s Announces New Breakthroughs in EV Battery Charging
Photo credit: Volkswagen
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (VWGoA) continues to lead the US automotive market with breakthrough ideas, demonstrating a strong commitment to electric mobility and innovation in the field of sustainable transportation. Volkswagen’s Knoxville-based innovation center continues to lead the revolution in the automotive market, the center is driving applied science research together with the University of Tennessee (UT) and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), driving breakthroughs in several areas of automotive research, such as lightweight automotive composites, recyclable interior materials, and EV wireless charging.
Volkswagen launched several research and development centers intending to promote collaboration with universities, research centers, and other technology companies to create innovative solutions that specialize in the field of electric mobility. These research centers were named “Innovation Hub”, one of the most important research centers located at the University of Tennessee Research Park at Cherokee Farm in Knoxville, Tennessee. The region where this center is located is commonly referred to as the “Valley of Materials” due to the large concentration of research facilities, such as ORNL, with which Volkswagen has already entered into research collaborations. Volkswagen researchers, in collaboration with UT faculty, Doctoral students, and URNL scientists, aim to collectively drive research and innovation in applied materials research.
“The Volkswagen Innovation Hub is a powerful example of the kind of scientific breakthroughs and industry-ready technology you can bring to market when you bring scientists and researchers from all disciplines and organizations together in one place.” With partners such as Volkswagen, Oak Ridge National Lab, and other industry leaders and technology start-ups located in the UT Research Park, “we have created a thriving innovation ecosystem,” said UT Chancellor Don Plowman.
One of the main focuses of the Innovation Hub teams is the development of lightweight composites for automobiles. Volkswagen, along with UT, initiated research into these composites by recreating the liftgate of a MY2020 Volkswagen Atlas using a sheet molding compound (SMC), which is made from a type of fiber-glass reinforced plastic. These composites enable electric vehicles to be even more efficient and play one of the most important roles in the manufacture of electric vehicles. Volkswagen’s Innovation Hub team is also researching the development of recyclable interior materials together with the Knoxville partners. This research focuses on the design of recyclable vehicle interiors, newer Volkswagen models contain many recyclable components.
The team at UT’s Renewable Carbon Center is developing recyclable alternatives to plastic interior parts and laminates. Wireless electric vehicle charging is another area where Volkswagen’s team is working with the Knoxville Innovation Center. A project in which Volkswagen has succeeded in creating a unique new coil and charging pad design with silicon carbide materials that can optimize charging speed and safety. The purpose of the new charging pad is to allow EV drivers to eventually pull into a parking spot like normal and wirelessly charge. Volkswagen uses its extensive experience in this field and the help of its research centers to make the switch to electric vehicles as easy as possible.
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