Volkswagen Group Components has opened a new competence center for power electronics at the site in Kassel, in which all areas important for the development of pulse-controlled converters for electric drives will be brought together in the future.
VWGC hopes this will take advantage of synergies and reduce development time. In mid-February, VW announced that it would develop its own pulse-controlled converters and thermal management for the batteries, and would no longer buy these components from suppliers.
At the same time, according to the company’s statement, the site is preparing for the expansion of the new APP550 (“MEB Performance”) electric drive. As a performance-enhanced variant of the MEB engine, the APP550 will power the group’s various electric models in the future with up to 210kW of power and up to 550Nm of torque.
The specific models in which the APP550 is to be used have not yet been named. One possibility would be the ID.3 GTX announced for this year. With 210 kW, it would come close to the ID.4 and ID.5 all-wheel drive GTX models, but do without the second drive unit on the front axle. Or VW giving bigger models like the ID.4 or the upcoming ID.7 another rear-wheel drive option over the current 150kW machine.
However, it is certain where the APP550 will be built: the assembly line for the new drive has been in place for a good year in production hall 1. The first pre-series drives are currently being produced. The rotor and stator are produced independently in the company. The start of production is planned for this May, and by the end of the year the volume should be increased to approximately 1,500 pieces per day.
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In the next step, the production of exhaust systems will be transformed into the production of active components for electric drives, such as the assembly of rotors and stators. According to VW, employees in the production of exhaust systems should also switch to the production of electric drive components.
“As a system supplier of electric drives, we take central components into our own hands. Kassel plays a key role as a group-wide center for e-motors,” says Thomas Schmall, Board Member for Technology and CEO of Volkswagen Group Components. “The branch has been developing and producing electric drives for more than ten years and is now expanding its know-how with a new competence center for power electronics. Kassel is a strong example of a competitive and successful transformation towards e-mobility.”
volkswagen-newsroom.com
Source: Electrive
