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11/12/2020 | Pressemitteilung

On the road to the electric truck - New research infrastructure

Everyone is talking about electric cars - usually passenger cars. But sustainable transportation also requires emission-free trucks. At the University of Kassel, which is one of the few institutions conducting research in this area, a new large-scale test stand is now being built to advance e-mobility for freight transport.

Image: University of Kassel.
Prof. Dr. Frank Lehmann (l.) and Prof. Dr.-Ing. Michael Fister at the test rig construction site.

The test stand is being built at the Department of Mechatronics with a focus on vehicles by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Michael Fister; the Kassel scientist is conducting research on various topics in this field, such as transmission concepts for the powertrain of vans.

Several million euros are being invested. The new test rig will make it possible to commission electric drive systems from vans to heavy trucks under realistic conditions, to answer important research questions and to study the behavior of electric drive trains over a longer period of operation. The Mercedes-Benz plant in Kassel is supporting the University of Kassel in this project; the plant is Daimler Truck AG's global center of competence for commercial vehicle axles, where electrically driven axles for heavy trucks will also be manufactured in the future.

"We are very pleased that the University of Kassel is investing in the future and conducting research in this area. This test stand is another element of our decades-long cooperation and offers the opportunity to jointly advance the development of fully electric commercial vehicle axles," said Prof. Dr. Frank H. Lehmann, site manager of the Mercedes-Benz plant in Kassel, during a visit to the construction site.

Prof. Fister added: "The cooperation with the Mercedes-Benz plant in Kassel allows the University of Kassel to work on interesting issues at a very early stage of electromobility in freight transport. This research focus is hardly widespread, making the University of Kassel a pioneer in research on electrified freight transport."