Smart minds worldwide: Together for sustainable mobility

With its e-compressors, Knorr‑Bremse was able to position itself early on as a leading system provider who supports commercial vehicle customers as they move toward sustainable mobility. Gilles was a driving force from the start and is today working on projects for the electric screw compressor and the rotary vane compressor. “Both are used in electric and hybrid trucks and buses,” the Research Manager for Compressors reports.

Gilles is driving electrification with new applications for compressors. This is because the rotary vane compressor operates energy-efficiently and with a minimum of noise and it can be adapted to the construction and technical requirements of electric commercial vehicles with moderate to low demand for compressed air. The rotary vane compressor uses less energy from batteries to produce 1 m³ of air than a piston compressor powered by a diesel engine. In combination with a compact e-motor, the rotary vane compressor makes up the Electrical Vane Module (EVM). This module is able to increase the efficiency of a drive in a commercial vehicle, also when compared with a combustion engine. This means that the energy is used more efficiently, increasing the range of e-vehicles and making them more attractive.

Knorr‑Bremse compressors have been Gilles’ passion for twenty years. The graduate engineer helped pave the way for electrification. The generation of his own electricity and its efficient use were also on Gilles’ mind in his private life when he renovated his house – sustainability never takes any time off.

When Edina has before her a unit of the PF6 braking system that has been successfully incorporated into a rail vehicle for a good 20 years, it is clear that her design and construction expertise and that of her team are needed. This is because the railway continually develops. For the braking system to continue its life cycle, old vehicle parts must meet the new requirements. Edina, who has been working in the Construction department since 2010, is working on these requests with designers.

Edina ensures the operation of braking systems over the entire service life of the product. She explains: “Our team provides support for our products not only during the warranty period, but also beyond, assuring our customers that our brake systems can perform their task until the end of their service life. To do this, we analyze all failures and feed them back into our design processes in the form of a development.” A mechanical engineer by training, Edina has specialized in welding technology and stands out through her knowledge and inventiveness in construction-related matters. After all, dealing with customer requests is a complex undertaking. Edina gives some examples: “To comply with environmental guidelines, we avoid certain materials such as chromium-containing coatings in the design process. We are also rethinking existing designs in view of the EU’s environmental protection directives. This is a very difficult task. The market itself requires us to think in a sustainable way: they expect us to produce products that are as small as possible and easy to maintain, and we try to meet these expectations.”

The job demands innovative thinking from Edina. And it doesn’t stop at the factory gates. “I use an electric car in my daily life, and I think it would be nice if it had a removable and replaceable battery so that it can be charged while I use the other one.” To recharge her own batteries, Edina goes running – she is a member of the Knorr‑Bremse Running Club.

Jean-Baptiste is happy about the recent market launch of the compressor for the Electric Vane Module (EVM). His team in Lisieux collaborated with others on this, including the Center of Competence Air Supply in Munich.

The career of Jean-Baptiste is a lived e-truck evolution. When he started as a construction engineer at Knorr‑Bremse 25 years ago, awareness of climate change was still low. “Around 2010, the concept of sustainable development became more present in the sector. We responded to the calls for reduced emissions and energy consumption in commercial vehicles with clutch compressors,” Jean-Baptiste recalls. Later, Lisieux developed the electric screw compressor for the first hybrid buses – as electromobility became an issue in heavy goods transport. Of course, the compressor is now also used in fully electric commercial vehicles.

A Milestone was the COP21 in Paris in 2015. The pressure to reduce CO₂e emissions mounted, and manufacturers began to develop the first generation of electric trucks. “At Knorr-Bremse, we proactively supported this transition by adjusting our resources through training, recruitment and investment,” reports Jean-Baptiste. In 2020, it became increasingly apparent that electric trucks will assume an important role on the market sooner or later.

Jean-Baptiste has a hunger for sustainability knowledge: “I wanted to understand the potential of hydrogen for heavy goods transport, and in the process, I became enthusiastic about the energy transition.” This enthusiasm is catching, as around 50 employees experienced at the team building day in Lisieux in 2023. Jean-Baptiste shared his expertise on the topic of the “Energy Transition and its Impact on E-mobility.”

Electric vehicles are able to recover a certain amount of energy during braking and use it when the vehicle is in traction mode. Fernando supports the development of the Electric Vehicle Motion Control (eVMC) software from its design through to implementation. It maximizes energy recovery during braking and thus enables energy-efficient driving. Fernando, too, is driven: after graduating in Mechatronics in Mexico, he gained seven years’ work experience at Bendix. In the course of his expat career (Promoting Cultural Diversity) , he has been supporting the eCUBATOR team in Munich, Knorr-Bremse’s electromobility innovation unit, since 2021.

Knorr‑Bremse always wants to offer its customers the best braking system performance, also in the age of E-Mobility. To this end, Fernando is working on the perfect “brake mix”: “We are looking for the perfect balance between the use of friction brakes and electric generators in order to maximize energy efficiency while at the same ensuring vehicle stability.” These algorithms are then integrated into the products of the new brake control system, Global Scalable Brake Control (GSBC). Fernando is convinced that the technologies developed in the eCUBATOR can increase the reliability and performance of electric vehicles and thus strengthen their appeal for fleet operators.

“It is work for a greater purpose.” Fernando wants to use his skills to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in transport: “As experts in the mobility industry, we have a responsibility to keep working toward achieving the goal of becoming climate-neutral.” Fernando also lives out this belief in his private life as he is a public transport user by conviction.

For Knorr‑Bremse in Suzhou, the focus is on the needs of local customers. They ask for lighter, more powerful and intelligent products. One result is the development of a high-performance aluminum disc for the bogies of rail vehicles. “This project was initiated on site and launched together with our European colleagues,” reports Guangwen. He started at Knorr‑Bremse 15 years ago as a systems engineer in the high-speed trains segment and is now responsible for the development of the bogie equipment in Suzhou.

The high-performance aluminum discs project also fully involves the Industrial Engineering, Procurement, Quality and Design departments. This close collaboration leads to a more sustainable and thus more competitive product, as Guangwen knows. When developing high-performance aluminum discs, Knorr‑Bremse Suzhou combines the benefits of domestic suppliers of sintered aluminum. Cast steel discs are normally used for higher thermal requirements, e.g., intercity rail projects. However, the high-performance aluminum discs greatly reduce the unsprung mass, which significantly reduces energy consumption and CO₂e emissions. Guangwen, who recently obtained his doctorate, seeks to improve both himself and Knorr‑Bremse products further. Suzhou is an important development location for Group-wide and local application tasks and provides excellent conditions for this.

Guangwen is enthused by teamwork. This applies both in his job and in his personal life, when cycling and rowing: “First of all, movement makes me healthier. Secondly, we want to achieve a goal together and leave nobody behind.”

Remanufacturing is Mauricio Costa’s world. The Head of Production is responsible for remanufacturing of Knorr‑Bremse products at the CVS division in Itupeva, Brazil. “By giving products a new lease of life, we make a major contribution to the reuse of raw materials and thus to reducing CO₂e and waste,” explains Mauricio, who has coordinated the department at Knorr‑Bremse Brasil for 11 years. However, current projects – such as reconditioning of components for the latest generation of brakes – are as exciting for him as they were on day one.

Remanufacturing involves carefully checking which products can be refurbished and used by the customer. In Itupeva, this work mainly relates to air disk brakes, compressors, air dryers, and actuators (spring brakes). They are cleaned, mechanically reconditioned and returned to the product cycle. They then meet the same high safety and quality standards as new products. Mauricio and his team agree on the importance of remanufacturing: “The extended use of components saves energy and raw materials in production – and that reduces CO₂e emissions. At the same time, remanufactured products enable our customers to extend the life cycle of their trucks. That makes a lot of sense from an ecological and economic perspective.”

Mauricio even starts his working day in a way that saves resources and cuts emissions. That is because he commutes the around 70 kilometers between his home in São Paulo and Itupeva by carpooling. Mauricio can see the air pollution in his home city and would like the public transportation services to be expanded on a greater scale. Incidentally, Mauricio is also committed to the circular economy at home: Waste is strictly sorted and all knowledge about a sustainable lifestyle is shared with his family.

In 2023, Olivia was given the opportunity to get acquainted with 3D metal printing. She has been focusing on piped brake panels in the past 20 years and now she designed her first 3D metal printed auxiliary brake panel for a high-speed train. “Additive manufacturing is a relatively new technology in this field with great future perspectives. It enables to design more complex geometries. But even more exciting for me is the sustainability aspect of this technology”, reports the Systems Integration Engineer.

Olivia works closely with French project and system engineers from Knorr‑Bremse and their 3D printing technical expert team. The result is a more ergonomic and smaller panel than the original was. The weight of the panel is only one third of the weight of the original drilled panel. Moreover, the production of the size-optimized 3D-printed structures requires less material and energy, by making a contribution to sustainability. Olivia’s colleagues have recognized the added value provided by this project by granting it the Knorr‑Bremse Budapest RDM (R&D Mechanical) Excellence Award.

Good work-life balance is essential for good engineering work. Olivia tries to focus on her mental and physical health by taking long walks with her two dogs and regular jogging, also as a member of the Knorr‑Bremse Budapest Running Club. “As a mother of two kids, who also leads a sustainable household, I am really happy to use and promote such an innovative and sustainable technology as additive manufacturing in my daily work”, Olivia comments happily.