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The
revolution of the North American automotive industry is in progress with the
growing demand for battery electric vehicles (BEVs), and SKF is well-positioned
to support and advance the industry's growth goals. BEV sales topped three
million globally in 2020, a 40% year-over-year increase despite COVID
challenges, with sales expected to reach 30 million vehicles by 2035. The BEV
sector remains the fastest growing of the electrified technologies (by some
distance), achieving 100% year over year growth from September 2020 to
September 2021 according to LMC Automotive, a global auto industry consultant.
SKF
is investing in electric vehicle (EV) technology as part of its pledge to
increase sustainability. As part of their commitments to the Paris agreement on
climate change, a growing number of countries are set to phase out the
production of new combustion-engine vehicles over the next two decades. Around
the world, the electrification of passenger transport is picking up momentum.
Public opinion also enables major cities to start imposing bans or extra
charges on fossil-fuel vehicles to improve local air quality.
In response to this growing demand and in alignment with the company's stated goal of helping customers to become more sustainable, SKF is capitalizing on its decades of experience working in the EV sector and innovating products to improve EV performance and affordability. The company's commitment to and expertise in the rapidly evolving market puts it at the leading edge of development for EV manufacturing.
"Our
capabilities allow us to support the industry in overcoming challenges, while
taking advantage of the many opportunities that EVs represent. As technical
advances like range extension, battery longevity, charging technology and
available charging infrastructure continue to improve, the market will
experience more competitive pricing attracting new buyers. And while cost
reduction and more sustainable infrastructure will be important developments,
the power density of BEVs will also continue to improve addressing range
anxiety," said Greg Zimmermann, President Automotive North America for SKF
USA, Inc.
70%
of EVs in US use SKF bearings
Since
the beginning of the EV revolution, SKF has supported and helped catalyze
innovation in the industry. Automakers in North America choose SKF bearings as
critical components in their electric drivetrains – with more than 70% of all
battery electric vehicles produced in the US featuring SKF powertrain bearings.
SKF's work also includes developing tailored solutions to mitigate issues
unique to EVs, including drivetrain damage resulting from electric current,
hybrid bearings to improve performance, and other pain points of the EV
customer.
"Electric
vehicle power transmission may be mechanically simpler than their
combustion-transmission counterparts, but building an efficient, reliable and
enjoyable electric drivetrain is extremely challenging," said
Zimmermann. "Although the number of
bearings is about the same in an EV axle compared to a traditional one, the
technical challenge is more difficult due to higher rotational speeds and
demanding conditions on the bearings used in EV transmissions."
SKF
addressed some of the challenges unique to EVs by redesigning the bearings and
their components, such as the polymer cage, rolling components and by using
special lubricating grease. In fact, customized and hybrid bearings are already
solving some of the fundamental issues that can affect reliability in electric
vehicles.
Some
of the specialised SKF EV products include:
Hybrid
Deep Groove Ball Bearings (DGBB): SKF hybrid Deep
Groove Ball Bearings (DGBB), for example, use ceramic rolling elements and
steel rings. Bearings of this type offer improved high-speed performance and
best-in-class electrical insulation characteristics, making them the premium
choice for high performance EV powertrains. SKF offers tailored solutions to
mitigate current leakage at the system level and to protect the entire EV
transmission.
eDrive
Ball Bearings: The SKF eDrive ball bearing range
features an energy-efficient polymer cage, an optimized raceway geometry, and a
validated long-life wide-temperature grease. SKF eDrive ball bearings are
designed for electric and hybrid vehicle drivetrains. The bearings deliver
several design and performance benefits, including lower friction and lower
friction variation, higher electric machine efficiency, power density and
improved battery reliability.
SKF
Rotor Positioning Bearing: SKF's Rotor Positioning Bearings
are an integral component of the starter-alternator. The automotive industry is under constant
pressure to reduce CO2 output and improve vehicle fuel efficiency. One way of
doing this in micro-hybrid vehicles is to use a starter-alternator, which
provides a stop-start function. This turns off the engine when the vehicle
stops, then restarts it quickly when the driver releases the brake or engages a
gear.
SKF
Needle Roller Bearing: Needle roller bearings have
cylindrical rollers that are small in diameter. In spite of their low
cross-section, they have a high load-carrying capacity and are therefore
suitable for bearing arrangements where radial space is limited.
NUBS
cage for deep groove ball bearing: When alternators and
starter motors undergo a cold start, this is often accompanied by a squealing
sound. This problem, which tends to happen at random, but very rarely, can also
affect the function of the electric traction motor. This can be solved with
SKF's specially designed Non-Uniform Balls Spacing (NUBS) cage.
Sensor
bearing units: SKF's compact, robust and reliable,
simple and ready-to-mount sensor bearing units are used to monitor the status
of rotating or linear components accurately. Sensor-integrated solutions
engineered by SKF have been well proven in electric vehicles.
High
Speed Ball Bearing: The SKF High Speed Ball Bearing 1.8
(HSBB 1.8) is able to reach a rotational speed of 30,000 rpm. This enables car
manufacturers to increase the rotational speed of their electric motors to have
higher efficiency and thus greater mileage between charges.
Bi-Directional
High-Speed Seal: This next-generation low friction seal
is developed specifically for e-drive units with bi-directional sealing
capability. With higher linear speed up to 50 m/s and low frictional torque,
the seal is compatible with various eMobility transmission fluids.
In
addition to product development work, the SKF North American Technical Center
in Plymouth, Michigan, also supports car makers in application-specific
engineering. One area of particular interest for the BEV market is noise and
vibration. EVs are quieter than conventional cars, and even small amounts of
noise in the powertrain are noticeable. SKF has worked with leading
international automakers to identify the sources of these noises and address
them through bearing and system level design to improve the outcome.
Application-specific
engineering and close cooperation with customers at the early phase of the
electric powertrain development also allows SKF to design high-efficiency
bearing solutions and arrangements in order to decrease overall system power
losses, therefore maximizing EV range.
EV
manufacturers also require supply chains and engineering capabilities that fit
well with their manufacturing and product development footprint. SKF has
adopted a full-value-chain approach by investing in product development,
manufacturing and testing to target local EV markets.
"The
global footprint for SKF matches the customer footprint. We work hard to make
sure our products are where our customers need them when they need them. In
today's world, SKF recognizes that our manufacturing and engineering
capabilities need to be globally available to help meet customer demand,"
said Zimmermann.
LMC
Automotive expects electric vehicles to make up 34.2% of new US vehicle sales
by 2030, with all-electric at 30.1% and plug-in hybrids at 4.1%. SKF has the
technical, manufacturing and supply-chain capabilities needed to support the
sector's accelerating growth.
India's EV market has witnessed exponential growth, with EV sales surging from 160,000 in 2019 to 1.5 million in 2023.
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INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS FINDER (IPF) is India’s only industrial product portal. Referred to as the ‘Bible’ of the manufacturing sector in India,
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