Speeding Electric

Date: 30.03.20
TRELLEBORG SEALING SOLUTIONS IS SPONSORING the University of Stuttgart's GreenTeam, providing prospective engineers with seals and sealing expertise for their e-Powered race cars. This has proven, and is still proving, to be a winning combination.

Successful racing pedigree

"In our GreenTeam project, over 60 students collaborate to build an e-Powered race car, which is driven in international competitions," says Florian Froehlich, from GreenTeam Uni Stuttgart e.V. "We’ve had a very successful past. Every year since 2010, our team has been one of the top 10 teams in the world ranking list of electric Formula Student race cars.”

Florian continues, “But, without sponsors and supporters, these successes would not happen. We are dependent on the exchange of experience and knowledge with industry and business. These partnerships have given our future engineers, computer scientists and business economists enormous innovative strength. With Trelleborg Sealing Solutions, we have a strong partner at our side who supports us with knowhow on sealing technology for eMobility applications."

MAKING ELECTRIC VEHICLES A REALITY

Two new high-speed rotary seals have been developed by Trelleborg Sealing Solutions to meet electric car manufacturers’ demands. The HiSpin® PDR RT and the HiSpin® HS40 seals make a significant step in overcoming issues related to sealing in extreme conditions at high rotary speeds.

This next-generation sealing technology brings electric cars significantly closer to meeting the ultimate goal of travelling the same distance as a gasoline vehicle on one charge.

Read more about our HiSpin® solutions here.


Unique challenges of e-Race cars

Electrification of race cars presents unique challenges. GreenTeam students deal with topics including control engineering, power electronics and driving dynamics. The Stuttgart GreenTeam developed, designed and produced an electric motor, which was used in the race car for the first time this year. At the heart of the car is a unique oil cooling system for the batteries.


"Motorsport presents high technical demands, especially on seals," says Julian Feucht, Sales Engineer Automotive Hub Europe at Trelleborg Sealing Solutions in Germany. "The seals have to meet very specific requirements related to the oil used for thermal management in the battery. The Formula Student competition has strict guidelines here, which the prospective engineers must adhere to."

First place!

This year, the the GreenTeam did everything right. At the Formula Student competition at the Hockenheimring their race car took first place in the Acceleration event, which evaluates the car's acceleration in a straight line from a standing start over a distance of 75 meters.


"We are enthusiastic about the GreenTeam and very impressed by the students' performance and expertise," continues Julian. "During our partnership, we found that the electric motor can reach critical temperature ranges due to high acceleration rates.


"Improved cooling can support significantly higher speeds. Our new HiSpin® seals for eMobility may help the team meet this challenge. We’re already looking forward to the next racing season.”