Innovations for the automotive future: Dräxlmaier and the StreetScooter

"As a multidisciplinary project, StreetScooter gives us the opportunity to experience all facets of the future of the automotive industry in close cooperation with research and industry partners". This is how Prof. Jörg Elsenbach, responsible for corporate development, outlines the strategy pursued by the Dräxlmaier Group as an industrial partner of StreetScooter GmbH. In his opinion, the project is almost perfectly-suited to an automotive components supplier in order to put a new vehicle concept in an overall perspective - from the first idea right through to industrial implementation. This was a great opportunity for Dräxlmaier to realistically determine the interactions between different modules and components in an electric car and to expand their own knowledge. According to Elsenbach, this is exactly the reason why the project differs from a classic concept competition. As is the case with a range of other projects, the Dräxlmaier Group is working with RWTH Aachen University which harbours the consortium focusing on electric cars optimised for urban use and short journeys.

Dräxlmaier has developed a new automotive electrical architecture tailored to the special vehicle concept with both 120- and 12-volt wiring harnesses. Thanks to the ingenious topology, the high-voltage system, which is far more sophisticated and elaborate than its predecessors in technical terms, is limited to the electric drive line and the heating/cooling functions in the vehicle. All other systems, such as lights, chassis systems and safety systems or the integrated entertainment system, are served by a conventional 12-volt supply. The greatest challenge in this project was the very limited amount of space available in such a small car designed to be economic and highly efficient. The parallel power supply wiring harnesses had to be installed in extremely narrow spaces along with air ducts and bus systems.

As a central control unit, the Body Controller Module (BCM), also developed especially by Dräxlmaier, controls all electronic and comfort functions as well as transmission and control processes in the vehicle, including those of the electric drive line and the heating/cooling unit. Building on its electronics division's years of experience, the company has supplied a control unit which is responsible for such a wide range of functions for the first time.

"The StreetScooter represents institutionalised proving grounds which put our electro-mobility expertise on more solid foundations," says Elsenbach. He also says that, in the end, OEMs which provide the company with high-voltage systems and other components for electric drive lines will also profit from this project.

DAA Draexlmaier Automotive of America LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Dräxlmaier Group of Germany. The company’s main lines of business include interior components, cockpits, wiring harness and electrical management systems. Customers in North America include BMW, General Motors/Cadillac and Volkswagen.