HELLA and ebm-papst drive electrification

Lippstadt, September 11, 2017. HELLA KGaA Hueck & Co., one of the world's leading automotive suppliers for lighting and electronics and motor and ventilation specialist ebm-papst, have agreed on a strategic cooperation. The focus of the cooperation will be in the field of actuating systems. Both partners intend to further drive electrification and jointly develop innovative product solutions. The serial production of an electric purge pump will be the first joint project in 2019. It will significantly contribute to reducing CO₂ emissions in vehicles.

In order to develop future actuating solutions for select projects, both partners will complement each other in their core competencies. In addition to decades of experience in developing and producing actuators, HELLA also has extensive software expertise and a comprehensive system understanding. ebm-papst, on the other hand, is characterized by great expertise in developing and producing efficient high-performance electric motors and fans.

"Thanks to the strategic cooperation with ebm-papst, we can provide our customers with a clear added value in the field of actuators and position ourselves even better along the market trend of electrification", says HELLA CEO Dr. Rolf Breidenbach. "This is also illustrated by the first order that we have secured together with ebm-papst." Stefan Brandl, CEO of the ebm-papst group adds: "With HELLA, we have a very future-oriented automotive supplier with great technological expertise and broad international market access by our side. We're looking forward to this cooperation conceived for the long term."

A first large-scale order for an electric purge pump has recently been secured. The jointly developed pump will be used for irrigating activated carbon filters in fuel systems. The adequate electrification of the irrigation process leads to a significant reduction of the vehicle's CO₂ emissions. HELLA developed the "Interface Unit" composed of the housing, electronics and software while ebm-papst was responsible for developing the electric motor and the impeller for the pumping unit. Serial production of the purge pump is set to start in 2019. Beyond this initial cooperation project, ebm-papst and HELLA are aiming at expanding their collaboration towards additional products and applications.