The system solution developed by HELLA ensures ideal distribution of thermal energy in electric vehicles and will be launched for the first time in 2024. During the project acquisition, HELLA has also been supported by Faurecia’s customer access.

Friday 2022-05-13

HELLA has received the first large-volume series order for its new Coolant Control Hub (CCH). The CCH developed by HELLA is an innovative subsystem that ensures particularly efficient thermal management in electric vehicles. Series production is expected to start in 2024 at HELLA's electronics plant in San José Iturbide, Mexico; initially the leading automotive manufacturer Stellantis will be supplied. The development is carried out in the international HELLA network, including Northville, USA, and the company's headquarters in Lippstadt, Germany.

"The future of mobility is electric and emission-free. According to current forecasts, the production figures for all-electric vehicles will increase around eightfold by 2030. In regards to new productions, electric cars will then have the largest market share of all powertrains," says Björn Twiehaus, Managing Director Electronics at HELLA. "We accompany our customers on this path with sophisticated product solutions. With the new Coolant Control Hub, we are expanding our portfolio with another essential key component for electromobility and offering our customers a powerful system approach that further improves thermal management in e-cars and thus enhances their performance."

As the first product of its kind, the CCH combines the cooling circuits for the battery, electric motor and vehicle interior, reducing the number of components in the overall system by up to 50 percent. Among other things, this also significantly reduces the costs of materials, logistics and assembly. At the same time, the CCH ensures optimal distribution of thermal energies in the vehicle, which increases the efficiency of the electric car and thus leads to shorter charging times and a longer rang.

CCH is based on a modular approach and integrates actuators and sensors, distribution systems, electronic circulation pumps, expansion tanks and heat exchangers as well as innovative valve solutions in one product. Here, HELLA contributes its leading market position in the field of pumps, sensors and actuators, as well as a distinct system know-how. The Coolant Control Hub is offered as a customized subsystem, that can be configured according to the respective customer specifications. In the case of the Stellantis order now acquired, for example, the focus was on functionalities for demand-oriented temperature control of the battery and the electric motor.

HELLA was supported in receiving the customer nomination by its new majority shareholder Faurecia. In this context, HELLA has been able to benefit from the good customer access to the Stellantis Group that Faurecia has built up, particularly through the Clean Mobility Business Group. "We have been in many good discussions with the customer over a long period of time, but these have primarily taken place at the product level," explains Managing Director Electronics Björn Twiehaus. "Faurecia has opened the doors to the relevant decision-making levels for us. Above all, this made it possible for us to understand the customer's commercial requirements even better and to ultimately acquire the initial order on this basis."