SmarTram

Development of technical solutions for the use of automation potentials in the streetcar sector

Project period: Okt 2022 – Sept 2025 | Project partners: IABG Industrieanlagen-Betriebsgesellschaft mbH, FusionSystems GmbH, Chemnitzer Verkehrs-AG

Work on autonomous driving has been going on for years in the aerospace and automotive industries, as well as in rail transport. This has already been fully implemented in some subways and delimited metro lines. However, current systems usually reach their limits when it comes to increased interactions with other road users, such as on the street or in streetcars.

For this reason, the planned project will develop and improve technical solutions for exploiting automation potential in the streetcar sector. This will be based on architectures and functions that have already been tested in the automotive sector and on the use of infrastructure. The technological focus is on the investigation and further development of hybrid systems including vehicle- and infrastructure-based sensors, the demand-oriented flexibilization of the vehicle and fleet system, the application of V2X communication and cloud computing technologies including the associated security aspects, and the design of the vehicle with special consideration of the passenger and vehicle guidance aspects that autonomous vehicle guidance requires. The practical validation of the technologies is carried out with the help of a streetcar and the operating environment of the Chemnitzer Verkehrs - AG.

Gefördert durch: 

RailAIxs

Development of a reference architecture for a vehicle-based environment recognition for driverless rail traffic

Project period: Aug 2022 – Juli 2025 | Project partners: RWTH Aachen, FH Aachen, Qinum GmbH 

Today, branch lines are often served by diesel railcars at a low frequency. Due to the unattractive service, passenger numbers remain low and economical operation is often not possible. Freight traffic is often completely discontinued except for the possible service of sidings of large industrial areas. As a result, many branch lines have been taken out of service. Furthermore, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find skilled workers to drive multiple-unit trains. With the introduction of driverless light local railcars, lower operating costs can be achieved and a denser frequency sequence can be offered, which increases the attractiveness of rural local transport. Lightweight construction, small size and a battery-electric drive system also reduce energy requirements compared with today's vehicles.

The aim of the project is the development of a reference architecture for a vehicle-based environment recognition for driverless rail traffic, especially for the application on secondary lines, its implementation and testing being done by means of a demonstrator. The data requirements and the systematic development of innovative possibilities for using and networking the data in the context of the BMVI will be researched.

Gefördert durch: 

ESPRIT – completed research project

Note: This project was funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program under Grant Agreement No. 653395.

The Easily diStributed Personal RapId Transit (ESPRIT) project aimed to develop a special lightweight L-class electric vehicle that could be stacked together to save space and driven as a road train. It is part of the Horizon 2020 program of the European Union. Up to 8 ESPRIT vehicles can be nested in one truck train to allow efficient fleet redistribution and an intelligent, balanced, and cost-effective transportation system. A total of 20 partners from 7 countries were involved in the project.

• Vehicle development (design, CAD modeling, clutch construction, prototype construction)
• Vehicle Automation
• Vehicle maintenance

Completed research project: People Mover System

About 2 million people make the annual pilgrimage to Mecca for the Hajj, the pilgrimage around the Kaaba. The believers circle the cube-shaped building made of black stone seven times unti-clockwise.

To enable pilgrims with limited mobility to perform the Tawaf and Sa'e (pilgrims walk seven times (4 laps) back and forth between the two mounds Safa and Marwa), an automated system should be developed within the expanded Haram building. In this context, the people movers must be able to handle the high passenger capacity and be deployable without rails and other obstacles for flexible use on the mezzanine (mezzanine and mezzanine floors).

Important design and engineering requirements were to ensure the physical and religious integrity of the Holy Haram, the welfare of the pilgrims, as well as the formal design into the religious environment (shape and color language, details such as ornaments...).

HyWheelTank

Integration and Testing of a Wheel-Integrated Energy Storage Solution for Heavy Mobile Construction Machinery

Project Period: Jun 2026 – Oct 2028 | Project partners: LSE – Lightweight Structures Engineering GmbH, FAE Elektrotechnik GmbH & Co. KG, Dresden University of Technology (Chair of Construction Machinery), Liebherr-Werk Bichonfshoven GmbH (associated)

The use of hydrogen as a zero-emission energy source for heavy construction machinery is becoming critically important in light of the urgent need to achieve climate goals. The central—and as yet insufficiently addressed—technical hurdle to the widespread adoption of hydrogen-powered drives is the integration of the necessary energy storage capacity directly into the vehicle. The high-pressure tanks required for storage are difficult to integrate into the existing and severely limited installation spaces of a modern construction machine. In the HyWheelTank research project, a novel, ring-shaped hydrogen storage solution is integrated directly into the wheels of a 24-metric-ton wheel loader. This innovative approach creates additional installation space, increases storage capacity, and thus enables longer operating times. The goal of the project is to develop and validate this solution under real-world operating conditions. This will not only significantly advance the market readiness of hydrogen-powered construction machinery but also demonstrate the concept’s transferability to other heavy-duty vehicles, such as agricultural and forestry machinery.

Funded by:

HyLin-AI

Development of a lightweight structural design concept for narrow-gauge multiple-unit trains, optimized for hydrogen operation and featuring an AI-controlled energy management system

Project period: May 2025 – Dec 2027 | Project partners: Lakowa Kunststoffverarbeitung & -bearbeitung GmbH, Chemnitz University of Technology – Chair of Alternative Vehicle Propulsion Systems, HeiterBlick GmbH (associated)

Narrow-gauge railways in Germany, which are used for both local public transit and tourism, require new rolling stock that meets today’s modern technical and comfort standards in order to expand capacity in a targeted manner. Currently, diesel multiple units or steam locomotives are in use; alternative propulsion systems are not currently being considered. If built conventionally, these vehicles would be too heavy. No cross-vehicle solutions are available to achieve the necessary lightweight construction. Therefore, this project is researching novel modular lightweight car bodies for narrow-gauge railways using the design principles of differential and integral construction. In terms of structure, materials used, and architecture, they are optimally adapted to alternative propulsion systems.
Furthermore, to increase range, an AI-based energy management system for the entire vehicle is being developed, which uses a model-predictive controller to ensure energy-optimized operating and driving strategies for real-time operation.

Funded by:

HyTraGen

Hydrogen Tram for the Next Generation - Development of a Hydrogen-Powered Tram Prototype

Project Period: Dec 2023– Nov 2026 | Project partners: HeiterBlick GmbH, Flexiva Automation & Robotik GmbH, Chemnitz University of Technology, Görlitzer Verkehrsbetriebe GmbH (associated), Leipziger Verkehrsbetrieb GmbH (associated), CVAG – Chemnitzer Verkehrs – Aktiengesellschaft (associated)

Together with the project partners, this Saxon consortium is developing and building Europe’s first hydrogen-powered tram. Testing of the tram is being conducted in collaboration with Görlitzer Verkehrsbetriebe (GVB). The project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure as part of the “National Innovation Program for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology Phase 2 (NIP II).”

As a continuation of the “H2-TRAM” R&D project, the research findings and innovative system solutions are being incorporated into a prototype test vehicle. The prototype will be manufactured in Leipzig by HeiterBlick GmbH and subsequently tested in the GVB’s operational environment. In addition to validating the technical solutions and the functionality of the entire vehicle, the project will also lay the groundwork for making it easier to certify fuel cell trams in the future and to manufacture them more cost-effectively.

The hydrogen tram is not intended to compete directly with existing trolleybuses, but rather to serve as an alternative for new routes that, for economic, environmental, and urban planning reasons, cannot be equipped with overhead lines. Another positive aspect is the elimination of high infrastructure costs for the installation and maintenance of overhead lines. In a holistic hydrogen concept involving a wide range of different consumers, the cities using this system would also gain an additional energy supply system that is not grid-dependent and can store excess electrical energy in the form of hydrogen.

Funded by:

HZwo: RAHD

Hydrogen Storage and Electric Drive Solution for Heavy Fuel-Cell-Powered Agricultural and Forestry Vehicles

Project Period: Sep 2023–Aug 2026 | Project partners: LSE-Lightweight Structures Engineering GmbH, EAAT GmbH Chemnitz, Chemnitz University of Technology, Agraset Agrargenossenschaft eG (associated), EIDAM Landtechnik GmbH (associated)

Current applications for hydrogen propulsion solutions are limited to traditional vehicle types, such as trucks, buses, and other commercial vehicles. Agricultural vehicles and machinery receive little attention in the current discussion. Existing vehicle fleets are currently powered almost exclusively by fossil fuels, mostly diesel. A medium-sized farm with 12,000 kW of drive power in its fleet has an annual fuel consumption of around 500,000 liters. It is clear that action must be taken in this sector as well to achieve future climate goals. The research project therefore focuses on developing an innovative hydrogen storage and propulsion solution for use in agricultural vehicles. This should enable BSZ vehicles to meet performance and range targets comparable to those of diesel vehicles. The innovative solution will be fundamentally designed and integrated into an overall vehicle concept. Furthermore, the functionality will be validated by building a scaled research model.

Supported by:

Heat2Comfort - Completed Research Project

Waste Heat-Based Air Conditioning for Fuel Cell Trains

Project Period: Mar 2021 - Feb 2024 | Project partners: WätaS – Wärmetauscher Sachsen GmbH, ILK – Institut für Luft– und Kältetechnik Gemeinnützige Gesellschaft mbH, Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Applied Materials Research, DB Systemtechnik GmbH (associated), EAW – Energieanlagenbau GmbH Westenfeld (associated)

The central approach for waste heat utilization and energy savings is the thermal activation of components inside the vehicle to use their radiation temperature to create thermal comfort. This eliminates the need for energy-intensive overheating and overcooling of the supply air. Other key research areas include energy-optimized heat transfer from the fuel cell to the interior during heating operation and a novel control concept, which utilizes a wide range of environmental data and simultaneously features a significantly higher number of control variables than current control algorithms. Machine learning is intended to enable continuous learning and optimization of the control software during operation.

Funded by:

Heat2Power – completed research project

"Efficiency increase and waste heat - refinement for fuel cells in rail vehicles"

Project period: Dec 2019 - Oct 2022 | collaborative partners:  WÄTAS and ILK Dresden

In the "Heat2Power" project, possibilities for minimizing the energy requirements of air-conditioning systems while maintaining consistently good passenger comfort are to be researched. At the same time, the connection to the fuel cell waste heat will be examined in order to identify potential savings and to evaluate structural adaptations (e.g. additional weight, space requirements, etc.). Additional thermal inertias and decentralized demand-based room conditioning will be investigated.

An essential approach is the refinement of the fuel cell waste heat by means of an energy conversion system into electrical power, in order to supply the accruing thermal power for the most universal use possible on the vehicle, independent of the respective vehicle air conditioning demand. Furthermore, the primary energy requirement for vehicle air conditioning is to be significantly reduced by coupling the fluctuating heat output of the fuel cell with the interior heating using a decentralized system of heat storage units and heat exchangers.

The project was funded by: ERDF and SAB

Eco-CC – Completed Research Project

Development of a Cost-Effective and Reliable Measurement and Control Concept for Automotive Fuel Cell Systems

Project Period: Jan 2019 – Dec 2021 | Project partners:  Continental, LSA, TU Chemnitz, Fraunhofer IWU

As part of the HZwo initiative, the EcoCC project focuses on developing a cost-effective and reliable measurement and control concept for low-temperature PEM fuel cells in automotive applications. Combining data from existing, conventional sensors with dynamic control models enables improved system health monitoring, eliminating the need to develop new and expensive hardware. In addition, such a mathematical and software-based approach offers the possibility of detecting errors or reconstructing missing data from other measurements. This could potentially even allow existing sensors to be replaced by virtual ones. Professor Streif, head of the Chair of Control Engineering and System Dynamics, therefore sees “enormous potential in control engineering methods and state estimation for cost savings as well as safer and more efficient operation of modern fuel cell systems.”

The project was funded by: EFRE and SAB

Innovation is the key to efficient and modern mobility. That is why research is a vital component of HÖRMANN Vehicle Engineering’s work as an engineering services provider. Through ongoing collaboration with research institutes and universities, we are seeking new, sustainable solutions for the mobility of tomorrow. Our focus is on lightweight construction, alternative powertrains, materials research and structural optimisation, as well as artificial intelligence.

#DesignForFutureMobility

3D-FiberTrain

Development of a tool-free manufacturing process for the production of large-format and highly resilient rail vehicle components

Project period: Sep 2023- Jun 2026 | Project partners: Fraunhofer IWU, Lakowa Kunststoffbe- und verarbeitungs GmbH, Siemens Mobility GmbH (associated)

The research consortium around HÖRMANN Vehicle Engineering is researching and developing an innovative thermoplastic technology that combines large-format 3D printing with the 3D tape laying process. This method enables the tool-free production of complex and resilient large components for rail vehicles, such as front masks and roof structures. Especially for small to medium series sizes, additive thermoplastic processes offer considerable optimization potential in terms of costs, time and materials as well as a reduction in the CO₂ footprint. The elimination of moulding tools, a high degree of automation and the use of reusable materials lead to lower manufacturing costs and improved resource efficiency compared to conventional thermoset fiber composite processes.

Gefördert durch:

PulPro - SMC

Use of pultrusion profiles in combination with load-path-compatible SMC made of recycled carbon fibers in body-in-white structures of rail vehicles

Project period: Oct 2023- Jun 2026 | Project partners: Conbility GmbH, Fraunhofer IWU, LSE-Lightweight Structures Engineering GmbH, Modellbau Roth GmbH & Co. KG, Polynt Composites Germany GmbH

In order to bring together and further develop different perspectives and applications of the cross-sectional technology of lightweight construction, the PulPro-SMC R&D project under the leadership of HVE GmbH specifically combines expertise from several lightweight construction disciplines. The focus is on the resource-saving production of structural components made of fiber-reinforced plastics for the mass markets on road and rail. The aim is to produce a material-locking frame structure from pultruded fiber composite profiles as an alternative to the conventional method of combining welding and steel profiles. In particular, the combination of the generally contradictory areas of lightweight construction, crash safety and cost-effectiveness represents a major challenge in the PulPro-SMC project. The overall objective is to realize an efficient and economical manufacturing technology for fibre-reinforced lightweight vehicle structures using a modified pultrusion process in combination with a load-path-reinforced recycled SMC shaping process. The proof of technology is to be provided using a real rail vehicle component.

Gefördert durch:

LeiPo-3D-FKM

Development of new lightweight construction potential through standardized design of components for metallic 3D printing using FKM guidelines

Project period: Jan 2025- Dec 2027 | Project partners: IMK Engineering GmbH, BMF GmbH - Bernstein Mechanische Fertigung, SWM Struktur- und Werkstoffmechanikforschung gGmbH, TU Chemnitz - Professur Strukturleicht-bau und Kunststoffverarbeitung

HÖRMANN Vehicle Engineering is committed to achieving global climate targets for energy efficiency and resource conservation. In the field of lightweight metal construction, innovative production methods such as additive manufacturing open up considerable potential for mass reduction. In order to establish this technology more broadly, a standardized design of additively manufactured components is necessary. The FKM guideline plays a central role here, but it does not currently integrate metallic 3D printing and its post-processing methods. This significantly limits the innovative power of companies that have to design according to FKM.

The LeiPo-3D-FKM consortium aims to solve this problem and develop an additively manufactured steel alloy for FKM qualification. Important influencing factors such as powder condition and AM system technology as well as post-processing conditions, in particular surface smoothing and compaction, are taken into account. The application partners transfer this knowledge to representative technology carriers in transportation and mechanical engineering and validate it through testing.

Gefördert durch: