In today’s world, energy resources are becoming scarcer and more expensive, while the challenges of understanding our environmental impact are becoming more apparent. The way we use energy is rife with inefficiencies and waste. While this is a massive problem, it also represents an opportunity to rethink the ways we use energy.
The automotive sector is an industry that is in the process of rethinking energy use. Demands for car ownership are continuing to rise. The energy demand will continue to rise along with the shift toward electric vehicles (EVs). Thus, it is essential to reimagine how we can improve the energy efficiency of every aspect of vehicles. Hydraulic systems in vehicles are one area that presents a significant opportunity for improvement.
The Role of Hydraulics in Automotive
Hydraulic systems are some of the biggest consumers of energy globally. This McKinsey report revealed that fluid pumps, a key feature of hydraulic systems, account for almost 15% of all energy consumption within the European Union. This is a staggering figure that forces us to reevaluate how we are consuming energy.
Hydraulic systems play an important role in the automotive industry, from manufacturing processes to systems in the vehicles themselves, such as in power steering and, in high-performance sports cars, in active suspension and brake-by-wire. Power steering uses hydraulic power to assist with steering a vehicle. Active suspension allows the car to adapt to ride conditions by altering the vertical displacement of the individual wheels of a vehicle. Brake-by-wire uses electrical signals from the brake pedal to control hydraulic pressure to the brake pads, improving overall braking performance.
These systems are becoming more prevalent and desirable in today’s automotive landscape, but represent a huge power sink. In most cases, the underlying hydraulic systems rely on decades-old designs that are inefficient and wasteful.
The Shift Towards Electric Vehicles
The automotive industry is shifting towards EVs, with major manufacturers committing to transition to all-electric vehicles by 2030. This highlights the industry’s commitment to reducing emissions and the environmental impact of vehicles. However, this shift brings the challenges with system efficiency to the forefront. Automotive customers of today do not want to compromise on comfort or performance. As a result, automotive OEMs often resort to adding more or bigger batteries into EVs to extend the range and compensate for energy-intensive systems. However, the added weight of these batteries only leads to EVs becoming slower and less energy efficient. A better approach is required.
Domin's Innovative Approach to Motion Control
We believe the best solution for the problem of system efficiency in the automotive sector lies in completely rethinking how these automotive hydraulic systems use energy. With a new approach, we can make effective, long-lasting changes to the entire design.
With this ambition, we have been developing revolutionary technologies to completely change how energy is used for motion control in the automotive sector. Our radial piston pump is lightweight while maintaining high torque and high power density. This pump provides an incredibly compact and lightweight source of hydraulic energy generation, ideal for use in automotive hydraulic systems.
Our pumps integrate seamlessly with our other groundbreaking piece of hydraulics technology: electrohydraulic servo valves. These valves feature a completely unique design that we have developed from first principles to create the most compact, lightweight, and energy-efficient servo valves on the market. Not only that, but our valves still retain world-class performance, with incredible accuracy and lightning-fast response times.
We combine these technologies to create innovative products that produce significant energy savings without compromising performance. As such, we have created an active suspension technology that minimises the energy used to achieve dynamic motion control of a vehicle’s suspension. This high-pressure actuation and control technology allows for precise and rapid responses to varying loads, balancing performance and comfort while consuming minimal power, because our system only uses energy when the valves are moving, not when they are in position.
This innovative approach to active suspension can enable further vehicle optimisations, such as using lower friction tyres and reducing aerodynamic drag at high speeds. This significantly improves vehicle efficiency. We are revolutionising motion control in automotive hydraulic systems, making energy efficiency a reality. These innovations have the potential to reshape the automotive industry and lead to a more sustainable future.
