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Electrifying the automotive market

A shift in ecological technology

With 2019 sparking a boom in worldwide sales for pure electrical vehicles, the drive for adapted friction products has led to exciting evolutions in both the electrical and hybrid vehicle market. What this electric vehicle explosion means in numbers? In short: an increase of 92% to 765,000 electric units sold in 41 different markets in the first half of 2019. It's this same electric craze that is expected to accelerate even further in the upcoming months and years*. These changes are nothing short of an electrical revolution that calls for a technical one. And that's exactly where augmented friction products will play their part. 

*JATO Automotive Market Research

Different braking, different needs

From no engine-generated noise and regenerative braking to gross vehicle weight and acceleration power: electric vehicles have different braking requirements. Let’s zoom in on the regenerative braking system. This smart braking method allows the vehicle to act as a generator, turning the car’s momentum into electricity. Electric vehicles achieve braking by driving their motors in reverse, extracting energy from the parts braked to store energy and recharge their electric batteries. The accompanying resistance assists the brake pads in overcoming inertia, and slows down the vehicle.

In this case, friction brakes act as a backup when the regenerative braking system is not supplying enough power. However, they mostly put in work during abrupt halts or quick stops. This is very different from your traditional braking system, where brake pads create friction with the brake rotors to slow down or completely stop the car. The friction here is produced between the wheels and the road’s surface, creating heat from the car’s kinetic energy. This heat however, remains unused and is wasted.  

Electric braking: do it fluid!

When an electric vehicle’s battery is full, the system cannot take advantage of regenerative braking. This means the brakes will need to do all the work, without any support from the engine. To absorb this stress, an enhanced brake fluid with a high dry and wet boiling point is needed. When the battery isn’t completely full, friction brakes do less work, which slows wear. This means the regenerative braking system is looked at less often. A brake fluid with optimised corrosion protection should tackle this second concern. The Ferodo FBE050 is a braking fluid optimized for use in Hybrid and Electrical cars.

ferodo-brake-fluid

The same specialised approach is vital when taking into account the vehicle’s electrical currents. Think a brake fluid with a lower conductivity level. And then there are developments in ESP, ABS, ADAS and AD, along with the demand for cars with an emphasis on cycle time and frequency. This is where outstanding lubricity properties and low viscosity requirements come in full effect.

Meeting EU emission targets

With barriers like affordability, infrastructure and lack of investment slowly disappearing for many end-consumers, the road to purely electric is opening up to the public more than ever before. And that will be necessary to meet the pressing emission targets set up for the next 5 to 10 years. The new emission targets set for passenger cars and light commercial vehicles in the EU for the period after 2020 will call for a 37.5% decrease in carbon dioxide emissions for new cars and a 31% emission decrease for light commercial vehicles like vans by 2030. 

*Facts & figures of the European Commission 

To further stimulate these emission goals, a technology-neutral incentive will be put in place for zero- and low-emission vehicles to give the market a clear signal for investment in clean transport options. This will cover both zero-emission vehicles and low-emission vehicles having tailpipe emissions of less than 50 g CO2 per km. Just think about plug-in hybrid vehicles equipped with traditional and electric driving modes.

A way to control and validate these lower amounts of greenhouse gasses will be implementing a strengthened market surveillance system to ensure the representativeness of official test procedures by comparing them to real-life situations. And also the extent to which vehicles put on the automotive market conform to reference vehicles tested. 

The next step: non-exhaust emissions 

Another important factor to take into account in the future, will be other non-exhaust emission precursors to ground-level ozone. Traffic-related sources have been recognised as a significant contributor of particulate matter. From brakes and tyres to clutch and road surface wear, in urban environments specifically, non-exhaust emission can contribute due to start/stop environment, high braking frequency and more in-traffic situations. Innovations like our ECO-Friction® Brake Pads, already address these future evolutions, leading the market to a green revolution.   

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Ferodo® Premium Friction Products

We're devoted to ingenious solutions when developing our friction products. And we’re more than eager to explore these green advancements in technology even further. Based on 5 years of engineering, Ferodo® has developed the ECO-Friction® Brake Pad: a low copper solution reducing heavy metals and emissions, highly efficient for electric cars, hybrids and other vehicles equipped with electronic parking brakes. It’s a solution that can make today’s and tomorrow’s green cars greener, safer and lighter. How? By minimising polluting particles and lowering weight from both pad and disc. 

Want to address all needs that come with regenerative braking? The DOT 5.1 EHV Brake Fluid is a first for electric vehicles on the automotive market. From a high dry and wet boiling point and enhanced corrosion resistance and low conductivity. 

Technical Specs of ECO-Friction® Brake Pads 

  • 5 years of dedicated engineering
  • 1,500 materials tested for a five-star formulation 
  • Combo of up to 25 components: metal sulphides, minerals, abrasives, fibres, ceramic particles and types of graphite
  • Fit for all types of vehicles including hybrids & electrical cars
  • Highly efficient for electric parking brakes

Advantages of ECO-Friction® Brake Pads

  • <0,5% of heavy metal concentration 
    Particles of copper, zinc or antimony
  • - 60% of emissions through weight loss
    As of a distance of 7000 km

Advantages of the DOT 5.1 EHV Brake Fluid 

  • High dry boiling point (274°C)
  • High wet boiling point (184°C)
  • Enhanced corrosion resistance 
  • Lower conductivity
  • Low viscosity meets ISO 4925 Class 6 
  • Meets and exceeds any spec of DOT 3, 4, 5.1 & 4LV