New cooperation
New cooperation
24 January 2024
TÜV SÜD and Industrieanlagen-Betriebsgesellschaft mbH (IABG), based in Ottobrunn near Munich, announce their intention of pooling their expertise in the field of mobility in the future. On Friday 19 January 2024, the two partners documented this intention by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). Under the working title of Future Mobility, the partners will address topics such as alternative drive systems, autonomous driving, software-defined vehicles and artificial intelligence (AI). IABG will bring expertise in areas such as simulation, cybersecurity and secure communication systems to the partnership, while TÜV SÜD will contribute its know-how in fields such as type approval, periodical technical inspection (PTI) of vehicles and testing, as well as its strong international brand.
“We are very excited about this important step to establish a new cooperation. It marks the beginning of a fruitful partnership. But with this cooperation, we are also consistently pursuing our strategy of engaging in advancement of the digitalised and sustainable individual mobility of tomorrow”, said Patrick Fruth, CEO of TÜV SÜD Division MOBILITY, when signing the MoU.
As the number of software-defined vehicles rises, the importance of establishing smooth processes for both physical and simulated testing, databases and AI as well as cyber security is growing in step. For manufacturers, this brings a paradigm shift regarding design and development, qualification, production and fleet management. ITC software and hardware, sensors, antennas, (vehicle) data and AI algorithms are critical key components that need to be specially qualified and protected. Here, the expertise contributed by the two companies will function as a perfect symbiosis. Close cooperation with universities and other research facilities ensures that jointly developed technical solutions are always based on the latest state of the art in research. Working with the Technical University of Munich (TUM), the partners are currently establishing a test field for intelligent mobility concepts in IABG’s grounds. The use of this test field will be a central part of the cooperation, where the partners will work together and integrate customers into the development and trial of new test methods.
Professor Rudolf F. Schwarz, Chairman of the Management Board of IABG, says, “IABG and TÜV SÜD are pursuing the joint mission of ensuring safety and security, also in the highly automated and connected transport of the future. Our focal areas – functional safety of transport systems in the case of TÜV SÜD, and security from external threats in the case of IABG –complement each other perfectly, and we are thus able to offer our customers the full scope of qualification.“
Virtual simulation is playing an increasingly important role in vehicle type approval. Simulation is the only way that allows scalability of tests, which in turn is the basis for controlling the complexity and diversity of validation and homologation tasks and the associated scenarios. TÜV SÜD will contribute not only its strong brand to the development and testing partnership, as a worldwide symbol of safety in mobility. With its background of global know-how and cooperation with governments and approval authorities, TÜV SÜD will also act as an interface between the technical vehicle development on the one hand and compliance with international regulations and standards on the other. Fruth explains, “Our experts’ knowledge in the areas of periodical technical inspection (PTI) and autonomous driving will also make sure that the focus is not limited to homologation, but takes in the entire life cycle from an early stage of the design and development of a vehicle model. This delivers clear advantages for OEMs.“
Alternative drive technologies: In the future, e-fuels and hydrogen will play an important role alongside battery-powered electricity as energy sources for vehicles. The two partners also aim to collaborate in this area. TÜV SÜD’s experts have accompanied the design and development of hydrogen technology in vehicles right from the outset, providing neutral safety assessments, single vehicle approvals for test vehicles and support with type approvals. Together with IABG, they therefore also plan to research the various hydrogen and e-fuel technologies and develop and certify test methods and test rigs. IABG operates innovative testing facilities in Dresden and Lichtenau for this purpose. These facilities perfectly complement TÜV SÜD’s hydrogen laboratories and enable water-hydraulic tests and testing with cryogenic hydrogen to be conducted. Patrick Fruth affirms, “We are delighted to be cooperating with IABG in the area of new fuels, too. This is a clear pledge and sends a strong signal of our commitment to our Sustainability corporate strategy.“
Caption: Looking forward to a fruitful partnership between TÜV SÜD and IABG (from left): Dr Johannes Bussmann (CEO of TÜV SÜD AG), Dr Rudolf F. Schwarz, (Chairman of the Management Board of IABG) and Patrick Fruth (CEO Division MOBILITY TÜV SÜD) signing the Memorandum of Understanding.
Press-contact: Vincenzo Lucà
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