Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - TRUFUS (MAZARO’s innovative transmissions for unrivalled electricity and fuel savings in transport)

Teaser

Overall transport accounts for ±25% of Greenhouse Gas emissions, and 38% of Earth’s global fossil fuel use. During the past few years, the EU has set several policies to reduce emissions from transport ( e.g. Directives 98/70/EC, 2009/33/EC, 2005/55/EC and 2005/78/EC...

Summary

Overall transport accounts for ±25% of Greenhouse Gas emissions, and 38% of Earth’s global fossil fuel use. During the past few years, the EU has set several policies to reduce emissions from transport ( e.g. Directives 98/70/EC, 2009/33/EC, 2005/55/EC and 2005/78/EC, Regulation No 333/2014 and standard EURO 6, Directives). To meet these goals, two key units targeted are the engine and the transmission.

In this context, in the nineties, MAZARO’s founder started designing a disruptive innovation beyond existing transmission mechanisms and created the TRUFUS technology, an entirely new principle of torque transfer not by a usual gear system but by specially curved drill-free traction wheels.
Automotive experts are excited about the technology, but road demonstration and production preparation are needed for a successful market launch. Therefore, TRUFUS aims to demonstrate and prove in real vehicles the characteristics of MAZARO’s technology. The demos concern an engine driven bus (RVT) and an electric delivery truck (SVT). Once the systems will have reached the set criteria, they will be prepared for production and market launch.

Technical objectives:
• Further optimization of components and software algorithms for an additional 3% efficiency gain, increasing the current prototype’s overall efficiency from 90,7 to nearly 94%;
• Prepare in-vehicle control software;
• Tune the cooler for optimum driving efficiency and comfort;
• Implementation in demo-vehicle and testing: the RVT in an urban bus, the SVT in a plug-in electric delivery truck.
• Prepare the RVT urban bus model for serial production.

Commercial objectives :
• Revolutionize the transmission market and become a champion as automotive engineering company transforming TRUFUS into a global business;
• To make commercial agreements with customers from the target markets: first Europe then North America. Since Fall 2016, a first customer (prominent bus manufacturer) wishes to test the RVT in their 18-meter buses. When these tests are successful, they plan to introduce the technology in all their urban and interregional buses as of 2019;
• To employ 19 new employees at MAZARO by 2026;
• To introduce the TRUFUS technology in the market by 2019;
• Safeguard design IP by patents and software IP by coding and obtain the necessary certifications for the business;
• Development of dissemination & communication plan (4 new customers by 2021).

Work performed

Overall progress of the project is in line with the GA for the SVT, but not for the RVT. For the RVT part, a major EU bus manufacturer who engaged to test the RVT, cancelled its involvement in the project. The systems will enable vehicles to easily comply with the stringent, new environmental regulations. This concerns any type of vehicle. TRUFUS will allow the EU automotive industry to secure its leadership over new markets like S-Korea, Brazil, India, China by launching an EU technology that is significantly more sustainable than current alternatives.

The project is slightly differing from the original objective, not from a technical point of view but with the industrial partners involved in the Project.

In WP1,SVT230 activities are fully validated and finalized. Validation tests of the vehicle on the test track were started but they stopped due to a failure during low load driving conditions. It took Mazaro 9 months of negotiations to unlock the project, and continue working with Idiada (T1.1; 2). The RVT design upgrade (T1.3) has been entirely completed except for the interface with the bus, the EU bus manufacturer decided to start the project for an RVT in two small tractors applications.No vehicle tests could be performed till now nor an upgrade of the test bench components (T1.4). The customer Punch Powertrain wants to check the manufacturability of the SVT301 for an electric-driven Ford Transit (T1.7).The principle of patent 4 is confirmed but to be able to continue the tests, another hydraulic component is ordered (T1.8).

In WP2, the in-vehicle implementation of the SVT230 in the demo truck is successfully finalized with an official validation of an independent test center. The in-vehicle implementation of other transmissions would start later according to the plan (T2.1; T2.2; T2.3; T2.4; T2.5; T2.6) .

In WP3, activities related to contracts with Customers and production Partners are ongoing (T3.1). Contracts with two production Partners are ongoing. Cukierman with MNA supported TRUFUS project on finding potential customers, the costs of both are eligible as their activities are a necessary contribution for achieving the goals of TRUFUS.

In WP4, (Market Introduction Strategy), both the RVT and SVT are patented (3 patents) covering a large geographic area (in 10 countries and continents with a strong automotive industry). A fourth patent (covering RVT and SVT’s technology) might be filed soon (the state-of-the-art study with relation to the 4th patent is finalized). Concerning the commercialization plan Mazaro is negotiating with several partners for demonstration as mentioned above.

In (WP5), the demo electric Nissan Cabstar is available for an evaluation drives by stakeholders, and the website gets according to update focussing on the availability of transmissions rather than on the development of new technology.

WP6 activities (projet management) are well implemented and in line with the GA.

Final results

TRUFUS concerns a thoroughly innovative transmission technology active on 2 levels: 1) transfer of energy with unrivalled high overall efficiency, 2) keeping the engine at its lowest consumption and emissions curve at all times.

MAZARO’s systems challenge all competitors having a better performance than all other CVTs: 94-98% versus maximum 89% thanks to: no gear shifting, no slipping and energy burning components, no internal drilling motion, no limited ratio spread, no time and fuel waste from pushing the throttle until drive-off.

Results expected to be demonstrated during the project:
• High fuel savings: 16-26% (+ related CO2 and particle emissions)
• EVs: 16% further driving range and maximum speed increased by 50%
• 4% purchase cost saving thanks to the lower number of parts (139 components vs. 900-1000 for standard system).
• Fun driving, 4 times faster throttle response than a high level sportscar

The main market targeted by the project (because of the technology’s high degree of novelty, MAZARO’s market will initially be lower volumes (10 000s of units per segment):
• Combustion engine driven city buses, garbage trucks, material handling equipment, tractors
• Plug-in e-delivery vans and e-buses
• Bus auxiliaries like air compressors, alternators, airco systems

Once the novel technology has matured in the lower volume segments, MAZARO will target high volume markets of electric and combustion engine passenger cars and pick-ups (100 000s per brand model), which require longer validation testing, extended industrialization efforts and higher investment costs for the production partner.

The potential addressable market is huge since the Global automotive transmission market is dominated by Asia, with a share of ±45.1% (€ 51 600 million in 2015), with then North America, with a ±28.0% (i.e. € 28 500 million). The EU transmission market, in turn, is estimated to have a value of € 24 billion in 2015 but is expected to increase up to € 31,5 billion by 2020.

Website & more info

More info: http://www.mazaro.eu/.