FEV Unveils Newest Facility at North American Technical Campus in Auburn Hills

Vehicle Development Center includes state-of-the-art emissions chassis dynamometer, cold chamber, soak room and vehicle lab

Auburn Hills, MI – FEV, a global leader providing advanced mobility solutions for the transportation industry, has unveiled its newest North American facility – the FEV Vehicle Development Center (VDC).

This $15 million+, 26,000 sq. ft. facility represents the first phase in a series of future planned investments. The VDC joins the FEV Powertrain Development Center and Vehicle Lab at the company’s North American Technical Campus in Auburn Hills, expanding their unique capabilities and competencies in emissions and performance development. 

“At the groundbreaking ceremony, I spoke about how FEV has built its reputation by providing state-of-the-art facilities and engineering services needed to support product developments,” said Patrick Hupperich, President and CEO, FEV North America at the VDC grand opening held in December. “I am now pleased to announce that with the new competencies supported by the VDC, we are taking another step towards providing turn-key propulsion and vehicle development solutions by delivering the latest technological innovations and maximizing program efficiencies to our customers.”

An important part of meeting future regulations for gasoline and diesel vehicles is the ability to develop and validate vehicle emissions to a SULEV or Euro 5/6 level. In addition, the evaluation of all pollutant criteria and regulated emissions constituents including Particulate Matter (PM), Particulate Number (PN) and formaldehydes is key when preparing a vehicle for production. The VDC not only meets each of these requirements, but also is EPA 40 CRF Part 1066 capable.

The AWD adjustable chassis dynamometer can accommodate a wide diversity of light duty applications spanning through Class 2B trucks and vans. For each vehicle type, the FEV VDC dynamometer and soak rooms can control operational temperatures ranging from -20°C to +40°C, allowing their customers to perform all drive cycles (e.g. FTP76, US06, WLTP, NEDC, etc.) under a variety of conditions to validate their propulsion systems and vehicles.

As the transportation industry introduces new hybrid and electric vehicle platforms, the VDC is prepared for the validation of these applications. From Level II charging stations to 250kW of battery emulation inside the chassis dynamometer, the VDC can perform a complete set of testing and development for hybrids and BEVs including thermal management, vehicle energy management and electric range validation.

The VDC will support the following advanced engineering solutions offered by FEV:

• Complete calibration development programs
• Advanced emissions research
• Emissions and regulatory testing (all global cycles possible)
• Benchmarking and performance mapping
• OBD emissions validation
• Lab-based RDE measurements
• Correlation PEMS/lab studies
• Aftertreatment development
• Fuels research
• Climatic testing
• Conformity of Production (COP)
• Electric range development

The combination of SULEV and Euro 5/6 validation levels, measurements of regulated emission constituents, AWD capability up to a Class 2B application, controlled temperature ranges and battery emulation create a rare and unique set of capabilities for an emissions chassis dynamometer facility in North America. The VDC, combined with the existing FEV North American facilities, offer the following benefits to their customers:

• Reduced program development timing by having 24-hour available access to chassis dynamometer time,
• Comprehensive results through state-of-the-art technology, equipment, hardware and software,
• Competitive analysis through FEV’s extensive benchmarking programs,
• Reduced program costs by performing testing with one turn-key supplier (not having to utilize third parties for testing, or incurring additional shipping costs),
• Enhanced confidentiality as the facility is part of the FEV Technology Campus,
• Progressive forward-thinking facility as the VDC is inherently designed and prepped for future expansion.       

“FEV’s new Vehicle Development Center is a shining example of the innovative work being done in Michigan in the mobility arena,” said Lt. Gov. Brian Calley, who attended the grand opening in December. “We are so proud that FEV chose Michigan to expand its operations and can’t wait to see advances made as a result of this new facility.”

 The campus expansion with the VDC represents FEV’s commitment to the North American transportation industry, their continued growth objectives, and providing exceptional engineering and testing abilities to reduce and improve their customer’s product development cycles.