Components from first-tier auto-industry supplier Rheinmetall Automotive are increasingly finding their way into newly engineered electric vehicles. The auto- equipment specialist, a member of the technology group Rheinmetall AG, was recently awarded through its subsidiary Pierburg, an order from the Southern California vehicle maker, Karma Automotive, to supply coolant pumps for its plug-in electric hybrid vehicle (PHEV). Karma Automotive will install the pumps into its luxury vehicle, the Revero, which will be sold in the U.S. and Canada.
In terms of output, the pumps, which will recirculate the coolant in these luxury vehicles, are to be delivered in a smaller version (CWA 50, 50 watts) and a larger one (CWA 100, 100 watts). The delivery period for the pumps is scheduled for production in 2017, will continue into 2018 and the total contract has a value in the range of 6-digit euros.
The CWAs are being manufactured at Pierburg’s German location in Hartha, Saxony, which for 25 years has belonged to Pierburg and has comprehensive experience in the engineering and production of electric drives for pumps and for other applications.
The CWA series among the pumps manufactured in Hartha are used for a variety of functions: from cooling the charge air on turbochargers to the main coolant circuit on I.C. engines. The most recent model is available in a 48-volt version with an output of 950 watts. In today’s newly engineered hybrid and electric vehicles, the pumps can also handle such functions as cooling or temperature-control of electric drivelines, batteries, DC-DC converters, power electronics, and a whole range of additional jobs.
