14 June 2022
Walter Pack
in collaboration with Grupo Antolin has joined an ambitious innovative
project led by Renault Spain whose aim is to set up an industrial ecosystem
specialising in the manufacture of connected electric vehicles, and thus make
Spain a leader in sustainable mobility. This grouping is made up of
around fifty leading organisations from the automotive sector and from all
areas of the industrial ecosystem, most of which are SMEs located in around ten
autonomous communities.
Innovative
development to improve vehicle interior comfort
The
initiative responds to the call for a PERTE
(Strategic Project for Economic Recovery and Transformation) aimed at the
Electric and Connected Vehicle (EV), in which each company has a defined
role: Walter Pack and Grupo Antolin will take advantage of their expertise in
the manufacture of technological components and plastic parts with high added
value to carry out an innovative initiative: the development of an HMI solution
that provides new features to the electric vehicle, improving the comfort of
its interior. This is achieved through the optimisation of surface heating and
HMI display and interaction systems with functional and competitive solutions
compared to what is currently available on the market.
A
project to promote training and innovation
The
automotive industry is undergoing a major transformation towards the production
of zero-emission vehicles and the complete replacement of combustion vehicles.
The
implications of this change in the industry’s mindset are immense. They involve
the use of green energy to power vehicles, decarbonisation of factories and
offices, implementation of reuse and recycling practices at the end of product
life, and application of circularity in product design, development and
delivery to achieve a reduced carbon footprint.
In this
sense, Walter Pack and Grupo Antolin have a firm commitment to sustainability
and therefore also collaborate in the development of a collaborative ecosystem
of training and innovation in which training is presented on sustainability,
good market practices (collaborative benchmarking to find synergies in door
panels, plastic parts, HMI, electronics and decorative inserts), carbon
footprint and lean manufacturing (focused on reducing lead times and
operational costs and improving quality). Since 2018, the two companies have a
strategic alliance focused on the development of advanced decorative surfaces
for automotive interiors.
The PERTE
for the Electric and Connected Vehicle (EV) brings together a total of 31
initiatives distributed into three objectives: decarbonisation, connectivity
and mobility as a service. The decarbonisation axis includes the development of
initiatives related to hydrogen, carbon neutral fuels, batteries or the
reduction of the weight of materials, among other elements.
In the area of connectivity, initiatives related to digitalisation, the development of electronic vehicle platforms and connectivity, among others, will be addressed.
Finally,
the mobility as a service axis will cover the development of new technologies
that enable vehicles to be equipped with innovative functions.
