Knoxville Innovation Hub Reveals EV Breakthroughs

The future is looking more and more electric by the day. Boosting its automotive research in the U.S. with a focus on electric mobility and sustainable transport, Volkswagen is making more strides to reaching their all-electric lineup goal by 2030. This month, Volkswagen’s Innovation Hub in Knoxville has been working in collaboration with the University of Tennessee (UT) and Oakridge National Lab (ORNL) to push breakthroughs in automotive lightweight composites, recyclable interior materials, and EV wireless charging. 

“We are accelerating innovation within electric vehicles and contributing to more sustainable transportation in America by focusing our efforts on some of the most transformative automotive research being done in the country,” said Pablo Di Si, President and CEO at Volkswagen Group of America Inc. “Our technology teams in Tennessee are a great example. There, we are tapping American ingenuity fostered by the unique blend of world-class academic research and Volkswagen’s leading industry capabilities.”

Since its inception in 2020,  Volkswagen’s Innovation Hub researchers, UT faculty and doctoral students as well as ORNL scientists collectively drive research and co-innovation of applied materials research. 

Some key projects being focused on today include:

• AI-optimized material structures to increase electric vehicle range.
  Researching new material structures in order to reduce weight, and therefore increase the EV range – while still providing ultimate protection from physical impacts. 
• New fiber composites for lightweight vehicle parts.
  The 2020 Atlas lift gate was created using sheet molding compound, a type of fiberglass reinforced plastic. This proved to be 13 pounds lighter than the metal-based version, which could help to increase the range of electric vehicles if used in the new EVs. 
• New high-power wireless EV charging concepts.
  The goal is to make charging your EV at home as easy as pulling into a normal garage spot. Using Volkswagen’s expertise in vehicle power electronics, ORNL’s capabilities in high power wireless charging, and UT’s knowledge of power electronics optimization, the research team has been able to increase the charging power level up to 120 kW with this prototype from an earlier 6.6kW prototype, with a future goal of 300 kW.