Invitation

The second Joint IEEE Industry Applications Society (IAS)/Power Electronics Society (PELS)/Industrial Electronics Society (IES) German Chapter meeting of 2017 took place on the coast of Lake Constance at the facilities of Airbus and ZF Friedrichshafen AG.  Dornier, the former German aircraft manufacturer, and creator of famous airplanes such as the 12-engine flying boat Do-X and VTOL Do31, is now a part of the Airbus network of aircrafts. Its product line includes satellites, electronic surveillance for border control, and mobile platforms, e.g., those used in military hospitals.
Peter Gath, Dornier gave a presentation about the development and testing of the satellite twins for the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-On mission to begin in early 2018.

ZF Friedrichshafen AG, the second company visited, has ties to Zeppelin airships.  As a tier-one supplier to the automotive industry, ZF’s business is mostly focused on transportation. The newly built ZF Forum contains a collection of influential products manufactured during the company’s first 100 years, and the lively presentations focused on e-mobility.

Dr. J. Wei, ZF shared his thoughts on special power electronics developed by ZF, while the audience listened intently to the variety of automotive applications.

T. Wehlen, ZF presented the trends in e-mobility, e.g., the total cost of ownership of an electric car as compared to a conventional car in different countries, and the well-to-wheel emission comparison of a compact car using a combustion engine, compared to one using an e-drive. For a company such as ZF, with roots in innovative mechanical engineering, power electronics may play a significant role in their future.

The Chapter’s next meeting will be in March 2018 at the Hilti Corporation in Kaufering.