Our solutions for alternative drive systems

What are the consequences of current automotive industry trends for GF Casings Solutions' foundries and product portfolio? Find out how GF Casting Solutions is helping to shape the change of mobility!

As early as 2020, 30% of our new orders were for casting solutions for vehicles with alternative drive systems. However, this quota does not only include drive components for passenger cars, because weight reduction and lightweight construction are still among the biggest factors in reducing fuel consumption and CO2 emissions in the short term, regardless of the various drive concepts.

With its own Research and Development department at its headquarters in Schaffhausen, Switzerland, its own tool shop for die casting moulds and a wide range of processing steps, GF Casting Solutions offers a unique range of lightweight products for passenger cars. 

Batteries need safe housings

Common casting solutions for hybrid electric vehicles are battery housings made of aluminum, manufactured in the high-pressure die casting process. The housing offers a safe and yet weight-optimized shell for the sensitive battery. 

With purely electrically powered vehicles, the batteries are becoming bigger. In combination with sheet metal parts, the housing can cover large batteries by providing more design freedom and the integration of functions into the cast parts.

The example of the EDAG concept for a flexible and independent chassis system includes another possible solution: instead of one large battery, several packages could be tied together building packs of several smaller batteries. As in the EDAG chassis, the battery packs could be encased by cast solutions.

The complexity of the battery housings increases particularly as soon as additional functions are integrated into the cast components. In a current project by GF Casting Solutions together with a leading European vehicle manufacturer, the cast solution for the battery not only fulfills the crash relevant properties, but also includes a complex system for the cooling of the battery. With such complex functional integration into complex series components, light-metal die casting is an unbeatable manufacturing process!

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Modular battery tray concept

Integrated battery cooling systems and crash-resistant structures: With this modular battery tray concept, our Research and Development department in Schaffhausen shows that large-scale battery housing solutions for battery electric vehicle applications can be manufactured with existing High-pressure die casting technology. Thanks to modularity the size is flexible: aluminum or magnesium modules can be added or removed.

Aiways and GF - Taking the fast Lane Aiways and GF Suzhou project team

Aiways and GF - Taking the fast lane

Electric car manufacturers in China need suppliers with strong Research & Development capabilities and great operational efficiency. GF Casting Solutions has both. Through its successful partnership with emerging carmaker Aiways, the division demonstrated that a global company can be a great partner for a startup in the Chinese market.