Editor's Choice


Next-generation hybrid power unit for Formula 1

January 2024 Editor's Choice IT in Manufacturing

Red Bull Ford Powertrains has leveraged the Siemens Xcelerator portfolio of industry software from Siemens Digital Industries Software to develop the next-generation hybrid ICE/electric driven power unit for the 2026 Formula 1 racing season.

For the 2026 season, Red Bull Ford Powertrains will build power units for both the Oracle Red Bull Racing and Scuderia Alpha Tauri F1 Teams, and will be one of only six manufacturers supplying power units for the F1 series. From the announcement of its intent in 2021, Red Bull Ford Powertrains has set an ambitious goal of developing 2026-specification sustainable high-speed power units from the ground up, while meeting new specifications from F1. Like any startup, Red Bull Ford Powertrains is breaking new ground with every component design, especially given the lack of historical data in the extremely secretive world of powertrain development.

Ben Hodgkinson, technical director at Red Bull Powertrains said: “Siemens Xcelerator is the digital backbone of our design and manufacturing journey, enabling us to engineer hundreds of rapid design evolutions concurrently across a large newly-formed team. This ensures that all designers have visibility and knowledge of what their colleagues are working on.

“It is especially challenging as we don’t have the luxury of historical data. Every component, down to the nuts and bolts of the engine, has to be modelled from scratch. This means the design quality and ease of use from Siemens NX, combined with the collaboration and lifecycle management usingTeamcenter, is a critical factor for success.”


In addition to Siemens NX software for product engineering and Teamcenter software for product lifecycle management, the Red Bull Ford Powertrains team leverages the simulation and test capabilities of Siemens Simcenter STAR-CCM+ software to assist with design and validation across the project.

“The motorsport industry is aggressively pursuing a cleaner, more sustainable future that requires radical reinvention of how teams and suppliers approach all aspects of their development activities. By leveraging the benefits of digital transformation, delivered through the use of Siemens Xcelerator, we are able to help motorsport partners in the field with their discovery, invention and delivery of new cleaner solutions on the track, where rubber meets the road, in timescales previously thought unattainable,” said Robert Jones, executive vice president of Global Sales And Customer Success for Siemens Digital Industries Software. “We are delighted to play a part in the success of the Red Bull Ford Powertrains team in achieving its goal to bring greater sustainability to motorsport, and to meet the requirements for carbon-free performance, greater use of electric power and energy recovery for the 2026 racing season.”


For more information contact Siemens South Africa, [email protected], www.siemens.co.za


Credit(s)



Share this article:
Share via emailShare via LinkedInPrint this page

Further reading:

Modernising world’s best espresso machines
Siemens South Africa IT in Manufacturing
Olympia Express, a world leader in handcrafted espresso machines, is using the Siemens Xcelerator portfolio to digitally transform the design and production of its world-renowned espresso machines.

Read more...
Pioneering sustainable aviation
Siemens South Africa IT in Manufacturing
Sustainable aviation company, Dovetail Electric Aviation, has selected the Siemens Xcelerator portfolio of software to design zero-emission battery and hydrogen-electric propulsion systems for commercial aircraft.

Read more...
PC-based control for waterjets
Beckhoff Automation Editor's Choice
Control systems are subject to very specific demands from every form of production technology, including waterjet cutting. IGEMS from Sweden set itself the goal of taking this process to a new level in terms of precision and speed, and achieved it with the help of PC-based control.

Read more...
Case History 193: The big dipper.
Michael Brown Control Engineering Editor's Choice
This article gives an example of an important flow control system for flare gas in a petrochemical refinery. The control was suffering from serious problems, often cycling severely, and at other times the flow process variable (PV) would suddenly move quite a lot away from the setpoint (SP).

Read more...
Closed-loop production chain for metal additive manufacturing
Siemens South Africa IT in Manufacturing
AMAZEMET has adopted solutions from the Siemens Xcelerator portfolio of industry software to help build its etal additive manufacturing materials and supporting post-processing equipment.

Read more...
Edge computing: Introducing AI into the factory
Editor's Choice IT in Manufacturing
As AI evolves, it is evident that the most powerful models will be cloud-based, and hosted in data centres that are beyond the control of the average business. The practical application of AI in manufacturing control and automation will only be possible if some of the computing workloads can be brought onto the plant, inside the firewall and inside the plant network.

Read more...
36 years of innovation and success
SAM Systems Automation & Management Editor's Choice System Integration & Control Systems Design
Systems Automation & Management was established in 1988 at a time when there were no other systems integrators (SIs) in the process business. SA Instrumentation & Control’s editor caught up with managing director, Claudio Agostinetto to find out more about how this thriving company has prospered over the last 36 years.

Read more...
The world’s greatest model railway
Horne Technologies Editor's Choice Motion Control & Drives
Located in Hamburg’s traditional warehouse district, Speicherstadt features the largest model railway in the world, and is one of the most exciting tourist attractions in Germany.

Read more...
Loop signature 23: Tuning part 1.
Michael Brown Control Engineering Editor's Choice
This is the first of several articles dealing with the subject of tuning. I have found that many people think that optimisation consists solely of tuning. I would stress once again that tuning is the last thing one should do when optimising regulatory controls.

Read more...
Plastics meets packaging for consistent and efficient process control
Beckhoff Automation Editor's Choice
PC- based and EtherCAT-based control and drive technology from Beckhoff represent a universal solution that transcends industry and application boundaries. This standardised and scalable automation platform offers numerous advantages. Industry experts delve into how machine builders and end users in the plastics and packaging industry can capitalise on these advantages.

Read more...