New ideas in how to control vehicles and how to build them better have earned 11 suppliers a total of 12 Automotive News PACE Awards for 2022.
Continental, American Axle & Manufacturing and Magna International are among the winners. Yazaki Corp. won two PACE awards.
Automotive News announced the winners Monday night at a gala presentation at the Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center in Detroit.
The Automotive News PACE Award, now in its 28th year, recognizes supplier innovations that make it into commercial use.
This year’s recognitions, awarded by an independent panel of PACE judges, range from Aptiv and NVIDIA‘s advances in developing software-defined vehicles, to a more flexible way to run wires through a vehicle in assembly from Yazaki, and Dürr Systems’ faster and more precise way to paint vehicles in two colors.
Supplier innovation is in the industry spotlight right now with automakers under pressure to deliver new-era powertrains, faster development of new models, lower manufacturing costs and software-based product enhancements.
Separately, the PACE Award program recognized three technology partnerships between suppliers and their OEM customers resulting in advancements that reached the marketplace.
The Automotive News PACE Innovation Partnership winners include:
2022 Automotive News PACE Award winners are:
American Axle & Manufacturing
Detroit
P3 two-speed electric drive technology
Aptiv
Carmel, Ind.
Central vehicle controller
Continental
Auburn Hills, Mich.
MK C2 one-box brake system
Dana Inc.
Maumee, Ohio
Spicer electrified e-propulsion and e-power system
Dürr Systems Inc.
Southfield, Mich.
Overspray-free paint application
Joyson Safety Systems
Auburn Hills, Mich.
Pyrotechnic battery disconnect
Magna
Troy, Mich.
Auto-adjusting balance blocks for stamping
Martinrea International U.S. Inc.
Auburn Hills, Mich.
Brake lines with GrapheneGuard
NVIDIA
Santa Clara, Calif.
DRIVE Hyperion
Valeo
Cergy Pontoise, France
Dual-mass flywheel pendulum damper
Yazaki Corp.
Susono City, Japan
Narrow focus lens technology
Yazaki Corp.
Susono City, Japan
Flexible wire with improved routing in the vehicle
The 2022 PACE Award also cites 12 suppliers as Automotive News PACEpilot Innovations to Watch for their early development work on emerging technologies. These include HEVO Inc. of Brooklyn for a wireless EV charging program, a program by Nodar of Boston to commercialize a camera-based 3D vision platform, and a new 10-degree dual-actuator rear-wheel steering system from South Korea’s Hyundai Mobis.
The 12 citations for 2022 Automotive News PACEpilot Innovations to Watch include:
American Axle & Manufacturing
Detroit
Integrated three-in-one wheel-end electric drive
ABC Technologies Inc.
Toronto
Variable cooling technology for blow molding
Algolux Inc.
Montreal
Eos embedded perception software
Eaton
Galesburg, Mich.
Breaktor circuit protection technology
HEVO Inc.
Brooklyn
Wireless EV charging
Hyundai Mobis
Seoul, South Korea
10-degree dual-actuator rear-wheel steering system
Lear Corp.
Southfield, Mich.
Distributed occupant safety system
Magna
Troy, Mich.
Aural 5R alloy
Nodar
Boston
Hammerhead™ camera-based 3D vision platform
Plastic Omnium
Levallois-Perret, France
4D imaging radar
Tula Technology
San Jose, Calif.
Dynamic motor drive
Woodbridge
Troy, Mich.
TrimVisible BIO foam