It should come as a surprise to nobody that the R&D that goes into some of the world’s highest-performing electric motorcycles is no joke. Designing, developing, and manufacturing batteries and electric motors can take years and requires tons of resources.
This is exactly what goes on behind the scenes at Energica. The Italian EV motorcycle manufacturer has been working with German tech giant Siemens for some time now, and has just announced that the partnership has been renewed for an additional three years.
Energica has been making use of Siemens’ advanced software solutions in developing and testing its battery technology—a vital component in the design of high-performance EV batteries. More specifically, Siemens advanced 3D simulation and CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) software has enabled Energica to optimize the battery performance of its models.
At present, Energica employs a whole roster of advanced software solutions from Siemens. For example, Siemens’ NX is an advanced CAD (Computer-Aided Design) software that allows designers to virtually lay out and test multiple configurations—in Energica’s case, pertaining to the bike’s battery. Meanwhile, the company’s Simcenter Amesim allows design engineers to virtually assess and optimize performance.
And when this is used alongside the Simcenter STAR-CCM+ CFD software, engineers are able to run virtual tests on batteries operating under simulated real-world conditions. According to Siemens, its design and testing technology helps companies shorten development by up to 75 percent when compared to typical CFD approaches.
Commenting on the partnership, Giampiero Testoni, the CTO of Energica Motor Company, explains: “Cutting-edge technological development is the basis of every Energica project. This is why we have dedicated important efforts in the field of battery technology, for which we have developed exclusive know-how over the last decade. Thanks to the experience gained, we can manage the entire process, from the design to the assembly of the batteries.”
Meanwhile, Puneet Sinha, the senior director of Siemens’ Battery Industry initiatives, highlights that the company is all about supporting the electrification of the mobility industry. “Siemens is proud to continue its collaboration with Energica and support its innovation with our transformative digital twin-based software solutions and expertise. It’s another great example of how leaders and pioneers are adopting Siemens Xcelerator to explore the electrification of the mobility industry and build a sustainable battery industry,” he said.
Technology continues to drive the motorcycle industry forward, with manufacturers partnering up with giant tech companies to optimize their design, development, and testing processes. And in today’s digital age, it’s much easier for designers and engineers to take every single variable into account. The end result takes the form of better performing, more reliable, and more efficient machines.
Now, this may all sound like a ton of jargon, and that’s exactly what it is. And as someone with an IT background, I still find it confusing and perplexing to see how all this data gathered in virtual simulations can reliably and accurately translate into the real world. And yet, somehow, it does.
