Continental inaugurated its new state-of-the-art campus for its Technical Center India (TCI) in Bengaluru on Wednesday. The inauguration was done in the presence of Minister Dr C N Ashwath Narayan, Minister of Electronics, Information Technology – Biotechnology, Science and Technology, Higher Education, Skill Development, Entrepreneurship and Livelihood, Government of Karnataka. Continental claims that several industry dignitaries, senior representatives from the automotive OEM community, together with the global leadership team of Continental, graced the occasion.

TCI is a part of Continental’s Software and Central Technologies (SCT) organisation. It has an engineering workforce focused on multiple domains, covering advanced safety technologies, autonomous driving, connected mobility technologies and many other future mobility trends, the company states. Moreover, the centre actively engages with top engineering institutions in India for cutting-edge research and to build competencies in niche areas to fuel innovation.

The one million square feet campus that was inaugurated, is located at Electronic City Phase II in Bengaluru. An overall investment of around INR 10,000 million has been made in the TCI, which can accommodate over 6,500 employees and has 14 floors. According to Continental, the new campus will consolidate the rapidly growing engineering competencies and teams in India, catering to automotive R&D requirements for local and global markets.

Sharing more on the company’s investment in the automotive industry, Prashanth Doreswamy, President and CEO, Continental India, said, “Our focus is on how we shape the future of mobility. We spend about EUR 2.6 billion on automotive. Continental is betting big on India and has been investing in the country almost every single year.”

Doreswamy further mentioned that with the campus, there will be technology introductions, capacity expansions, R&D growth and greenfield projects. In fact, the campus brings together the broad range of Continental’s technology capabilities in a collaborative environment, designed to accommodate the needs of future work. Continental states that the campus houses hi-tech software, hardware, vehicle test facilities for R&D and a plethora of training centres, with each floor equipped with multiple collaboration areas. All of these contribute to enabling innovation.

“Continental is committed to India. We have made significant investments here in the last few years, including greenfield manufacturing plants and the expansion of production lines for vehicle electronics for passenger cars and two-wheelers,” Doreswamy said, “Our new R&D campus represents yet another milestone in our growth.”

With a platinum certification from India Green Building Council (IGBC), the campus is also rife with green lung spaces, renewable energy sources and rainwater harvesting. All of these contribute to the company’s sustainability ambitions. Continental further claims that with a strong workforce, TCI is one of the company’s largest and key R&D locations globally, catering to both global and local markets. Established in 2009, the centre has grown over the years, both in terms of people and competencies. TCI will extend its services to all five automotive business areas – autonomous mobility, architecture and networking, safety and motion, smart mobility and user experience.

“We have a lot of product developments housed in India,” Latha Chembrakalam, Head of Technical Center India, Continental Automotive, asserted, “A majority of our business is for global customers. We are also an application centre for Indian OEMs. Besides, we have partnered with a lot of universities. We have a dedicated university programme focusing on four different pillars – building a talent pool, continuous education, funded research and social obligation and branding. Our aspiration is to currently grow more and more in value.”

Further throwing light on the TCI vision, Chembrakalam averred, “Technology and its multiplier effect drive business transformations, competitive advantages and newer customer experiences. With the evolution of software-defined vehicles, there will be further growth of safety and convenience features, newer in-vehicle experiences and so on. TCI will continue to have a larger role to play in Continental’s efforts to define the future of mobility, and our engineers play a key role in placing India on the global automotive R&D map.”

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Solid Power, Inc., a U.S.-based developer of solid-state battery (ASSB) technology, has announced a collaboration with Samsung SDI and BMW to pursue the development and validation of a demonstration vehicle powered by ASSB technology.

The collaboration is a key step towards the commercialisation of ASSB technology, leveraging the expertise of the three companies. Under the arrangement, Solid Power will supply its sulphide-based solid electrolyte to Samsung SDI, which will then integrate it into cells. These cells will be evaluated based on performance parameters agreed upon with BMW. The ultimate goal is to develop and supply ASSB cells for integration into a demonstration vehicle.

John Van Scoter, President and CEO, Solid Power, said, “We are excited to partner with Samsung SDI and BMW to progress the development of all-solid-state batteries. Our solid electrolyte technology is designed for stability and conductivity, and by working closely with global leaders in automotive and battery innovation, we strive to bring ASSB technology closer to widespread adoption.”

Martin Schuster, Vice-President Battery Cell and Cell Module, BMW Group, said, “With Samsung SDI joining our partnership with Solid Power, we gain significant momentum on our path advancing the development of new battery cell technologies. This global collaboration is another proof point of our overarching goal: to be always in a position to offer our customers state of the art battery technology.”

Stella Joo-Young Go, Executive Vice-President of ASB Commercialisation Team at Samsung SDI, said, "Technological competitiveness in batteries would ultimately lead to innovation in electric vehicles. Samsung SDI will work closely with strategic partners such as BMW and Solid Power to take the lead in commercialisation of ASSB.”

ASSB cells are said to have the potential to offer improved energy density, battery life and safety performance by replacing liquid electrolytes with solid materials. The collaboration supports Solid Power’s objective to manufacture and sell electrolyte to Tier 1 battery manufacturers and automotive OEMs.

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Ather Energy has begun rolling out multi-language dashboard support for its Rizta scooter, enhancing accessibility for a wider audience in India.

The multi-language interface, first announced for the Rizta, will eventually support eight regional languages: Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada. The rollout commenced with Hindi, followed by Kannada, with the remaining languages set for introduction in the coming months.

Swapnil Jain, CTO & Co-founder, Ather Energy, said: “Karnataka has been home for us since the beginning. It’s where much of Ather was built, our teams, and our early community. In a state where culture and language are deeply rooted, adding Kannada to the Rizta Z dashboard felt like a natural step to make the experience more personal and accessible for our riders here. As technology becomes part of daily life, it should also feel familiar and easy to use, that’s exactly what this update aims to do.”

The Rizta, Ather’s first family scooter, is available in two models and four variants: Rizta S and Rizta Z. The variants offer an IDC range of 123 km and 159 km. The scooter features a large seat and a storage space of 56-litre, including a 34-litre under-seat capacity and an optional 22-litre frunk accessory.

Safety features include SkidControl, Fall Safe, Emergency Stop Signal (ESS) and Tow & Theft Alerts. The Rizta has found a strong connection with riders, crossing 100,000 unit sales in June of this year.

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Hindustan Zinc, a global integrated zinc producer, is advancing its mining strategy with a fleet intelligence system powered by Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). Through monitoring of Heavy Earth Moving Machinery, the company is capturing real-time data on equipment uptime, reliability and energy consumption to optimise operations, enhance machine lifespan and elevate productivity.

The data-driven approach has led to measurable improvements across equipment categories over the last three fiscal years FY2024 to FY2026:

• Jumbo drilling machines achieved a 28 percent improvement in reliability and uptime.
• Load Haul Dumpers recorded a 24 percent rise in uptime.
• Low-Profile Dump Trucks showed an improvement of over 27 percent.
• Efficiency has also improved, seen in the Power Pack to Percussion ratio for Jumbo machines, which decreased from 3.8 to 3.4, indicating better energy use for equivalent output.

This transformation is managed by Hindustan Zinc’s Collaboration Centre, which serves as the central nerve for real-time data integration and decision-making. Data from sensors and IIoT devices, deployed in collaboration with Machine Max (a Vedanta Spark startup partner), is processed and analysed into insights for both frontline teams and strategic leaders.

Arun Misra, CEO, Hindustan Zinc, said, “With stronger data capture, cutting-edge IIoT integration and advanced analytics, we’re moving from reactive to predictive operations. The optimisation of our heavy earth-moving fleet has been a game-changer for our uptime and efficiency. This project is a clear step towards smarter, real-time decision-making and building a high-performance, energy-efficient mining ecosystem.”

The digital initiative is integral to the company’s strategy for automation, smart mining and sustainability. Hindustan Zinc is also deploying other technologies, including an AI-powered camera surveillance system that has resulted in an almost 50 percent reduction in manual intervention for safety and compliance. The company is currently working with over 20 technology startups on more than 50 projects through Vedanta Spark.

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Tier 1 automotive supplier Lumax Auto Technologies (Lumax) has inaugurated its new Technology Centre in Bengaluru, christened the ‘Smart Hub for Innovation and Future Trends’ (SHIFT).

The new facility will focus on accelerating the company’s electronics engineering and digital capabilities amid the global transition toward software-defined vehicles (SDVs).

The inauguration saw participation from Lumax’s key customers and partners, including leaders from Daimler India Commercial Vehicles, Hero MotoCorp, Mahindra & Mahindra, Maruti Suzuki India, Tata Motors and TVS Motor Company.

The new centre aims to serve as a nucleus for advanced research and product development in key areas such as in-cabin experiences, ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems), connectivity and embedded electronics.

Anmol Jain, Managing Director, Lumax Auto Technologies, said, “This centre marks a major step toward our Tier 0.5 vision, enhancing our strengths in electronics, mechatronics and digital systems. We aim to lead the transformation toward intelligent, connected and sustainable mobility and Bengaluru’s dynamic tech ecosystem provides the ideal environment for this journey.”

The tier 1 supplier stated that the component industry is undergoing a profound transformation, driven by electrification, digitisation and autonomous technologies. As vehicles become increasingly software-centric, Lumax Group is working to integrate intelligent systems and deliver seamless user experiences.

Deepak Jain, Promoter Director, Lumax Auto Technologies, said, “The launch of our Technology Centre reaffirms our long-term commitment to customer-centric innovation and technological leadership. As the industry transitions toward software-defined vehicles (SDV), the future of mobility will increasingly be driven by intelligence, connectivity and digital integration. SHIFT will enable Lumax Group to accelerate innovation, strengthen collaboration and shape intelligent mobility solutions of the future.”

The SHIFT Technology Centre is equipped with advanced electronics labs for hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testing, rapid prototyping and product validation, enabling end-to-end innovation from concept to commercialisation.

Satish Sunderesan, CTO, Lumax Auto Technologies, said, “With SHIFT, we aim to converge talent, technology and transformation to engineer software-defined and digitally driven vehicles and evolve from smart systems to autonomous intelligence.”

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