Sundram Fasteners Limited has announced that its Powertrain Components Division has been recognised as Supplier of the Year by General Motors during its 30th Annual Supplier of the Year awards.  

The company said this is the ninth time the Chennai-based auto component major has received the coveted recognition. 

The American automaker has honoured 134 of its suppliers from 16 countries with the Supplier of the Year distinction in 2021. The awards are an acknowledgement of global suppliers that have distinguished themselves by exceeding GM’s requirements, resulting in providing GM customers with innovative technologies and high quality, the company said in a release. 

Arathi Krishna, Managing Director, Sundram Fasteners Limited, said, “We are pleased to receive this prestigious award from General Motors, a global leader in the automobile sector. This recognition is a validation of our commitment to quality, safety, innovation, sustainability and excellence. The fact that we have received this award for the ninth time demonstrates our ability to exceed customer expectations consistently.” 

Krishna added, “The GM award truly epitomises our journey over the years, specifically the efforts in new product development, R&D and technology. This award encourages us to develop technology-backed new products every year. I would like to congratulate my entire team at Sundram Fasteners and all our suppliers who have helped us to get this recognition consistently year on year.” 

Shilpan Amin, Vice President, Global Purchasing and Supply Chain, General Motors, said, “This year’s Supplier of the year event was special not only because it’s the 30th Anniversary of the programme, but it also provided us with the opportunity to recognise our suppliers for persevering through one of the most challenging years the industry has ever faced. The top suppliers showed resilience and reinforced their commitment to pursuing sustainability and innovation. Through our strong relationships and collaboration, GM and our suppliers are posed to build a brighter future for generations to come.”  

Winners of awards were chosen by a global team of GM purchasing, engineering, quality, manufacturing and logistics executives. Parameters for evaluation were Product Purchasing, Global Purchasing and Manufacturing Services, Customer Care and Aftersales and Logistics, the release said.  

Sundram Fasteners supplies key products to GM, including transmission shafts, radiator caps and more, which are seen across prestigious GM brands like Cadillac, GMC and Chevrolet. The company has been a GM vendor for over 25 years and has won the Supplier of the Year award five times in a row from 1996 to 2000, and in 2009, 2019, 2020 and now, in 2021. 

Meanwhile, the company said the Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHA) has approved its application under Component Champion Incentive Scheme of the PLI Scheme. 

The PLI Scheme aims in building a robust supply chain in areas of Advanced Automotive Technology (AAT) components. The eligibility criteria require minimum investment of INR 250 crores over five years with at least INR 100 crores in the initial two years. The company, out of capital expenditure amounting to INR 2,000 crores planned over a period of next five years, has a projected investment of over INR 350 Crores for manufacturing Advanced Automotive Technology (AAT) components like powertrain sub-assemblies for Electric Vehicles (EV) and select Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles. The company has secured firm orders from Global OEMs for supply of these components under their EV programmes, the release added. 

Krishna said, “The PLI scheme will benefit the sector in multiple ways by increasing localisation and make India an export hub in the global auto supply chain. We are setting aside around INR 350 crores for the
manufacture of advanced automotive technology components for the next five years.” (MT)  

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Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology, in collaboration with industry partners, have published a study in Nature Communications demonstrating that reconfigurable battery pack architectures can extend electric vehicle battery operational life by more than 20 percent under specific conditions.

In conventional electric vehicle battery packs, cells are wired in a fixed series configuration, meaning the weakest cell dictates the overall capacity, performance and lifespan of the entire pack. The architecture evaluated by the Chalmers engineering team uses integrated electronic switches and a centralised battery management system to monitor individual cells or cell groups. When a cell experiences accelerated degradation or reduced capacity, the system bypasses the degraded unit while electric current continues to flow through the remaining functional cells.

Albert Skegro, a PhD student at the Department of Electrical Engineering at Chalmers University of Technology, said, "They must all move at the pace of the slowest person and stop when that person stops, regardless of how much energy the others have left. With the architecture we have modelled, the battery can instead bypass the cell that is causing problems and continue using the remaining cells."

Changfu Zou, Professor at the Department of Electrical Engineering at Chalmers, said, "Reconfiguration is not an on-or-off choice. It is a spectrum. Where a manufacturer chooses to position itself on that spectrum determines how much of the potential benefit can be realised."

In a representative modelling scenario featuring an 80 kWh battery pack driven 12,000 kilometres annually over an 18.8-year vehicle lifespan, the reconfigurable system deferred battery replacement by approximately 14 months. The researchers noted that the technology yields the highest performance gains in high-voltage vehicles, including 400-volt and 800-volt electric passenger cars and commercial trucks, where higher cell counts in series increase the statistical probability of individual cell variance.

A techno-economic analysis included in the study determined that implementing cell-level switching hardware increases initial pack production costs by approximately nine per cent based on prototype-scale volumes of 1,000 units. The researchers identified an economic break-even threshold at a 12 percent cost increase, noting that volume manufacturing would lower component costs and increase financial viability for fleet operators and private owners. While prototype applications such as Volvo Cars' SmartCell concept and experimental road vehicles exist, mass-production vehicles using reconfigurable battery packs are yet to enter the commercial market.

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Jakson Green Vehicles has selected Dassault Systèmes’ cloud-based 3DEXPERIENCE platform to manage the design and development of its electric vehicles.

The implementation establishes a collaborative engineering framework to maintain digital continuity across the product development lifecycle. By connecting internal teams and external suppliers, the platform automates workflows, standardises component libraries and manages engineering change requests during early-stage product design. Virtual twin capabilities allow the vehicle manufacturer to conduct virtual validation testing to resolve structural and systems design issues prior to physical manufacturing.

Deepak Thakur, CEO, Jakson Green Vehicles, said, "Using Dassault Systèmes’ 3DEXPERIENCE Platform enables us to apply a collaborative approach and re-engineer our product lifecycle from the ground up. Through this transition from legacy environments to a unified digital thread, it enables strong R&D to achieve twin objectives; accelerated time-to-market and mitigated development costs. This partnership is helping us to transform the early-stage innovation and product design processes."

Deepak NG, Managing Director – India, Dassault Systèmes, said, "As India continues its dynamic growth trajectory, virtual twin technology serves as a powerful catalyst for sustainable innovation, empowering industries to rethink how they design, produce and operate."

The software adoption forms part of Jakson Green Vehicles' plan to build urban zero-emission mobility vehicles and infrastructure across India.

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UK-headquartered energy technology company Gelion has entered into a material transfer agreement with a top 15 global automotive original equipment manufacturer to assess its NES cathode platform for future electric vehicle battery applications.

Under the terms of the agreement, Gelion will supply its sulfur-based cathode active material, coated cathodes and liquid electrolyte to the automotive partner. The manufacturer will evaluate the platform in both liquid and solid electrolyte cell configurations, testing compatibility across lithium metal and graphitic anode pathways targeting luxury and mass-market vehicle applications. The technology is designed to serve as a drop-in cathode material capable of integration into existing battery manufacturing lines without re-tooling.

Matt Wood, Chief Executive Officer, Gelion, said, "Our priority markets are commercial & defence drones, EVs and devices. We are honoured to be working with these major global automotive OEMs, and today’s announcement marks further progress towards the adoption of our technology and the generation of commercial revenues via funded programmes and eventually license and royalty revenue in the global EV market, alongside some of the industry’s leading companies."

"The growing engagement from global EV manufacturers reinforces the potential and attractiveness of our NES™ technology. This momentum is also mirrored in our agreements and partnerships across drones and devices, while our work with Tier 1 materials suppliers is advancing the scale-up of our unique, patented battery materials," Wood added.

The agreement expands Gelion’s ongoing industry testing programs with automotive manufacturers, extending the assessment of its sulfur-based cathode platform across liquid and solid battery systems.

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Honda R&D, a subsidiary of Honda Motor Co., has developed underlying technology for a magnetic coupling wireless power transfer road system in partnership with Taisei Corporation and Taisei Rotec Corporation.

The system enables wireless in-motion charging for electric vehicles, including passenger cars and heavy commercial fleets. The partners plan to initiate demonstration testing on public roads starting in FY2027.

The technology integrates high-power-density receiver and transmitter units from Honda with a high-response direct current power supply system from Taisei and road-embedding construction techniques from Taisei Rotec. By supplying power to electric vehicles while in motion, dynamic wireless power transfer reduces the need for stationary charging infrastructure. The initial commercial focus targets logistics and transport operations, where continuous operation offers economic benefits.

The ground assembly embedded in the roadway combines the inverter and coil into a single unit designed to connect via direct current distribution. This design reduces component counts, simplifies wiring and supports installation into existing road surfaces through standard milling methods. The road pavement structures are engineered to withstand continuous traffic loads from vehicles weighing up to 20 tonnes (20,000kg).

Testing conducted at Taisei Group’s T-FIELD facility in Satte verified system stability and structural durability. Starting in late 2026, the companies will build a test roadway at T-FIELD Tamura to evaluate long-term durability under one million wheel-load cycles, measure power transfer efficiency at outputs up to 150 kW and analyse electromagnetic shielding.

The partnership will also join the Tateyama Expressway demonstration project managed by East Nippon Expressway Company starting in 2027.

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