NORMA Group provides lightweight tubes for electric vehicles
Maintal, Germany, July 18, 2024
NORMA Group has been awarded a major contract to equip a new platform for small to medium electric passenger cars with lightweight tubes for the battery thermal management system. The customer’s vehicle platform encompasses several car models and targets to enable efficient city mobility. The contract is worth more than EUR 30 million. Starting in December 2026, NORMA Group will deliver around 1.4 million tubes to the customer per year.
NORMA Group has been awarded a major contract to equip a new platform for small to medium electric passenger cars with lightweight tubes for the battery thermal management system. The customer’s vehicle platform encompasses several car models and targets to enable efficient city mobility. The contract is worth more than EUR 30 million. Starting in December 2026, NORMA Group will deliver around 1.4 million tubes to the customer per year.
CEO Guido Grandi: “Large-scale production and availability of small and medium electric vehicles will be a main driver for the transition towards a low-emission, more climate-friendly mobility. This contract proves that with our engineering expertise, our standardized quality management and our global manufacturing footprint we are the right partner for leading car manufacturers as they broaden and scale up their portfolio of battery-electric vehicles.”
The tubes are made of thermoplastic elastomer, a light and flexible material. With its material and design quality, a TP Flex tube significantly reduces the pressure drop of the fluid that flows through it. The tube is therefore well suited for use in the thermal management systems of electric vehicles where it is particular challenging to keep the pressure in the cooling circuit evenly high.
Carolin Wolfsdörfer, President Mobility & New Energy at NORMA Group: “Our joining technology can be used in all kinds of vehicles. With our engineering capacities, we are able to offer tailor-made solutions according to the customers’ requirements. Specifically in electric vehicles, car manufacturers focus on lightweight components as the total weight of a vehicle influences the amount of energy needed to move it. A lighter electric vehicle requires a less powerful drive or offers a higher range.”
The tubes will be manufactured at NORMA Group’s plant in Subotica, Serbia. For the contract, the company will invest in new ergonomic assembly lines and in modernizing existing thermoforming equipment.
