A market research and competitive intelligence provider, FactMr, predicts that the global regenerative suspension system will reach US$ 4.37 billion by the end of 2032. The market is set to grow due to increasing use of both, passenger as well as commercial electric vehicles, across the world.
New automobiles are increasingly coming with regenerative brakes as an energy-saving feature, and soon, another engineering innovation – regenerative suspension – could become a trend in the automotive market. Regenerative suspension systems have become highly attractive to industries and researchers alike in the past decade.
The resulting vibrations between the road surface and the car body while driving on irregular road surfaces leads to the dissipation of vibration energy in the form of heat as waste. Regenerative shock absorbers assist in recovering this vibration energy, which can be converted into electricity. The battery packs of hybrid and electric vehicles can be fuelled by the electricity harvested by these regenerative systems.
Regenerative suspension systems differ on the basis of technology – hydraulic and electromagnetic, including linear and rotary dampers. Product developers are trying to implement different conventional as well as latest suspension types in regenerative suspension systems. Multi-link and double-wishbone independent setups are the most expensive and complex types.
As the world continues to adopt electric vehicles, researchers and developers are also undergoing changes in the direction of their research to achieve maximum energy yield. Owing to the high cost of components, regenerative suspension systems are initially expected to be deployed in premium electric vehicles and later on in other vehicle segments.
Key Takeaways from Market Study
· The global regenerative suspension system market is projected to reach a valuation of US$ 4.37 billion by 2032.
· Under technology type, electromagnetic regenerative suspension systems are estimated to be valued at US$ 4 billion by 2032.
· Under suspension type, multi-link variants will dominate the EV market.
· Europe is expected to dominate the global market with 21.8% market share by 2032.
“Premium passenger electric vehicles expected to reflect lucrative near-term opportunities for regenerative suspension system manufacturers,” says a Fact.MR analyst.
Competitive Landscape
Prominent regenerative suspension system developers are Audi, Guident, Intertronic Gresser GmbH, Levant, SoftWheel, and ZF Friedrichshafen AG.
Leading manufacturers of regenerative suspension systems are still in the R&D stage. Companies are trying different variations and testing the results for maximum energy yield. Traditional steel springs and shock absorbers have been fully abolished by researchers to focus on additional forces for the conversion of power into energy.
If companies achieve correct calculations, higher energy yield, and optimized costing, the potential of this technology is truly significant.
Moreover, soon leading players would be focusing on strategies such as acquiring and partnering with other firms to extend their product portfolios and gain technical expertise to develop advanced regenerative suspension systems.
For Instance:
In 2020, Guident announced gaining an exclusive license to U.S. patent # 8,941,251 from the Research Foundation of the State of New York for new regenerative shock absorber technology. This patent allows the manufacturing of electromagnetic regenerative shock absorbers with a high energy density that can recover a vehicle’s vibrational energy.
In a recent development, Israeli start-up SoftWheel announced a technology that can harvest energy and absorb shocks for electric vehicles. The company says that quite a few car manufacturers have approached them regarding this technology.
Audi has developed a prototype suspension system called eROT that uses the motion of shock absorbers to generate electricity.
Intertronic Gresser GmbH, in Germany, was granted patents in the U.S., Europe, and China for the novel invention ‘electricity-generating suspension system’ for hybrid and electric cars.
