Magnetics Business & Technology - May/June 2021 - 22

PRODUCT NEWS

Valeo Targets Booming e-Bike Market for Its Higher-Power 48V Drivetrains

Already producing 30 million electric machines a year, automotive supplier Valeo plans to boost that output significantly by
upgrading the booming e-bicycle market to the company's more
powerful 48-volt motor and drive technology. The company has
adapted its 48V motors to bikes, resulting in the most high-performance electric assistance system for bikes to date in a major
market step-out for the French company.
" One of Valeo's key strategic focuses is accelerating its expansion
in the emerging markets for new
" zero-emissions " mobility, including
electric small city vehicles, electric
motorcycles and scooters, last-mile
autonomous delivery droids and
electric bikes, " announced Jacques
Aschenbroich, chairman and CEO. Jacques Aschenbroich,
chairman and CEO of
" To do this, we are leveraging and
Valeo
adapting the technological platforms that we developed for the
automotive industry, both those dedicated to ADAS (advanced
driver assistance systems) and to low-voltage electrification
(48V). "
The Valeo Smart e-Bike System is the first solution in the world
to integrate both an electric motor and an adaptive automatic
transmission in the pedal assembly. With this new electric assistance system, the bike adapts to the cyclist, and not the other
way around. The gears change automatically and the system's
algorithms instantly adapt to the amount of electric assistance
the cyclist needs right from the first pedal stroke.
First came the hybrid for all, rechargeable hybrids and all-electric
cars, followed by e-trucks, autonomous shuttles, electric threewheelers and delivery droids. Now Valeo has developed yet
another use for its 48V systems - for electric bikes.

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Magnetics Business & Technology *

May/June 2021

Previously unavailable on the market, the Valeo technology developed in partnership with Effigear comprises a 48V electric motor and a seven-speed automatic, adaptive gearbox in a single
unit located in the pedal assembly, providing the best electric
assistance for bikes to date.

Mountain bike powered by Valeo 48V powertrain
Given the permanent magnet motor's torque of 130 Newton
meters, it can multiply the cyclist's effort by eight, while other
systems on the market offer up to a fivefold boost. Used on a
cargo bike, Valeo's electric assistance allows a cyclist carrying a
150kg load to climb a 14% gradient, the equivalent of a parking
lot ramp, without breaking a sweat, whether moving forward or
reversing. Valeo's motor is also more efficient than the 24V or
36V motors installed on the vast majority of e-bikes available
today, it says.
While historically bikes have systematically evolved through the
addition of new components, Valeo started from scratch, de-

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