Marine turbocharging engine firm enters F1

Accelleron, the recently rebranded turbocharging division of ABB which provides heavy-duty turbocharging for diesel and gas engines, has entered into a partnership with Swiss-based engineering and technology specialists, Sauber Group.

The alliance will focus on technical collaboration between Accelleron and Sauber Technologies, while Accelleron also becomes an official partner of the Sauber-operated Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN in the FIA Formula One World Championship.

Accelleron provides turbocharging technologies and optimisation solutions for 0.5 to 80+ MW engines, which it says help to provide sustainable, efficient and reliable power to the marine, energy and rail sectors.

It’s reported this collaboration is a first in the field of turbocharging – within the partnership, Accelleron and Sauber Technologies will work on five joint projects in areas including computational fluid dynamics, where aerodynamic expertise developed by Sauber can be used to enhancing the efficiency of future turbine designs for Accelleron. Other areas of collaboration include additive manufacturing techniques, and advanced material technology used in F1 which may be adapted for use in turbocharging applications.

“As we enter a new phase in our business, I’m proud that our recently launched Accelleron brand will be carried by the Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN cars and drivers as a symbol of our new technology partnership,” says Oliver Riemenschneider, CEO of Accelleron. “We are bringing together two icons of Swiss technology and innovation as engineers working in these different environments face similar challenges: a drive towards sustainability, the need for reliability at the technical limit, and a constant pressure to innovate. This is a collaboration that will focus on the exchange of intelligence, experience and insight to enable the transfer of progress and innovation from one high-performance sector to another.”

 “Formula One is often described as a high-speed laboratory, and a lot of the innovation in this most technologically advanced motorsport category can be used across other applications, including the drive for sustainability, that are integral to society’s ongoing success,” explains Jan Monchaux, technical director for Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN. “This partnership with Accelleron will allow both of our skilled teams to work together to improve the flow of innovation from the racetrack into the real world. This is an exciting development and one that has the power to make a difference across multiple touchpoints.”

“Sauber Technologies embodies the knowledge and expertise of 50 years of motorsport competition,” adds CEO of Sauber Group, Frédéric Vasseur, “and we look forward to putting this to good use in our partnership with Accelleron. Together we share a drive for sustainability, innovation and teamwork – as well as an agile and efficient engineering approach geared towards high-quality products.”