Co-operations with top scientists strengthened on a global scale

• Schaeffler Hubs for Advanced Research (SHARE) successfully link industry and leading universities
• SHARE at The Ohio State University, Columbus (USA) completes Schaeffler’s global presence as research partner
• New research focusing on solid-state batteries and fuel cell technology

As an innovation leader, Schaeffler is already researching future technologies today. Within this process, considerable value is placed on partnerships with universities, institutes, and research bodies, which give rise to pioneering ideas and innovations. At the Schaeffler Hubs for Advanced Research (SHARE), Schaeffler employees are joining forces with scientists, doctoral candidates, and students to research joint future subjects in the areas of automated mobility, hydrogen technologies and renewable energies, digitalization, robotics, and Industry 4.0. The aim of this intensive exchange is to achieve mutual knowledge gains in the development of innovations that will move the world. The SHARE program has evolved as a key lighthouse project in this endeavor since 2013 and is now being expanded to include a fifth location, with a presence at The Ohio State University in Columbus (USA). As a result, SHARE is now present across the globe, from East to West – in Europe, Asia-Pacific, China and America. "The SHARE program is a success story and primary driver of Schaeffler’s ongoing innovation activities," says Uwe Wagner, Chief Technology Officer, Schaeffler AG. "Global challenges and transformations in mobility, digitalization and energy supply are only surmountable in close collaboration with society, science and industry. As an automotive and industrial supplier, we will play an active role in shaping this change."

Spotlight on future topics

Schaeffler’s broad cooperation strategy ranges from student projects and networking with start-up platforms through to memberships of global initiatives such as the Hydrogen Council. "With SHARE, Schaeffler has established a successful global research network with leading universities in less than a decade," says Prof. Dr.-Ing. Tim Hosenfeldt, Senior Vice President Corporate Research and Innovation & Central Technology at Schaeffler. "The SHARE program at The Ohio State University is the fifth worldwide and focuses on solid-state batteries and fuel cell technology. It complements our portfolio perfectly, particularly as hydrogen plays such a pivotal role for Schaeffler as energy source for a sustainable and carbon-neutral future." The SHARE program operates in accordance with the company-on-campus concept, in which Schaeffler employees liaise closely with university researchers, doctoral candidates, and students from their own offices located on campus. The success of this commitment to the universities is substantiated by the numerous projects generated among the Schaeffler innovation clusters, such as the "Omnisteer" technology platform for autonomous mobility in the Mobility Cluster. 

The SHARE facility at Ohio State University completes the series of collaborations at the following locations:

• At the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) in Germany, electric and automated mobility are the key focus areas.
• The Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU) in Germany focuses on digitalization and artificial intelligence.
• The focus at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore is on robotics and Industry 4.0.
• The SHARE facility at Southwest Jiatong University (SWJTU) in China specializes in interurban mobility, in particular rail transport.

Further details on SHARE and Schaeffler’s commitment can be found here: Schaeffler SHARE Network.