2024 Altair Enlighten Award Winners Are From Diverse Fields

2024 Altair Enlighten Award Winners Are From Diverse Fields

Altair has announced the winners of the 2024 Altair Enlighten Award, which is presented by it in association with the Center for Automotive Research (CAR). 

The award winners are companies with diverse backgrounds such as DuPont, BMW M GmbH, Dow Inc., Toyota, General Motors, CompositeEdge GmbH, WEAV3D, Braskem and Clemson Composites Center and reflect sustainability and light weighting advancements that successfully reduce carbon footprint, mitigate water and energy consumption and leverage material reuse as well as recycling efforts. 

The prestigious Enlighten Award have a 12-year history and have become a coveted prize for automotive industry’s most forward-thinking companies, according to Altair. 

Recognised by EV Magazine as a top 10 sustainability award in 2024, the award looks at products, processes and organisations that are ushering in the next generation of groundbreaking automotive technology. “We are thrilled to once again recognise the organisations creating a more sustainable future. This year’s winners can consider themselves the best innovators meeting those challenging targets,” said James R. Scapa, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Altair. 

Alan Amici, President and Chief Executive Officer, Center for Automotive Research, averred, “We cannot wait to recognize this year’s winners, and we are once again thrilled to present this award in conjunction with Altair and the rest of our valued partners.”

 

Image for representative purpose only.

Vimag Labs Receives Patent For Magnet-Free Motor Technology

VMSM

Bengaluru-based deeptech start-up Vimag Labs has been granted a patent in India for its Virtual Magnet Synchronous Motor (VMSM) platform titled ‘A Robust Rotating Transformer Excited Synchronous Motor and Its Control’, which protects the architecture of the motor that does not require magnets.

The VMSM platform uses power electronics and algorithms to control its magnetic field. Vimag Labs claims that the motor functions without the rare-earth magnets typically found in permanent magnet motors. This is the 5th patent granted to the company, which also has ten patents pending and 15 trademarks filed.

The company is conducting pilot programmes with manufacturers of two-wheelers and passenger cars. Future expansion plans include light commercial vehicles, commercial vehicles and industrial systems.

Manish Seth, Co-Founder and CEO, Vimag Labs, said, “This patent is the outcome of over 87,600 engineering hours. It strengthens every dimension of our commercial roadmap- OEM partnerships, licensing, manufacturing scale-up, and future growth. Our long-term vision is to build scalable, software-driven, magnet-free motor systems for global electrification. This innovation strengthens India’s deep-tech base across electric mobility, power electronics, robotics, defence, and clean-energy systems.”

Vimag Labs recently raised USD 5 million in a Series A funding round led by Accel, with participation from Chakra Growth Fund and Thinkuvate. The company has also signed a manufacturing memorandum of understanding with Jendamark.

Autoliv, XPENG Sign Strategic Cooperation Agreement

Autoliv - Xpeng

Tier 1 automotive supplier Autoliv and Chinese automotive major XPENG have signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement to develop mobility solutions for global markets. The partnership aims to facilitate collaboration across technology development, digitalisation, supply chain coordination and sustainability.

As per the agreement, Autoliv will use its global presence and expertise in automotive safety systems to support XPENG’s product development and international expansion. The collaboration is designed to combine Autoliv’s safety standards with XPENG’s work in electric vehicles, AI, autonomous driving and robotics.

Mikael Bratt, President and CEO, Autoliv, said, "XPENG is striving to explore the future of mobility, and Autoliv is proud to support that journey. As vehicles become smarter, safety must be integrated from the very beginning. This agreement reflects our shared commitment to innovation and safety, combining XPENG's innovation in smart mobility with Autoliv's global safety expertise to help make the next generation of mobility safer."

The companies intend for the agreement to improve innovation efficiency in response to changes in the automotive industry, including electrification, connectivity and globalisation.

Ferrari - BGMI

Krafton India, the studio behind the popular mobile game – Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI), has announced that Italian supercar brand Ferrari will be added to BGMI as part of the 4.5 update, starting from 16 July 2026.

The collaboration brings four models to the game: the Roma, Purosangue, LaFerrari and SF90 XX Spider. These vehicles will be available for over 260 million players to collect through in-app purchases. The update will also introduce a Ferrari-themed photo zone where players can interact with the vehicles and installations. This space will include animations for players to use with teammates.

Players will be able to drive the vehicles from 16 July to 7 September 2026. Further information will be provided on BGMI’s social media channels regarding event dates and trailers. The partnership between Krafton and Scuderia Ferrari HP was established in December 2025.

Coretura And Accenture Partner To Develop Software-Defined Commercial Vehicle Platform

Coretura - Accenture

Coretura, a 50:50 joint venture between Daimler Truck and Volvo Group, has entered into an engineering agreement with Accenture to accelerate the development of a software platform for commercial vehicles.

The company, headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden, currently employs over 100 engineers. It continues to recruit specialists in system architecture, high-performance computing and cloud infrastructure to support its roadmap, which targets the delivery of its first commercialised products towards the end of the decade.

Coretura intends to create a single software platform, language and standard for trucks, buses and other heavy-duty transport vehicles. The platform is designed to support vehicle lifecycles of more than 15 years, moving the industry away from projects that require custom software development for each new vehicle.

As the engineering partner, Accenture will support development across several areas, including:

  • Electrical and Electronic (E/E) architecture
  • Software abstraction and hardware integration
  • Embedded software, middleware, and cybersecurity
  • Functional safety and cloud infrastructure

The platform aims to provide a reusable software stack to lower costs and standardise time-to-market for global manufacturers. For fleet operators, the system is designed to allow for continuous software updates and performance upgrades delivered over the air.

Johan Lunden, CEO, Coretura, said, “Our purpose is to advance mobility at the speed of ideas, and that takes depth. Building a full-stack SDV platform demands expertise across embedded software, middleware, cybersecurity, and functional safety, all designed for vehicles with lifecycles measured in decades. Accenture’s reinvention capabilities let us move faster without compromising the standards our customers depend on. This is acceleration, not course correction.”

Rainer Oder, SDV Embedded Software Lead, Accenture, added, “Helping the industry advance software-defined vehicles is a priority for Accenture. Our landmark collaboration with Coretura is designed to change embedded software engineering for automotive platforms. Together, we are looking to solve the challenges of a fully software-defined architecture – addressing critical areas such as hardware abstraction, API management and AI-based engineering optimisations.”