Aware of the influence that environmental impact has on purchasing decisions in the automotive sector, Brembo is committed to developing innovative products with an environmentally sustainable, circular design. In this regard, in 2023 the Group worked on creating indicators relating to product eco-design, so as to be able to include sustainability criteria from the design phases.
The Company aims to reduce environmental impact along the entire value chain, promoting sustainable mobility and experimenting with revolutionary solutions to improve the sustainability and comfort of braking system components.
Brembo is also oriented towards a design that harmonizes functionality, comfort, durability, and aesthetics.
Therefore, the aim of the Group’s Research and Development work is to:
- Increase braking system performance while ensuring maximum reliability and improving comfort through solutions that can reduce braking action noise, vibrations, and harshness;
- Prolong the life of Brembo’s products, while studying and applying new product design rules and minimizing disc and pad wear, in the framework of eco-design and circular economy;
- Reduce the environmental impact resulting from the use of vehicles in terms of greenhouse gas and particulate emissions into the air, through the reduction of the weight of its products and the control of the dispersion of braking-related dust, but also an increase in the share of recycled raw materials thus contributing to combating the consumption of virgin materials and climate change;
- Implement the LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) assessment for all new products, using this tool as a binding step towards the approval of a product, similarly to cost evaluation and technical feasibility;
- Reduce the final weight of vehicles using increasingly lighter alloys to obtain lightweight products;
- Promote functional design that enhances innovation, interprets trends, and makes objects iconic.
Collaborations to reduce the environmental impact
For Brembo, innovation aims to ensure increasingly cutting-edge products able not only to anticipate and meet the new needs typical of the automotive industry, but that also allow to improve the environmental impact through:
- the design of products involving the use of low-impact materials and protections;
- the reduction of GHG emissions thanks to the use of light alloys allowing to limit braking systems weight;
- the reduction of particulates during braking, harmful for human health thanks to the use of technical materials and solutions;
- the development of smart products such as mechatronic components;
- the implementation and improvement of structured Life Cycle Assessments, both on process and material level.
The project, which is expected to end in June 2024, has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Programme in order to understand and mitigate the effects of emerging emissions of unregulated nanoparticles generated by transport on public health and the new public policies. The goal is to monitor and sample with state-of-the-art instruments the sub 100 nm emissions generated by maritime, road, rail, and air transport, both in the field and in controlled laboratory environments. Emissions will be characterised in terms of size, morphology, and chemical composition linked with specific emission sources, such as engines, brakes, clutches, and tyres, to increase understanding of the mechanisms underlying the adverse risks posed by the different types and sources of identified sub 100 nm particles. The effects of nanoparticles from various modes of transport and fuels, as well as from specific emission sources, will be compared paying particular attention to markers significant for carcinogenesis and inflammation.
In addition, the goal is also to complete a comprehensive public database that collects all the chemical and toxicological information obtained to provide science-based suggestions for new policies specifically related to nanoparticulates.
For further information: www.npets-project.eu.
Launched in 2019, the MODALES project aimed to substantially reduce air pollution from petrol and diesel vehicles. The 18 project partners worked together for 45 months to bring this vision to life and propose an approach based on users and how their behaviour affects powertrain emissions, and brake and tyre wear. The MODALES vision is to reduce air pollution from all types of vehicles on the road by encouraging the adoption of low-emission driving behaviours and correct maintenance choices. The project, which ended in May 2023, researched, developed, and tested a range of innovative and complementary solutions that include the driver, on-board diagnostics, periodic inspections, and retrofits.
MODALES was granted a nine-month extension since part of the project consisted of driving activities for data collection. This extension was the result of delays caused by safety measures related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
For further information: https://modales-project.eu/ brembo/.
is an ambitious project funded by European Commission’s LIFE programme in the field of sustainable urban mobility. Launched in August 2022, this project will continue until August 2025, as part of the control and technical countermeasures for particulate emissions (PM) of public transport vehicles. In recent years, there has been a greater awareness of pollutant emissions from braking systems and specific countermeasures are currently being developed for cars, but not an equal attention was given to the public transport area. In this scenario, the RE-BREATH project has 4 objectives:
to measure and demonstrate the reduction of PM10 emissions, related to the braking system of buses, at stops;
to support national authorities in the estimation of non-exhaust emissions to be calculated in the EMEP/EEA emission inventory, according to Directive (EU) 2016/2284;
to demonstrate the decrease in the brake wear rate, and the consequent increase in the life of the braking system compared to the traditional system, for a more sustainable economy;
to model a concentration map for pollutants emitted by brake wear and a map of the exposure risk to pedestrian health, in order to support the design of a “green intervention” along bus routes in Bergamo and Bratislava and the formulation of Guidelines for local administrations.
In practice, two fleets of 10 buses each will be implemented in two European cities, Bergamo and Bratislava, located in regions where the EEA has declared the highest concentrations of PM (2.5 and 10). During 2023, the first braking system retrofitting solution was designed, developed, tested and installed on a number of buses in Bergamo and Bratislava.
The RE-BREATH braking solution stems from the AM Beyond Greenance Kit solution, adapted for bus application with a dedicated friction formulation, designed for the vehicle’s specific mission. During 2023, the first RE-BREATH solution was validated by performing performance and wear tests that were compared with the original components of the reference application. Compared to passenger cars and light commercial vehicles, as no test procedures exist for the assessment of bus emissions, specific activities were carried out to assess emissions behaviour.
In 2024, work will continue with the development of improved solutions and the definition of optimised procedures for measuring bus emissions.
For further information: www.brembo.com/it/company/news/re-breath.
The VERA project is aimed at developing and optimising innovative tailpipe and brake retrofit solutions to tackle the issue of emissions associated with road transport. These solutions will be mainly dedicated to the fleet of circulating vehicles, which are obsolete in a high percentage, with particular reference to those that travel high mileages within cities (taxis, delivery vans, buses). On the brake side, retrofit solutions will include innovative discs and pads to reduce brake wear and an active filtration system to capture the particles generated. Environmental and health impacts will be analysed and a cost-benefit analysis will be conducted to assess the benefits of applying the new solutions. Finally, incentive and regulatory schemes will be considered to promote the retrofitting of existing vehicles. The project was launched in December 2022, and an analysis was conducted during 2023 to assess the global size of the retrofit market, examine existing retrofit solutions that aim to reduce exhaust or brake emissions, and finally highlight market gaps to guide the project’s technical developments.
In addition, the test procedures to be used for the validation of both exhaust and brake emissions have been defined, along with the methods used to perform the chemical and toxicological analysis of the emissions generated. Current activities focus on measuring baseline emissions and setting emission reduction targets. Retrofit solutions for the tailpipes and brakes are being developed, with the aim of carrying out validation tests scheduled for the end of 2024.
For further information: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/ id/101056893
The project stems from the European Commission Horizon Europe framework programme through the 2Zero Partnership and the call to develop a modular powertrain for heavy trucks, adaptable to different mission needs.
It focuses on a modular vehicle for the IVECO platform (VECTO 9), designed for fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) and battery electric vehicles (BEVs) for long distances and regional distribution. EMPOWER aims to reduce costs and improve energy efficiency, contributing to a total cost of ownership (TCO) equal to 2020 diesel trucks. The project involves the creation of digital models of the demonstrator vehicles and the operational demonstration of at least two prototypes in real mission conditions.
For further information: www.projectempower.eu
Over a period of 36 months, the MODALES consortium will monitor the variability of driving behaviour and recognise typical driving patterns and practices. Subsequently, based on this knowledge, MODALES will establish the link between real-world powertrain emissions and driving behaviour with measurement campaigns using portable emission measurement systems (PEMS) and laboratory tests. In addition, laboratory measurements for brake and tyre emissions will be conducted. In a second phase, MODALES will create low-emission driving training courses, which will be taught and validated in pilot exercises. Knowledge, experience and practices will be shared with other cities in China and Latin America.
Aspects related to poor maintenance and tampering will be analysed with a fleet of cars whose emissions are intentionally affected by lack of maintenance and/or tampering, and MODALES will observe whether current OBDs and inspections are able to detect them. Finally, an assessment of the prospects and potential impacts of retrofits for light and heavy-duty road vehicles and non-road mobile machinery (NRMM) will be carried out, including the promotion of their application in selected pilot cities with significant pollution problems.
For further information: https://modales-project.eu
In the next decades, the main challenge for tomorrow’s mobility will be to dramatically reduce emissions by reaching the maximum possible level of sustainability at global level. The MOST will be fully interconnected with the NextGenerationEU and, specifically, with the implementation of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan by Italy, which will encourage the spread of low and zero emission vehicles and renewable and low-carbon fuels for road, water, air and rail transport with specific measures on several levels: investing in green technologies, spreading greener vehicles and public transport and promoting equal opportunities nationwide, given the major geographical discrepancies existing in Italy.
Brembo S.p.A. is a founding partner of MOST with 25 Universities and Research Institutes, which in the three-year period 2023-2025, will be able to count on a structured staff of 696 researchers, including 574 newly-hired personnel and an investment capacity of €378 million. The MOST will provide a pivotal opportunity for the national scientific, industrial and economic system, addressing current and future scientific and social challenges related to the Sustainable Mobility paradigm. The ambition is to build a competent Italian leadership, strongly integrated into the local areas and local businesses, able to support the future development towards an inclusive, sustainable and decarbonised mobility.
The Brembo’s ambitious vision is to enable the design and production of Made in Italy closed-loop, self-sufficient, self-regenerative, reliable, safe and energy-aware products and services. The proposed expanded partnership will conduct the fundamental research underpinning the achievement of this vision. It thus proposes eight thematic areas on which to focus to address the challenges currently faced by our design, production, and consumption models, as well as the end-of-life of materials, products, production technologies and processes needed to move to greener, more circular pathways and models.
Product innovation
Brembo’s ability to achieve relevant results in all the areas in which the Group is committed to product and process innovation stems from the work of the employees operating 71 Full Time Equivalent – FTE represents the workforce calculated based on the hours actually worked and/or paid by the company in which they are employed. in the various company areas. Among them the following can be mentioned:
FTE*
employees (Full Time Equivalent) engaged in research and development activities
FTE
employees (Full Time Equivalent) engaged in testing activities
FTE
employees (Full Time Equivalent) engaged in quality management and development activities
In the area of brake discs for cars and light commercial vehicles, the strategic priority for 2023 was the development of brake discs with solutions designed to meet the criteria of the new Euro 7 standard on pollutant emissions from cars and commercial vehicles and which, for the first time, also introduces new provisions for particulate emissions from braking systems. Brembo has been active for years in the development of solutions for the reduction of particulate emissions from brakes. As early as in 2020, it presented the Greentive® disc, characterised by an innovative coating applied to the cast-iron braking ring that ensures very low wear and tear, extends disc life and, thanks to the combination with the specifically developed friction material, also reduces particulate emissions during braking, thus limiting the impact on the environment.
Relying on the expertise gained through the Greentive® disc, over the years Brembo has forged ahead with research, development and testing of advanced solutions to be applied to cast-iron discs through the study of new materials and the adoption of technologies and surface treatments never used before for brake disc applications. The research focused in particular on the “Laser Metal Deposition” technology, where a thin layer of material is deposited on the disc at high speed by means of laser overlaying, which due to its characteristics reduces wear and tear and emissions of particulates from the disc itself during braking.
Equally important is Brembo Friction’s concurrent development of brake pads that can markedly contribute to creating an ideal combination with the brake disc.
Thinking of the single component — disc or pad — as an independent unit fails to address the problem of emissions in its entirety. The development of a friction module, consisting of disc and pad, designed for each of these new types of disc therefore becomes essential for achieving emission targets without compromising performance, thus managing to offer Brembo customers solutions consistent with the Group’s vision and its guidelines.
Considerable attention is being devoted to the new needs of hybrid and electric vehicles, which use regenerative braking and thus introduce new requirements for brake discs, instrumental to solving issues relating to disc resistance to corrosion.
All the new solutions, which aim to reduce environmental impact and improve aesthetics and corrosion resistance, are meeting with strong interest among Brembo’s main clients. In this regard, the development phases with major car manufacturers continued, while in Europe production of discs that will adopt one of these technologies began in 2023 for a major electrical vehicle manufacturer.
According to precise guidelines applied throughout the automotive sector and all of Brembo’s development activities, considerable attention is also paid to new solutions that are able to reduce disc weight: a lower weight translates into a greater driving range for electric vehicles and lower fuel consumption of internal combustion vehicles, and consequently into a reduced environmental impact in both cases. This aspect will become even more important due to the entry into force of the new Euro 7 Regulation. In car applications, after having worked with a major German customer to develop the concept for the light brake disc installed in its new platform of core vehicles, Brembo will also extend the supply of this product — which enables a reduction in weight of up to 15% compared to a conventional disc — also to a new platform of fully electric vehicles, whose application development phase is underway.
Application development activity on discs for heavy commercial vehicles with major European clients with solutions aimed at improving performance and reducing weight is in the final phase. The related series production will begin during 2024.
Building on the experience gained in the field of light commercial vehicles, the research and development of new products compliant with the requirements for pollutant emissions (Euro 7), which are also being released for this category of vehicles, will continue in 2024 for this market segment as well.
The search for new markets in the two-wheel field is also focusing on green mobility. The Group has signed a collaboration agreement with a first client for the development of a high-performance braking system for use on high-performance products. After concluding the first tests, the product requirements have been frozen and the Group is currently engaged in the “Design Freeze” phase, which will be closed in February 2024.
Activities are also continuing for the development of green materials such as recycled aluminium for calipers and on the pad friction materials.
Finally, the Group continued to invest in the search for low environmental impact friction materials for the “low emission” and “high performance” line. In the case of the former, materials paired with coated discs are being developed, whereas in the case of the latter materials under development are paired with all types of carbon ceramic discs.
Brembo Friction, structure dedicated to the study and production of brake pads, continues with its steady commitment to developing traditional customer-oriented friction materials and increasingly high-performance materials for racing cars. The consolidated expertise on friction materials also relies on the know-how of the subsidiary BSCCB (Brembo SGL Carbon Ceramic Brakes), for the development of pads combined with carbon ceramic discs for ultra-high performance cars.
This focus also sits alongside accompanying and anticipating the automotive market trends, which are increasingly green-oriented and the introduction of hybrid and electric vehicles that require materials that are no longer merely high-performance, but also environmentally friendly, with a focus also dedicated to the aesthetic aspect of corrosion.
The inclusion, for the first time, in the Euro 7 standard also of braking system emissions, with particular regard to pad emissions, reflects a clear vision of current trends.
Brembo Friction is therefore decisive for expanding the braking materials portfolio that allow to maintain high performance, ensuring braking safety, with increased attention to both the aesthetic aspect in general and component corrosion, without neglecting driving comfort (absence of noise and vibrations), as well as developing expertise that can also be applied in new and increasingly complex systems such as the Electric Parking Brake and SENSIFY™.
The integration with the new mechatronic systems thanks to the constant technological evolution in the automotive field has paved the way for the development of a brake pad concept with embedded sensors that aims to make the braking system increasingly integrated within new vehicles.
To this end, Brembo Friction avails of data-driven methods. This year, it participated in the Hackaton event at the Brembo Inspiration Lab — Advanced Technology Center in California, with the aim of developing the formulations of specific friction materials and identifying the raw materials that most influence their properties.
On this basis, dedicated works continued on developing friction materials aimed at increasingly innovative discs. In fact, new coatings and new treatments require pads designed and produced specifically to reduce PM10 emissions. This development is made possible — also thanks to the increasingly close partnership with the main global manufacturers —, by the support of cutting-edge internal testing, a top-tier laboratory, and constant collaboration with university centres. These allow to define synergistically, every time, the new approach, obtaining the best results, and thus enable the expertise acquired in the field of passenger cars to be extended to light and heavy commercial vehicles as well.
FMEA-FMECA
To ensure maximum safety and quality of its products, Brembo adopts an approach enabling to anticipate any problems and criticalities along the entire production cycle, so as to take preventive correction measures. In detail, during the design and development phase, the Group carries out product and process FMEAs/FMECAs to identify in advance the weaknesses and critical issues that could compromise product reliability and safety, by defining the necessary improvements and priority measures to be taken before the product enters into production. FMEA methodology is used, in particular, to identify product and process characteristics having a potential impact on end-user safety, so that these characteristics can be managed and controlled systematically throughout the entire production chain (product development, internal process and supplier process). These elements represent a fundamental part of Brembo’s Quality Management System, compliant with IATF 16949:2016 technical specification**. This system, characterised by Guidelines common to all the Group’s plants, allows best practices to be transferred from one plant to another, as well as all the sites to be managed with the same standards and quality indicators. The effectiveness of the Quality Management System is verified periodically through specific internal system and process audits and through third-party audits relating to compliance with IATF 16949, annually, ISO 26262 and ASPICE, on specific projects. Like other management systems, in newly opened sites the Quality Management System is implemented when production gets underway and certification audits are normally carried out around twelve months after the plant is commissioned.
* Full Time Equivalent – FTE represents the workforce calculated based on the hours actually worked and/or paid by the company in which they are employed.
** The Zaragoza site is ISO 9001 certified as the IATF scheme does not apply to aftermarket sites. For the plants of J.Juan (Myasl and Jiaxing), which were ISO 9001-certified upon their acquisition, activities are underway to integrate them into the Brembo Quality Management System. This will lead to the IATF 16949 certification by Q1 2024.
