Can you briefly introduce yourself, your position and your company?
Infineon is committed to actively driving decarbonization and digitalization. Our semiconductor solutions make everyday life easier, safer and greener. They enable green and efficient energy, clean and safe mobility, and an smart and secure IoT. In the 2023 fiscal year, Infineon, with approximately 58,600 employees worldwide, achieved a revenue of around 16.3 billion euros.
As Chief Sales Officer Automotive, I am responsible for the global marketing and sales of products and solutions in the automotive market. This includes microchip solutions for buses and commercial vehicles in the transport and logistics sectors, as well as for construction and agriculture.
What does the IAA TRANSPORTATION slogan “People and Goods On The Move” mean to you?
I would add to the slogan: “People and Goods on the Move – emission-free, autonomous, and safe, as well as reliable, comfortable, and connected.”
This, in my opinion, accurately describes the direction in which the development of buses and transport and logistics vehicles is heading—or must head—and our semiconductor solutions will contribute to this.
What are your expectations for IAA TRANSPORTATION 2024?
There are many structural changes in the transport and logistics sector as we move towards electrification, increasingly automated and eventually autonomous driving, and higher connectivity and update capabilities.
Managing these changes is a significant challenge—no single partner in the value chain can achieve it alone.
We need close cooperation and must ensure that we keep time-to-market in mind because the higher technical complexity should not lead to longer development cycles. I am looking forward to engaging in interesting discussions on this topic.
What topic will you be presenting at IAA TRANSPORTATION 2024?
I will be speaking about how semiconductors can make commercial vehicles in transport and logistics cleaner, safer, smarter, and more competitive in terms of modularity and scalability, as well as energy consumption, lifespan, and maintenance.
I will explain how Infineon, as a semiconductor manufacturer, supports zero-emission—among other things, high-voltage solutions with its wide-bandgap technologies—while also enabling the development of autonomous driving and updatable electric-electronic (E/E) vehicle architectures. Reliable microelectronics are the linchpin for all of this, or as we call them, “dependable electronics.” In this context, the necessity of chip-based zero-defect quality, functional safety, and cybersecurity are important and exciting topics.
What crucial topic of the future gets too little attention from the public in your opinion?
The autonomous truck needs more attention. It will still take some time before it drives on Germany’s or Europe’s roads and highways. However, it will be operational much sooner in confined areas, such as within port facilities or large construction sites, where there is little or no pedestrian traffic, for example.
Another topic is already relevant in passenger cars: They are becoming "software-defined vehicles," where features and functions—such as connectivity, automation, and personalization—are enabled by software. Ultimately, software defines the vehicle.
The question is: How do we quickly get to a "software-defined truck"? And what should its vehicle architectures look like? Infineon has a high level of system and application expertise in buses and vehicles in the transport and logistics sectors. As a global semiconductor leader, we are ready to serve as a sparring partner to enable new vehicle architectures that keep trucks adaptable and updatable over time, thus increasing their value throughout their entire lifespan.
In which area of the transport and logistics sector do you see the greatest potential and where do you see the most room for improvement?
Energy efficiency with zero CO2 emissions has the greatest potential.
The greatest need for improvement lies in international standardization for autonomous driving. Everywhere in the world, all road users—not just drivers but also pedestrians, cyclists, scooter users, etc.—need to trust autonomous driving, regardless of weather conditions or how busy the road or highway is. It requires innovation, confidence, and the use of dependable electronics based on safe and secure semiconductor solutions to jointly create the technological foundation for this trust.
The shift in the transport and logistics sector towards sustainable solutions is significant. What is your vision for the sector in 20 years?
In 20 years, cars, buses, and vehicles for transport, logistics, construction, and agriculture will be fully electric and/or CO2-neutral, autonomous, and fully connected, always online and cyber-secure. The range of trucks will exceed 1,000 kilometers, and after just a 10-minute pit stop, they will hit the road again with fully charged batteries. The driver's seat will be empty, vehicle emissions will be zero, and the noise from engines will be a thing of the past.