Electric/Electronics for Commercial Vehicles 2025

Moderation: Dr. Rolf Zöller, DigiTrans Consulting, Tübingen, former Porsche AG and Porsche Digital

Dr. Rolf Zöller, CEO and Founder DigiTrans Consulting, former Porsche AG and Porsche Digital, Chairman of the Program Committee, and Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Stefan Riegl, Head of Function and Software Development, MAN Truck & Bus SE, Munich, Chairman of the Program Committee E/E for Commercial Vehicles

Participants: 

Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Thomas Fleischmann, Firmware & Embedded Engineering Director, Accenture Industry X, Munich 
Dr. Céline Laurent-Winter, Vice President Connected Vehicle Platforms, Connected Company Development, Technical Operations, BMW Group, Munich 
Katrin Matthes, Lead Software Technologist, R&D, Ampere, Biot, France 
Dr. Minea Schwenk, Vice President Connected Services, R&D, Robert Bosch GmbH, Stuttgart

Moderation: Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Stefan Riegl, TRATON SE, Munich

• Shift left: Test early, test often, also on real hardware
• Remote First: Test, flash, debug, do it all remotely
• Central Hosting: Establish absolute reproducibility for all partners
• Unified infrastructure: Reuse infrastructure to test at multiple integration levels 

Jakov Sprljan, M.Sc, Senior Sales Manager, Marketing & Sales, Co-Author: Hendrik Hoppman, both of Schleißheimer Soft- und Hardwareentwicklung GmbH, Nieder-Wöllstadt

Enterprise AI software that supports the product development cycle 

AI and engineers work hand in hand in business critical tasks 

Customers of the solution sav e up to 40 % time for their RFQ and Tender processing 

Jan Stratmann, Solution Principal Industrials, Aleph Alpha GmbH, Heidelberg

• Adaptive XiL architecture enabling seamless integration of HiL, SiL, and MiL methodologies
• Dynamically scalable HiL systems for efficient validation of software-defined vehicle architectures
• Automated testing workflows for validating continuous developments in software-defined vehicles (SDVs)
• Combination of real hardware setups and virtual validation in mixed testing environments 

Abdülkerim Dagli, M. Eng., MAS, Head of Global Sales & Marketing, Testing Solutions, Co-Authors: Dipl.-Ing. Gregor Axt, Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Bruno Eichler, all of MicroNova AG, Vierkirchen

Paradigm change, from a unified worldwide infotainment platform to: 

• Different international legal requirements
• Different consumer electronic ecosystems
• Different customer journeys 

Poorab Sarmah, B. Eng. and IT, Vice President, Head of Development Infotainment and Interior Interaction, Development Occupant Interaction System/Infotainment System, AUDI AG, Ingolstadt

Moderation: Dr. Falk Hecker, Knorr-Bremse Systeme für Nutzfahrzeuge GmbH, Schwieberdingen

• EV software integration and traction inverter component tests
• 35-fold speed improvement over industry-standard fully nonlinear, switching-based models enabled by Structure-Preserving Algorithms
• Demonstration of theoretical foundations and technological advancements underlying this simulation method
• Demonstration of its practical application using real-world validation scenarios and industry-standard benchmarks 

Dr. Felix Pfister, Lead Global Sales Strategy Manager, IPG Automotive GmbH, Karlsruhe, and Dr. Tobias Lautenschlager, CEO, Simulation, Persystems GmbH, Regensburg

• Electrification/hybridization of heavy-duty trailers
• Decarbonization of the freight industry
• Challenges in the legal framework 

Dr. rer. nat. Nils Pfullmann, Head of System Development, System Solutions Trailer, R&D, Co-Author: Michael Schomburg, M. Eng., both of ZF Friedrichshafen AG, Hanover

• Integration of charging infrastructure into local grids
• Impact of charging management on costs
• Interaction with renewable energies
• New revenue streams 

Dr.-Ing. Torsten Dunger, Team Manager, Energy Management, Co-Author: Dipl.-Inf. Christina Warmann, both of ITK Engineering GmbH, Berlin

• Electrification of commercial vehicle fleets
• Holistic optimization of mixed fleet operation
• Full vehicle model simulations to determine energy demands and charging times
• Customized ant colony optimization for simultaneous routing and charging strategy optimization 

Theo Koch, M. Sc., Research Associate, Energy Management & Drivetrains, Co-Author: Univ.-Prof. Dr.-Ing. Lutz Eckstein, both of Institute for Automotive Engineering (ika), RWTH Aachen University

Moderation: Dr. Stefan Sailer, ZF Friedrichshafen AG, Friedrichshafen

• Global challenges and opportunities due to digitalization, electrification and automation
• Everything as Code, Cloud and Vehicle modularization is helping solve challenges
• Software-defined vehicles with shift left and north are becoming reality
• Systems Engineering, HPCS, Zones, Onboard and Offboard Software and HW Platforms
• Becoming a fluid architecture with centralization & decentralization between EE, Software, Cloud 

Dipl.-Inf. Thomas Michelbach, Solution Architect (VP) for EE, Software & Services Backbone, TRATON R & D, Munich

• Valuable (Gen)AI Applications can only exist in Manufacturing Industries when built on a strong and consistent Data Foundation
• At SPREAD our mission is to bring the power of AI to engineering teams and make data of complex products accessible, intuitive, and actionable across R&D, Production, and Aftermarket
• We give insights into our Agentic Engineering Intelligence platform architecture as well as our solutions and their business impact along the product lifecycle 

Daniel Wilms, Principle Architect,R & D, Co-Authors: Patrice Geiger, Jonas Wiedenhofer, all of Spread AI, Berlin

• Seemless integration of sensor fusion
• Low-latency processing
• Interoperability with automotive standards 

Peter Ngure, M. Sc., Product Manager, Automated Driving and Software Solutions, dSPACE GmbH, Paderborn

The VDI invites all participants, speakers, sponsors and exhibitors to join the “Night of Electronics” aboard Europe’s largest event liner, the MS RheinMagie. This evening reception is the perfect opportunity to network and continue the discussions of the first congress day in a relaxed atmosphere. Meet your peers and business partners and enjoy a varied entertainment program. 

Program: 
19:00 – Boarding of the “MS RheinMagie” 
20:00 – Dinner 
20:15 – 22:00 Cruise across the Rhine 
22:00 – Arrival at the jetty and possibility to disembark 
22:00 – Opening of the dance floor 
00:00 – End of the Night of Electronics/disembarkation from the ship

• Technological Highlights and Features of the BMW Neue Klasse: Vehicle, Powertrain, Infotainment, ADAS, Body
• Architecture: From Domain oriented to a zonal electrical system approach including high performance “Superbrains”
• Chances and challenges of the new energy boardnet with eFUSE Technology
• Software Update and Security
• Approaches for Integration and Testing 

Dipl.-Ing. Kai Lars Barbehön, Vice President Central Control Units, Physical Wiring System, Power Supply, and Dr. Fathi El-Dwaik, Vice President BMW Group E/E System, both of BMW Group, Munich

Moderation: Ralf Weller, MAN Truck & Bus, Munich

Will Lin, Head of Automotive and Trucking, Applied Intuition, Mountain View, USA

• Innovation at greater speed has become the new norm
• Continental and Aurora – a complementary partnership
• Commercially scalable fully autonomous trucking systems
• The industry-first hardware-as-a-service business model 

Dipl.-Ing. Bernd Hartmann, Head of Innovation Line Driverless, System & Software Business, Innovation Line Driverless, Co-Authors: Dr. Andree Hohm, Dr. Saman Khodaverdian, all of Continental Autonomous Mobility Germany GmbH, Frankfurt/Main

• Architectures for the transition to software-defined trucks
• Key enablers for a transition
• Integration of autonomous driving domain into a softwaredefined platform 

Dr.-Ing. Alexander Kugler, Lead Solution Manager, Infotainment and Connected Mobility, Co-Authors: Max-Arno Meyer, Dirk Macke, all of FEV.io GmbH, Aachen

• Competing approaches to industrial vehicle autonomy: Specific driver assistance systems versus fully autonomous robots
• Impact of product and business model on autonomy system architecture
• Comparison of end-to-end architectures and modular systems with respect to industrial vehicles
• Real world insights into deployments coming from these different architectures 

Dr.-Ing. Alexander Wischnewski, CEO / CTO, driveblocks, Munich

• Visionary approach to transformation through advanced semiconductors, software solutions architectures, and emerging technologies for software-defined vehicles (SDVs)
• Boosting CPU and AI performance for real-time data processing in safety-critical ADAS systems, cutting-edge infotainment and connected vehicle solutions
• Platform and collaboration strategy, emphasizing the importance of partnerships with leading OEMs and tech companies for seamless integration and continuous innovation
• Empowering the industry to accelerate innovation, deliver superior, personalized riding experiences that meet the evolving needs of consumers 

Nakul Duggal, Group GM, Automotive, Industrial & Embedded IoT, and Cloud Computing, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., San Diego, USA

Moderation: Georg Fässler, Continental Automotive, Villingen-Schwenningen

• The importance of SOTIF in autonomous trucking
• How Plus integrates SOTIF principles into its system development
• Key challenges and lessons learned from real-world safety testing 

Antonello De Galizia, Staff System Safety Engineer, Engineering, Plus, Munich

• Assessment of safety, performance, reliability and cost-effectiveness under real-world conditions
• System redundancy, decision-making resilience, and humanmachine collaboration
• KPIs and acceptance criteria for identified critical functions 

Dipl.-Ing. Alexander Moschig, Technical Expert ADAS/AD Systems and Functions, ADAS/AD Vehicle V&V, Systems & Connectivity, CoAuthor: Dr. Adam Schnellbach, both of AVL List GmbH, Graz, Austria

• Redundancy needed for ensuring safety and availability for Automated Driving
• Many components are available multiple times
• Challenge to select the right path/components
• Challenge to come to a consistent solution throughout the whole vehicle 

Dr.-Ing. Korbinian Schechner, Product Owner Base Vehicle for Automated Driving, EE Automated Driving, Co-Authors: Svenja Hillebrand, both of MAN Truck & Bus SE, Munich, Dr. Reinhard Pröll, CLEAR MOTIVE GmbH, Augsburg

Moderation: Dr. Rolf Zöller, DigiTrans Consulting, Tübingen, former Porsche AG and Porsche Digital

JJiani Zhang, EVP & Chief Software Officer, Capgemini Engineering, San Francisco Bay Area, USA