Panasonic Joins Forces with TU Munich for Formula Student

Panasonic is backing the TUfast Racing Team from the Technical University of Munich (TU Munich) in the Formula SAE/Formula Student racing competition. The team is leveraging Panasonic’s Pyrolytic Oriented Graphite Sheet (PGS) and the Grid-Eye infrared array thermal sensor to gain a competitive edge.

“Panasonic is thrilled to support the TUfast Racing Team with our cutting-edge automotive products, along with our expertise in the field,” said Matthias Frey, the head of communications. “It’s fascinating to witness how these young talents develop their concepts, implement them, and ultimately design their race cars. We wish the E-Technology team and their EB016 car every success and the best of luck.”

In the Formula SAE/Formula Student racing competition, university teams from all over the world compete with cars they’ve designed and built themselves. The competition isn’t just about speed; teams are evaluated on overall performance, engineering design, cost, and presentation.

These competitions are held annually with uniform rules and regulations globally, allowing any team to participate anywhere.

To monitor the temperature of their tires, the TUfast Racing Team uses the Grid-Eye infrared array thermal sensor. This sensor has 64 thermopile elements arranged in an 8×8 grid format that detect precise surface temperatures without any contact. By using this compact sensor, the team optimizes tire performance during the race. Additionally, the high thermal conductivity of the PGS graphite sheet helps cool the inverters in the race car.

“Projects like our TUfast Racing Team wouldn’t be feasible without sponsorship from companies like Panasonic,” said Franz Beck, team manager at TUfast Racing. “They provide us with innovative products like the PGS graphite sheet for thermal management and the Grid-Eye temperature sensor. Both are perfect for our new race car, and we are very grateful for Panasonic’s outstanding technical support.”