Deep Dive
Fully digital product development
Fully digital product development and certification of electric drive architectures
Your contact person
Dr.-Ing. Daniel Holder
Research coordinator ARENA2036
Contents of the deep dive on digital product development and certification
How can digital methods be used along the entire product life cycle to reduce development costs, increase quality and speed up processes? The Deep Dive "Digital Product Development and Certification" at Ü:Mo on 26 June 2025 addressed this key question, using concrete examples from research and practice to show how end-to-end digital approaches are already being implemented along the value chain - from digital twins to automated material characterization and simulation-based approval processes.
Thematic insights in the Deep Dive
Saved time, increased quality - digital development as an enabler
Digital product development is not an end in itself, but a tool for the systematic optimization of development processes. The speakers used numerous use cases to illustrate the efficiency potential that can be tapped into through virtual validation, digital process chains and model-based system development (MBSE):
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Reduction of communication effort & loss of know-how
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Acceleration of time-to-market
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Reduction of development and testing costs
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Ensuring operational suitability & product quality
A central goal: a consistent database across all phases of a product's life cycle - from the initial idea through development, production and operation to end-of-life.
Participation offers & dialogs
The Deep Dive offered numerous interactive formats, including:
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Exchange with the project managers on real engineering processes
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Discussion of the legal framework and its influence on development processes
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Q&A sessions on simulation methods and data chains in product development
Conclusion
The event made it impressively clear that end-to-end digital product development is not just a question of modern technologies, but above all one thing: strategic integration into processes, organizations and regulatory frameworks. The use cases presented from research and application provided valuable impetus for the sustainable development of complex mobility solutions.
Here you can download the complete Deep Dive slide set.
Overview
Fully digital product development is considered a pioneering approach for the transformation of the mobility industry. It makes it possible to digitally map development processes across the entire product life cycle - from the initial idea to simulations and virtual tests through to digital certification. In conjunction with sustainable electric drive architectures, this approach opens up new ways of developing future-proof vehicle technologies in a resource-saving, efficient and accelerated manner.
This offers enormous innovation potential for the automotive industry: digital twins, model-based development methods and automated verification chains offer the opportunity to significantly shorten development times, ensure quality standards at an early stage and meet regulatory requirements in the digital space.
Find out about the current status of research and development into the digitalization of development and certification processes for sustainable drive technologies. Join the discussion on which challenges can be addressed and which potentials can already be used today.
Agenda
| Time | Program item | Speaker |
|---|---|---|
| 15:30 - 15:50 | Digital models in product development | David Moncayo Mercedes-Benz AG |
| 15:50 - 16:00 | Discussion: Use cases for the automotive industry & ARENA2036 | |
| 16:00 - 16:10 | Break | |
| 16:10 - 16:30 | Digital certification in product development | Christian Bräunig SGS-TÜV Saar GmbH |
| 16:30 - 16:40 | Discussion: Use cases for the automotive industry & ARENA2036 | |
| 16:40 - 17:10 | Unlocking the untapped potential of digital product development | Dr. Gerhard Kopp DLR |
| 17:10 - 17:20 | Discussion: Use cases for the automotive industry & ARENA2036 | |
| 17:20 - 17:30 | Summary and follow-up |
Provisional agenda - subject to change.