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The Continental “Green Caliper” Was Designed With EVs in Mind

Founded a whopping 151 years ago, Continental is ready to roll out an EV braking system developed for the next generation of electric vehicles. What makes the “Green Caliper” stand out in the crowd, though?
Continental Green Caliper 6 photos
Photo: Continental
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For starters, that green finish certainly looks the part. On a more serious note, it’s lighter than previous designs and features less residual brake torque. Continental says that up to 5 kilograms (11 pounds) can be reduced per corner, split between up to 2 kilograms (4.4 pounds) for the caliper and up to 3 kilograms (6.6 pounds) for the disc. The decreased weight and reduced friction between the pads and rotor should result in slightly better driving range for any next-gen electric vehicle that will embrace this technology.

“Increasing efficiency is a primary goal in the optimization of electric vehicles,” explains Dominik Hiss, the head of Product Center Friction Brakes within the Hydraulic Brake Systems division at Continental. “The lower the loss of electrical energy, the greater the range of the vehicle. Brakes can make a contribution to this that has not been exploited to date.”

Hiss describes the Green Caliper as a production-ready technology. By unlocking additional potential for the range of an electric vehicle, the Green Caliper is certain to see mass adoption in the near future. The cast-iron fist caliper is more compact than calipers used on ICE vehicles. What's more, the lower bridge height of the caliper allows the installation of a larger disc.

Despite its dimensions, the Green Caliper has the same deceleration power as the larger brake calipers of combustion-engined vehicles. The air gap between the pad and rotor is slightly larger as well, evenly distributed on both sides. In combination with the active retraction of the pads after each brake application, residual brake torque is reduced to 0.2 newton meters.

Continental decided on downsizing because recuperation is employed more often than the actual brakes of an EV. The Hanover-based automotive supplier highlights that recuperation is used “in over 80 percent of all deceleration situations,” without going into the finer details.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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