E-Mobility Engineering 015 l EMotive Scarab off-road truck dossier l In Conversation: Giulio Ornella l Hall effect and magnetic sensors focus l Challenge of batteries for heavy-duty EVs l Alpha Motor Corporation digest l Automated charging insight l HVAC systems focus

“That work involved several years of concept and design work investigating how an electric motor, inverter and gearbox could be integrated and made to work efficiently together in something like a forklift truck. But my work portfolio was broad enough that I also spent two-and-a-half years as a resident engineer with Ferrari. “On top of developing the software for managing the clutches in the Ferrari 4RM power transfer unit, manufactured by Carraro and fitted on Ferrari’s FF and GTC4Lusso cars, I got to see first-hand how fast and hard Ferrari’s engineers work. They work passionately around the clock, and that same passion, determination and resilience is something I’ve sought to bring to each Dana company I’ve overseen.” Dana Mechatronics Soon into the start of his career at Dana, Ornella was asked to form a team to spearhead a new kind of low-emissions powertrain, a hydraulic hybrid that used accumulators for energy storage as opposed to batteries, which were far more expensive at the time. “That seemed viable for off-road but also for light vehicles – in fact Peugeot also developed hydraulic- hybrid powertrain prototypes for a time [the HybridAir technology],” he says. “Soon after though, we saw how battery advances were accelerating, and decided to spin off a dedicated r&d team to generate electric and mechatronics-enhanced powertrain technologies in-house. “I led that effort, and in 2014 created what is now the Dana Mechatronics Tech Center [located at the Mechatronics Innovation Park in Rovereto, Italy] to innovate among other SMEs and spin-outs in a nimble environment away from the many layers of approvals, processes and communications that large firms often have to go through. “From there, we created multi-year technology r&d programmes aimed at bringing together innovations in electronics, mechatronics and software into traditional automotive mechanics, with a broad remit to understand everything necessary for the new age of EV engineering. “Our day-to-day work would involve starting, checking and sometimes tweaking multiple experiments – for example, trialling new smart sensors to better understand the quality of the oil on a mechanical component, testing how a new kind of axle would deform during specific driving conditions or leveraging cameras, radars and AI- enabled software to improve vehicle safety by providing novel advanced driver assistance. “Obviously, electrification was a big topic, and with that team we created the very first Dana smart e-axle for specialty off-road applications.” vehicle and parts makers. Carraro hired him before his graduation as an electronic controls engineer in 2006 to work on its automatic transmissions’ control systems, eventually making him systems integration and hybrid/electric technology leader in 2010 to serve its burgeoning EV and HEV customer base. “As well as learning how to work within a small, unstructured team, that led me to my first work on electrified powertrains, in 2006,” he says. “Materials handling and other vocational vehicles were already at that time deep into such technologies, and Carraro had just bought Elettronica Santerno, an inverter company. Giulio Ornella Giulio Ornella was born in Zoppola, Italy, and attended the Liceo Scienti ico Ettore Majorana before studying at the Computer Science and Electronics Engineering department at the University of Padova. He later specialised in management, gaining an executive MBA from the Stogea Business School in Bologna in 2012 and a certi icate in Global Management from INSEAD in Paris in 2018. Before completing his degree, he took on duties as an instructor and consultant for IM Technologies and then as an IT and network manager for the National Association for SMEs & Crafts. His thesis on automatic image recognition processes led to his being hired by Carraro as an electronic controls engineer before he graduated in 2005. In 2012, after two years as systems integration and hybrid/electric technology leader at Carraro, he moved to Dana where he led its r&d into new mobility technologies from Trento, Italy. He was promoted to director for global advanced technologies and innovation in 2018, which saw him move to Ohio where he was later promoted to senior director of global mechatronics and electri ication engineering in 2020, and then to the position of vice- president for global engineering, light vehicle electri ication, a position he still holds. The Spicer Electrified eS4500r is a modular, scalable zero-emissions electrified rigid- beam axle for pick-up truck conversions and other light-duty EVs Autumn 2022 | E-Mobility Engineering 17 InConversation | Giulio Ornella