Schaeffler’s sustainable mobility solutions 

Once known primarily as a supplier of bearings, Schaeffler has repositioned itself as a motion technology company, offering a full portfolio designed to advance vehicle and equipment mobility. While its capabilities extend to both on- and off-highway applications, at Bauma 2025 last month, it focused specifically on products to enhance sustainability in construction equipment.

“We thought how can we as a supplier support our customers in becoming more sustainable? And we saw two major ways. The first is the way of electrification – be it the central e-motor as the traction drive or for powering work functions,” said Simon Wienröder, business development, Offroad, Schaeffler Technologies.

The company also showed electromechanical actuators, which Wienröder described as “a fully electrified equivalent or alternative to standard classic hydraulics with additional advantages, like energy recuperation.”

“The high efficiency precision makes them perfect for fully electric operation and also for automated or autonomous operation,” he added.

Heavy-duty e-motors

For  construction equipment, Schaeffler supplies a range of electric drives with a continuous output of 1 to 300 kW. At the megaevent in Munich, Schaeffler presented high-performance, heavy-duty electric motors “as a volume production-ready solution for electric-only and hybrid drive systems.”

According to the company, the e-motors feature high torques, a power-to-weight ratio (peak) of around 5 to 7 kW/kg and maximum efficiencies of more than 97% in a speed range of 3,000 to 8,000 rpm. The modular motor series consists of three variants with maximum outputs of 125, 299 and 315 kW, with the only difference being the length of the active parts. With an overall length of 151, 206 and 261 mm and a uniform outer diameter of around 239 mm (laminated core diameter) or 280 mm (including screw connection), the motors require minimal installation space, Schaeffler stated.

Schaeffler also demonstrated a complete electric axle with integrated heavy-duty e-motor. “We offer the systems inside the e-axle, with our focus being the heavy-duty motors that we have in the scalable e-motor family,” Wienröder explained. “That ranges from 110 to 220 kW, and those are oil cooled and have the revolutionary wave winding coil technology, which allows them to have a very high power density.”

Such enhanced power density means a smaller installation space for maximum power output, which Wienröder said helps construction OEMs build wheel loaders and other equipment without substantial modifications.