ATC Celebrates Groundbreaking for Expansion of Aldenhoven Testing Center

The second phase of construction at the Aldenhoven Testing Center has started: On the former site of the Emil Mayrisch coal mine, new facilities  and driving tracks and will be built to enhance the research and development capabilities of the automotive testing center. The driving dynamics and traffic simulation surface, which has been in operation since 2009, will be complemented by an oval circuit, a rough road track, a braking track, a 2000 m handling course, and a climbing hill.

 

The costs for the second construction phase are about 9.5 million euros, 80 percent of which are provided by the Federal State of NRW. In this way, the former Emil Mayrisch mining site will be sustainably re-utilized: According to the ATC management, the testing center is exceptional in that “it is open for use by small and medium-sized enterprises who seek to conduct mobility research projects that require a testing site.”

Testing Center for Next-Generation Automotive Technologies

The testing center has multiple uses: Researchers from RWTH Aachen set out to develop and test modern assistance systems that support the driver in critical driving situations. Other current research projects are concerned with hybrid propulsion and fuel cell systems.

The test tracks built in the second construction phase include an oval track with special surfaces for brake testing, a handling course and a climbing hill, all of which are necessary to test research vehicles and driver assistance systems under real-world conditions.

Driving situations such as convoy driving, the functionality of new driver assistance systems such as following distance control, curve detection and warning, and investigations of collision and intersection situations can be investigated on these tracks without hindering real traffic.

A detailed description of the various track elements such as the rough road track and the braking track is given on the website of the Aldenhoven Testing Center.