Lucid Group, a US-based electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer, has partnered with King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) to advance EV technology and autonomous driving capabilities.
This partnership aims to leverage KAUST’s supercomputing capabilities to shape the future of EVs.
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Lucid Interim CEO Marc Winterhoff said: “KAUST’s world-class research infrastructure and talent has the potential to further boost our technology leadership in many dimensions incl. our ADAS and AD roadmap—bringing cutting-edge innovation from the lab to the road.
“This collaboration also strengthens our global R&D footprint bringing additional resources to bear in our efforts to continue as a leader in EV powertrain, battery systems, advanced materials, and software-defined vehicle platforms.”
The collaboration will focus on designing and prototyping next-generation components and systems.
Winterhoff added: “As this partnership demonstrates, we continue to strengthen our collaboration with the Kingdom and are fully committed to working together to help achieve their vision to become a global centre for mobility innovation.”
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By GlobalDataThe partnership will include the integration of various engineering disciplines, including mechanical, electrical, thermal, and chemical engineering.
It will also explore advancements in materials science, focusing on high-performance metallic and polymer-based composites, heat-reflective glass coatings, innovative laminates, and alternative materials to optimise vehicle efficiency and durability.
Lucid SVP of product and chief engineer Eric Bach added: “Access to high-performance computing at this level is truly transformative. It dramatically enhances our ability to develop advanced fluids, materials and alloys, simulate real-world physics for crash safety and structural optimisation, model fluid dynamics and thermal transfer, analyse electromagnetic flux, and accelerate AI training for digital twin technology, autonomous systems, and large language models.
“We’re deeply grateful for this opportunity and excited about the breakthroughs it will drive across our engineering and AI initiatives.”
Research and development activities will be conducted at KAUST’s advanced laboratories in King Abdullah Economic City.
Last month, Lucid expanded its Arizona footprint by acquiring a manufacturing plant in Coolidge and a Phoenix facility, both formerly owned by the bankrupt Nikola.
