Forvia Hella are launching the first DRL application of their FlatLight technology, after it entered series production for rear-light applications in 2024 on the Nissan Qashqai (see DVN coverage). FlatLight is already part of customer projects with a total volume in the mid-three-digit-million-euro range. Development of the FlatLight modules is carried out at the company headquarters in Lippstadt (Germany), while customer-specific applications are developed at the sites in Ljubljana (Slovenia), Mohelnice, and Ostrava (Czechia). The lights are made at Forvia Hella’s Slovakian lighting plants in Kočovce and Banovce.
The innovative light guide concept of the FlatLight | µMX technology is based on microöptics, optical lenses smaller than a grain of salt. These optics, just a few micrometres across, enable completely new and distinctive light signatures, with high efficiency. The required installation space is reduced by around 80 per cent due to the thin module depth and multifunctionality: conventional DRLs require a depth of around 40 mm, but the FlatLight ones are just five mm deep, and they’re about 40 per cent more energy-efficient and 80 per cent lighter than comparable systems on the market.
The FlatLight technology is highly scalable, and can be used in all front, side, and rear vehicle signal functions. It can provide DRL, turn signal, and front position light functions in a single light element, and it can provide rear position lights, brake lights, and turn indicators. Previously, this required individual chambers. The shape of the individual optical elements can also be freely designed. Complex welcome and farewell scenarios can be designed via a software interface and implemented directly.
Dr. Michael Kleinkes, responsible for global lighting development at Forvia Hella, says his company “wants to make innovation and sustainable mobility affordable on a broad scale. FlatLight | µMX therefore underlines how sophisticated technology can be both energy-efficient and affordable”.
At the beginning of the year, Forvia Hella entered a strategic partnership with US startup BrightView Technologies. As part of this, special optical films have been developed so micro- and nanoöptics enables lighter, more efficient, and more affordable lighting solutions. The optical films developed jointly with BrightView Technologies are now to be gradually integrated into all FlatLight series projects. Part of the development partnership is also a strategic investment in BrightView Technologies, which was made through the venture capital arm Hella Ventures.
