(Yicai Global) Sept. 14 -- Auto parts maker Beite Technology plans to build a research institute dedicated to exploring thermal components and lightweight materials for new-energy vehicles.

The lab will include two divisions, one to research heat pumps, air conditioning and thermal management systems, and another to look into aluminum alloy forging and processing for electric car parts, the Shanghai-based firm said in a statement yesterday. General Manager Jin Xiaotang is pegged to head up the institute.

Thermal systems are one of the core technologies behind NEVs, the statement added, saying the new lab will help ensure the smooth mass production of new heat pumps and air conditioning units used in the systems.

NEVs are looking set to become a major feature in some of the globe's largest auto markets in the decades to come. China, home to the world's biggest car and NEV sectors, has already outlawed production of 533 specific fossil fuel vehicle models and vowed to end production of petrol and diesel automobiles in the near future.

Other major car-selling nations, such as India and Germany, have pledged to end sales of new fossil fuel cars by 2030, and the United Kingdom and France have made a similar goal for 2040.

Beite has also penned a deal with a number of educational institutes, including the Shanghai University of Technology and the Beijing Institute of Technology, to set up a tech development alliance allowing joint research into thermal systems for new-energy vehicles.

Editor: James Boynton