May 19 – 20, 2026 | Frankfurt/Hanau, Germany

ON SITE & ONLINE

automotive CAE Grand Challenge

Background, Concept and Implementation

In the last 30 years computer simulation has become an indispensable tool of automotive development. 

Challenges in virtual vehicle development

Despite of significant progress in simulation technology and impressive results in industrial application there remains a number of challenges.

The Grand Challenge as a platform for dialog

The automotive CAE Grand Challenge stimulates the exchange between users, scientists and software developers in order to solve these challenges. 

Grand Challenges 2026

The Grand Challenges 2026 have been identified through a survey among the simulation experts of the international automotive industry:

  • Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Big Data:
    How can AI Actually Help Designing a Vehicle?
  • CAE Process & Quality Assurance:
    Automated CAE Model Quality Checks for Certification Readiness
  • Durability / Fatigue:
    Fatigue Simulation of HV-batteries (Vibration Fatigue)
  • Full Vehicle Simulation:
    Virtual Verification and Certification
  • Material Modeling - Focus Structural Analysis:
    Advanced Modelling of Material Damage and Failure
  • Occupant Safety:
    Meta Models for Occupant Injury Prediction
  • Optimization & Robustness:
    Challenges of Multidisciplinary Design Optimization

In the conference one session is dedicated to each of the most critical challenges, the "Grand Challenges".

In every session of the conference experts from industry, research and software development will explain how critical the individual challenge is for the virtual car development process and report about their efforts to overcome the challenge.