Celebrating the 2022 Automotive News PACE Awards

The auto industry's top innovators gathered in Detroit Monday evening for the 2022 Automotive News PACE Awards. 

The PACE Awards recognize superior innovation, technological advancement and business performance among auto suppliers. The award is recognized in the global automotive industry for identifying and celebrating the latest game-changing products, technologies and processes from the plant floor to the vehicle to the showroom. 

Meanwhile, PACEpilot enters its third year in 2022. It is designed to recognize post-pilot pre-commercial innovations in the automotive and future mobility space. These represent product, software/IT system or process and idea incubators that have the potential to revolutionize an automaker's business and products.

Here are scenes from the event:

The professionals behind the scenes get ready for the ceremony.

The crowd settles in for the start of the PACE Awards program.

Automotive News announced the winners at a gala presentation at the Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center.

Executive Editor Jamie Butters introduces the finalists for the 2022 PACE Awards.

Awardees of the 2022 PACEpilot Innovations to Watch, which recognizes pre-commercial innovations in the automotive and future mobility space.

Finalist attendees await the naming of the winners.

Dana Senior Director for Commercial Electric Vehicles Systems Engineering, Hong Yang, accepts a PACE Award for the supplier's Spicer Electrified e-Propulsion and e-Power system, which incorporates clean technologies to get a vehicle maker electrified and onto the market in 18 months instead of a more typical 30 to 36 months.

Martinrea International President and CEO Pat D'Eramo accepts a PACE Award from Chrissy Taylor, Automotive News vice president of editorial operations. Martinrea won the award for its GrapheneGuard, which eliminates the need for extra protective layers on standard nylon-coated brake lines.

The team from Martinrea International celebrates its award for GrapheneGuard, which eliminates the need for extra protective layers on standard nylon-coated brake lines.

Eric Varton, Yazaki North America's chief engineer of advanced development engineering, accepted two awards for the company. One was for Yazaki's narrow-focus lens technology and the second for the supplier's flexible, electrical wire that uses less material, has a lower weight and requires less space in the vehicle.

Yazaki executives celebrate the company's double PACE win.

Magna International Senior Engineering Manager Sunil Thaddaeus accepts the award from Butters. Magna created a smart die solution that allows for real-time automatic adjustments to unpredictable disturbances in a stamping process.

NVIDIA's Katie Burke Washabaugh, automotive marketing manager, accepts the company's PACE Award for its DRIVE Hyperion technology, which features a high-performance computer architecture, full software stack and surround sensor set that scales from Level 2+ to full self-driving systems.

Continental AG's head of safety and motion in North America, Lutz Kuehnke, accepts the award for the company's MK C2 one-box brake system, which integrates the master cylinder, brake booster and control systems into a single compact and lightweight module for 100 percent efficient regenerative braking.

Joyson Safety Systems won a PACE Award for its Pyrotechnic Battery Disconnect, which can stop the high-voltage flow from an EV or hybrid battery to surrounding systems in less than 1 millisecond. Accepting the award is Jason Lissemen, vice president of global product line integrated safety systems.

Dürr Systems won for its overspray-free paint application, a precision spray process that delivers sharp-edged stripes 2 to 50 mm wide without masking or mess. Accepting the award from Automotive News' Taylor is Frank Herre, Dürr's senior manager of process development and application technology.

Valeo's Patrick Le Moal, systems manager for the supplier's powertrain systems driveline unit, accepts the award for Valeo's dual mass flywheel pendulum damper, an affordable filtration system designed to reduce emissions without compromising on durability, quality or comfort.

American Axle President Michael K. Simonte accepts the PACE Award for the company's P3 two-speed electric drive technology. In addition to the two-speed gearbox, the unit also incorporates an electronic limited slip differential. Combined with an internal combustion engine, the drive unit delivers 831 hp and 1,082 pound-feet of torque.

Aptiv Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer Glen De Vos accepts his company's PACE award for Aptiv's central vehicle controller, which bridges the service world of software applications and cloud computing with the signal world understood by input-output devices, translating services and apps into signals to control the physical action of the vehicle and its systems.