COMSOL named Official Multiphysics Partner of Formula E
COMSOL, the Burlington, Massachusetts-based simulation software firm, has signed a multi-year agreement to become the Official Multiphysics Partner of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship. The deal, announced at the COMSOL Conference 2026 Boston, gives Formula E's engineering teams access to COMSOL Multiphysics software and direct support from COMSOL specialists as the series prepares for its next-generation GEN4 car.
Electric race cars present an unusually demanding simulation problem. Electrical, thermal, structural, electromagnetic, fluid, and battery systems all interact under extreme performance constraints, and isolating any one physical domain risks missing the coupling effects that determine real-world behaviour. COMSOL's flagship product is designed specifically for problems where multiple physical phenomena must be modelled simultaneously within a single environment, which is why the sport's technology leadership considered it a natural fit.
What the partnership covers
Beyond standard licence access, the partnership will investigate how simulation apps and digital twin workflows can distribute physics-based insight to engineers who are not specialist modellers. Dan Cherowbrier, CTO at Formula E, said the organisation is "particularly interested in how AI-assisted modeling, agentic workflows, and digital twins can help engineers interact with models, explore designs, and make simulation insight more accessible as we continue to push the limits of electric racing."
That ambition aligns with capabilities COMSOL is bringing to market through COMSOL Multiphysics version 2027, scheduled for release later this autumn. The update introduces dedicated electric motor modelling, system-level simulation, agentic modelling tools, and expanded app-creation functionality. The timing of the partnership announcement alongside the product reveal suggests a deliberate go-to-market strategy: using a high-profile motorsport association to demonstrate applied use cases ahead of the software launch.
Market context
Computer-aided engineering and multiphysics simulation is a competitive but relatively consolidated market. Ansys, Siemens (via its Simcenter portfolio) and Dassault Systèmes dominate large enterprise accounts, while COMSOL retains a strong position in research institutions and specialist engineering teams drawn to its coupled-physics approach. Motorsport partnerships are an increasingly common route to market for simulation vendors: the technical credibility of a racing application provides reference cases that resonate with aerospace, automotive and energy customers facing similarly complex multi-domain problems.
The Formula E series itself carries additional marketing weight in the electric-vehicle ecosystem. The championship counts Porsche, Jaguar, Nissan, Stellantis, Mahindra and Lola Cars among its constructor entrants, meaning COMSOL's work will sit inside a supply chain that feeds directly into commercial EV development programmes. For a software vendor whose growth depends on penetrating automotive R&D budgets, visibility with that cohort is strategically valuable.
GEN4 and the engineering roadmap
Formula E's forthcoming GEN4 regulations are described by the series as introducing "the fastest and most technologically advanced race car to date," placing greater pressure on energy management, powertrain efficiency and vehicle dynamics. Those demands create a concrete engineering brief for COMSOL's tools and give the partnership a defined near-term milestone around which both organisations can demonstrate results.
COMSOL was founded in 1986 and operates 16 offices worldwide, serving technical enterprises, research laboratories and universities. The company did not disclose the commercial terms of the Formula E agreement, and no financial value for the partnership was provided in the release. The GEN4 era is expected to begin with the 2026-27 Formula E season.