Big stage, full house: At the 34^th Driving Vision News (DVN) Workshop at Munich’s Motorworld, international lighting experts will honour the best technologies. In the spotlight: Philipp Roeckl, Global Head of Lighting at Stellantis. He accepts the DVN Award 2025 in the category ‘Best Front Lamps’ on behalf of Opel. “We knew that the Intelli-Lux HD light in the new Grandland would set standards,” says Roeckl. „But winning against strong competition – many of them luxury manufacturers – makes this award special.“ The online vote is clear: every fourth vote goes to Opel. The experts celebrate innovation.

The term ‘front lamps’ hardly does justice to the Intelli-Lux HD light. 51,200 pixel elements, 25,600 per side, create a continuous light projection. “The system works like a video projector, so to speak,” says Roeckl. The small light cinema, integrated into the front of the Grandland, precisely illuminates the road and surroundings. Night turns into day. The digital high-tech component was developed by an 18-person team in Rüsselsheim.

The directors of light have further perfected the system: it shines brighter and more evenly – without dazzling. “A camera detects other vehicles, the system reacts at lightning speed,” says Roeckl. The light tunnel, i.e. the area recessed by the beam, is narrower than ever before – while the rest remains optimally illuminated. When cornering, the light intuitively follows the driver’s gaze. Depending on the steering angle, a side light module is activated. On wet roads, the system reduces glare. And all this even in left-hand traffic. Such an award-winning innovation is no coincidence: Advanced lighting technologies have a long tradition at Opel.

Nocturnal specialists

“This new development,” says Roeckl, “is the result of decades of experience.” His team? All of them experts in their field. “The technology is highly digital, and our software expertise is great.” Creating concepts, building up 3D data, implementing design wishes – the lighting specialists developed the award-winning system from the ground up. Some of the colleagues are nocturnal: After dark, they drive thousands of test kilometres to validate the system.

In any case, lighting technology is currently in an exciting innovation phase: “The focus is on light on the car as rarely before,” says the development engineer. “Formerly hidden behind fluted glass, it is now a dominant design element.” The best example: the 3D Vizor of the Grandland. Here, Intelli-Lux HD light and illuminated Opel Blitz emblem merge into one unit for the first time – connected by a light strip with “Edge Light” technology. “The timing was perfect,” says Roeckl. “As soon as the law permitted such a light front, our system was ready for series production.”

The era of light has only just begun, Roeckl is sure of that. Lighting systems will continue to shape car design – and become increasingly intelligent themselves. „Artificial intelligence will soon enable fully adaptive light distribution – even more situational, even more partial.“ In Stellantis‘ OpenLab, his team is driving the development forward together with the Technical University of Darmstadt: “We are looking at the topic of light holistically, it is of great relevance in many areas of the automobile.” The main areas of research are communication and driver assistance systems, adaptive headlights, rear lights, interior lighting and new light sources.

The new light animations of the Grandland already offer a foretaste of the future. When greeting and saying goodbye, they project graphic sequences in front of the vehicle. The directors of light – they still have big plans.