The future of the automotive industry is without a doubt based on electric motors. International and local institutions are supporting electric mobility in an effort to create more sustainable and efficient cities and to also boost the automotive industry, a sector considered as being strategic in terms of economic growth.
In this context, the European Commission has research and innovation programmes that focus on road transport, such as the Green Vehicle project. This programme supports research projects designed to improve energy efficiency as well as the use of non-conventional energy for transportation, advanced traction systems, modern vehicle design and the improvement of interactions with other recharging systems.
IKERLAN is a participant in four of the programme’s projects, together with other domestic and international stakeholders and key companies in the electric mobility sector, in an endeavour to continue making advances in these technologies, in which it has extensive research experience.
New Battery Systems for Electric Vehicles
Batteries are a key component in electric vehicles, as they significantly determine both their performance and cost. IKERLAN is involved in two projects aimed at improving these critical elements with regard to their capabilities and their integration into vehicles.
First, there is the GHOST project, which aims at designing a battery system that can provide a 20% improvement to current solutions in energy density.
Another more recent project, SELFIE, involves battery developments aiming at improving the cooling systems that maintain batteries at their optimum temperature range, which consume part of the energy stored within the battery itself, apart from adding extra weight and volume to the vehicle.
Solutions for heavy vehicles and urban buses
The integration of heavy vehicles within an urban landscape is also one the priorities of the European institutions, with a special emphasis being placed on urban buses that ensure sustainable citywide mobility. In addition to vehicles, further steps must be made for the charging infrastructure to ensure an interoperability with vehicles made by the various manufacturers.
In this area, IKERLAN and VECTIA are involved in the ASSURED project, in the analysis and evaluation of the main factors that affect proper battery operation and aspects such as their deterioration throughout their useful life, including their performance under high power operations for a super-fast recharge in under 5 minutes.
Modern Control Architectures for Future Electric Vehicles
In addition to key components such as batteries, power converters and electric motors, electric vehicles also are made up of a multitude of electronic control units that ensure the sound operation of their systems and overall vehicle safety.
The recently approved ACHILES project will devise an optimised control architecture focused on their former integration into third generation electric vehicles, focusing on applications associated with electric traction vehicles. IKERLAN is sharing its proven experience in the fields of electronic design and functional safety, coordinating the Safety Concept of electronic architecture and is working on the validation of developments using vehicle dynamic modelling.
The future of the automotive industry is without a doubt based on electric motors. International and local institutions are supporting electric mobility in an effort to create more sustainable and efficient cities and to also boost the automotive industry, a sector considered as being strategic in terms of economic growth.
In this context, the European Commission has research and innovation programmes that focus on road transport, such as the Green Vehicle project. This programme supports research projects designed to improve energy efficiency as well as the use of non-conventional energy for transportation, advanced traction systems, modern vehicle design and the improvement of interactions with other recharging systems.
IKERLAN is a participant in four of the programme’s projects, together with other domestic and international stakeholders and key companies in the electric mobility sector, in an endeavour to continue making advances in these technologies, in which it has extensive research experience.
New Battery Systems for Electric Vehicles
Batteries are a key component in electric vehicles, as they significantly determine both their performance and cost. IKERLAN is involved in two projects aimed at improving these critical elements with regard to their capabilities and their integration into vehicles.
First, there is the GHOST project, which aims at designing a battery system that can provide a 20% improvement to current solutions in energy density.
Another more recent project, SELFIE, involves battery developments aiming at improving the cooling systems that maintain batteries at their optimum temperature range, which consume part of the energy stored within the battery itself, apart from adding extra weight and volume to the vehicle.
Solutions for heavy vehicles and urban buses
The integration of heavy vehicles within an urban landscape is also one the priorities of the European institutions, with a special emphasis being placed on urban buses that ensure sustainable citywide mobility. In addition to vehicles, further steps must be made for the charging infrastructure to ensure an interoperability with vehicles made by the various manufacturers.
In this area, IKERLAN and VECTIA are involved in the ASSURED project, in the analysis and evaluation of the main factors that affect proper battery operation and aspects such as their deterioration throughout their useful life, including their performance under high power operations for a super-fast recharge in under 5 minutes.
Modern Control Architectures for Future Electric Vehicles
In addition to key components such as batteries, power converters and electric motors, electric vehicles also are made up of a multitude of electronic control units that ensure the sound operation of their systems and overall vehicle safety.
The recently approved ACHILES project will devise an optimised control architecture focused on their former integration into third generation electric vehicles, focusing on applications associated with electric traction vehicles. IKERLAN is sharing its proven experience in the fields of electronic design and functional safety, coordinating the Safety Concept of electronic architecture and is working on the validation of developments using vehicle dynamic modelling.