The lack of expertise in advanced digitalisation is significant and threatens to slow down the pace and quality of Swedish innovation. How can we ensure lifelong learning, where our engineers and other experts develop the skills that Swedish industry needs to remain competitive? And how can we work together across organisational boundaries to meet the challenges of societal change?

"Sweden's ability to lead in digitalisation will have a major impact on all of us. It is crucial for our ability to cope with climate change, maintain our prosperity with good employment opportunities and ensure good living conditions throughout the country," says Katarina Noen, Head of Learning Sweden & Group Functions at Ericsson.

Some of Sweden's leading technology companies, together with Teknikföretagen and Vinnova, have launched the Advanced Digitalisation initiative, of which the Energy Optimisation Programme is one of the deliverables. The initiative aims to accelerate Sweden's ability to develop and use new technologies and services that are crucial for climate change, welfare and security.

Peer learning

In close collaboration with other programme stakeholders, RISE is responsible for the learning journey within the Energy Optimisation Programme, where a structure and environment for learning and sharing experiences has been established. The first pilot phase has now been completed and RISE will continue to support the programme in the next phase.

"As we got to know the target group and their experiences and preferences, we fine-tuned the approach. Being responsive, evaluating and adapting the learning methods along the way is key to success," says Kristina Söderberg, Learning Project Manager at RISE.

The target group in this case was 15 senior engineers, researchers, component, service and product developers from ABB, Ericsson, Saab and Volvo Group - all experts in their respective fields, but not necessarily in energy optimisation. Several of the participants commented that the opportunity to meet and discuss current issues together was very valuable.

"To tackle the big challenges facing society, we need to get better at working together across industry boundaries. Energy optimisation is a good example of an area where we need to join forces and continuously build expertise together, not in our own silos. A multi-ecosystem approach is needed to build a sustainable infrastructure for our future society. This is how we will create real improvements", says Anette Höglund, Strategy Execution Driver, Technology Management, CTO Office at Ericsson.

Together with Raman Yazdani Wetterberg, Feature Architect Energy Management at Volvo, and others, Anette has participated in five meetings over the past year with presentations and discussions on energy optimisation issues from different perspectives. The aim was to use real cases and problems that members face in their daily work related to energy optimisation, and between meetings they were given tasks to work on.

"Just talking to experts from other companies in a forum like this was much more valuable than I initially thought. Even though we work with different types of products and services, we are all part of the same development, where it is important to work together to strengthen Sweden's role in the innovation system and the competitiveness of Swedish industry," says Raman.

Combining learning expertise with domain knowledge

"RISE has an important role to play today, when the issue of skills supply has been highlighted as one of the biggest challenges facing industry and the public sector. In addition to our expertise and research in learning, we also have skills in facilitation and teaching. In addition, as Sweden's research institute, RISE has expertise in a number of areas that are crucial to the transformation of society, says Jannike Åhlgren, System Transformation Strategist at RISE.

In this case, expertise in learning has been combined with expertise in energy optimisation. RISE has many researchers and deep knowledge in several of the areas that make up the new ecosystem emerging between the traditional automotive and energy domains, such as AI, vehicles, power grids, 5G, system architecture, data management and platforms, vehicle-to-grid (V2G), power components, batteries and energy storage, user perspective, testing, simulation and integration.

"Increasing digitalisation offers significant opportunities for real-time knowledge in the system. From a broader perspective, this enables us to create entirely new solutions for energy optimisation and, for example, predictive maintenance. For a vehicle, energy optimisation can mean better information about what energy is available and where. In this way, driving and charging can be optimised. From a grid perspective, this can mean information about when vehicles are available for use from a frequency regulation point of view. All this requires a good connection for communication between vehicles and infrastructure", explains Anna Larsson, Head of Energy Conversion at RISE and facilitator of the Learning Journey for Energy Optimisation.

In an ecosystem, all players contribute value to the system, but all players must also be able to see the value created for their own business.

"Meeting with other companies on a common learning journey provides opportunities for new perspectives and new innovations, enabling us to build valuable systems for the future," says Anna Larsson.

Scania has been developing transport solutions for people and goods for more than 130 years. The company is investing heavily in electrification with the aim that at least half of its global sales will be fully electric vehicles by 2030. The aim is to meet global sustainability targets, reduce emissions and create long-term profitable transport solutions. Electrification is seen as a key to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and local air pollution, while delivering economic benefits to customers.

As one of the initiators of SEEL Swedish Electric Transport Laboratory, Scania has been involved in building the test centre and is now working closely as a collaborative partner on its further development.

"At Scania, we are very positive about SEEL's development and are pleased to be an important partner in further developing the expertise in Sweden's test bed for electromobility. This is something we see a great need for in the market," says Scania's Johan Karlsson.

Battery and powertrain testing

SEEL helps Scania, among other things, to test the capacity and service life of its vehicle batteries and electric drives, and to develop new components for electric vehicles in close cooperation with Scania's experts.

"We do this at our three test facilities located in Nykvarn, Säve outside Gothenburg and in Borås. There we have a large number of test chambers for battery cells, modules and entire battery packs that can subject the batteries to different loads and charging cycles at different temperatures, such as thermal and mechanical safety testing," says Danijel Miljanovic, Head of Energy Storage at SEEL.

"I am very impressed with how far SEEL has come in such a short time. We signed the contract for the facilities in 2021 and they were operational by 2024. To meet customer needs in the future, we see great potential in being dynamic and adaptable to make the most of the exchange between industry and academia – SEEL will be an important arena to achieve this," says Johan Karlsson from Scania.

Infrastructure for R&D and testing

SEEL has a test infrastructure that enables it to carry out technical research, concept development and testing of technical components and systems. One example is the CVHD (Complete Vehicle Heavy Duty) test cell, where customers can bring in a complete truck or bus and subject it to different temperature climates with simulated driving on different roads with different loads.

Paving the way for a new type of aviation means overcoming a number of complex challenges – such as battery weight, thermal management, fire safety and power grid capacity. The demands are high, and so are the expectations. That's why testing is a natural and critical part of the development process.

With its battery-powered regional propeller aircraft, Heart Aerospace is creating a new generation of aircraft that is emission-free and significantly quieter than conventional fossil-fuelled aircraft – an important step in the transition to a more sustainable transport system.

Heart's first full-scale aircraft prototype will serve as a platform to test and further develop the company's hybrid electric propulsion system. As part of the development work, a first all-electric test flight of the prototype is now planned for later in 2025. Prior to this flight, Heart is testing all critical systems by running hardware both on and off the aircraft.

Testing enables next step in development

"Before we could start testing on a larger outdoor test bed, we needed to verify the engine's performance in a laboratory environment," says Johan Hellsing, Senior Electric Propulsion Engineer at Heart Aerospace, and continues:

"We contacted SEEL in Nykvarn, where we had the opportunity to test the engine in a controlled environment. This allowed us to identify any problems in good time before the engine was moved to a more complex and costly test environment. This was crucial in giving the go-ahead to proceed."

Testing to find weaknesses in time

The tests were carried out on one of SEEL's test rigs – the E-Axle Heavy Duty – and were able to simulate all parts of a flight: from taxiing and lifting to climbing, flying and landing.

"Testing always brings surprises. As an engineer you want everything to work, but the whole point of testing is to find the weaknesses before moving on."

"Access to SEEL's laboratory was crucial at this stage. We got fast and professional help, and the staff were both flexible and competent. In addition, the equipment we needed was available to us – with the right capacity for this mission," says Johan Hellsing.

"Heart Aerospace is one of the world's most advanced companies in the development of electric aircraft. We at SEEL are proud to be part of this fantastic journey and to support them in their challenges, for example in testing electric motors," says David Ekholm, Head of Driveline Testing at SEEL.

Research, development and testing infrastructure

SEEL has a test infrastructure that enables it to carry out technical research, concept development and testing of technical components and systems.

"At SEEL we have the ability to quickly familiarise ourselves with the technical challenges of integrating different test objects into our test cells. Regardless of whether they are for aircraft or other vehicles. We can test everything from individual components to subsystems and complete vehicles. Nothing is impossible until it has been proven," says SEEL's David Ekholm.

Demand for electricity is expected to grow significantly in the coming years.

At the same time, we need to maintain an energy balance, meaning that every second as much electricity is fed into the grid as is consumed.

The growing fleet of electric vehicles – electric cars and trucks – is itself an opportunity to ensure energy balance. The energy in electric vehicle batteries has the potential to stabilise the grid when demand is highest.

This is where vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology comes in. As it sounds, it involves feeding energy from a vehicle back into the grid. A vehicle battery then becomes an energy storage device that is connected to the grid to perform a kind of reverse refuelling.

Greater electricity demand in the future

This technology can bring many benefits, not least to society as a whole.

"At present, the electricity grid requires very large transmission capacity just to move electricity from the generation source to the user. "So the electricity grid may need to be significantly expanded in the future if there is more demand for electricity and power, but if we can access energy and power in batteries during certain peaks in electricity use, the expansion will not be as urgent," says Jens Hagman, Researcher at RISE.

Another challenge is that there needs to be an even frequency in the electricity grid for it to work at all. When there is an imbalance between production and consumption, frequency fluctuations occur and at some point stabilising resources – such as batteries – are needed.

"By having many different resources that can be used for frequency regulation, we get a more reliable power grid," says Jens Hagman.

Flexibility is valuable

A well-functioning electricity grid is the foundation for the ongoing electrification of society as a whole, which is expected to take place in the areas of transport and industrial production.

"Anything that can help stabilise the electricity grid, including the electrification of industry, has a clear climate benefit," says Jens Hagman.

"If V2G is established, it can be a powerful addition as a regulating force for the electricity grid. But it also provides an important societal benefit in the form of resilience," says Anna Larsson, Director Electromobility at RISE.

"In the event of a crisis that affects the electricity supply, flexible energy storage is extremely valuable. For example, the system could be knocked out in a conflict, or there could be a major blackout affecting large parts of the country. If the vehicles are equipped with bi-directional on-board chargers, large vehicles with charged batteries can provide electricity where it is needed," she says.

Creating a new ecosystem

At the same time, V2G opens up new economic opportunities for both companies and individuals.

"Firstly, anyone who owns an electric vehicle with V2G would have the opportunity to sell frequency regulation services to Svenska Kraftnät by making their car battery available for V2G. The same applies to companies that have large fleets of vehicles that are parked for certain periods of time", says Anna Larsson.

Another example would be to use the batteries in cars parked for long periods at an airport.

Hagman notes that a number of different players will be able to generate revenue through V2G – but it is not yet clear which ones.

"A new ecosystem will be needed to handle these transactions. Vehicle owners are one party, but you can also imagine network companies and vehicle manufacturers being involved in some way," he says.

He also sees new types of players starting to establish themselves and take their place in the emerging ecosystem.

"Companies that offer intermediary services of various kinds can be an important part of this chain. For example, it is unlikely that a private individual would contract directly with Svenska Kraftnät without an intermediary."

Policies and agreements needed

So V2G has great potential on several levels, but some pieces of the puzzle are missing before the technology can be widely used.

"There are currently only a few car models on the market that are prepared for V2G, and more vehicles and bi-directional chargers would be needed to test and evaluate different solutions in practice," says Anna Larsson.

Standardisation of how to handle the transfer is well under way, but there is still a lot of research and testing to be done, for example on communication with the electricity grid. There is also a need to develop the network's control and metering systems.

"There are also some unanswered questions, not least about how business models, policies and agreements should be designed; we are investigating in several projects at RISE what the interaction in the ecosystem for V2G might look like," says Jens Hagman.

Research on V2G is ongoing at RISE, focusing on everything from the challenges for power electronics to the expected usage patterns.

"It's a complex field that requires expertise in different areas, and thanks to our broad perspective, we can offer collaborations with players in different parts of the field," he says.

In just a few years, we have electric vehicles that work perfectly, charge quickly and can be driven long distances. At the same time, prices have fallen so that more and more people can afford them.

But this is not enough.

Regulations and consumer expectations demand a faster transition

The transition needs to be accelerated - partly for regulatory reasons, such as the EU's plan to end sales of fossil-fuel vehicles by 2035, but also because of market expectations.

"More needs to be done to accelerate the transition to electric vehicles. Batteries need to be developed so that they are cheaper, take up less space and weigh less. At the same time, electric machines must become even more efficient. All this to reduce costs for the end customer," says Martin Gustavsson, head of research at SEEL.

He has been researching electromobility since 2012 and has seen a huge development since then - not only technically, but also in the way the public views electric vehicles.

"Back then, there was scepticism about range and price. But in recent years we have crossed a threshold. Now electric vehicles have really taken a big place in society, the charging infrastructure has been expanded and so on," says Martin Gustavsson.

At the same time, there are still many people who have not taken the plunge.

"There are many reasons for this. From a purely technological point of view, there is nothing to worry about. But then we have other challenges – cost is one of them," says Mikael Stallgård, Marketing Manager at SEEL.

Batteries one of the key issues

When electric cars were first introduced, they were very much a prestige product. But not everyone needs a sports car that can go from 0 to 100 kilometres in 1.9 seconds.

That has started to change, but it needs to change more.

"We need electric cars across the power spectrum. To reach a broad market, there must be models that suit all different people in society," says Mikael Stallgård.

Let's get back to batteries. Improving them - while making them cheaper and more sustainable - is one of the key issues.

"It's about finding that balance - making something technically better, but also cheaper. On the battery side, for example, work is being done both to improve existing chemical compositions and to develop entirely new battery chemistries. "It is about which minerals you use, how much energy you get in a given area and what it costs," says Martin Gustavsson, and continues:

"At the same time, we see how software is playing an increasing role; through updates you can improve energy efficiency without replacing any physical parts. It is also a way of making products better, smarter and more sustainable.

Test facilities in Göteborg, Nykvarn and Borås

SEEL, a collaboration between RISE and Chalmers, plays an important role here. SEEL works on the development of electromobility at its test facilities in Gothenburg, Nykvarn and Borås.

Customers include the Volvo Group, Scania, Heart Aerospace and Norwegian battery manufacturer Elinor.

"To accelerate the development of electric vehicles, you need to test new solutions, and to dare to do that in the market, you need to test them first in a reliable technical way. That's what we offer," says Martin Gustavsson.

SEEL carries out everything from performance testing of batteries and complete vehicles to safety-critical testing – while also carrying out research activities, including in collaboration with researchers at RISE and Chalmers.

"We are unique in having all this under one roof – even if you look outside Sweden," says Martin Gustavsson.

"Our ambition is to be a world-class test centre that provides customers with the support they need, both in the development phase and before market launch.

"There is also a neutrality in that we are owned by RISE and Chalmers. That's why we also want to be an arena for cooperation and networking, where different companies can meet and share experiences. In this way we can help accelerate the electrification of society for a sustainable future," says Martin Gustavsson.