LIGHTer node Västra Götaland wa open to every company and organization with an interest in lightweight technology and relevant business focus, located in the region, regardless of industry. The project Material and manufacturing challenges in electrification, with a focus on vehicles and transport focused on component, material and manufacturing process challenges linked to technology shifts in connection with electrification of vehicles and transport. It was based on knowledge from previous lightweight research and organization from LIGHTer, and applied developed methods and working methods to electrification of drivelines for cars, trucks, ships and aircraft.
In connection with electrification, the entire transport sector is undergoing a transformation, which creates new needs not only for manufacturers but also subcontractors, including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The working method in the current project consisted concretely of guiding SMEs and subcontractors through a development journey that includes different degrees of technological change.

LIGHTer node Västra Götaland had a close connection to the strategic innovation program LIGHTer. The node aimed to create extra value from the long-term national investment for manufacturing companies in Västra Götaland.The node was run as a project and has now undergone its third stage.

In the first stage, companies with an interest in lightweight technology were inventoried. This was done through company visits to about 25 companies in the manufacturing industry in a number of industries, mainly within the transport industry but also in, for example, construction and plastics.

Stage 2 aimed to follow and support the selected companies, but also new ones, with activities that linked common technology challenges, or developed a company with its specific lightweight issues. Offers were developed based on companies' needs.

The project wanted to create conditions for battery-electric aviation as one of the pieces of the puzzle for sustainable and accessible flights, partly through an in-depth modelling study where actual flight data is used to develop an analysis tool for electrification of various air transport flows, but also from an air traffic control perspective. Fully electrified flights can mean zero operational emissions of greenhouse gases, high energy efficiency, lower fuel and maintenance costs, lower noise levels and shorter runways.

To enable the introduction of electric aviation as a mode of transport, planning and preparation of our airports is required. If there is no sufficient infrastructure on the ground that can support electric aircrafts, we will not get anywhere. Thus, it is necessary to investigate and create indications right now of the requirements that the introduction of this technology places on the airports and the air transport system itself - only then can the real, large-scale implementation planning begin.

The long-term purpose of the project was to contribute to the quantification of infrastructure needs for systematic implementation of electric aviation as an important part of the transition to a sustainable transport system. To meet that purpose, the project primarily addressed the following research question: 

Given different degrees of electrification of air transport, or different electrification strategies; what does the recipient (typically the airport) need to prepare for in order to facilitate the transport work with regard to current and/or any future activity?

The overall goal of the project was to develop a generic and flexible simulation model that fulfils the project's purpose. The involved partners in the project ensured that the simulation model that was developed became as relevant as possible through representation in areas of;

• Air traffic control
• Airport & airport owners
• Aircraft modelling and power supply simulations

Effects

The project's deliverables include:

• Estimations of power supply capacity needed at airports given what air traffic flows that are electrified,
• Smart-charging algorithms for peak-load reduction and load-balancing,
• Inputs on how a future introduction of electric aircraft may affect surrounding electricity networks. Does there need to be any reinforcement? Can you work with local production of renewable energy to cover a certain part of the energy needs?
• Simple, well-developed methods and models for assessing the future potential of electric aviation, which increases the knowledge of, for example, authorities and other public entities that have the highest responsibility for driving the transition to a more sustainable transportation system.

UltimateGaN har tillhandahållit lösningar för några av de stora samhälleliga utmaningarna inom digitalisering, energieffektivitet och framtidens mobilitet. Snabb tillgång på kostnadseffektiva och tillförlitliga GaN-halvledare kommer att påverka dessa områden starkt, exempelvis:

Digitalisering i Europa och hela världen genom ultrahöghastighets 5G-kommunikation som är direkt beroende av GaN-enheternas prisvärda prestanda för att möjliggöra ett brett utbud av tillämpningar.

Effektiv energianvändning genom högpresterande GaN-komponenter för effektiv energianvändning i datacenter, liksom spänningsomvandlare i tillämpningar som telekommunikation och solceller.

Framtida elektromobilitet genom innovativa batteriladdningskoncept vilka realiseras med GaN. Realisera viktiga steg mot autonom körning genom ultrasnabba sensortillämpningar (LIDAR, RADAR) med GaN-baserade sensorsystem

 In the end, it is the customers who decide whether the value of rechargeable vehicles is high enough to choose one instead of the fossil fuel alternatives that now dominate the market.
 

The roll-out of rechargeable vehicles can be accelerated by the expansion of solar cells and other renewable electricity generation that is ongoing. When prosumers generate their own electricity, there are financial incentives to store self-generated electricity locally in the house instead of sending the surplus online, if the payment for the surplus harness is low and the cost of electricity from the electricity grid is high. Rechargeable vehicles can be receivers of the rechargeable electricity, together with any local battery storage, hot water heaters and other electricity consumers. With local energy storage that enables load balancing in the house, there are financial benefits in the form of the possibility of having a lower fuse in the house, and that the electricity price of some electricity companies is based on power outputs rather than energy outlets. But more important for rapid roll-out may be the driving forces of people to be self-sufficient and contribute to sustainability.

There is potential to accelerate the transition to both rechargeable vehicles and self-produced renewable electricity, but this requires that involved players understand their role and, in collaboration, prepare their products for the opportunities of the future. Vehicle manufacturers not only want to increase their market shares, but do so with products that have a low environmental impact and help to reduce fossil dependence in society by being market driven in certain segments. Energy companies want to contribute to a change through renewable and environmentally friendly energy production and fossil-free transport systems and need to handle increased variation in supply and demand in the electricity grid as well as changing consumer needs that add to increased volatility, and investigate how the technology can be used to achieve even power consumption in the grid. to keep costs down for customers, companies and society alike. Smart charging of electric vehicles requires insights into how other surrounding consumers and players behave, e.g. the intelligence of the charging infrastructure needs to be synchronized with that of other controlled units, otherwise the system-of-system can be anything but smart. Other players are also seeing an increased market where there is an opportunity to combine business and environmental benefits. In the end, social benefits with a well-functioning solution are a faster conversion to a fossil-free and environmentally friendly energy and transport system.

RISE conducts research in smart homes with self-generated electricity, for example from solar panels on the roof, and where rechargeable vehicles are one of several consumers that must be smartly charged to keep down costly power peaks. There are several research perspectives, including what users want because it is ultimately the customers who will invest, understand and use the functionality.

An important research perspective is therefore to get the parts together in a good way, where both architecture issues and interfaces become important to determine and eventually create standards for. Part of the problem lies in the fact that it should not be a company that offers a comprehensive solution, because it locks the customer which in the long run is bad, but several actors / companies should be able to offer services and offers that work effectively together.

If power peaks are to be effectively cut, information is needed on what happens in the future, such as what solar radiation is expected in the future, how the outdoor temperature changes, etc. An interesting area of research is what predictive information is to be provided and how the energy management functionality that cuts power peaks should be designed; Properly designed, it avoids the rechargeable vehicles being charged when other energy consumers in the house are on.

Much research will be required to innovate good customer solutions linked to charging and smart homes. It is also possible to lift our eyes and see what a cutting of the power peaks in smart homes has for consequences on the electricity grid outside the house. An even load will reasonably keep electricity prices down, as the costs are strongly associated with the maximum effects in the grid in terms of both electricity generation and distribution.

The conversion to electrified vehicles is challenging. Vehicle manufacturers have invested heavily in today's internal combustion engine vehicles and have a staffing force that is adapted to current technology. Today's users are used to today's vehicles, from how far they can drive when refuelled, how long it takes to refuel, what they get for the money, etc. Electromobility means changes in both the behavior and costs of compared to corresponding fossil fuelled vehicles. Batteries are a key component that take up space in the vehicle, take considerably longer to replenish than the corresponding fossil fuels, and cost a lot for the corresponding range that fossil fuel vehicles have.

Electromobility solutions are developed and tested in labs but in some situation it is time to meet the market and do tests in real-life environments, so-called Living labs. The purpose of these tests is to study user behavior, i.e. how users use the new technology and what obstacles and opportunities they see. There are also opportunities to test new business models, i.e. study whether the companies succeed in offering a value-creating product or service. It is also interesting in some cases to see what practical and legal barriers exist to the introduction of new products and services.

RISE has long experience in testing new electromobility solutions in reality. For example, we were first to test induction charging of cars on a larger scale outside Europe, we were the first to implement and test charging solutions in vehicles that could be controlled by utility companies, and we are part of project consortia that test electric roads in real operation.

Feel free to contact the experts in the area if you have an idea of ​​what electromobility solutions you want to test in reality. We at RISE work with all types of transport, such as electric scooters, passenger cars, buses and trucks, construction equipment, marine applications and electric aircraft. We help formulate research questions and what can be obtained from a reality-close test, find project partners, find funding and write a good application. If the product is not yet mature for reality-close testing, RISE can offer expertise and test opportunities in a controlled laboratory environment.

Three areas where the combination of autonomous and electrified vehicles contribute to each other's properties are energy efficiency, safety and new application areas.

The limited energy density and cost of batteries compared to the corresponding liquid fuels contribute to the fact that electrified vehicles often have a shorter range than traditional combustion engine vehicles. The driving patterns for autonomous electrified vehicles could be adapted to optimise the use based on the available range, most energy efficient driving or according to the possibilities available to charge / refuel the electric vehicle. Another specific case is when the energy is transferred via an electric road to a connected autonomous vehicle in motion. In this case, the range is not as dependent on the energy storage on board, but an autonomous vehicle could still adapt the driving and energy transfer to optimise for lower costs or longer reach.

Autonomous vehicles, regardless of energy carrier, have the potential to contribute to increased road safety. Through electrification, it is possible to further add to safety. Autonomous electrified machines in mines are an example where the combination could enable the amount of polluted air to be reduced and, in addition, parts of the operation can be carried out without people having to be exposed to potentially risky work.

The combination of the two technologies also enables new types of vehicles in new types of markets that have the potential to drive cost efficiency and utilisation rate. Examples are vehicles that can perform almost silent logistics tasks at night and are then adapted to transport other goods or people during the day. One of the challenges here is how the energy should be supplied to the vehicle to minimise downtime, unnecessary vehicle movements and costs, for example. These vehicles can have completely different looks, such as small autonomous delivery robots, compared to the vehicles rolling on the roads today.

To reach Swedish climate goals, greenhouse gas emissions from transport must be reduced at a faster pace than today. One out of many measures to reach the goals is the electrification of personal mobility and goods transport. This poses challenges for society: for example, charging infrastructure needs to be installed, individuals may need to change their mobility habits and battery production needs to become more ecologically and socially sustainable. At RISE we have a broad knowledge base for doing research on such challenges. By using our knowledge, we may contribute to reaching climate goals as well as increasing social and economic sustainability.

While electric power creates new opportunities it also creates new design challenges. In April 2014, the EU-Parliament decided that by 2019, new types of hybrid and electric vehicles must be equipped with a system that generates an external warning sound. How can vehicles meet the requirements formulated, while the sound also amplifies a trademark?

As for the internal sound in the cabin, electric power contributes to a more ergonomical sound environment. How can the sound environment in the cabin be pleasant, while it "sounds Scania" and gives the driver good feedback during the run?

Internal and external sound for future electric Scania trucks were designed in the project. In both cases, target sounds were designed, serving as targets for future construction. A visual interface concept was also developed, which puts the sound in a multimodal context.

In a large part of the world, electric vehicles are already both practical and economical for some applications. Electric ferries, city buses and taxis to name a few, are becoming increasingly common, and we are seeing a transition to fully electric vehicles in other applications such as city refuse and distribution trucks as well. Some transportation categories are still difficult to electrify, but development is rapid in everything from heavy intercity transportation to commercial aircraft.

For an individual actor considering a changeover to electric vehicles for the first time, it is nevertheless common to run into new questions and uncertainties which need to be sorted out. Often it is necessary to take into account the amount of energy which can be stored on board the vehicles in a different way than before, and study planning and logistics with fresh eyes, to find or create charging opportunitites. Still there are also segments which are perceived as more difficult to electrify, where there are no obvious or proven solutions or where one at least needs to be more careful to solve the puzzle. The questions not only concern vehicle owners and transportation operators but also organizations with overall responsibilities for public transport, refuse collection or other transportation services.

For actors in infrastructure there is also a puzzle to solve, regarding where chargers should be installed and when. Incentives and costs need to be considered, and comprehension needs to be built regarding how the need for charging infrastructure grows and is best accommodated. The issue also involves production and distribution of electricity, for instance regarding the environmental friendliness of the energy and the power capacity of the electric grids.

The amount of involved actors and systems makes it necessary to look at the whole picture while the parts are still studied in sufficient detail. RISE is an independent research partner actively working for sustainable transports from a societal perspective. We have a portfolio of projects in the area, where we together with real actors work with matters such as:

• Survey of and dialogue with actors, their interests and needs.
• Data collection, processing and analysis.
• Modeling, simulation and calculations relating to vehicles, charging stations and energy systems.
• Planning and functional and economic analysis of different electrification alternatives.
• Tools for simpler and more efficient planning and analysis.
• Interaction between electricity production, -distribution, -trade, energy storage and power trains.
• Load balancing and local production and storage of electric energy.

Please get in touch if you would like to know more or have ideas or suggestions for new projects!