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.

Alleima, formerly known as Sandvik Materials Technology, has worked with RISE and other partners on the projects Smarter Melt and RealSteel for nearly eight years. Together, they have developed technology for continuous measurement of the steel melt's temperature and chemical composition. The development has now progressed to the point where it can soon be introduced into Alleima's production.

"I believe we'll be there within a year," says Fredrik Sandberg, Alleima's R&D expert on production technology. "Then we'll achieve better productivity, more consistent steel quality, and also an improved work environment as we can avoid taking manual samples," he says.

These are not simple measurements. The melt, in its enormous kettle weighing many tons, maintains a temperature of approximately 1550 degrees. The temperature is measured by inserting a ceramic finger-like probe into the melt. A specially manufactured optical fiber connects the probe to a measuring computer. The challenge lies both in handling the heat and achieving accuracy in the measurements. Optical measurement of the melt also provides information about its chemical composition.

"In a metallurgical process, keeping track of the temperature is essential," says Fredrik. "Today, a lot of time is spent taking samples from the melt, bringing them to our lab, and having them analyzed. And it's not risk-free either to be so close to the equipment. Having continuous monitoring of the melt's composition saves time and reduces risks for our personnel."

In the long run, this also results in lower energy consumption and therefore reduced carbon dioxide emissions from the steel plant.

"I am very satisfied with our collaboration. RISE personnel are extremely competent, they have the right background and understand our industry. There have been many experiments, and they have always been very well prepared, and we've had good follow-up meetings afterward," says Fredrik. "We've done the project in many small steps, which I believe has been the key to success. I find it hard to see what we or RISE could have done differently," he says.

The collaboration with Alleima now continues, one example being a project for high-temperature fiber.

"It's about measuring in places where we don't want to have thermal cameras, for example by placing fiber on furnaces, in casting boxes, or in water tanks. The fiber is coated and lies in steel tubes, sometimes with fiber Bragg gratings," Fredrik explains.