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E-mobility Technology Winter 2020

Electric vehicle technology news: Maintaining the flow of information for the e-mobility technology sector

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VOL 7 | WINTER <strong>2020</strong><br />

FUTURE MOBILITY:<br />

THE INNOVATION SPACE<br />

BEYOND THE VEHICLES OF<br />

TODAY.<br />

THE NEED FOR TRANSPORT<br />

DECARBONISATION<br />

CONTINUES PAGE: 72<br />

SPACES NOT VEHICLES<br />

PAGE: 30<br />

THE USE OF GLASS IN EV’S<br />

NOW GOES WAY BEYOND<br />

THE WINDSCREEN PAGE: 86<br />

THE SMART<br />

BATTERY<br />

INNOVATION<br />

PAGE: 78<br />

5G CRITICAL TO<br />

THE GROWING<br />

CONNECTED CAR<br />

MARKET<br />

PAGE: 8<br />

SEMICONDUCTOR<br />

CHOICES ENABLE<br />

POINT AND<br />

SYSTEMIC E-MOBILITY<br />

INNOVATION<br />

PAGE: 20<br />

e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | www.e-motec.net | Never Miss an Edition Subscribe Today Free at www.e-motec.net


Editors Note<br />

MARK PHILIPS<br />

EDITOR<br />

A NOTE - WINTER <strong>2020</strong><br />

Editor: Mark Philips<br />

Associate Publishers:<br />

Rachael McGahern<br />

Ujjol Rahman<br />

Ryan Hann<br />

Anthony Stewart<br />

Designer: Carly Jackson<br />

Published by:<br />

CMCorporation Ltd<br />

234 Whitechapel Road<br />

London E11BJ UK<br />

info@cmcorp.co.uk<br />

www.e-motec.net<br />

COPYRIGHT<br />

(ISSN) ISSN 2634-1654.<br />

All rights reserved<br />

Images courtesy of dreamstime.com,<br />

unless otherwise stated.<br />

No resposibility can be accepted by CMCorporation Ltd,<br />

the editor, staff or any contributors for actions taken<br />

as a result of the information and other materials<br />

contained in our publications. In addition, the views<br />

expressed in our publications by any contributor are<br />

not nessarily those of the editor, staff or CMCorp. We<br />

therefore disclaim all liability and responsibility arising<br />

from any reliance placed on such materials by any reader.<br />

Published October <strong>2020</strong>.<br />

The market share of<br />

electrically-chargeable vehicles<br />

increased to 7.2% of total<br />

EU car sales, in the second<br />

quarter of <strong>2020</strong>, compared to<br />

a 2.4% share during the same<br />

period last year. The decline<br />

in passenger car registrations<br />

due to the COVID-19 pandemic<br />

affected petrol and diesel<br />

vehicles in particular, although<br />

these two sectors accounted<br />

for more than 80% of car sales,<br />

according to CLEPA.<br />

The traditional obstacles to<br />

adopting electric vehicles are<br />

disappearing. Range anxiety<br />

has always been a big obstacle<br />

for potential EV owners, but<br />

charging infrastructure is<br />

increasing and becoming more<br />

widespread.<br />

Cost is a major consideration<br />

when making the switch to<br />

EV, and batteries – the most<br />

expensive part of the car – are<br />

continuing to fall in price. Due<br />

to economies of scale and<br />

technological improvements,<br />

these technologies will become<br />

cheaper as the innovators in<br />

the supply chain continue to<br />

invest in R&D.<br />

The economic and health<br />

challenges of the past months<br />

have re-emphasised the<br />

important role that transport<br />

has for society at large. We<br />

need to plan for a future that<br />

will provide accessible and<br />

affordable <strong>mobility</strong> for all.<br />

At this moment EVs are more<br />

expensive to buy, although<br />

their running and maintenance<br />

costs over time should prove<br />

lower, and once buyers become<br />

more aware of this fact, the<br />

shift towards EVs will be even<br />

greater.<br />

There is increasingly a great<br />

deal of activity in this segment<br />

which will carry forward its<br />

momentum<br />

As showcased within these<br />

pages new technologies are<br />

constantly being developed and<br />

implemented<br />

Along with electrification<br />

planning across our major<br />

cities and increasing charging<br />

infrastructure, we are now<br />

seeing major advances in ADAS<br />

and vehicle connectivity<br />

These technologies, developed<br />

for us by the smartest and<br />

most passionate engineers will<br />

ensure the EV becomes the<br />

obvious choice for car buyers in<br />

the years ahead.<br />

In these stressful times<br />

I would like to thank all<br />

our contributors who have<br />

supported us during these last<br />

months. Thank you for your<br />

help with maintaining the flow<br />

of information.<br />

e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | www.e-motec.net 1


CONTENTS<br />

4<br />

ELECTRIFICATION PLANNING<br />

4<br />

8<br />

12<br />

16<br />

20<br />

Riding the wave of electrification: Why<br />

public transport and logistic fleets need<br />

‘smart homes’.<br />

Jean-Christoph Heyne, Global Head of Future Grids,<br />

Siemens AG<br />

5G critical to the growing connected car<br />

market.<br />

Uwe Pützschler, Head of Automotive & Mobility<br />

Solutions, Nokia<br />

LiDAR Integration in Autonomous<br />

Electric Vehicles<br />

Robert Baribault, Ph.D. Principal Systems Architect,<br />

LeddarTech<br />

Driving change: How materials science<br />

is allowing e-Mobility to shift to the next<br />

gear.<br />

By Dr. Pradyumna Goli, Business Development<br />

Manager Battery Systems North America & Holger<br />

Schuh, Global <strong>Technology</strong> Lead Thermal, Henkel<br />

Adhesive Technologies<br />

Semiconductor choices enable point and<br />

systemic e-<strong>mobility</strong> innovation.<br />

Stephan Zizala, head of the Automotive High Power<br />

Business Line at Infineon Technologies<br />

40<br />

44<br />

48<br />

54<br />

56<br />

An application for automotive<br />

battery management<br />

Introducing new Sensing technologies for BMS<br />

and SOC measurements<br />

As automakers strive to reach goals<br />

for longer range, faster charging and<br />

lower costs, adhesives stick as one of<br />

the best solutions.<br />

Nicole Ehrmann, Market Manager for<br />

Transportation, Lohmann GmbHv<br />

In search of the ideal battery, what is<br />

a better battery?<br />

Eric Verhulst CEO/CTO Altreonic-Kurt.energy<br />

Novel Current Sensor Solutions for<br />

Automotive Battery Monitoring<br />

Systems<br />

Lorenz Roos, Senior Application Engineer,<br />

Maglab AG, Switzerland<br />

Successful Thermal Management with<br />

Liquid Cooling<br />

Alexander Wey, Manager Product Unit Industrial<br />

Thermal at FRÄNKISCHE Industrial Pipes (FIP)<br />

22<br />

The EV as a clean slate<br />

Information technology and the car amalgamate,<br />

Stefan Wagener Product Manager Infotainment at<br />

Continental<br />

60<br />

Bridging the Future Integrating and<br />

refining charging technology.<br />

Jim Chen & Vern Chang, Phihong <strong>Technology</strong><br />

26<br />

30<br />

Moving e-<strong>mobility</strong> forward using<br />

specialised PVD coatings<br />

Dr. Mayumi Noto, Head of Global Business<br />

Development for E-Mobility, Oerlikon Balzers.<br />

Autonomus rideshares are coming<br />

‘Q Car’ monolithic in its exterior design, choosing<br />

interior volume over slick aerodynamics, Jonny<br />

Culkin, Jeremy White, Richard Seale of Seymour<br />

Powell the London-based industrial design studio<br />

64<br />

68<br />

EV Performance and Safety Demands<br />

Drive Changes to Hardware and<br />

Software<br />

Rolland Dudemaine, VP Engineering, eSOL<br />

Europe<br />

Big Data Logging<br />

Efficient validation of e-<strong>mobility</strong><br />

Bernhard Kockoth, Advanced Development Lead<br />

at ViGEM GmbH<br />

34<br />

Advancing EV Electronics with Light-<br />

Curing <strong>Technology</strong><br />

Chris Morrissey, Sr. Manager, Automotive Electronics<br />

BD, Dymax Corporation<br />

72<br />

Future <strong>mobility</strong>: The innovation space<br />

beyond the vehicles of today. The need<br />

for transport decarbonisation continues<br />

Professor David Greenwood, Advanced<br />

Propulsion Systems lead at WMG, University of<br />

Warwick<br />

2 e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | www.e-motec.net


30<br />

SPACES NOT VEHICLES<br />

76<br />

Lidar-powered ADAS is happening now<br />

Sally Frykman, VP of communications, Velodyne<br />

Lidar, and Dieter Gabriel, marketing manager<br />

EMEA, Velodyne Europe<br />

108<br />

What is Parylene technology?<br />

Enhancing reliability of e-<strong>mobility</strong> through<br />

Parylene. Rakesh Kumar Ph.D. at SCS Coatings<br />

explains<br />

78<br />

The smart battery innovation<br />

A pioneering innovative technology for a more<br />

sustainable and efficient EV battery production,<br />

insight from Rolf Hock IP PowerSystems GmbH<br />

112<br />

Assembly solutions in e-Mobility<br />

Jürgen Hierold, Sales Director at Deprag<br />

presents the Use of Screwdriving Systems in the<br />

Automotive Industry<br />

82<br />

86<br />

90<br />

Unlocking Next-Generation Vehicle<br />

<strong>Technology</strong> with 5GV<br />

Peter Stoker, Chief Engineer – Connected and<br />

Autonomous Vehicle at Millbrook, lifts the lid on<br />

the ground-breaking work enabled by the AutoAir<br />

project<br />

The use of glass in EVs now goes way<br />

beyond the windscreen<br />

The R&D team at Schott explain how glass is<br />

shaping the future<br />

Adhesives and Sealants in Battery and<br />

Hybrid Electric Vehicles<br />

Where are adhesives and sealants used? Rebecca<br />

Wilmot at Permabond<br />

116<br />

120<br />

124<br />

Design constraints for EV cooling<br />

systems<br />

Fritz Byle Project Manager at TLX Technologies<br />

explains the Discrete Proportional Valve System<br />

Trends and innovations in Electric<br />

Drive Units for lower cost and<br />

improved performance<br />

Thomas Frey Head of E-drive/ Innovation, AVL<br />

P2 hybrid modules enable flexible<br />

customer solutions and easy<br />

hybridization<br />

Eckart Gold Engineering Director at Borg Warner<br />

Transmission Systems<br />

94<br />

Long term stability of Thermal<br />

Interface Materials.<br />

Ralf Stadler, R&D Polytec PT<br />

128<br />

Intelligent Power Modules accelerate<br />

transition to SiC-based Electric Motion<br />

By Pierre Delatte, CTO, CISSOID<br />

98<br />

102<br />

106<br />

Creating a cost-and quality-optimized<br />

battery value chain in Europe<br />

Alexander Schweighofer, Business Development<br />

Manger LIB, Rosendahl Nextrom<br />

Impact of sensor technologies on the<br />

e-vehicle powertrain performance<br />

The resolution and accuracy of the rotor position<br />

sensor has an influence on the performance of<br />

an electric drive. Dipl.-Ing Ulrich Marl Lenord +<br />

Bauer<br />

Autonomous Vehicle Accidents Test<br />

Human Trust<br />

Jeff Davis, Senior Director, Government Relations<br />

and Public Policy at BlackBerry<br />

132<br />

136<br />

143<br />

Virtual Testing of ADAS & AV Systems<br />

Edge Case Simulations, Mike Dempsey M.D.<br />

Claytex<br />

Highlighting the possibilities of PCB<br />

technology in the field of power<br />

electronic substrates.<br />

T. Gottwald, Director Next Generation Products,<br />

Dr. Manuel Martina, Christian Rößle of Schweizer<br />

Electronics’<br />

A New Online Energy Prediction<br />

Model with an accuracy close to 99%<br />

Kristian Winge Sycada CEO explains the<br />

algorithmic approach behind CYB<br />

e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | www.e-motec.net<br />

3


ELECTRIFICATION PLANNING<br />

The smart, integrated depot of the urban e-vehicle fleet of<br />

the future.<br />

RIDING THE WAVE OF ELECTRIFICATION:<br />

WHY PUBLIC TRANSPORT AND LOGISTIC FLEETS<br />

NEED ‘SMART HOMES’<br />

By embracing full<br />

decarbonization in the<br />

<strong>mobility</strong> sector, a decisive<br />

contribution can be made to<br />

combatting the climate crisis<br />

– while drastically improving<br />

the quality of life in our<br />

cities.<br />

In countries all over the world,<br />

electrification targets in public<br />

transport – and <strong>mobility</strong> in<br />

general – are very ambitious, and<br />

as I intend to argue, rightly so.<br />

Globally, <strong>mobility</strong> accounts for one<br />

third of the energy demand and<br />

a quarter of carbon emissions.<br />

In the <strong>mobility</strong> sector, public<br />

transport and urban logistics<br />

with their buses, trucks, and<br />

commercial vehicles represent<br />

a major lever for winding down<br />

emissions if renewable energy<br />

is used to fuel the electrified<br />

vehicles.<br />

We know that full decarbonization<br />

in all areas is vital for combatting<br />

the climate crisis and achieving<br />

the goals of the Paris Agreement.<br />

As outlined in the IPCC Special<br />

Report on Global Warming of<br />

1.5°C, we not only need to flatten<br />

the carbon curve; we need to turn<br />

it around fast in the next couple<br />

of years. There is no Planet B, and<br />

we really cannot afford to mess<br />

this up.<br />

Make no mistake, this will<br />

involve disruptive change for all<br />

players in the <strong>mobility</strong> market:<br />

public transport operators<br />

(PTO), logistics providers, local<br />

governments, private investors in<br />

urban infrastructure, and original<br />

equipment manufacturers (OEM).<br />

However, this change is not as<br />

painful as it may sound. We have<br />

nothing to lose, but everything to<br />

gain by embracing this next cycle<br />

of disruptive innovation: Cleaner<br />

air, more livable cities, and a<br />

better quality of life for everyone<br />

are within our reach.<br />

The good news is that the<br />

solutions for the electrification<br />

of public transport are already<br />

available, and the first large-scale<br />

electro<strong>mobility</strong> projects have been<br />

successfully implemented.<br />

The Chinese megacity of Shenzhen<br />

stands out as one of the early<br />

adopters, becoming the world’s<br />

first major city to run an entire<br />

bus fleet – of over 16,000 buses<br />

– completely on electricity. As a<br />

result, the city has been able to<br />

avoid 440,000 tonnes of carbon<br />

4 e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | www.e-motec.net


e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | Vol 7 | <strong>Winter</strong> <strong>2020</strong><br />

emissions per year and curb<br />

its notorious pollution, while<br />

also reducing its fuel bill by<br />

50 percent. Further megacities<br />

in the Pearl River Delta and the<br />

rest of China are set to follow in<br />

Shenzhen’s footsteps.<br />

Trailblazers and drivers in<br />

bus fleet electrification<br />

Going forward, megacities and<br />

their electro<strong>mobility</strong> strategies<br />

will play a major role in driving<br />

the intelligent management<br />

of public and private fleets of<br />

electric vehicles, as well as the<br />

smart electrification of urban<br />

logistics and public transport. But<br />

international initiatives such as<br />

C40 Cities have also made strong<br />

commitments by signing the Fossil<br />

Fuel Free Streets Declaration.<br />

In this context, PTOs and logistics<br />

providers are emerging as natural<br />

trailblazers for electrification due<br />

to their limited daily range, as<br />

well as their predictable stops and<br />

standstill times. All of these factors<br />

lend themselves to recharging.<br />

Already today, more than half<br />

of newly purchased buses are<br />

electric. By 2040, two thirds of the<br />

entire global bus fleet are expected<br />

to be electric,<br />

which amounts<br />

to a tripling of<br />

electro<strong>mobility</strong><br />

in the public<br />

transport<br />

sector. Twenty-four percent of light<br />

commercial vehicles, like delivery<br />

vans, will become electric, too.<br />

While we are obviously seeing<br />

some momentum, it is also<br />

important to ask: What has<br />

been holding PTOs and logistics<br />

providers back from fully<br />

transitioning to electro<strong>mobility</strong> so<br />

far?<br />

Of course there is the hurdle of<br />

the initial CAPEX of procuring new<br />

vehicles – currently, the price of<br />

e-buses can be nearly twice that<br />

of conventional diesel buses.<br />

However, this is quickly offset by<br />

a lower total cost of ownership,<br />

reduced downtime, and lower<br />

fuel costs. Most importantly in<br />

terms of cost, an increase in the<br />

size of electric fleets requires the<br />

establishment of viable, affordable<br />

charging infrastructure.<br />

Whether this infrastructure is<br />

funded by the public sector, as in<br />

the case of PTOs, or by the private<br />

sector, as in the case of logistics<br />

depots, any investments will have<br />

to be carefully deliberated and<br />

must pay off in the medium or<br />

long term. Subsidies or incentives<br />

should also be considered so<br />

that PTOs and logistics providers<br />

can decrease their emissions and<br />

still increase their profitability,<br />

because there is an – albeit not<br />

always quantifiable – added<br />

value in transforming cities into<br />

sustainable, livable spaces. In the<br />

case of Shenzhen, the Chinese<br />

government invested US$1 billion<br />

in order to successfully electrify<br />

the city’s bus fleet in only eight<br />

years.<br />

The depot reimagined as a microgrid merging<br />

generation, storage, consumption<br />

While opportunity charging<br />

solutions exist en route, most of<br />

the charging of e-buses will take<br />

place overnight in depots. The<br />

depots we have today, however,<br />

are not designed to supply an<br />

electric vehicle fleet with energy.<br />

The standard grid connection of a<br />

bus depot with around 200 diesel<br />

buses will run at 100 kW. However,<br />

the grid connection of a bus<br />

depot with around 200 e-buses<br />

will require 10 MW, with peak load<br />

increasing demand by a factor of<br />

100.<br />

What are the solutions? One option<br />

would be a costly grid expansion,<br />

which might attract higher charges<br />

from the power supplier; another<br />

would be to install a storage unit<br />

as a buffer, which would store<br />

power during the day for load<br />

balancing at night. Either way, it<br />

is important to choose a solution<br />

that balances grid limitations<br />

with the high load needs of<br />

depot charging. In addition, it is<br />

worthwhile to reimagine the depot<br />

as a location not only for energy<br />

storage and consumption, but<br />

also for onsite power generation.<br />

Most depots feature large roof<br />

areas that are ideally suited for the<br />

installation of photovoltaics.<br />

Madrid is one of the cities taking<br />

into account all three aspects<br />

of generation, storage, and<br />

consumption in planning the<br />

replacement of its La Elipa depot<br />

with a capacity for 330 electric<br />

buses. The futuristic building with<br />

an area of 40,000 square meters,<br />

32,000 of which will be dedicated<br />

to bus parking, will be covered<br />

with solar panels and generate<br />

photovoltaic energy for its own<br />

consumption. Furthermore, a 40-<br />

MW substation will be installed.<br />

e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | www.e-motec.net<br />

5


Smart depots:<br />

Why software integration is key<br />

As this example clearly shows,<br />

simply putting charging points<br />

in place will not be sufficient<br />

on its own – when electrifying<br />

a depot, the whole energy<br />

supply and demand will need to<br />

be considered, encompassing<br />

renewable generation, storage<br />

integration, and charging potential<br />

on location.<br />

Such a holistic approach to depot<br />

charging will need to be coupled<br />

with intelligent load management<br />

in order to increase energy<br />

efficiency and ensure reliable<br />

power supply. In fact, depots<br />

can be designed as intelligent<br />

microgrids, effectively turning<br />

them into smart infrastructures.<br />

On the charging level, intelligent<br />

charging management software<br />

will offer seamless, optimized<br />

operations – e.g., to ensure that<br />

the individual e-vehicles have<br />

reached the desired state of charge<br />

by the time they are ready to<br />

leave the depot. Dynamic charging<br />

helps to prioritize charging<br />

processes accordingly. On the<br />

general level, energy monitoring<br />

and management software could<br />

be implemented to control all<br />

energy assets, such as buildings,<br />

renewable power generation,<br />

storage, and charging systems.<br />

These solutions should be cloudbased<br />

with multi-directional<br />

data exchange and predictive<br />

load management to balance the<br />

depot’s overall energy needs in<br />

the most efficient and economic<br />

way. Thus, there would not only<br />

be a flow of information from the<br />

power generation units to the grid<br />

control unit, but also a connection<br />

that provides data from and to<br />

the building management system<br />

and the charging infrastructure,<br />

for example. Furthermore, such a<br />

system could integrate data from<br />

external sources, such as weather<br />

data or energy tariffs, to forecast<br />

loads or charge when power<br />

is cheaper. Basically, software<br />

integration is the brain of the<br />

smart depot.<br />

Future-proof solutions<br />

show the way forward<br />

With the wave of electrification swelling on a global<br />

scale, eased along by smart solutions, depots with<br />

more than 100 buses or commercial vehicles will play<br />

an increasing role in future cities and megacities.<br />

It is clear that for electro<strong>mobility</strong> to succeed, and<br />

for full decarbonization in the <strong>mobility</strong> sector<br />

to beembraced, we need this kind of smart<br />

infrastructure. On the one hand, we will have to<br />

combine flexible charging systems with renewable<br />

energy sources and storage solutions; on the other<br />

hand, we will need to harness the opportunities<br />

of digitalization: Software to intelligently manage<br />

charging processes as well as the whole energy<br />

system of future depots will be key.<br />

This urban charging<br />

infrastructure will need<br />

to be designed with<br />

a holistic, end-to-end<br />

perspective and adapted<br />

to the local requirements.<br />

It can be assembled<br />

Jean-Christoph Heyne,<br />

and optimized in order<br />

Global Head of<br />

to become the most<br />

Future Grids,<br />

economically viable<br />

Siemens AG<br />

solution for e-vehicle fleet<br />

operators. Think of it as a<br />

smart home for the e-bus fleets that will make our<br />

cities more livable.<br />

1<br />

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change: Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C, https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/ 2 Matthew Keegan (2018):<br />

Shenzhen’s silent revolution: world’s first fully electric bus fleet quietens Chinese megacity, https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2018/<br />

dec/12/silence-shenzhen-world-first-electric-bus-fleet (accessed July 12, <strong>2020</strong>); Mordor Intelligence (2019): Electric bus market – growth,<br />

trends, and forecast (<strong>2020</strong>–2025), available online at: https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/automotive-electric-bus-market<br />

(accessed July 12, <strong>2020</strong>) 3 C40 Cities (<strong>2020</strong>): List of signatories having committed to the C40 Fossil Fuel Free Streets Declaration, available<br />

online at: https://www.c40.org/other/green-and-healthy-streets (accessed July 12, <strong>2020</strong>)<br />

4<br />

EMT Madrid: Nuevo centro de operaciones de La Elipa, http://www.nuevocentroelipaemt.com/ (accessed July 12, <strong>2020</strong>)<br />

6 e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | www.e-motec.net


CONNECTIVITY<br />

CRITICAL TO<br />

THE GROWING<br />

CONNECTED<br />

CAR MARKET<br />

The freedom of the open road has been<br />

cherished by many people for decades,<br />

yet with increasing environmental<br />

pollution, growing road accidents<br />

and the sheer waste of time spent<br />

in traffic jams, it’s no wonder people<br />

are beginning to re-think how we get<br />

around.<br />

Many of us are hoping that automated<br />

driving and connected cars will help<br />

address some of these issues. In<br />

fact, the automotive industry already<br />

accepts that vehicles will need to<br />

communicate with each other, as well<br />

as with roadside infrastructure and<br />

network services, to keep traffic safe,<br />

efficient and comfortable.


ne of the big challenges in<br />

making the connected car<br />

a partof our everyday lives<br />

is that the automotive and<br />

telecommunications industries<br />

must work closely together to<br />

make it a reality alongside telco<br />

service providers, equipment<br />

manufacturers, car manufacturers, map providers<br />

and road operators and many others. To kick-start<br />

this eco-system, the leading car manufacturers and<br />

telecommunications companies, including Nokia,<br />

founded the “5G Automotive Association” (5GAA) in<br />

2016.<br />

Global market analysis from Omdia outlined that<br />

there will be 180 million connected vehicles on our<br />

roads by the end of <strong>2020</strong> with this number growing<br />

rapidly. Indeed, all new cars are expected to be<br />

connected by 2022 using cellular connectivity and<br />

supporting cloud-based telematics, infotainment<br />

and other services to improve comfort and safety.<br />

This connectivity will allow vehicles to interact<br />

with the cloud, with each other and with the road<br />

infrastructure - making roads safer, allowing traffic<br />

to flow more easily and making driving more<br />

comfortable.<br />

Some manufacturers already use mobile networks to<br />

warn their own cars about congested roads, broken<br />

down vehicles, accidents or bad weather, a method<br />

known as vehicle to network (V2N). Now projects are<br />

underway in several European countries to exchange<br />

warnings between vehicles of different manufacturers.<br />

The industry recognises that the processing of<br />

rapidly growing volumes of sensors and other data<br />

needs to happen as close to the vehicles as possible.<br />

This can be enabled by edge cloud which increases<br />

the reliability and security of network services for<br />

connected cars and reduces the latency and can also<br />

enable new applications.<br />

At the same time, LTE based short range<br />

communication which is an important element of the<br />

3GPP C-V2X (Cellular-V2X) technology has become a<br />

reality and tested in large areas, such as China and<br />

the US. Several on-board units and RSU products<br />

with LTE V2X technology have become commercially<br />

available. The combination of both short range<br />

and network-based communication (V2N) provided<br />

by C-V2X is a powerful instrument to address the<br />

needs of the automotive industry as well as the road<br />

operators.<br />

10<br />

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e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | Vol 7 | <strong>Winter</strong> <strong>2020</strong><br />

5G boosts<br />

benefits for connected vehicles<br />

The introduction of 5G New Radio (based on 3GPP<br />

Release 15 specification) enables higher data rates<br />

and lower latencies for V2N network communications.<br />

The first deployments in commercial vehicles are<br />

expected to start as early as 2021. The following 5G<br />

phase (3GPP Release 16), expected to happen from<br />

2023 onwards, will provide even lower latency and<br />

high reliability to support V2V (Vehicle-to-vehicle) and<br />

V2I (Vehicle to Infrastructure) type communication,<br />

often referred to as 5G-V2X.<br />

This offers key features that support higher levels of<br />

cooperative automated driving. A recent 5GAA white<br />

paper looked at the new functions it makes possible,<br />

including areas such sharing sensor data, such as<br />

video from the car in front; control information to<br />

allow vehicles to drive in close formation, saving road<br />

space; exchanging vehicle trajectories to prevent<br />

collisions and protecting vulnerable road users like<br />

pedestrians and cyclists. These advanced examples of<br />

V2V and V2I communications are clearly only feasible<br />

thanks to 5G technology. Although the physical radio<br />

layers of LTE releases and 5G NR are very different, the<br />

chipsets and associated communication stacks will<br />

integrate the different radio technologies, supporting<br />

smooth operation and backward compatibility of<br />

services.<br />

Nokia has played key role in these connected vehicle<br />

test projects focused on the verification of 5G based<br />

new network capabilities and Multi-access Edge<br />

Computing (MEC) to support the advanced needs of<br />

automotive related use cases. The first MEC based use<br />

cases was held in 2015 with Deutsche Telekom at the<br />

National German test bed motorway A9 with partners<br />

Continental and Fraunhofer. Since then tests have<br />

been extended to more complex use cases in various<br />

countries with other partners around the globe<br />

such as in Japan, China and Germany. The ongoing<br />

EU funded projects such as 5G Carmen includes the<br />

analysis and verification of functions distributed<br />

between edge clouds deployed in networks of<br />

different operators even across borders. In the MEC-<br />

VIEW project Edge computing is used to complement<br />

local information generated by sensors in the vehicle<br />

with information generated by road side cameras<br />

with the objective to support automated driving in<br />

challenging urban situations.<br />

5G technology elements have been in the focus of<br />

other projects like the EU financed 5GCar focused<br />

on testing coordinated lane merge, the cooperative<br />

perception of connected vehicles and protection of<br />

vulnerable road users. Nokia, together with Seat,<br />

Telefonica, FICOSA and other partners also tested<br />

Vulnerable road discovery in Segoviav – utilizing<br />

MEC. The 5G NetMobil project included the use of<br />

network slicing technology to support different<br />

Quality of Service (QoS) requirements when vehicles<br />

use communication infotainment and safety critical<br />

applications in parallel. Nokia has also supported<br />

SoftBank with the construction of a 5G verification<br />

environment for connected vehicles at Honda<br />

Research and Development site in Japan.<br />

With several industries on board, driven by the<br />

telecom and automotive industries, the connected<br />

car is really going places. However, the global<br />

commercialisation of connected automated driving<br />

will not only depend on the successful verification<br />

and introduction of technologies in networks,<br />

vehicles and road infrastructure. New business and<br />

cooperation models between the ecosystem partners<br />

will have to be developed and complemented with<br />

the evolution of the regulatory framework related<br />

to driving, data handling and management. This is<br />

an industry challenge that we will solve by working<br />

closely and collaboratively with our ecosystem<br />

partners.<br />

Uwe Pützschler, Head of Automotive & Mobility<br />

Solutions, Nokia and Vice-Chair of the 5G<br />

Automotive Association<br />

e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | | www.e-motec.net<br />

11


LiDAR<br />

Integration in Autonomous<br />

Electric Vehicles<br />

ADAS<br />

Electric vehicles (EV) are leading the<br />

way towards safer<br />

transportation and cleaner<br />

environments. Deployment<br />

of EVs is accelerating<br />

as novel applications become even more rapidly<br />

available. Driverless transport or Autonomous Driving<br />

(AD) applications which include robotaxis, delivery<br />

vehicles, cleaning units, are becoming the norm.<br />

One of the main goals of AD is to maximize fast<br />

service in a targeted location with minimum impact<br />

on everyday life and little human interaction. In all<br />

AD applications, detecting and classifying objects in<br />

the surroundings is required and can be done using<br />

LiDARs as one of the sensors.<br />

Automated Driving and Driving Functions<br />

A driverless vehicle has the same requirements as<br />

human-driven ones. They have to stay in the driving<br />

lane or change lanes, accelerate, brake as well as<br />

perform other functions. The AD behavior, as seen<br />

from the sidewalk, should be similar to vehicles with<br />

drivers, even though the absence of a person is quite<br />

obvious. To allow safe driving, an AD EV requires the<br />

same functions as assigned to a driver to position<br />

itself within its environment as it moves along its<br />

itinerary and predicts the safest route to take.<br />

Sensing is the capacity to determine what is outside<br />

the vehicle, where these “objects” are relative to the<br />

EV. Analyzing is using the sensing data and the EV’s<br />

known reacting capacity to determine the correct<br />

path prediction<br />

to direct the EV<br />

where it needs<br />

to go safely<br />

while protecting<br />

the internal<br />

load and the<br />

integrity of the<br />

Figure 1 – Driverless car high-level<br />

functions<br />

vehicle. Reacting<br />

corresponds to braking, accelerating, and turning the<br />

wheels or, simply put, driving. The three functions<br />

interact continuously to drive the EV, Sensing,<br />

Analyzing, and Reacting do not have the same<br />

complexity but share the same basic requirements:<br />

they all need to be swift, precise, and reliable.<br />

Sensing technologies and key parameters<br />

Sensing is crucial for AD. Reacting depends on<br />

Analyzing, which depends on the correct knowledge<br />

of the environment, near and far, in all directions.<br />

Common and reliable AD sensors are cameras, radars,<br />

and solid-state LiDARs. The main specifications are<br />

object distance and angular position relative to the<br />

EV.<br />

Cameras have the highest angular resolution and<br />

can detect color and useful attributes to detect<br />

road signs and streetlights, for example. Cameras<br />

do not provide intrinsic time-based object distance<br />

information. Radars and LiDARs are both selfcontained<br />

distance measurement devices due to<br />

the emission and reception of electromagnetic light<br />

or radio waves. LiDARs hold the advantage in range<br />

accuracy and field-ofview<br />

resolution, while<br />

radars perform better in<br />

inclement weather and<br />

have a more extended<br />

daytime range. Both<br />

LiDARs and radars<br />

operate very well at<br />

night but offer less<br />

Figure 2 – Example of full<br />

angular resolution than sensing coverage of the<br />

cameras. Since cameras surroundings with four 180°<br />

sensors<br />

rely on outdoor light, they<br />

operate better in the daytime than at night Finally,<br />

both LiDARs and cameras can offer an ultra-wide field<br />

of view, which is more difficult with radars.<br />

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e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | Vol 7 | <strong>Winter</strong> <strong>2020</strong><br />

In all cases, it is desirable to have detection all around the vehicle, as shown in Figure 2, with a 180° sensor<br />

deployed on each side of an AD EV.<br />

The maximum detection distance, or range, should cover the maximum braking distance, as defined by the<br />

vehicle’s maximum speed, the reaction time, and the maximum deceleration. As an example, an AD vehicle<br />

travelling at a speed of 40 km/h has a braking distance of 24 meters when the reaction time is half a second,<br />

and the deceleration is 3.5 m/s². Other EV types without passengers may have a higher deceleration rate, in<br />

which case the braking distance will be shorter.<br />

Sensing Distance, Time of Flight, Distance<br />

Resolution, and Full Waveform<br />

LiDARs and radars use time-of-flight (ToF)<br />

measurements to determine the position of objects.<br />

They are self-contained distance and position<br />

measurement sensors. ToF is based on echoes of<br />

short-duration pulses. The sensor emits a brief,<br />

high-intensity pulse and measures the time it takes<br />

to receive a reflection from an external object. The<br />

farther an object is from the sensor, the longer the<br />

delay is between the emission and the reception<br />

of the pulse. The main difference between radars<br />

and LiDARs is the emitted pulse duration. A LiDAR<br />

can emit a pulse duration in the nanoseconds scale,<br />

shorter than radar pulses, with a higher position<br />

precision.<br />

ToF is applied to each pixel in the field of view.<br />

LiDARs use a combination of multi-channel lasers and<br />

photodiodes to increase the number of pixels in the<br />

scene. Most interestingly for the EV path prediction,<br />

ToF LiDAR provides the distance of the two objects in<br />

the same pixel with high precision.<br />

Figure 3 shows how multiple pulses can be received<br />

in the same pixel. The first small detected pulse<br />

corresponds to a low-reflectivity or semi-transparent<br />

object.<br />

The light transmitted “through”<br />

the first object propagates towards<br />

the second object, which reflects<br />

light back to the LiDAR, creating a<br />

second peak in the detection data.<br />

Pulse shape information can also<br />

be used to determine the object<br />

type, as may be inferred from<br />

Figure 4. In this figure, we see that<br />

multiple reflection types lead to<br />

different shapes in the detection<br />

data. The size and shape of objects<br />

can then be inferred to help object<br />

classification.<br />

Figure 3 – Full waveform data of a LiDAR pixel.<br />

The peaks are reflections from two objects at<br />

different distances. The horizontal scale is in<br />

data points.<br />

Figure 4 – Impact of object type on full<br />

waveform data. Different object types lead to<br />

different peak shapes in the full waveform.<br />

e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | www.e-motec.net<br />

13


Sensing Singular Resolution<br />

and Object Classification<br />

4<br />

Figure 5 – High- and low-resolution image comparison. All images provide the critical information to determine the<br />

vehicle’s optimal path.<br />

Determining the nature of objects outside the<br />

vehicle is critical to predicting the correct EV path<br />

and sending the correct instructions to Reacting. Our<br />

experience of object classification is based on size<br />

evaluation, color, speed and other factors. We chiefly<br />

use angular resolution for this purpose, but our eyes<br />

have so many functions that they should not be the<br />

reference for AD.<br />

The optimal sensor resolution for object classification<br />

is considerably lower than human vision. Figure 5<br />

shows an example of different simulated resolutions<br />

for the same object at the same distance. In the<br />

leftmost image, we immediately recognize a woman<br />

running with a dog. There are details such as<br />

the ponytail, the leash, the baseball cap that are<br />

significant to human perception but irrelevant to<br />

AD. This is due to a relatively high resolution of 480<br />

x 320 pixels that creates a very clear image, which<br />

would seem like a clear requirement for AD. The<br />

central image has only 15 x 10 pixels and does not<br />

provide as much information. We distinctly see two<br />

objects, one taller and one shorter, with a good<br />

idea of the horizontal size of the objects. Based<br />

on this image, we can predict that the AD EV needs<br />

to react and steer the EV away from these objects.<br />

It is apparent that the position uncertainty from<br />

the pixel size will make the EV move slightly more<br />

than minimum to avoid the objects. This margin<br />

needs to be embedded in the Analyzing function to<br />

reduce the risk of accidents. Over a few acquisition<br />

frames, the Analyzing function will determine that<br />

it is slow-moving and will predict a safe path. The<br />

rightmost image of Figure 5 shows the same data as<br />

the central image, enhanced with some interpolation<br />

to increase the number of pixels done before the AF<br />

to increase classification probability. The content<br />

of the rightmost image is much clearer, and we can<br />

distinguish a human and a small animal. We may<br />

conclude that a lower resolution is sufficient for AD<br />

applications.<br />

Another example of the combination of the full<br />

waveform data and the lower resolution for object<br />

classification is shown in Figure 6. In this use case,<br />

the truck behind the cyclist is clearly seen and<br />

the resolution is sufficient for classification of<br />

both objects. The full waveform data of Figure 3 is<br />

extracted from this scene. The first peak corresponds<br />

to the bicycle, while the second peak is light reflected<br />

from the truck.<br />

Figure 6 – LiDAR data from Leddar Pixell<br />

superimposed on a camera image. LiDAR fullwaveform<br />

data detects two objects (bicycle and<br />

truck) at different distances.<br />

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e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | Vol 7 | <strong>Winter</strong> <strong>2020</strong><br />

Classification and Analysis Function Training<br />

For object classification, the Analysis function is<br />

based on neural networks that require training.<br />

Known objects tagged in images are used to<br />

teach the AI the ability to classify objects. LiDARs<br />

can provide the distance of detections and help<br />

build a three-dimensional map that facilitates<br />

the data sorting for classification.<br />

Figure 7 shows classification results using the raw<br />

data from a LeddarTM Pixell LiDAR. The resolution<br />

of a few pixels per object is sufficient for correct<br />

identification.<br />

AI Learning can start with<br />

simulations, but the final training<br />

needs to come from real-life<br />

situations. The next step towards<br />

the final implementation is<br />

prototyping and data collection on<br />

a moving vehicle. Figure 8 shows<br />

a quick and efficient prototype for<br />

data collection before the full AD<br />

EV integration is completed.<br />

Figure 7 – Pedestrian classification using LeddarPixell and AI,<br />

with full waveform raw data<br />

Figure 8 – From prototype to full integration<br />

Conclusion<br />

Automated-driving Electric Vehicles are the short-,<br />

medium-, and long-term future of transportation.<br />

Emerging applications are being developed to<br />

facilitate services such as public transport, goods<br />

delivery, and other specialized applications. The<br />

ability to position and classify objects in the<br />

vehicle surroundings is key to path prediction<br />

and increased safety. AD uses sensors and LiDAR,<br />

as one of the sensors, provides intrinsic distance<br />

measurement and offer sufficient angular resolution<br />

for object detection and classification. The current<br />

successful demonstrations of AD with EVs are critical<br />

steppingstones opening mass volume markets, and<br />

LiDARs are a critical part of the solution.<br />

Robert Baribault, Ph.D.<br />

Principal Systems Architect, LeddarTech<br />

e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | www.e-motec.net<br />

15


Driving change:<br />

How materials science is allowing<br />

e-Mobility to shift to the next gear<br />

MATERIALS<br />

RESEARCH<br />

Overcoming the safety and lifetime cost challenges that<br />

come with EVs requires reliable, innovative and serviceable<br />

materials from a dedicated partner. The effective use of<br />

thermal interface materials (TIMs), adhesives and sealants is<br />

fundamental.<br />

Dr. Pradyumna Goli, Business Development Manager Battery Systems North America &<br />

Holger Schuh, Global <strong>Technology</strong> Lead Thermal, Henkel Adhesive Technologies<br />

Drving Change<br />

Electric vehicles (EVs) are a major driver for<br />

innovation within the automotive sector, but<br />

their commercial success will depend on<br />

whether they can achieve true mass market<br />

appeal. The key factors governing whether<br />

mainstream consumers will opt for an EV over<br />

an internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle<br />

relate to safety, efficiency, and affordability, as<br />

well as the presence of innovative features such<br />

as autonomous driving. All the while, OEMs must<br />

ensure that EV parts remain compliant with the<br />

evolving safety standards.<br />

The key components powering EVs are the<br />

power storage, power conversion and e-drive<br />

systems. Choosing and optimizing materials<br />

for these units that deliver on affordability,<br />

reliability and regulatory compliance, in terms of<br />

design and assembly, is therefore essential. As<br />

the industry and the regulations governing EVs<br />

continue to evolve, formulating materials that<br />

meet these objectives is becoming challenging,<br />

but with the right dedicated partner, not<br />

impossible.<br />

Protection against<br />

thermal propagation<br />

The safety requirements for a compliant EV are<br />

completely different from those required from<br />

a conventional ICE vehicle. Since batteries are<br />

the key component in an EV, lithium-ion (Li-Ion)<br />

technology is the primary technology used when<br />

designing battery packs.<br />

Current Li-Ion technology delivers many<br />

advantages over other systems, including higher<br />

energy density and charge retaining capacity,<br />

as well as longer operating life. However, one<br />

of the major limitations for this technology<br />

is operating temperature. When Li-Ion cells<br />

are exposed to elevated temperatures of over<br />

80˚C, they become explosive in nature due to<br />

the limitations of electrolyte chemistry. This<br />

phenomenon is called “thermal runaway” and<br />

poses a major limitation on the optimal design<br />

for EV battery packs.<br />

Manufacturers must comply with varying<br />

regulations in different countries around the<br />

world, in order to ensure that their battery pack<br />

designs to be approved for local use. In China,<br />

for example, EV systems must be designed in<br />

such a way that passengers will have a minimal<br />

5 minute window for escape1. In order to meet<br />

these requirements, thermal management<br />

is critical and the effective use of thermal<br />

interface materials (TIMs) is fundamental.<br />

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e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | Vol 7 | <strong>Winter</strong> <strong>2020</strong><br />

The role of<br />

TIMs in thermal<br />

management<br />

TIMs are fundamental to thermal<br />

management, since they optimize<br />

heat transfer from components<br />

such as batteries in power<br />

storage systems, insulated-gate<br />

bipolar transistor (IGBT) modules,<br />

MOSFETS, and transformers in<br />

power conversion systems, to<br />

heat sinks. Power density is what<br />

defines the amount of heat that<br />

densities that can range anywhere<br />

from 10KW/module to 350KW/<br />

module, implying they require very<br />

high performance TIMs.<br />

As the name suggests, high<br />

performance TIMs require high<br />

thermal conductivity. This is an<br />

increasingly important issue, as<br />

these power electronics devices<br />

are being miniaturized and at<br />

the same time becoming more<br />

powerful than ever before.<br />

Higher thermal conductivity<br />

will lead to higher TIM density<br />

and thus slower dispense<br />

performance, since more filler<br />

is required. This is where<br />

materials innovation such<br />

as Henkel’s new BERGQUIST<br />

GAP FILLER TGF 7000 can be<br />

used to address a real market<br />

need for high thermal transfer<br />

without compromising on<br />

dispense rates. This material<br />

offers the best in its class<br />

thermal performance (7<br />

W/mK), as well allows<br />

for achieving a maximum<br />

possible tested dispense<br />

rate of up to 18g/second.<br />

Henkel also offers gap pads<br />

of up to 12W/mK to address<br />

thermal management issues<br />

for devices that demand high<br />

thermal performance (image<br />

2).<br />

For the power storage systems<br />

(image 3), the requirements are<br />

completely different. A typical<br />

4-in-1 IGBT module has a surface<br />

area of 14 in2, whereas a typical<br />

battery pack has a footprint of<br />

5000 in2). Furthermore, batteries<br />

have low power densities (6 watts/<br />

cell-600 watts/cell), as well as a<br />

limited operating temperature. As<br />

a result, the thermal management<br />

requirements for battery systems<br />

are driven by factors such as<br />

conformability, lightweighting, fast<br />

flow rates for high throughput and<br />

cost. Henkel APS series<br />

products (image 4) are<br />

engineered specifically<br />

for power storage<br />

applications to give<br />

flow rates up to 80cc/<br />

second. Furthermore,<br />

the solutions succeed<br />

in terms of thermally<br />

conductivity and density,<br />

3<br />

3D model showing the<br />

inside of an EV battery<br />

pack with<br />

cylindrical battery cells<br />

while still offering a silicon-free<br />

advantage.<br />

The overall implication is that no<br />

single TIM can solve every thermal<br />

management issue, and that<br />

materials supplier should have a<br />

broad portfolio to give maximum<br />

flexibility to their customers.<br />

Henkel GAP PAD® applied<br />

2<br />

Image 4: trial dispense of the<br />

Henkel BERGQUIST GAP FILLER<br />

3010 APS<br />

1<br />

illustrated inverter (power<br />

conversion system) visibily<br />

applied Henkel GAP FILLER®<br />

in the lower area<br />

e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | www.e-motec.net<br />

17


Further critical factors to<br />

EV safety<br />

While the thermal conductivity coefficient for<br />

heat transfer efficiency still remains the primary<br />

requirement, there are other factors that should<br />

be considered critical for optimizing EV safety.<br />

Treatment of the battery pack surface is required to<br />

protect it against corrosion, which can amongst others<br />

damage the battery pack gasket. As a result, external<br />

influences such as dust and moisture could interfere<br />

with the components inside the pack, leading to<br />

reliability and failure risks.<br />

hurdles, it’s essential that OEMs work together with<br />

their materials suppliers from the very beginning<br />

of the design phase, in order to achieve the best<br />

possible result. Success demands the reliance on a<br />

supplier with a broad available technology portfolio<br />

in order to ensure maximum flexibility. Henkel is the<br />

ideal partner for component design, with dedicated<br />

customer support in place, as well as the broadest<br />

TIM, adhesive and sealant portfolio available on the<br />

market.<br />

Furthermore, adhesives provide structural integrity<br />

for ensuring strength during the robust operation of<br />

the battery pack. EV batteries go through the harshest<br />

of environmental and operational conditions, e.g.<br />

temperature and humidity could vary from anywhere<br />

between -40˚C to 49˚C and 0 to 85%. All of these<br />

aspects will place a vast amount of stress on the<br />

structural strength, meaning that any adhesive<br />

designed for this application will have to perform<br />

flawlessly under these extreme conditions.<br />

As the TIMs should be compatible with the chosen<br />

adhesive & sealant solutions, significant complexity<br />

comes into play in terms of design. Given these<br />

“thermal management is<br />

critical and the effective<br />

use of thermal interface<br />

materials (TIMs) is<br />

fundamental”.<br />

18<br />

e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | www.e-motec.net


e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | Vol 7 | <strong>Winter</strong> <strong>2020</strong><br />

Total lifetime cost reduction<br />

Battery efficiency and economics is what will<br />

differentiate one EV automotive manufacturer over<br />

another, as the technology moves further mainstream.<br />

Battery costs have come down from US$1000/KWH in<br />

2010 to just US$156/KWH today. The projections are<br />

that these costs will drop even further to US$73/KWH<br />

by 20302.<br />

One key factor influencing the total lifetime cost<br />

of EV battery packs concerns assembly speed. In<br />

general, to optimize throughput, material solutions<br />

should have high flow rates, allow for fast curing<br />

and be compatible with large-scale manufacturing.<br />

In particular battery cell architecture can create a<br />

bottleneck in the assembly process: around 4,000<br />

cylindrical cells are required to make a typical 80KW<br />

battery pack. Since some OEMs are already producing<br />

over 0.5 million cars a year in North America alone,<br />

simple math dictates that over 2 trillion cells will<br />

have to be manufactured and assembled to meet this<br />

demand. In order to allow for the superfast assembly<br />

of EV battery cells, Henkel collaborated with Covestro<br />

on the development of a total system solution.<br />

Hereby cells can be fixated in a UV-translucent carrier<br />

within 5 seconds, through the use of a Loctite AA 3963<br />

cure-on-demand adhesive (image 5).<br />

It’s clear that TIMs, adhesives and sealants are<br />

of substantial importance for the assembly and<br />

operation battery packs. All materials should be<br />

manufacture friendly, economical, compatible and<br />

compliant when used together in line with relevant<br />

local regulations. Henkel’s broad portfolio as such<br />

is helping to drive change so that EVs can go even<br />

further into the mainstream.<br />

Image 5: 3D model of fixed cylindrical cells inside<br />

a plastic carrier using the LOCTITE AA 3963 battery<br />

assembly adhesive<br />

The total cost of an EV will also depend on how<br />

easily serviceable the design of the battery system<br />

is, which is influenced by whether the gasket used<br />

to seal the battery is reopenable or not. Since the<br />

battery is the most expensive part of the EV,<br />

having the ability to rework it easily without<br />

having to take the battery out of the car body<br />

can reduce these costs significantly, which is<br />

where advanced gasketing technologies come<br />

into play (image 6). Sustainability is another<br />

key consideration to bear in mind. Ultimately<br />

all materials that have been scraped off after<br />

the battery has been repaired or serviced<br />

will need to be disposed of with minimal<br />

environmental impact. This is again where an<br />

innovative materials supplier has a role to<br />

play.<br />

Image 6: 3D model of a gasketing material being applied<br />

on the flange of a battery pack<br />

Sources:<br />

http://www.miit.gov.cn/n1146285/n1146352/n3054355/n3057585n3057592/c7590708/part/7590715.pdf<br />

2.<br />

https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/<strong>2020</strong>/06/30/fcc-calls-chinese-telecom-giants-huawei-zte-threats-to-nationalsecurity/#68828f9378d5<br />

e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | www.e-motec.net<br />

19


POWER ELECTRONICS<br />

Semiconductor choices<br />

enable point and systemic<br />

e-<strong>mobility</strong> innovation<br />

Stephan Zizala is head of the Automotive High Power<br />

Business Line at Infineon Technologies<br />

The automotive combustion engine has been a<br />

huge success over the past 150 years. Decades of<br />

development have turned the crude engines invented<br />

in the 1800’s into the highly efficient and reliable<br />

power plants of today. Engine developers have also<br />

made impressive progress in reducing emissions over<br />

the past few decades. Today, however, the automotive<br />

industry is shifting on to a new innovation path:<br />

building zero-emission cars by electrifying vehicle<br />

power trains.<br />

Why is this happening now? First and foremost,<br />

governments worldwide are trying to slow climate<br />

change by reducing CO2 emissions. They are<br />

tightening emission rules and offering incentives such<br />

as subsidies and tax breaks for low-emission vehicles.<br />

Secondly, there’s growing pressure on consumers<br />

to choose eco-friendly <strong>mobility</strong> options. Even the<br />

COVID-19 pandemic may accelerate the adoption of<br />

e-<strong>mobility</strong>, as people try to stay away from public<br />

transport yet still want to reduce their carbon<br />

footprint. Thirdly, electric cars will soon offer a better<br />

user experience than traditional vehicles, because<br />

their drive trains are more responsive and charging<br />

points are becoming more common than petrol<br />

stations. Studies already show that most electric car<br />

owners would buy another.<br />

Within the next ten years, I expect the majority of new<br />

cars sold to have a partially or fully electric drivetrain.<br />

Carmakers are devoting billions of dollars, and their<br />

top experts, to developing cars with electrification<br />

strategies ranging from mild, full or plug-in hybrid<br />

architectures through to full battery electric vehicles.<br />

The transition to e-<strong>mobility</strong> may be so gradual as<br />

to be almost unnoticeable for many consumers, if<br />

their next car is equipped with mild hybrid features.<br />

These use a starter-generator and a small battery to<br />

help the engine during stop-start motoring, cruising<br />

and, in more powerful set-ups, to smooth out engine<br />

response during regular driving.<br />

Full hybrid electric vehicles can drive using<br />

electric traction alone, and charge their battery by<br />

recuperating energy from braking and using the<br />

engine as a generator. A significant step beyond<br />

that, plug-in electric vehicles have enough batterypowered<br />

range for the typical daily commute and can<br />

be charged from (ideally green) power grid sources.<br />

Finally, at the upper end of the electrification ladder,<br />

battery electric vehicles are being introduced that<br />

have enough performance and range to compete with<br />

traditional rivals.<br />

As with the development of petrol and diesel cars,<br />

the shift to e-<strong>mobility</strong> will involve multiple cycles<br />

of technological innovation, optimization and<br />

maturation. Some of these will be so narrowly focused<br />

on innovating one aspect of e-<strong>mobility</strong> that other<br />

possible innovations will be set aside for later.<br />

Semiconductors can be used in both point and<br />

systemic innovations that address the three key<br />

challenges of electric vehicle development: range,<br />

charging time and system cost.<br />

Many reports on e-vehicles focus on battery capacity<br />

as a proxy for range, but do not mention how<br />

efficiently the energy that those batteries store<br />

is converted to movement. It is like judging the<br />

performance of a traditional car on the size of its fuel<br />

tank. It is here that semiconductors can have a crucial<br />

20 e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | www.e-motec.net


e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | Vol 7 | <strong>Winter</strong> <strong>2020</strong><br />

Chip Embedding<br />

Infineon offers both silicon and silicon carbide<br />

components in all form factors, from bare chips<br />

and discretely packaged chips through to modules.<br />

Customers can select the power semiconductors<br />

that best fit their innovation strategy. Together with<br />

Schweizer Electronic, Infineon is also working on “chip<br />

embedding”, a way of integrating power MOSFETs into<br />

PCBs rather than soldering them on top. This technology<br />

will increase power-conversion density and reduce<br />

systemic complexity. It should be particularly useful for<br />

increasing the performance of 48V mild hybrid electric<br />

vehicles.<br />

impact on an e-vehicle’s range and cost. Even<br />

a small change in the efficiency with which a<br />

vehicle’s main inverter turns the battery’s DC<br />

power into AC to drive the motor can increase<br />

vehicle range by tens of kilometers.<br />

Chip embedding is just one example of our systemic<br />

approach to e-<strong>mobility</strong> innovation: rather than focusing<br />

on single chips or functions, we try to understand and<br />

address challenges at the system level. We believe<br />

that the most significant contributions to innovation in<br />

e-<strong>mobility</strong> in the automotive industry will come from<br />

systemic innovations enabled by close cooperation<br />

along the value chain. We offer more than a decade of<br />

experience in e-<strong>mobility</strong>, a scalable e-<strong>mobility</strong> chip set<br />

including sensors, microcontrollers, gate drivers and<br />

dedicated power semiconductors, a clear roadmap of<br />

new technologies in development, and a good track<br />

record in volume production.<br />

The efficiency of power conversion is governed<br />

in part by circuit architecture and in part by<br />

the device physics of the semiconducting<br />

material used in the switching elements.<br />

Most manufacturers of full hybrid, plug-in<br />

hybrid and battery electric vehicles use silicon<br />

IGBTs and diodes, because they are well<br />

proven, widely available and have the lowest<br />

component cost. However, for certain cars,<br />

there may be a better solution. Silicon carbide<br />

MOSFETs can be used to build inverters that<br />

have greater conversion efficiencies than<br />

silicon-based alternatives. They cost more, but<br />

while it is fair to compare component costs<br />

doing so misses the systemic advantages of<br />

the newer technology. For example, it may be<br />

possible to use the greater efficiency of silicon<br />

carbide inverters to reduce the size, mass and<br />

cost of the battery while achieving the same<br />

vehicle range. This might quickly lead to a<br />

positive business case for adopting this more<br />

advanced technology.<br />

e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | www.e-motec.net<br />

21


INFOTAINMENT AND CONNECTIVITY<br />

Information technology and the car<br />

amalgamate<br />

The EV as a clean slate<br />

Electric vehicles (EVs) have come of age:<br />

Instead of being conventional cars with a<br />

squeezed-in electric drivetrain, oncoming<br />

generations of EVs are specifically designed<br />

to be electrified. This brings the chance for<br />

a clean sweep. OEMs are beginning to utilize<br />

this opportunity to leave behind the burden<br />

of the established electric and electronic<br />

architecture (E/E architecture). With 50<br />

to 100 microcontrollers spread all over a<br />

conventional vehicle, you are looking at a<br />

complex network of heterogeneous embedded<br />

hardware, connected via several types of<br />

physical interfaces. This stands in the way of a<br />

fresh start. Designing a new type of EV offers<br />

endless design and architectural beginnings.<br />

In order to prevent these endless beginnings<br />

from turning into lost opportunities, there is<br />

one particular issue that is worth addressing:<br />

It is time to say goodbye to the underlying<br />

“one box per function domain” E/E<br />

architecture philosophy for several reasons.<br />

This kind of network is a nightmare to<br />

update, it stubbornly refuses installing new<br />

functions after the end-of-the line, and the<br />

wire harness has grown into another bother<br />

weight-wise and complexity-wise. Plus,<br />

where do you host the enormous amounts<br />

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e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | Vol 7 | <strong>Winter</strong> <strong>2020</strong><br />

of software, which will be shaping tomorrow’s cars?<br />

Due to the increasing amount of software that gives<br />

the vehicle its functionality, safety, efficiency and<br />

comfort, a conventional premium car is likely to<br />

reach an impressive 750 million lines of code per car<br />

by 2025. Mind you – that is just “programmed code”,<br />

i.e., without factoring in the algorithms to come<br />

with artificial intelligence (AI). The timing is right for<br />

cleaning up the E/E architecture.<br />

There is yet another rationale behind this: Car makers<br />

traditionally perceive the engine (and sometimes<br />

the transmission) as key unique selling propositions<br />

for their brand. In times of digitalization, however,<br />

the variety of functions is particularly exciting<br />

for electro<strong>mobility</strong> and its users as it is precisely<br />

them who have a great affinity for technology.<br />

Accordingly, the cockpit and human-machine<br />

interface are becoming more and more important.<br />

Drivers and users expect a “digital vehicle”. This has a<br />

correspondingly high influence on their perception of<br />

the vehicle and thus on the purchase decision.<br />

Having said that, “the cockpit” means more and bigger<br />

displays, natural language conversation, haptics<br />

(e.g. haptic feedback with 3D shaped displays), full<br />

connectivity, and lots of software to provide it all!<br />

The future cockpit is fully networked, and a Digital<br />

Assistant will be able to take on different roles<br />

and responsibilities such as a driver’s companion<br />

or coach. Now, this working relation is developing<br />

into a genuine relationship as the EV becomes<br />

fully connected and turns into a member of the<br />

global Internet of Everything. Can that be done with<br />

the existing E/E architecture? No. The<br />

answer lies in centralization, and higher<br />

integration. The answer is: in-vehicle<br />

servers.<br />

There is a great opportunity in the EV as a clean slate.<br />

Freed from all the legacy traditions of conventional<br />

vehicles, an EV is the natural choice to make a stepchange.<br />

Why should an EV offer anything less than a<br />

user experience (UX) that tops the expectations of an<br />

online generation? An EV offers more space and fewer<br />

design restraints. So why not seize this opportunity<br />

to introduce new technologies such as pillar-to-pillar<br />

displays? They offer maximum freedom to display<br />

whatever content, app, service, or entertainment<br />

to the driver and passengers. Connectivity, flexible<br />

allocation of contents, and context-oriented user<br />

interfaces will give any vehicle a new UX; which will<br />

strongly influence the driver’s appreciation of his/<br />

her car. 3D display technology and curved surfaces<br />

will help to guide the user’s attention, help her/him<br />

to control functions and to enjoy high-resolution<br />

viewing quality.<br />

What we need to make all that possible is to alter the<br />

E/E architecture. In order to bring all the elements of<br />

human-machine interaction together and to offer a<br />

seamless combination of information, entertainment,<br />

apps and services, the many strings of entertainment<br />

and information need to come together in one<br />

hardware.<br />

In the cockpit domain, this trend towards a new UX<br />

means changing over to a server-based architecture<br />

that supports a systematic separation of hardware<br />

e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | www.e-motec.net<br />

23


and software, smooth (firmware) updates over the<br />

air (F)OTA), cyber security, the safe use of ASIL and<br />

non-ASIL functions (and various operating systems)<br />

on a single hardware, higher functional safety, fast<br />

interconnection to other on-board servers, memory<br />

and processing power for future flashing and hosting<br />

of updated features and new functions. All of which<br />

translates into a future-proof system.<br />

Is this just an attempt to conjure up a future<br />

development? No, the change is already underway!<br />

Volkswagen uses a server concept for ID. vehicle<br />

models based on the modular electric drive matrix<br />

(MEB). The conceptual framework for one of these<br />

servers (the in-car application server ICAS1) is a<br />

high-performance computer platform developed by<br />

Continental in cooperation with Elektrobit. It is called<br />

HPC (High Performance Computer), and the ID. Vehicle<br />

models with the ICAS 1 HPC showcase the move<br />

forward to a new E/E architecture based on server<br />

technology.<br />

As a Cockpit HPC, the server integrates functions<br />

previously split up between several electronic control<br />

units (ECUs), including the instrument cluster ECU<br />

and the ECU, controlling the center panel display and<br />

infotainment world. However, the cockpit HPC does<br />

a lot more. Based on its capabilities, the cockpit<br />

and multi-modal human-machine interface are<br />

turning from what we once knew as the “driver<br />

workplace” into a dialogue partner, which adapts<br />

to the needs of drivers or their instantaneous<br />

role. In an automated EV, the driver may well be a<br />

passenger for long phases of the journey. During<br />

these phases, he or she will want to make good use<br />

of the time in the car. Screens will therefore have to<br />

display different types of information, provide the<br />

environment for different apps and pursuits, both<br />

private and business – and maybe they have to offer<br />

more display surface to meet that requirement.<br />

Natural language exchange between human and<br />

machine will have to be supported, and new elements<br />

such as Augmented Reality head-up displays require<br />

sufficient computing power for models that are<br />

equipped with it.<br />

Higher integration levels and standardized hardware<br />

along with scalability of computing power and<br />

memory provide<br />

the possibility<br />

to adapt an HPC<br />

to the differing<br />

requirements of<br />

various models<br />

and vehicle<br />

segments. It<br />

is true that<br />

rather a lot of<br />

the computing<br />

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e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | Vol 7 | <strong>Winter</strong> <strong>2020</strong><br />

power of an<br />

HPC will not be<br />

utilized when<br />

the car begins<br />

its service life.<br />

Probably even<br />

the biggest<br />

amount of<br />

computing power<br />

and memory may<br />

be reserved for<br />

the installation<br />

of new functions<br />

and feature<br />

upgrades over<br />

the service life of<br />

the vehicle – and<br />

new business<br />

models that come with it. Of course, this will only<br />

work, if the HPC provides cyber security and (F)OTA<br />

updates. The two make an inseparable pair anyway:<br />

There is no cyber security without OTA updates,<br />

but there can also be no OTA update without cyber<br />

security.<br />

Some may consider this new level of, e.g., above 10<br />

kDMIPS computing power per server in the vehicle a<br />

luxury but think again: Today, each and every one of<br />

the 50…100 ECUs has its own embedded periphery.<br />

They all have a housing, they all have connectors, and<br />

they all require thermal management, and they are all<br />

cabled. However, quite a few of these ECUs will never<br />

be active at the same time because their activity is<br />

restricted to certain driving or operating conditions<br />

that may be mutually exclusive. So, who’s wasting<br />

now?<br />

The features of the HPC create optimal conditions<br />

for the integration of software from many sources.<br />

As an example, Continental uses the HPC capabilities<br />

for a strategic partnership with Pioneer. During the<br />

development of a Cockpit HPC, a complete Pioneer<br />

infotainment solution can be integrated into the<br />

server, if an OEMs requests it.<br />

Meanwhile, while the server-based approach offers<br />

the chance for vehicle manufacturers to reduce<br />

complexity with a leaner vehicle architecture, it<br />

increases the complexity for Tier 1 suppliers. Manual<br />

software development, for instance, is no longer an<br />

answer to worldwide development with ever more<br />

internal and external partners. To handle this complex<br />

process efficiently and to ensure the quality of the<br />

server and the software a new approach is required:<br />

It takes a highly automated software factory and<br />

a cooperation portal providing the security, tools,<br />

automated testing and validation, and managing<br />

documents for hundreds of software developers all<br />

over the world, who are working on functions and<br />

features. It is not only the E/E architecture that is<br />

changing dramatically – beginning with the EV – it<br />

is the complete automotive industry as information<br />

technology and the car amalgamate.<br />

Stefan Wagener<br />

Product Manager Infotainment at Continental<br />

e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | www.e-motec.net<br />

25


MATERIALS RESEARCH<br />

Moving e-<strong>mobility</strong> forward using<br />

specialised PVD coatings<br />

Dr. Mayumi Noto, Head of Global Business Development for E-Mobility, Oerlikon Balzers.<br />

The variety of small to large electric vehicles and their hybrid variants is<br />

constantly increasing, and vehicle manufacturers can no longer afford not to<br />

have electric vehicles in their range. But how can they optimise this<br />

technology? Are there other ways to improve efficiency and range, protect<br />

components from premature failure, and reduce maintenance costs for the end<br />

user as a result? Specialised PVD coatings are key design elements that reduce<br />

friction and wear, improving the efficiency of drivetrain technologies in electric<br />

vehicles.<br />

Producing more efficient engines has become<br />

an important issue as the automotive<br />

industry seeks to reduce CO2 emissions from<br />

petrol and diesel engines. Specialised PVD<br />

coatings have become key design elements<br />

for reducing friction and wear in engine<br />

components and minimising mechanical<br />

loss, which boosts engine efficiency and<br />

performance. And as manufacturers develop<br />

increasingly advanced electric vehicles,<br />

Oerlikon Balzers one of the world’s leading<br />

suppliers of surface technologies has been<br />

working closely with leading technology<br />

companies to design and optimise<br />

components for electric drive systems.<br />

A typical electric car is equipped with an electric<br />

motor with a maximum power of 30 to 70 KW, a<br />

maximum torque of 130 to 200 Nm and a maximum<br />

rotational speed of 7,000 to 20,000 rpm. Key adjacent<br />

components such as gears, bearings and shafts need<br />

to be optimised to satisfy various complex objectives<br />

such as noise reduction and efficiency during more<br />

demanding operating conditions. Gears in electric<br />

car transmissions experience higher rotational<br />

speeds and are subjected to various driving styles,<br />

increasing the chances of wear, pitting, tooth failure<br />

and scuffing due to repetitive friction at high speeds.<br />

Poor lubrication or the presence of contaminants can<br />

significantly reduce the service life of gears.<br />

Specialised PVD coatings for the<br />

automotive industry<br />

A coating with a thickness of just 0.5 to 4 micrometres<br />

considerably reduces friction and increases<br />

surface hardness to protect gears and reduce gear<br />

losses, thereby increasing the efficiency of electric<br />

drivetrains.<br />

PVD is typically used to coat components at relatively<br />

low coating temperatures of 200-500 °C. These<br />

temperatures are ideal because they are below the<br />

tempering temperature of steels, which means that<br />

the fundamental material properties are not affected.<br />

The BALINIT C coating from Oerlikon Balzers is a WC/C<br />

ductile carbide/carbon coating that offers particularly<br />

high resistance to adhesive wear (scuffing). It has a<br />

multi-layered structure where fine WC crystals are<br />

embedded into an amorphous carbon matrix (Image<br />

1). This unique structure enhances the load-bearing<br />

capacity and ductility of the coating even when there<br />

is little or no lubrication.<br />

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e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | Vol 7 | <strong>Winter</strong> <strong>2020</strong><br />

The standard FZG C test shows that fatigue<br />

strength is increased by 10-15% over case-hardened<br />

but uncoated gears (Figure 1).<br />

The low friction coefficient of BALINIT C contributes<br />

to lower local surface pressure (Hertzian<br />

pressure) and offers superior running-in characteristics.<br />

A scuffing test shows that gears coated<br />

with BALINIT C have a longer service life of over 2<br />

million tooth contact cycles (Figure 2).<br />

“By incorporating BALINIT<br />

coatings into component<br />

design, our partners have<br />

improved electric drivetrain<br />

performance without<br />

compromising other<br />

requirements, such as having<br />

a lightweight, compact design<br />

and reducing overall production<br />

costs”, explained Dr. Mayumi Noto, Head of<br />

Global Business Development for E-Mobility, Oerlikon<br />

Balzers.<br />

e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | www.e-motec.net<br />

27


Surface solutions for a wide range of<br />

automotive industry applications<br />

Compact, lightweight and highly integrated<br />

design of electric car components requires<br />

production technologies which offer higher<br />

precision and quality despite low tolerances<br />

and highly complex production processes.<br />

primeGear is a customised and highly<br />

integrated service which delivers unbeatable<br />

gear cutting tool performance. A team of<br />

experts at Oerlikon Balzers determines the<br />

critical improvements which can be made<br />

in the gear production chain by conducting<br />

detailed tool surface failure analyses and<br />

consulting with the customer. Improving the<br />

tool life cycle requires a holistic approach,<br />

whether in surface treatment, cutting<br />

processes, tool handling or reconditioning,<br />

and this can lead to more sustainable and<br />

higher-quality gear production processes.<br />

“This is possible due to our learning curve<br />

of 70 years as leading supplier for surface<br />

solutions, and the integral concept of<br />

primeGear”, Dr Mayumi continued.<br />

For large battery boxes and electric motor<br />

housings, Oerlikon Balzers provides<br />

solutions to improve aluminium die casting<br />

and steel sheet forming tools. In high<br />

pressure die casting, BALINIT coatings reduce<br />

soldering, heat cracks, erosion and abrasion<br />

on moulds, mould inserts and cores. This<br />

results in a longer service life and reduced<br />

waste, giving manufacturers higher-quality<br />

cast parts and reduced costs. For large<br />

forming dies, Pulsed-Plasma Diffusion<br />

(PPD) technology helps tools last longer by<br />

hardening their surfaces and increasing their<br />

wear resistance. PPD means tools need to<br />

be maintained less frequently and is a more<br />

environmentally-friendly process than hard<br />

chrome coating.<br />

Lightweight plastic parts are key components<br />

in car interior and exterior design. As<br />

plastics become stronger (higher glass<br />

fibre content), more functional (sensors<br />

and lighting) and more attractive in design<br />

(texture and colour), forming technologies<br />

to produce plastic parts need to overcome<br />

new challenges. BALINIT coatings can prevent<br />

corrosion and wear and reduce polymer<br />

sticking, enabling easy release and scratchfree<br />

products for injection moulding and<br />

extrusion.<br />

Providing customised solutions to<br />

special requirements<br />

We use our strong R&D capabilities to<br />

tailor coating solutions to meet customer<br />

requirements. In addition to coating<br />

thickness and hardness, properties such<br />

as structure, chemical and temperature<br />

resistance and adhesion can be optimised to<br />

suit individual needs.<br />

With almost 75 years of expertise in coatings,<br />

we have customised pre- and post-surface<br />

treatments to produce the best possible<br />

surfaces in order to achieve optimum<br />

performance of coated parts and tools.<br />

“Together with our automotive<br />

partners, Oerlikon Balzers will<br />

continue to provide solutions<br />

and innovation to support<br />

electric vehicles in order to give<br />

the automotive industry a more<br />

environmentally-friendly and<br />

sustainable future,” Dr Mayumi<br />

concluded.<br />

28 e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | www.e-motec.net


Automotive Sensors for the Electric Drivetrain<br />

The alternative for current resolver systems!<br />

Your vehicle will:<br />

• accelerate absolutely smoothly in every situation<br />

• eliminate all stuttering, even when starting<br />

• always sound like a car, never like a tram<br />

• achieve an increased battery range<br />

Lenord + Bauer position sensor:<br />

For all motors, especially synchronous and reluctance<br />

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• No offset or amplitude error<br />

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www.lenord.com<br />

info@lenord.de


INFOTAINMENT AND CONNECTIVITY<br />

Autonomus rideshares are coming<br />

‘Q Car’ monolithic in its exterior design, chooses interior<br />

volume over slick aerodynamics<br />

In the first decade of the Digital Ride Hailing economy, service providers have<br />

used existing hardware to move people from A to B. However, in the context<br />

of Autonomous, Connected, Electrific and Shared <strong>mobility</strong>, we will see the<br />

emergence of vehicles like Quarter Car, designed from the ground up with<br />

these services in mind and pioneering new behavioural trends such as the<br />

‘Private Shared’ vehicle.<br />

Jonny Culkin, Seymour Powell’s Transport Designer<br />

told us “A key issue we identified within the digital<br />

ride hailing business model is the inefficiency<br />

generated from the number of empty seats during<br />

journeys. We have labelled this as the ‘Uber Pool’<br />

problem, where despite cost based incentives,<br />

passengers are unwilling to share their journey with<br />

other users. It is a significant challenge for vehicle<br />

manufacturers and ride hailing services to overcome<br />

in order to unlock revenue and efficiency growth<br />

potential.<br />

“With the onset of autonomous, connected, electric<br />

and shared <strong>mobility</strong>, it’s time to start defining the<br />

first generation of vehicles designed specifically<br />

for <strong>mobility</strong> services. Vehicles like Quarter Car will<br />

lead the way in defining a trend of ‘Private Shared’<br />

vehicles; adaptable spaces that will improve business<br />

metrics and passenger experience in one hit.”<br />

Quarter Car will help achieve profitability by offering<br />

flexibility for service providers to drastically drive up<br />

passenger occupation rates in each vehicle.<br />

30<br />

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e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | Vol 7 | <strong>Winter</strong> <strong>2020</strong><br />

Jeremy White, Seymour Powell’s Director of<br />

Transport continued “By leaning on our wealth of<br />

experience within the aviation and rail industries,<br />

we have designed Quarter Car with passenger<br />

experience at the very core of its purpose as an<br />

interior led vehicle, prioritising internal volume<br />

over traditional aerodynamic design. The space<br />

is defined by retractable partitions through<br />

two central axes of the vehicle, which allow the<br />

segmentation of the interior into four individual<br />

and sellable ‘spaces’, giving service providers<br />

the ability to address the needs of a variety of<br />

passengers simultaneously within one vehicle.”<br />

The interior partitions would allow passengers to<br />

book an individual quarter to themselves for a<br />

private journey. Alternatively, friends, colleagues<br />

or couples can book spaces face to face or side by<br />

side, with the potential to hire the whole vehicle<br />

and enjoy a convivial ride with a group. Booking<br />

spaces in partially full vehicles, as well as waiting<br />

longer for your pick up, will be incentivised to<br />

ensure the occupancy rate is always as high.<br />

Quarter Car also enables additional revenue<br />

streams for <strong>mobility</strong> service providers through the<br />

application of in-car digital technology such as<br />

transparent glazing displays, gestural interaction<br />

capability and artificial intelligence. These provide<br />

operators with the tools they need to create a<br />

cutting edge, personalised and engaging digital<br />

experience. Depending on the service provider,<br />

customers could have the option of cost premium,<br />

ad-free journeys, while cheaper rides will contain<br />

curated and contextually aware advertising.<br />

Passengers might also choose to pay for tailored<br />

digital experiences for purposes ranging from<br />

entertainment, retail and education, which could<br />

include descriptive educational content of famous<br />

landmarks, or entertaining video content tailorable<br />

to the passenger’s requests.<br />

Interior Volume vs<br />

Aerodynamics<br />

Quarter Car is delibaritely monolithic in its exterior<br />

design, choosing interior volume over slick<br />

aerodynamics by leveraging underfloor electric<br />

architecture packaging to reduce the overall<br />

footprint whilst also increasing the perception of<br />

interior space.<br />

We can justify this volume change by speculating<br />

that we may view aerodynamic efficiency through<br />

a different lens by the time Level 4/5 autonomous<br />

vehicles arrive. Quarter Car will be a Battery Electric<br />

Vehicle using clean energy to operate inbetween<br />

urban and suburban environments at relatively low<br />

speeds. Aerodynamic efficiency will not be the way<br />

we define the shape of this vehicle, rather, improved<br />

passenger experience will lead to efficiency gains<br />

through increased vehicle occupation levels<br />

Spaces Not Vehicles<br />

By prioritising this drive towards interior volume,<br />

a vehicle’s interiors can be led by domestic and<br />

interior influences, enabling them to be considered<br />

as moving ‘spaces.’ We will change the way we spend<br />

our time in them, which we believe will lead to a<br />

host of corporations, previously unattached to the<br />

<strong>mobility</strong> world, becoming interested in staking their<br />

claim, in order to broaden their brand portfolio and<br />

open up new revenue streams.<br />

“We speculate that this type of vehicle could attract<br />

a range of new <strong>mobility</strong> players, from boutique<br />

hoteliers providing luxury, mobile spaces to their<br />

guests or even co-working ventures looking to<br />

assist in fulfilling the productivity potential in the<br />

gaps between work and home, or even an airline<br />

offering a door to door ticketing service; expanding<br />

their business class offering across multimodal<br />

touchpoints.” Jonny expained.<br />

e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | www.e-motec.net 31


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e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | Vol 7 | <strong>Winter</strong> <strong>2020</strong><br />

Hygiene/Turnover<br />

As the way we use these shared vehicles changes, so<br />

will our expectations of their levels of hygiene and<br />

cleanliness – particularly as we move into a postpandemic<br />

era.<br />

Throughout the process of designing Quarter Car,<br />

we were passionate about creating an interior that<br />

looked superemely modern with design cues taken<br />

from high quality furniture, whilst also retaining all of<br />

the anti-dirt trapping and easy-to-clean functionality<br />

of traditional utilitarian transport.<br />

We recognise that shared <strong>mobility</strong> solutions might be<br />

the ones to suffer in the long term from the Cov-ID<br />

crisis, but Quarter Car has the potential to address<br />

many of the health concerns attached to this.<br />

Richard Seale Seymour Powell’s lead automotive<br />

designer went on to say “Not only can we divide<br />

the space into four, air locked cubicles, which allow<br />

each passenger to travel in their own ‘bubble,’ all<br />

of Quarter Car’s soft furnishings are designed to be<br />

easily swapped and the surfaces behind them feature<br />

no sharp edges – allowing a very swift and thorough<br />

servicing routine to be performed multiple times a<br />

day, giving passengers peace of mind that the mode<br />

of transport remains as safe and viable as possible.<br />

Not only this, but there are methods of digital<br />

feedback that could be explored, as part of the<br />

service’s app or even through the display technology<br />

within the vehicle, that could further this confirmation<br />

of excellent hygiene standards.”<br />

Air Quality<br />

Richard went on to say<br />

“During the initial design<br />

process of Quarter Car, we<br />

left no stone unturned when<br />

questioning the conventional<br />

wisdom of traditional vehicle<br />

design. As part of this<br />

process, we began to wonder<br />

whether a vehicle could in<br />

fact positively contribute<br />

to the air quality of the<br />

environment it operates in,<br />

rather than the contrary. We<br />

believe that if we are going to<br />

flood cities with new <strong>mobility</strong><br />

solutions, in various ways<br />

each vehicle should do a little good for every mile<br />

travelled, collectively contributing to better living<br />

standards for all.”<br />

There are two ways in which Q-Car becomes a positive<br />

emission vehicle, first of all, it’s fully electric and<br />

utilises energy generated only from clean sources,<br />

consequently Q-Car doesn’t have any tail pipe<br />

emissions. Secondly, the vehicles actively cleans the<br />

air while it moves by using carbon capture technology,<br />

thus offsetting the negative impact of any carbon<br />

emitting vehicles still operating in the urban realm.<br />

At Seymour Powell we value our independent voice<br />

within the industry – it gives us the ability to think<br />

freely about the future of the industry and what<br />

physical and digital services and products we may see<br />

in the coming years. It is this free thinking that has<br />

led to the creation of our Quarter Car concept, which<br />

we hope will contribute to the ever accelerating drive<br />

towards sustainable transport in our urban centres,<br />

whilst also providing new and enriching passenger<br />

experiences for future users. We strongly believe,<br />

however, that digitial ride hailing represents just one<br />

mode in what will be an eclectic range of options in<br />

our future transport ecosystem, and we look forward<br />

to turning our gaze towards other modes of e-<strong>mobility</strong><br />

over the coming months, not only through our selfdirected<br />

thought pieces but also working closely with<br />

industry leaders to bring some of these solutions to<br />

market.<br />

Seymour Powell is the London based design studio called<br />

on to help design the interior of the Virgin Galactic Space<br />

shuttle.<br />

e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | www.e-motec.net<br />

33


Advancing EV Electronics with<br />

Light-Curing <strong>Technology</strong><br />

How Light-curing materials and technologies<br />

are being used in advanced EV electronics<br />

Chris Morrissey, Sr. Manager, Automotive Electronics BD, Dymax Corporation<br />

MATERIALS<br />

RESEARCH<br />

The global automotive electronics market is projected<br />

to grow to a CAGR near 6-7% over the next five<br />

years, with the electrification and Advanced Driver<br />

Assistance Systems (ADAS) segments positioned<br />

to surge to 16%. This unprecedented growth, along<br />

with increased environmental regulations and safety<br />

requirements, to the consumer desire for enhanced<br />

in-vehicle conveniences, has vehicle manufacturers<br />

seeking ways to improve system performance while<br />

decreasing overall costs. Traditional solvent-based<br />

materials and mechanical fasteners may be less<br />

expensive to purchase and implement, but long term,<br />

increase overall manufacturing costs. As a result,<br />

many design engineers of EVs, BEVs, and PHEVs are<br />

turning to light-curing technology to solve issues<br />

related to low throughput, difficult waste disposal,<br />

and field failures.<br />

“Legislated changes, consumer demanded items<br />

(particularly those relating to convenience and/<br />

or comfort) as well as safety enhancements, have<br />

driven automotive development year after year.<br />

Today, with the added popularity of electrification<br />

and autonomous driving, the volume of electronics<br />

in vehicles is growing fast even as vehicle demand<br />

moderates. These drivers, combined with an<br />

increased need for cleaner emissions and improved<br />

fuel economy are also increasing the need for<br />

environmentally compliant materials.” Chris<br />

Morrissey, Sr. Manager, Automotive Electronics, Dymax<br />

Corporation explained.<br />

Three market segments driving the increased use<br />

of light-curing technologies in the design of EV<br />

electronics are ADAS, infotainment, and battery<br />

management systems (BMS). There is a need for<br />

materials that solve common issues associated<br />

with the sensors, modules, and circuits found in<br />

camera modules, lidar, printed circuit boards, and<br />

EV batteries. Additionally, replacing technologies<br />

that contain hazardous ingredients, produce waste,<br />

and require higher amounts of energy to process is<br />

becoming more important. There is also a desire to<br />

increase functionality, reduce circuit size, and extend<br />

warranties.<br />

G. Bachmann, a chemistry that was environmentally<br />

friendly and would significantly increase productivity<br />

in industrial manufacturing processes was<br />

created. LCMs can provide significant benefits over<br />

conventional bonding (or joining) technologies,<br />

including lower operating costs driven by lower labor<br />

needs, space savings, lower energy demand, and<br />

higher throughput.<br />

40 years ago, Dymax was instrumental in the<br />

development of light-curable materials (LCMs) as<br />

we know them today. Through the ingenuity and<br />

forward-thinking of the company’s founder, Andrew<br />

34<br />

e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | www.e-motec.net


e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | Vol 7 | <strong>Winter</strong> <strong>2020</strong><br />

How do light-curable<br />

materials work?<br />

Light-curable materials are typically comprised of five<br />

basic elements: the photoinitiator, additive, modifier,<br />

monomer, and oligomer (Figure 1). The ultraviolet (UV)<br />

light-curing process begins when the photoinitiator<br />

in the LCM is exposed to a light-energy source of<br />

the proper spectral output. As illustrated in Figure<br />

2, the molecules of the LCM split into free radicals<br />

(initiation), which then commence to form polymer<br />

chains with the monomers, oligomers, and other<br />

ingredients (propagation), until all ingredients have<br />

formed a solid polymer (termination). Upon sufficient<br />

exposure to light, the liquid LCM is polymerized, or<br />

cured within seconds.<br />

Figure 1 LCM Composition<br />

1. Liquid unreacted state<br />

The types of light-curable materials successfully<br />

being utilized throughout the EV electronics market<br />

include structural adhesives, conformal coatings,<br />

encapsulants, and masking resins. Since their<br />

inception Dymax LCMs have helped to minimize<br />

environmental impact. Formulated products are<br />

all one-component, solvent-free, halogen-free,<br />

RoHS compliant, eco-friendly, and meet REACH (no<br />

substance of very high concern (SVHC)) requirements.<br />

Using these products offer manufacturers the benefits<br />

of:<br />

2. Photoinitiators generate free radicals<br />

• Improving structural bonds<br />

• Protecting circuits from environmental damage<br />

• Minimizing movement and shrinkage<br />

• Addressing thermal management, thermal shock,<br />

and vibration<br />

• Enhancing PWB/PCA functionality and<br />

performance<br />

• Eliminating shadow-area concerns<br />

• Solving cure-confirmation issues<br />

3. Polymer Propagation<br />

4. Polymer Termination<br />

Figure 2<br />

Polymerization<br />

Process<br />

e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International |<br />

www.e-motec.net<br />

35


Adhesives<br />

Light-curable adhesives cure in seconds upon<br />

exposure to UV/Visible light. They form high-strength,<br />

environmentally resistant bonds to plastic, metal,<br />

and glass substrates used in automotive electronics<br />

manufacturing. Due to their ability to bond to a<br />

wide variety of substrates, they excel at assembling<br />

dissimilar materials, something that cannot be<br />

done with traditional fastening methods and other<br />

chemistries. The fast cure of the adhesives is one<br />

major advantage LCMs have over other slow-cure and<br />

labor-intensive application processes.<br />

Masking Resins<br />

Temporary, peelable electronic maskants are applied<br />

to printed circuit board components to protect them<br />

prior to conformal coating application or wave solder<br />

and reflow processes. Extremely fast cure allows<br />

boards to be immediately processed without the<br />

need for racking or waiting. The products conform<br />

to intricate designs, are non-slumping for vertical<br />

and horizontal surfaces, are compatible with gold<br />

and copper connector pins, and are resistant to<br />

solvent-based conformal coatings and primers. After<br />

proper cure, the maskants leave no silicone, ionic<br />

contamination, or corrosive residues when removed.<br />

Conformal Coatings<br />

Conformal coatings enhance the long-term reliability<br />

of automotive electronic parts. When applied<br />

to circuitry on printed circuit boards they act as<br />

protection against destructive environmental<br />

conditions, that if left uncoated (unprotected), could<br />

result in a complete failure of electronic systems. A<br />

key advantage to light-curable conformal coatings is<br />

the ability to use a non-solvated “green” (100% solids)<br />

material. Other important material properties include<br />

resistance to rapid and extreme temperature changes,<br />

as well as protection against high heat, humidity,<br />

moisture, chemicals such as gasoline, and corrosive<br />

materials like salt and sulfur.<br />

Encapsulants<br />

Encapsulation and wire bonding<br />

materials for bare die, wire bonds,<br />

or integrated circuits (IC) found on<br />

PCBs exhibit excellent protection<br />

against thermal shock, heat,<br />

humidity, and various corrosive<br />

elements. Their fast cure helps<br />

reduce processing and energy<br />

costs associated with alternative<br />

technologies.<br />

EV Electronics<br />

Applications<br />

Where LCMs<br />

Are Utilized<br />

There are a number of technologies<br />

formulated into various LCM chemistries to<br />

improve the overall manufacturing of EV<br />

electronics.<br />

36 e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | www.e-motec.net


e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | Vol 7 | <strong>Winter</strong> <strong>2020</strong><br />

Curing in Shadow Areas<br />

Dual-Cure Light/Moisture-Cure<br />

<strong>Technology</strong><br />

Dual-cure coatings are formulated to ensure complete<br />

cure in applications where shadow areas on highdensity<br />

circuit boards are a concern. Previously, areas<br />

shadowed from light were managed by selective<br />

coating – eliminating the need to cure in shadow<br />

areas – or a secondary heat-cure process. Shadow<br />

areas cure over time with moisture, eliminating the<br />

need for that second process step or concerns of<br />

component life degradation due to temperature<br />

exposure.<br />

Multi-Cure® Light/Heat Cure<br />

<strong>Technology</strong><br />

Multi-Cure adhesives and coatings combine the highspeed<br />

cure of UV or UV/Visible light with secondary<br />

cure mechanisms that enhance polymerization.<br />

Secondary cure mechanisms, which include moisture,<br />

thermal, or activator cure, are useful when light can<br />

only reach a portion of the bond line, or when tacking<br />

a part prior to final cure to allow easier handling and<br />

transport during the manufacturing process.<br />

Enhance Bond-Line<br />

Inspection<br />

Blue Fluorescing <strong>Technology</strong><br />

Many light-curable materials feature<br />

technologies that enable easy visual cure<br />

confirmation and post-cure inspection.<br />

In high-speed manufacturing, automated<br />

vision systems are employed to inspect<br />

finished parts for imperfections in<br />

the bond line or to detect incomplete<br />

coating coverage. Formulations with blue<br />

fluorescing technology are visible under<br />

low-intensity black light for easy visual<br />

confirmation of properly finished parts.<br />

to ensure complete material coverage. Once exposed<br />

to the appropriate amount of LED/UV/Visible light<br />

energy, the color transitions to another color or turns<br />

colorless, providing confirmation of full cure.<br />

Speed up Production with<br />

Environmentally Friendly<br />

Curing<br />

LED Light-Curing <strong>Technology</strong><br />

Due to the costs and difficulty associated with<br />

the disposal of hazardous waste, manufacturers<br />

are starting to implement LED-curable materials<br />

and light-curing into their processes. LED curing is<br />

considered a “green” technology because it offers<br />

manufacturers the following benefits:<br />

• High electrical efficiency and instant on/off<br />

capability for lower operational costs<br />

• Long service life that eliminates bulb replacement<br />

and reduces maintenance costs<br />

• Compact equipment that reduces the size and<br />

cost of the light-curing system<br />

• Cool light radiation extends curing capabilities for<br />

heat-sensitive substrates<br />

• “Green” attributes eliminate mercury and ozone<br />

safety risks and handling costs<br />

• Narrow wavelength spectrum emission minimizes<br />

substrate thermal rise<br />

Brightly Colored Materials<br />

Some LCMs contain a color pigment<br />

such as pink or blue in the uncured<br />

state, that enable them to be easily<br />

seen when dispensed onto substrates<br />

e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | www.e-motec.net<br />

37


Copper and aluminium<br />

wire splicing<br />

Multi-conductor cables<br />

Twisted wires<br />

ULTRASONIC METAL WELDING<br />

Supports e-Mobility and lightweight construction<br />

Aluminium and copper<br />

wire on 3D terminal<br />

Battery foil and tab welding<br />

High current /-voltage cable on terminal<br />

www.telsonic.com<br />

THE POWERHOUSE OF ULTRASONICS


e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | Vol 7 | <strong>Winter</strong> <strong>2020</strong><br />

ADAS - Active Alignment<br />

(CMOS) & Lidar (adhesives,<br />

encapsulants)<br />

Adhesives and encapsulants are used for a variety<br />

of camera module and lidar applications including<br />

camera module fixation, lens to housing, lens fixation,<br />

IR filter bonding, housing to substrate, die attach,<br />

windscreen bonding, and image sensor to substrate.<br />

Critical to the manufacturing of camera modules<br />

for ADAS is the positioning and staking of lenses<br />

within the camera module housing. The industry is<br />

moving away from passive alignment (mechanical<br />

fixturing with clips, i.e.) which can cause the lens to<br />

shift, tilt, defocus, and rotate. Active alignment using<br />

light-curable adhesives enables fast fixturing (in<br />

seconds) for high accuracy (< 0,1mm) and multi-axis<br />

alignment with optical control. Additionally, since the<br />

polymerization doesn’t happen until exposure to light<br />

energy, assembled parts can be moved until properly<br />

positioned. After positioning, encapsulants are used<br />

for environmental protection of the components.<br />

CMOS adhesives also feature:<br />

• Cold ship/storage, as well as ambient storage<br />

• Low shrinkage<br />

• LED and/or heat-cure capability<br />

• Moisture and thermal-cycle resistance<br />

Some other benefits these materials bring to the<br />

assembly process include urethane acrylate and<br />

cationic UV and/or heat cure technologies, LEDcurable<br />

formulations, very low movement, heat and<br />

humidity resistance (85°C, 85% relative humidity), and<br />

excellent bonds to metal and plastics.<br />

Infotainment (PCB Based)<br />

(conformal coatings,<br />

encapsulants, maskants)<br />

A key consideration for engineers looking to employ<br />

light-curing technology in their PCB designs is whether<br />

or not boards feature high-profile components<br />

that cast shadow areas where light cannot reach.<br />

Newly formulated 100% solids conformal coatings<br />

feature secondary moisture curing that allows<br />

material under shadow areas to cure, helping to<br />

eliminate concerns about uncured material on the<br />

PCB. These products exhibit high reliability in tests<br />

such as heat and humidity resistance (85°C, 85 %<br />

relative humidity), thermal shock resistance (-55°C to<br />

+125°C), and corrosion resistance (flowers of sulfur,<br />

salt spray and common automotive fluids). Dymax<br />

dual-cure conformal coatings allow for the design of<br />

smaller, more dense PCBs by allowing shorter spaces<br />

between conductors, increased mechanical support<br />

for components, and improved fatigue life of solder<br />

joints.<br />

Encapsulants are polymeric materials used to protect<br />

die (chip) and interconnection to ensure longterm<br />

reliability of chip-on-board (COB) assembly.<br />

Dymax materials are used in liquid and glob top<br />

encapsulation applications where they are dispensed<br />

on top of a chip and its wires and then cured to form a<br />

protective barrier.<br />

Light-curable maskants are temporary materials<br />

that are used at the board level to protect printed<br />

circuit boards during surface finishing and assembly<br />

processes.<br />

EV Battery Packs/BMS<br />

(conformal coatings,<br />

encapsulants, adhesives)<br />

The EV battery pack includes a battery management<br />

system (BMS) to monitor state of charge, temperature,<br />

current, balance cells, determine permissible<br />

operating conditions, and send information to the<br />

driver. Common EV battery applications include<br />

potting and wire bonding of battery modules, coating<br />

protection of PCBs in BMS, sealing battery case<br />

enclosures, and encapsulating electrodes in unit cells.<br />

A range of LCMs are used to adhere and protect these<br />

components, including conformal coatings for thermal<br />

management and exterior protection, structural<br />

adhesives for housing and frames, and encapsulants<br />

for wire bonding. Dymax materials are most effectively<br />

used where bonding and fixation of cylindrical li-ion<br />

battery cells must be secured within plastic housing<br />

cells and coating of PCBs.<br />

“From the design phase through performance testing,<br />

we assist manufacturers in solving their most complex<br />

application problems. As the EV electronics market<br />

evolves, we will continue to develop light-curing<br />

technology that makes manufacturers more capable<br />

and efficient” Chris concluded.<br />

e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | www.e-motec.net<br />

39


BATTERY TECHNOLOGY<br />

An application for<br />

automotive battery management<br />

Introducing new Sensing technologies for BMS and<br />

SOC measurements<br />

Stéphane Masson-Fauchier, GPM BMS & Business Manager Auto & Damien<br />

Coutellier - Innovation Electronic Engineer LEM<br />

OEM’s in the past few years have shifted their strategy<br />

to focusing on electrification. New developments<br />

are focused on hybrid and electric vehicles whether<br />

they are passenger car, trucks and buses and to some<br />

extent some industrial applications as well. Every year<br />

the amount of combustion engine driven vehicles are<br />

decreasing while the new xEV’s are increasing. These<br />

vehicles are equipped with Lithium ion batteries of<br />

different capacities.<br />

LEM a world leader in electrical measurement<br />

with production plants in Beijing (China), Geneva<br />

(Switzerland), and Tokyo (Japan) is launching a new<br />

state of the are current measurement sensor “The<br />

CAB SF 1500 will help customers provide reliable and<br />

sustainable transport solutions”, according to Damien<br />

Coutellier - Innovation Electronic Engineer, LEM<br />

To properly support this new market trend the State<br />

of Charge (SoC) has become a key parameter to be<br />

monitored just as the fuel consumption gauge is for<br />

internal combustion engine vehicles.<br />

This new current sensor technology is specifically for<br />

xEV’s Battery Monitoring applications. The sensor can<br />

be installed in the BMS (Battery Management System),<br />

BDU (Battery Disconnecting Unit) or Junction Box.<br />

Introduction of Sensing<br />

technologies for BMS and<br />

SOC measurements<br />

The CAB SF 1500 current sensor is one of the key<br />

elements of the BMS dedicated to Lithium-ion battery<br />

packs. Lithium-ion batteries are very efficient but<br />

their reactions to misuse can be dangerous. Hence<br />

it is necessary to monitor each electrochemical cell<br />

to prevent these cases of unauthorized use. This<br />

monitoring work is carried out by the BMS.<br />

“Fluxgate sensors, such as CAB have<br />

higher sensitivity and provide a higher<br />

signal level. They also have better<br />

high temperature stability than Hall<br />

effect or Shunt Sensors.”<br />

State of Charge (SoC) can be determined by<br />

measuring the current and integrating it with the<br />

coulomb counting method. Lithium-Ion State of<br />

Charge (SoC) measurement made by coulomb<br />

counting allow a measurement error of less than<br />

1%, which allows a very accurate indication of the<br />

energy remaining in the battery. Coulomb counting<br />

is independent of battery power fluctuations (which<br />

cause battery voltage drops), and accuracy remains<br />

constant regardless of battery usage. Therefore, the<br />

more accurate the measurement is the better the SOC<br />

is, thus providing the most accurate information to<br />

the driver. Coulomb counting depends on the current<br />

flowing from the battery into external circuits and<br />

does not take account of self-discharge currents or<br />

the Coulombic efficiency of the battery.<br />

“Note that in some applications such as automotive<br />

batteries the “continuous” battery current is not<br />

monitored. Instead the current is sampled, and the<br />

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e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | Vol 7 | <strong>Winter</strong> <strong>2020</strong><br />

continuous current is reconstructed from the samples.<br />

In such cases the sampling rate must be fast enough<br />

to capture the current peaks and troughs associated<br />

with the acceleration and regenerative braking<br />

corresponding to the user’s driving style”.<br />

Stéphane Masson-Fauchier GPM BMS & Business<br />

Manager Auto at LEM, points out.<br />

Battery Management Systems requires current sensors<br />

able to measure currents from several mA to several<br />

kA. This large measurement span requires very low<br />

offset and sensitivity error current sensors in order to<br />

monitor properly and safely the battery parameters<br />

(internal resistance, SoC, SoH...).<br />

Shunt current sensors rely on a defined resistive<br />

material that is inserted in the current path to be<br />

measured. Voltage across the resistive element is<br />

measured by a signal processing unit. The material<br />

chosen as a resistive element usually highlight low<br />

temperature drift and low thermal EMF in order<br />

to achieve very good offset and sensitivity drift<br />

performances. On the other hand, the use of a<br />

resistive element inserted in the current path to be<br />

measured implies that self-heating of the sensor is<br />

high when used in high current applications. Another<br />

drawback in some applications concerns the isolation<br />

and this technology is by definition non isolated<br />

with the current path. Lately with the battery pack<br />

size increases, a higher current range needs to be<br />

measured. Heating becomes an issue, and other<br />

newer technologies are therefore suiting more such<br />

applications.<br />

Hall effect open loop current sensors are the most<br />

cost effective and natively isolated current sensors<br />

that highlight good offset, low sensitivity error, high<br />

bandwidth and minimum current consumption.<br />

Nevertheless, this type of sensor suffers directly<br />

from all magnetic circuit imperfections (remanence,<br />

non-linearity, saturation ...) in addition to electronic<br />

imperfection contribution (sensitivity and offset<br />

drift mostly due to the Hall Cell sensing element).<br />

This inevitably leads to reduced performances of the<br />

Battery Management Systems when these sensors are<br />

implemented in this type of application.<br />

Hall effect closed loop current sensors permit the<br />

removal of part of the magnetic circuit imperfection<br />

in the trade-off for a larger current consumption by<br />

operating the magnetic circuit in closed loop at low<br />

magnetic field and flux density. It allows the reduction<br />

of the magnetic offset in the trade-off, increasing<br />

the current consumption of the sensor. On the other<br />

hand, as for the Hall effect Open Loop Sensor, Hall<br />

cell is used to sense the flux density and all its error<br />

contributions will remain (so called electrical offset<br />

and sensitivity).<br />

“In order to address most of the drawbacks of sensor<br />

technology, we developed the CAB product based<br />

on the so called “Open Loop Fluxgate” which is a<br />

technology perfectly suited for Battery Management<br />

Systems requirements”. explains Damien.<br />

Figure 1 : CAB SF 1500 Features Overview<br />

e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | www.e-motec.net 41


Open Loop Fluxgate current sensor offers the<br />

following advantages:<br />

• Low offset and offset drift, best in class sensitivity<br />

error when compared to Shunt or hall effectbased<br />

sensors thanks to the absence of offset.<br />

This can be easily seen for small currents<br />

measurements where the relative effect of the<br />

offset is more significant for the Hall based<br />

technologies sensors.<br />

• An excellent over-current recovery<br />

• A much higher sensitivity than other technologies<br />

• A large dynamic range allowing capabilities of<br />

measuring from very small to very high current<br />

values with the same sensor<br />

• High bandwidth and fast response time<br />

Timing and Next Steps<br />

“Production scale-up for this new sensor has begun in<br />

the past few months.<br />

LEM is highly committed to delivering premium<br />

product in terms of features, reliability and quality.<br />

We already know that our customers are striving for<br />

new additional features that could be implemented<br />

later on such as busbar temperature. This will give<br />

our customer information to manage safety topics<br />

and thermal management in an even better way.<br />

Combining the sensor to a protection device such<br />

as relays, fuse or pyroswitch would provide a fully<br />

integrated solution to the customer managing safely<br />

all critical parameters.” concludes Stephane.<br />

Associating a complex & efficient design, meeting<br />

the most stringent market requirements offers many<br />

advantages however being more expensive to produce<br />

can be seen as one drawback of this sensor compared<br />

to other technologies. Although as with most new<br />

technologies mass take-up soon brings the costs<br />

down.<br />

It operates as a current transformer on which the<br />

secondary is modulated using an electronic controlled<br />

voltage source. The electronic controlled voltage<br />

source allows for the hysteresis cycle of the magnetic<br />

material at a frequency higher than the sensor<br />

bandwidth which allows measurements of both AC<br />

and DC current whereas a single current transformer<br />

would be limited to AC.<br />

The Data Processing Unit is finally used to digitally<br />

compute the current and reach the best in class<br />

performance of the LEM Battery Management Current<br />

Sensors portfolio. Safety versions of the product<br />

use LEM patented analog and digital architecture to<br />

measure the current which achieves an ASIL-C ready<br />

sensor.<br />

Figure 2 : CAB SF 1500 Product View<br />

42 e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | www.e-motec.net


PIONEERS IN ELECTRICAL<br />

INSULATION.<br />

OUR LEADING TECHNOLOGY<br />

DRIVES INNOVATION.<br />

RESINS FOR<br />

SENSORS<br />

SYSTEMS<br />

FOR e-Drive<br />

SMART SOLUTIONS<br />

FOR BATTERIES<br />

E-MOBILITY TESTING<br />

IN VON ROLL INSTITUTE<br />

We were making products for electrical cars<br />

long before they became the latest trend.<br />

automotive@vonroll.com<br />

www.vonroll.com


MATERIALS RESEARCH<br />

As automakers strive to reach<br />

goals for longer range, faster<br />

charging and lower costs,<br />

adhesives stick as one<br />

of the best solutions.<br />

Nicole Ehrmann<br />

Market Manager for Transportation, Lohmann GmbH<br />

Functionality is absolutely<br />

paramount:<br />

All means of transportation are powered<br />

by energy, derived from renewable sources.<br />

A simple check-in with a mobile phone<br />

allows the uncomplicated use of bus, train<br />

or car - the bill comes at the end of the<br />

month and is paid depending on the power<br />

consumption. This idea is still utopian. But<br />

our metropolises need new traffic concepts<br />

and our vehicles need new drives. Climate<br />

change, shortage of raw materials and the<br />

impending traffic gridlocks are forcing a<br />

switch to post-fossil energy sources.<br />

The solution: Electro<strong>mobility</strong><br />

It can create the freedom of movement that modern<br />

societies need. New materials are used because<br />

new design concepts and functionalities will be<br />

realized and integrated in the car of the future<br />

Design, entertainment and communication play an<br />

important role as do new energy storage systems<br />

such as the fuel cell or the lithium ion battery. This is<br />

where the “Bonding Engineers” come into play with<br />

their adhesive solutions. In the field of functional<br />

tapes in particular, a team of bonding engineers from<br />

Lohmann a leading global manufacturer of high-end<br />

adhesive bonds have been using their inventiveness,<br />

to introduce innovations that play a considerable role<br />

in developments in the electro<strong>mobility</strong> sector.<br />

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e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | Vol 7 | <strong>Winter</strong> <strong>2020</strong><br />

Bonding Area<br />

Functional tapes: Bonding<br />

isn’t the only task<br />

Functional tapes do more than just connect two<br />

objects with one another. These adhesive tapes<br />

feature additional properties like insulation,<br />

conductivity, grip, shielding and much more.<br />

Functional tapes are in great demand, particularly<br />

in the field of electro<strong>mobility</strong>, because here it is not<br />

primarily a question of bonding per se, but rather of<br />

thermal and electrical conductivity and thus shielding<br />

or grounding in the component, as is required for<br />

sensors, for example. In addition, electronic devices<br />

are becoming smaller and smaller, even in vehicles.<br />

In principle, this is advantageous, but the tight space<br />

also increases the probability of short circuits or<br />

disruption from electromagnetic interference. This<br />

is where functional adhesive tapes are the right<br />

choice, because they not only ensure precise bonding<br />

of different components, but can also be used for<br />

earthing, heat dissipation or shielding. Adhesive<br />

tapes are also used in the area of sealing: To protect<br />

the highly sensitive electronic components, materials<br />

are used that adapt perfectly and seal gaps. These<br />

not only ensure that dust, dirt and moisture cannot<br />

penetrate, but in the field of display technology, for<br />

example, they also have a damping effect and protect<br />

the sensitive technology from impact. It is actually no<br />

wonder that an average of around 4.5 m² of adhesive<br />

tape is used in an automobile today.<br />

Every enterprise that is researching and developing<br />

pioneering technologies to make electro<strong>mobility</strong><br />

a reality, is confronted with the question: What<br />

motivates consumers to buy new cars and choose<br />

certain options? One point is certainly design. Today’s<br />

cars often share either the same or similar exterior<br />

design whereas interior design offers various options<br />

for individuality. Here, displays with curved screens<br />

or functional surfaces and touch applications as well<br />

as LED or OLED interior designs are in high demand.<br />

These individual design solutions require individual<br />

bonding solutions. Our (antistatic) range offers e.g.<br />

display protection against electrostatic discharge.<br />

This, obviously, is more important for the design of<br />

electric cars than it is for conventional automobiles.<br />

AS tapes thus function as protection film for lenses,<br />

TFT and LCD modules as well as optically bonded<br />

touch displays.<br />

When it comes to function and safety topics such as<br />

ADAS (advanced driver assistance systems) or highly<br />

automated or fully autonomous driving, different<br />

issues than those concerning design need to be taken<br />

into consideration. A rising number of sensors and<br />

devices accompanying the above-mentioned issues<br />

need to be safely bonded within the vehicle. Here, EC<br />

(electrically conductive) and TC (thermal conductive)<br />

tapes come into play. Lohmann’s Bonding Engineers<br />

have found diverse TC solutions for the application<br />

fields of LED, power transistors, heat sinks or PCB<br />

heating parts – only to name a few. EC solutions are<br />

required for low current electrical interconnections,<br />

grounding (sensor bonding e.g.) or the connection<br />

of conductive materials e.g. These two functional<br />

materials add to a car’s fulfilment of function and<br />

safety issues.<br />

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45


Another thing which must not be forgotten is the<br />

fact that manufacturers in the automotive and<br />

electronics sector are increasingly demanding<br />

silicone-free bonding solutions for parts and<br />

components. For this we have developed the<br />

DuploCOLL® HCR range. The disadvantages of<br />

silicone products are obvious: The properties<br />

of electrical and electronic components can be<br />

significantly changed or impaired. Silicones also<br />

hinder the painting process. The DuploCOLL® HCR<br />

range meets these new demands. The adhesive<br />

solutions are silicone-free, highly chemical- and<br />

temperature-resistant and resistant to all kinds of<br />

environmental influences.<br />

The double-sided PE foam adhesive tape<br />

DuploCOLL® G, which is equipped with a<br />

customized activator, is particularly suitable for<br />

the assembly and permanent fixation of mounting<br />

parts on large glass surfaces, as are often used in<br />

the construction of electric vehicles. In this case<br />

it is all about design. Ever larger glass surfaces<br />

and more and more applications are a continuing<br />

trend in the production of new vehicles. However,<br />

this development also harbors risks: If emblems,<br />

lettering and plastic attachments are to be affixed<br />

securely on glass, this means that the glass<br />

surface must be pre-treated with an activator<br />

in an additional step. This is labor intensive<br />

and costly. DuploCOLL® G was developed by<br />

the Bonding Engineers exactly in order to save<br />

this additional process step. The double-sided<br />

foam adhesive tape possesses an activator that<br />

is already implemented in the special adhesive.<br />

This eliminates the customary use of an activator<br />

in addition to cleaning. It is also temperature,<br />

weather and moisture resistant whilst maintaining<br />

its consistently good performance.<br />

A compressible carrier made of permanently<br />

elastic PE foam to compensate for component<br />

tolerances, a pure acrylic adhesive on the<br />

open side for excellent final adhesion and the<br />

aforementioned integrated activator in the special<br />

adhesive ensure a quick and efficient adhesive<br />

bond. The maximum adhesion is reached after 24<br />

hours, an initial tack after 30 minutes. In addition,<br />

an excellent adhesion to the substrates has also<br />

been confirmed.<br />

Summary and final<br />

considerations<br />

The numerous fields of application of adhesive<br />

tapes are exhausting but include infotainment<br />

systems such as radio, navigation systems, mobile<br />

communication or mirrors, drive trains such<br />

as electric motors, air conditioning systems or<br />

batteries, sensors such as safety sensors or camera<br />

systems as well as charging systems, both in the<br />

vehicle itself and the charging stations. In the field<br />

of functional adhesive tapes, Lohmann distinguishes<br />

between thermally resilient applications, shielding<br />

applications and signal connections, electrically<br />

insulating applications and antistatic applications in<br />

the area of infotainment.<br />

The developments in the field of electro<strong>mobility</strong><br />

and digitization with the integration of stationary<br />

and portable modules continually require new<br />

bonding solutions. Interference signals from<br />

vehicle components among each other, but also<br />

from and to external sources, play an equally<br />

important role in the development of adhesive<br />

solutions, as do temperature fluctuations and<br />

susceptibility to interference of high-frequency<br />

signals, which are a result of the size reduction<br />

and weight savings of individual components and<br />

complete assemblies. Here, it is important to offer<br />

revolutionary bonding solutions in the areas of<br />

temperature management and shielding materials<br />

and also to continually develop them in the future.<br />

One common denominator exists: All adhesive tapes<br />

have a dual function, with the bond itself actually<br />

playing a subordinate role. The focus clearly lies<br />

on the thermal or electrical conductivity. Lohmann<br />

sees a far-reaching potential for electro<strong>mobility</strong> in<br />

the future and wants to position itself clearly in this<br />

sector.<br />

Our “Bonding Engineers” are proud to be part of this<br />

automotive revolution.<br />

Nicole Ehrmann<br />

Market Manager for transportation<br />

Lohmann GmbH<br />

46 e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | www.e-motec.net


In search<br />

of the ideal<br />

battery<br />

Battery power is gaining a lot of<br />

attention in the search for a cleaner<br />

world. Electric energy is clean and<br />

silent. The disadvantage is that<br />

electric energy is like water flowing<br />

from a mountain stream. It must be<br />

used when it is generated, or else,<br />

it is wasted. This is why we need<br />

batteries that store electric energy.<br />

Most batteries use a chemical reaction<br />

generating a flow of electrons and<br />

ions between electrodes, which in<br />

turn provides an electrical current.<br />

This current of electric energy can<br />

be used—in theory—to do everything<br />

from powering a car to stabilizing a<br />

power grid. The problem with most<br />

batteries, however, is that they can’t<br />

store and release the electrons very<br />

efficiently yet. Thus, we have to use<br />

large and heavy batteries, often racks<br />

of them, to do the work of a single<br />

combustion engine.<br />

The reason why comes down to the<br />

electrons. Electrons are very tiny. In<br />

classical electrochemical batteries,<br />

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e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | Vol 7 | <strong>Winter</strong> <strong>2020</strong><br />

we actually store them using a<br />

reversible chemical reaction. Typical<br />

examples are the classical lead-acid<br />

car batteries and the now widely<br />

used lithium-ion ones. Capacitors, on<br />

the other hand, store the electrons<br />

statically. This allows for very fast<br />

storage and release. However, because<br />

the electric charge is mainly a surface<br />

phenomenon, capacitors can’t hold<br />

much energy. Ironically, the tiny<br />

electrons are the reason that batteries<br />

and capacitors are heavy as the<br />

resulting energy density is much lower<br />

than of the fuels used in combustion<br />

engines.<br />

with the current designs.<br />

Lithium-ion batteries, for example,<br />

can short circuit over time. When<br />

that happens, it can start a fire in<br />

the whole battery pack. Here, the<br />

culprit is not the electron flow, but<br />

the redox reaction and the flammable<br />

electrolyte. As well as this, batteries<br />

suffer reduced energy efficiency in<br />

freezing as well as hot temperatures,<br />

and have a limited operating life,<br />

suffering reduced performance over<br />

time. Thus, we need a better battery to<br />

overcome these challenges.<br />

And, there are further problems<br />

e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | www.e-motec.net<br />

49


So, in search of a better<br />

battery, what is a better<br />

battery?<br />

An outstanding battery must be practical,<br />

sustainable, and safe. The main requirements<br />

are a high(er) energy density, combined with<br />

more power output, in addition to a lighter<br />

overall weight and safer design. This means<br />

we need a battery the capability to store and<br />

release more electrons faster, and to do so in<br />

a smaller, lighter battery. In addition, we need<br />

one that works for a lifetime, and at high and<br />

low temperatures without compromising<br />

energy storage or output. The lifetime<br />

requirement is one of the most important<br />

ones when it comes to sustainability and being<br />

practical to use.<br />

A better battery is light as a feather, fits easily<br />

in your car, and powers it reliably and safely<br />

forever.<br />

Best practice: the<br />

complexity of Li-ion<br />

batteries<br />

The most widely used batteries today are<br />

variants of Lithium-ion. In cars, the Lithium<br />

Nickel Manganese Cobalt oxide (NMC)-type<br />

dominates, because they have the highest<br />

energy density. Energy provides range. But<br />

cars, and many other applications, also need<br />

power, i.e. the capability to charge and<br />

discharge quickly.<br />

Here, we hit a<br />

roadblock.<br />

Power requires<br />

current, and in<br />

conjunction with the<br />

unavoidable internal<br />

resistance, this<br />

generates heat.<br />

The heat is<br />

quadratic with the<br />

current and this is<br />

the main cause of<br />

cell degradation,<br />

not to mention fires.<br />

Hence, such<br />

batteries are not just a collection of cells, but<br />

an elaborate mechanical construction with<br />

liquid cooling, sensors, and software-driven<br />

controllers that carefully manage and monitor<br />

the battery (see the picture on the left<br />

exposing part of a Li-ion battery pack). This<br />

can increase the weight and volume by a third.<br />

If such a battery fails, then it is a costly<br />

operation to replace it. And in the event of a<br />

fire, the entire car may have to be replaced.<br />

The alternatives: a<br />

trade-off war<br />

There are, of course, alternatives to NMC<br />

batteries. Lithium FerroPhosphate (LFP)<br />

batteries are safer, but have less energy and<br />

power. Lithium-Titanate (LTO) batteries have a<br />

better lifetime performance and more power,<br />

but even less energy. There are alternatives to<br />

lithium-ion as well.<br />

Solid-state batteries do away with the<br />

flammable electrolytes and can store more<br />

energy, but this results in very low power<br />

densities. Other batteries use different<br />

materials, such as lithium-sulfur, and recently,<br />

silicium. These are promising improvements,<br />

but to meet all requirements for a better<br />

battery in a volume production process is not<br />

a trivial step.<br />

None of these designs alone give us the<br />

featherlite, safe, and efficient battery we need.<br />

So what can we do?<br />

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e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | Vol 7 | <strong>Winter</strong> <strong>2020</strong><br />

Going hybrid<br />

As no battery technology on its own can provide<br />

the best in class for all parameters, why not<br />

combine them? Lithium-based supercapacitors<br />

are good at most of the parameters, indeed, often<br />

even too good on power capability, but are poor at<br />

energy density.<br />

Hence, we have developed a hybrid device using<br />

activated carbon (a variant of graphene) as one<br />

of the electrodes. We then use a classical lithium<br />

compound as the second electrode. The result is<br />

a cell architecture that works like a capacitor in<br />

terms of power and storage, but also delivers a<br />

decent energy density.<br />

As the main active component is carbon, it needs<br />

less lithium, which reduces costs and is better<br />

for the environment. Depending on the lithium<br />

compound used, we have cells optimised for power<br />

or for energy. While the hybrid power capacitors<br />

deliver 80 to 100 Wh/kg, they can be charged very<br />

fast and deliver up to 20 times their nominal power.<br />

The hybrid energy capacitors deliver 230 Wh/kg<br />

and can deliver up to 1,5 times their power with no<br />

active cooling.<br />

In addition, this battery needs no cumbersome and<br />

heavy Battery Management System, most<br />

often no expensive cooling or heating<br />

(as the temperature range can be<br />

from -40 to 80°C). It provides<br />

decent power capability, is<br />

inherently safe, and easily lasts<br />

between 10 to 30 years (or 1 million<br />

miles).<br />

The benefits of<br />

going hybrid<br />

While the energy density of our battery is not<br />

spectacularly better than the best Li-ion cells, this<br />

is compensated for by the other parameters. It can<br />

deliver the power when needed in a smaller package<br />

As well as this, it can be charged relatively quickly.<br />

It can reach up to 75% of its nominal capacity<br />

in 5 minutes although the latter requires a<br />

corresponding charging infrastructure that is not yet<br />

common. Moreover, it doesn’t suffer from cold or<br />

heat and will no start to burn when abused. As one<br />

can see in the picture, the resulting battery pack is<br />

very dense, yet very straightforward to put together.<br />

It’s very robust and simple and therefore resulting<br />

in a very trustworthy battery that will last a lifetime<br />

without any fire risk.<br />

e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | www.e-motec.net<br />

51


DE


e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | Vol 7 | <strong>Winter</strong> <strong>2020</strong><br />

The challenge:<br />

driving an e-car like<br />

a classical one<br />

So, a battery needs to meet several often conflicting<br />

criteria to be an ideal solution, from the technical<br />

point of view. What is more, in the case of electric<br />

vehicles, the results must also be acceptable to the<br />

market. Is it practical to use? Is it better than (or at<br />

least as good as) what people are using now?<br />

Today’s fuel based cars are convenient to use. You can<br />

fill one up in a few minutes, and you can easily pass<br />

a 1000 km before the next fill-up (depending on the<br />

journey). Given that the energy density of fuel is 80 to<br />

100 times higher than the energy density of batteries,<br />

achieving the same result is a tough challenge.<br />

The solution is to work on multiple fronts, and there<br />

are still hurdles. Firstly, charging in 5 minutes requires<br />

charging at 12 times the nominal power. Only hybrid<br />

power capacitors can provide this with an acceptable<br />

energy density. One should not underestimate the<br />

impact on the charging system; currents will be very<br />

high. Secondly, we must consider vehicle efficiency.<br />

While a Hyundai Kona Electric recently set a range<br />

record of 1026 km, the driving conditions were very<br />

specific, with an average speed of about 30 km/hr.<br />

This reduced the energy consumption to 6.2 kWh/100<br />

km, which is two times better than when driven<br />

normally. But it gives us an indication of a workable<br />

model.<br />

An energy efficient electric vehicle doesn’t need to<br />

be a 3 ton SUV that accelerates like a sportscar. If<br />

the vehicle is designed from the start as a “battery<br />

on wheels” and the energy consumption can be<br />

reduced to 5 kWh/100 km, which is a mostly a matter<br />

of weight and drive train efficiency, then a 32 kWh<br />

power capacitor battery will provide for about 600 km<br />

range that can charge 475 km in just 5 minutes with<br />

a 360 kWh charger. That charger in itself can be a 30<br />

to 40 kWh powercapacitor battery reducing the need<br />

for a high power grid connection. Our e-vehicle might<br />

not be a sportscar but at least it is a practical and an<br />

economical car to drive. w<br />

Eric Verhulst,<br />

CEO/CT<br />

Altreonic-Kurt.energy<br />

e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | www.e-motec.net<br />

53


Novel Current Sensors<br />

Solutions For Automotive And<br />

Industrial Battery Monitoring Systems<br />

Introduction<br />

With the electrification of <strong>mobility</strong> and the<br />

transformation towards renewable energies, batteries<br />

are becoming an essential part of high availability and<br />

reliability systems such as energy grid storage and<br />

e-<strong>mobility</strong> vehicles. Representing a major share of the<br />

system cost; battery efficiency, energy density, and<br />

lifetime requirements are ever-increasing, pushing for<br />

constant innovation in the battery technologies. State<br />

of the art high energy density batteries used both in<br />

the e-<strong>mobility</strong> and energy sector; require specialized<br />

Battery Monitoring Sensor (BMS) to cope with the<br />

application and safety requirements.<br />

Current sensing has long been an important function<br />

implemented by BMS, to protect batteries from<br />

abuse and trigger safety shutdowns when operated<br />

in over current. Now, however, requirements for<br />

current sensing are becoming much more stringent.<br />

In particular, industry-standard high energy density<br />

batteries such as Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) or<br />

Lithium-titanate (LTO) show stable output voltage as<br />

a function of their capacity particularly in their utility<br />

range, requiring coulomb counting to determine the<br />

State of Charge (SoC), State of Health (SoH) and State<br />

of Function (SoF) of the batteries.<br />

The SoC is of particular importance for Electric<br />

vehicles (EV) manufacturers constantly working on<br />

improving the performance and safety of their battery<br />

systems. Specially, range anxiety is one of the biggest<br />

friction points of the electrification of the mobile<br />

park, pushing not only for higher density batteries<br />

with increasing thermal runaway and stringent<br />

requirements but also accurate SoC measurements<br />

enabling the BMS to optimize battery efficiency and<br />

operation for long cycle life.<br />

Sensing Technologies<br />

Conventional current sensors used to measure the<br />

SoX solutions are based on Hall or shunt technology.<br />

Shunt current sensors measure the voltage drop<br />

across a precision shunt resistor to determine the<br />

current flowing through the shunt. This resistive<br />

measure, although offering very interesting dynamic<br />

ranges and linearity, does have some limitations at<br />

BATTERY<br />

TECHNOLOGY<br />

high currents and at low currents. At low currents,<br />

the output voltages of the sensor interfaces, may be<br />

clamped and therefore over-estimating the currents.<br />

Active compensations such as voltage offset or<br />

current injection can overcome such technology<br />

limitations and therefore, improving the low current<br />

measurement specifications. Whereas at high currents<br />

the resistive power dissipation in the shunt starts to<br />

be an thermal issue.<br />

Magnetic current sensors are contactless, providing<br />

galvanic isolation, no power dissipation and enabling<br />

faster readout. At the same time, the offsets arising<br />

from the unbalanced measurement bridge, and<br />

temperature and stress effects, can be corrected via<br />

active feedback loops, adjusting the gain parameters<br />

and actively compensating the sensor offset thanks to<br />

combinatory readout measurements.<br />

Both technology diversities not only on technology<br />

but also in terms of required active compensation,<br />

make them very suitable for a redundancy<br />

measurement for functional safety application. In<br />

particular, in the automotive and high-density energy<br />

storage industry, BMS are facing rising functional<br />

safety requirements. The combination using<br />

both technologies, shunt and magnetic, becomes<br />

increasingly attractive. Not only providing redundant<br />

measurement of the current but also strengthening<br />

the system diversity and therefore reducing common<br />

faults and silent latten faults.<br />

Maglab developed a platform approach, in order to<br />

accommodate different customer current sensing<br />

requirements while reusing the same module<br />

architecture and therefore increasing the reliability at<br />

lower cost. Such a platform relies on the combination<br />

of a shunt and contactless magnetic field sensor<br />

consisting of ferromagnetic shield and xMR or Hall<br />

sensor.<br />

The module assembly relies on the proper dimension<br />

on one hand of the shunt, balancing accuracy versus<br />

thermal performances and on the other hand of the<br />

laminated U formed (LU) magnetic shield, where<br />

magnetic saturation at high current and footprint<br />

have to be balanced. Based on this and the market<br />

demand, three standard designs have been proposed<br />

(see Figure 1).<br />

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e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | Vol 7 | <strong>Winter</strong> <strong>2020</strong><br />

Further to<br />

the subassemblies,<br />

a universal<br />

readout<br />

electronics<br />

(Figure<br />

2) was<br />

developed<br />

to measure<br />

both the<br />

magnetic<br />

and the<br />

shunt<br />

channels.<br />

The readout electronics provide not only the<br />

amplification chain but also the required<br />

high voltage isolation for the shunt up 4 kV, a<br />

configurable microcontroller and a CAN interface.<br />

The detailed system level diagram of the readout<br />

electronics are shown in Figure 3. As it can be<br />

seen, particular attention has been given to the<br />

safety and redundancy of the design. In particular<br />

for signal processing, the external high speed<br />

18 bits ADC allows the high accuracy readout of<br />

the shunt voltage measurement, redundant and<br />

independent to the internal 12-bit ADC used for<br />

the Hall measurement. Both converted signals are<br />

then processed at the microcontroller where after<br />

filtering, a safety check is performed and an error<br />

signal is raised in the event of discrepant values<br />

above a configurable threshold. Both current<br />

measurements can be output via the CAN interface,<br />

meeting the system level safety requirements.<br />

Furthermore, thanks to the onboard capabilities<br />

of the microcontrollers, additional features have<br />

been included in order to increase the system<br />

accuracy and performance. An onboard multi point<br />

calibration and zero offset compensation can be<br />

easily programed, accounting for non linearities<br />

and module-to-module divergences. In addition,<br />

aon-PCB temperature sensor located on top of the<br />

shunt allows easy thermal bridging and therefore<br />

accurate thermal compensation. Thanks to all active<br />

compensations, a total 1% resolution full range over<br />

lifetime can be achieved. Such temperature can be<br />

directly outputted via the CAN interface.<br />

A battery voltage measurement is done via a probe<br />

connection to the other polarity of battery throughout<br />

a galvanic isolated pin connection. Such voltage can<br />

be directly outputted via the CAN interface.<br />

In order to cope with the constant expansion of the<br />

Figure 1: Sub-assemblies of different shunts (75 µΩ,<br />

50 µΩ, 35µΩ left to right) with laminated U-shields.<br />

Figure 2: BMS module and electronic PCB<br />

with high voltage isolation<br />

Figure 3: System Level diagram of the Battery<br />

Management System<br />

electrification market and its evolving requirements,<br />

new efforts are being made to further develop the<br />

current sensing platform. The particular focus for<br />

the upcoming generation will be to reduce its overall<br />

footprint, adapt it for higher volume requirements<br />

and increase the choices of interface.<br />

Lorenz Roos, Senior Application Engineer, Maglab AG,<br />

Switzerland<br />

e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | www.e-motec.net<br />

55


THERMAL MANAGEMENT<br />

Successful Thermal<br />

Management with Liquid Cooling<br />

Thermal management is essential for<br />

Charging stations and electric vehicles.<br />

The increasingly more effective<br />

lithium-ion batteries in hybrid and<br />

electric vehicles also require highperformance<br />

charging stations to<br />

supply the vehicles with power.<br />

All components in these charging<br />

stations have to maintain an<br />

optimal temperature level – firstly,<br />

because rapid charging processes<br />

massively heat the entire system,<br />

and secondly, in order to reduce<br />

negative effects on the range of<br />

the electric car and the life of<br />

the batteries. Efficient thermal<br />

management on the basis of liquid<br />

cooling is an ideal solution here.<br />

A tight cooling system made of<br />

plastic with matching conduits<br />

and connectors that can also be<br />

equipped with sensors ensures<br />

utmost safety.<br />

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Electric and hybrid vehicles are getting<br />

increasingly popular, and the associated<br />

charging infrastructure with great coverage<br />

is installed. The range of electrically driven<br />

vehicles – i.e., how far they can go on one charge<br />

– is decisive for their acceptance. To ensure<br />

its sustainable increase and to remain flexible<br />

while traveling, the power density of lithium-ion<br />

batteries is going up while the charging duration<br />

of modern electric and hybrid vehicles continues<br />

to decrease. At the same time, shorter charging<br />

times for electric and hybrid vehicles are<br />

becoming more important. Yet, rapid charging<br />

processes develop a great deal of heat losses<br />

leading to massive waste heat flows. To ensure<br />

a continuously high charging cycle efficient<br />

thermal management is required.<br />

All components<br />

generating heat losses<br />

need to be considered.<br />

The service life as well as the performance<br />

and safety of lithium-ion batteries greatly<br />

depend on the operating temperature and<br />

temperature fluctuations that occur inside<br />

each individual cell. Batteries or energy storage<br />

systems in principle have different temperature<br />

requirements: For instance, the batteries and<br />

their cells must not exceed resp. undercut the<br />

average temperature of 15°C to 35 °C to ensure<br />

a maximum service life. Thermal management<br />

systems help to keep lithium-ion batteries<br />

at an optimal thermal degree, and minimize<br />

temperature differences in the cells.<br />

Efficient cooling performance, low space<br />

requirements and even heat distribution: the<br />

advantages of liquid cooling are particularly<br />

impressive in systems with high energy storage<br />

requirements such as electrically powered<br />

vehicles.<br />

Solutions for the liquid<br />

cooling of charging<br />

stations made of flexible<br />

and stable plastic tubes<br />

and reliable connectors.<br />

Yet along with the battery cooling that has been<br />

primarily considered so far, it is also essential<br />

to cool the increasingly more potent systems<br />

as well as the entire thermal circuit. This<br />

includes, for instance, converters and radiators<br />

in electrically powered vehicles, or the cable<br />

and charging system with reservoirs, pumps and<br />

heaters in charging stations. This is because all<br />

components potentially emitting heat have an<br />

impact on the temperature and functionality of<br />

the entire system.<br />

Since the entire system in the charging station<br />

heats up strongly during fast charging processes,<br />

efficient heat management is essential.<br />

Coordinated solutions with tubes and connectors<br />

made of plastic are ideal for water cooling.<br />

e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | www.e-motec.net 57


Liquid cooling is an ideal<br />

solution for energy stores.<br />

The tasks of cooling systems include constant<br />

temperature reduction and, at the same time,<br />

heat transfer. To achieve this, the heat needs to be<br />

transported away from the emitting components,<br />

and possibly activated where heat is required. There<br />

are two variants available for cooling – with air or<br />

water. Air is characterized by low thermal capacity,<br />

i.e., it quickly absorbs heat making heat transfer<br />

hard to implement. Significant noise level and lots<br />

of space required are further disadvantages of airbased<br />

heat management.<br />

Since modern systems can store increasingly more<br />

energy, and there is often only little construction<br />

space available for thermal management, liquidbased<br />

cooling has the ever-growing potential –<br />

both for charging stations and inside the hybrid<br />

and electric cars themselves. Water absorbs heat<br />

slower than air, which leads to a lower heat transfer<br />

coefficient. Due to this, more heat can be absorbed<br />

with water-based cooling. To achieve similar<br />

cooling performance with air, a significantly greater<br />

volumetric air flow is required due to the lower<br />

thermal capacity.<br />

Constant flow is lower with<br />

water.<br />

Another important aspect for the assessment of<br />

both variants is that of flow rate: To get the battery<br />

cells to the ideal average temperature of 35 °C, a<br />

constant flow of some 13 °C is required in an aircooled<br />

system. A water-cooled system already<br />

operates at a far higher temperature of 32 °C. Thus,<br />

to achieve the same cooling rate with air, the flow<br />

rate must be significantly higher than with liquid.<br />

This suggests that water cooling systems can have<br />

a more space-saving design, and at the same<br />

time enabling the technical advantages of even<br />

heat distribution. A battery - whether for vehicles,<br />

trucks, buses or energy storage devices - can be<br />

temperature controlled directly on the cooling plate<br />

and connected to the entire liquid cooling cycle.<br />

A reliable conduit system<br />

is crucial for water-based<br />

cooling.<br />

Different components are required to successfully<br />

implement heat transfer in liquid cooling. Each water<br />

cooling system features, e.g., sensors to measure the<br />

temperature of the medium. When used in very cold<br />

regions a heating element is normally integrated to<br />

balance too low temperatures. Conduits also play a<br />

significant role in charging stations – after all, they<br />

contain the water that is routed through sensitive<br />

cable systems and connects them to reservoirs,<br />

pumps and heaters.<br />

Since the construction space tends to get smaller<br />

and smaller, flexible and at the same time<br />

mechanically robust corrugated and smooth plastic<br />

conduits are best suited for cooling systems. They<br />

must allow high flow rates and withstand operating<br />

pressure of up to four bar. The advantages as<br />

compared with rubber or metal solutions are higher<br />

performance, easy installation, weight reduction<br />

and flow optimization to name but a few. Conduit<br />

dimensions in nominal diameters between 8 and 37<br />

can be used in a water-cooled system.<br />

Due to the flexible design of conduit systems that<br />

can be adapted to the individual requirements, for<br />

example, by means of rigid expansion elements of<br />

oval shape, liquid can be routed through narrow<br />

spaces without any difficulty. What matters here is<br />

that the conduits do not change their mechanical<br />

strength through thermal deformation. They do not<br />

necessarily have to be extruded from polyamide<br />

(PA) 12; multi-layer conduits can also be used<br />

that require different design depending on the<br />

application and system pressure.<br />

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e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | Vol 7 | <strong>Winter</strong> <strong>2020</strong><br />

FIP_FIPSC_SAE_Connector<br />

The tubes and connectors for thermal management<br />

are based on common connection standards. The<br />

FIPSC SAE Connector, for example, provides a secure<br />

battery connection in accordance with the SAE<br />

standard.<br />

FIP_Dry-Disconnect_Connector<br />

With the Dry-Disconnect Connector and the<br />

“dripless function”, liquid cooling systems can be<br />

maintained drip-free if necessary.<br />

A harmonized system<br />

ensures utmost safety.<br />

In general, systems for liquid cooling should be<br />

maintenance-free. In exceptional cases, special<br />

connectors (shut-off) are used which enable dripfree<br />

maintenance with their dripless function. Since<br />

liquid cooling systems work continuously - and<br />

keep the batteries at the optimum temperature<br />

even when the vehicle is at a standstill - the<br />

quality and workmanship of the heavily used<br />

components are crucial for a long service life.<br />

Perfectly matched, customized components from<br />

one source have been developed, for instance, by<br />

the supplier of thermal management solutions<br />

FRÄNKISCHE Industrial Pipes (FIP).<br />

The conduits and connectors must be based on<br />

the common connection standards. It means, for<br />

example, that an SAE standard can be used for a<br />

battery connection. For energy stores or charging<br />

stations, a connector based on the VDA standard<br />

can often be used as a counter-piece connection in<br />

the interface itself.<br />

Higher efficiency for<br />

charging stations and<br />

e-cars goes with water<br />

cooling.<br />

FIP_FIPSC_MC_Connector<br />

According to the VDA standard, the FIPSC MC<br />

Connector reliably connects tubes for liquid<br />

cooling in, for example, charging stations.<br />

To summarize the above, it can be stated that<br />

water cooling allows effective transfer of large<br />

volumes of heat with relatively small flow rates.<br />

For this reason, it achieves better continuous<br />

cooling performance as compared to air. Given<br />

that, the water-based approach is particularly well<br />

suited for the cooling of systems with high energy<br />

storage requirement, such as charging stations and<br />

electrically driven vehicles themselves. To ensure<br />

sustainable heat transfer, a well-matched system<br />

solution consisting of flexible and at the same<br />

time stable plastic conduits coupled with reliable<br />

connectors is the best choice.<br />

Alexander Wey, Manager Product Unit<br />

Industrial Thermal at FRÄNKISCHE Industrial<br />

Pipes (FIP)<br />

e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | www.e-motec.net 59


CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE<br />

Bridging the Future<br />

Integrating and refining charging technology<br />

The global annual sales of electric vehicles have reached over 4 million, which<br />

is a small proportion of the total car sales. However, compared to the 1 million<br />

sold in 2015, the growth rate is incredible.<br />

BloombergNEF estimates that by year 2025, the global cumulative annual<br />

sales of electric vehicles will be increased ten-fold, reaching 11 million. The<br />

price of electric vehicles could be equivalent to that of traditional vehicles by<br />

2025-2030. By 2030, global electric vehicle annual sales are projected to reach<br />

30 million.<br />

The Necessary<br />

Factors of Electric<br />

Vehicles Replacing<br />

Traditional Petrol<br />

Vehicles:<br />

A. Charging time must be close to the<br />

time for filling gas into a car. The acceptable<br />

charging time for urban consumers is about<br />

10 minutes. (*1)<br />

B. The driving distance of the car cannot<br />

be shorter than that of traditional cars :<br />

the normal driving distance of a car with<br />

a full tank is about 500 to 600 kilometers.<br />

Electric vehicles must be able to reach 600<br />

kilometers. (*2)<br />

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e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | Vol 7 | <strong>Winter</strong> <strong>2020</strong><br />

The Necessity of Fast<br />

Charging<br />

Power supply is an important topic of urban<br />

traffic. The existing power system in the city is<br />

mainly for providing power to residences, office<br />

buildings, and for lighting in the city. Now, with<br />

the rise of EV’s, the power supply system must<br />

provide extra power. A densely populated city<br />

where 70~80% of the power is being consumed,<br />

means only about 20% is available for charging<br />

EV’s. Assuming a community consumes about<br />

4MKVA and if only 20% (800KW) is available for<br />

fast charging, after simple calculation the power<br />

is apparently not enough for the community to<br />

charge 4 electric vehicles simultaneously.<br />

The Self-sufficient<br />

Research, Development<br />

and Design of The Core<br />

of Charger Controls<br />

CSU 3.0, the core controller of electric<br />

vehicle chargers researched, developed, and<br />

designed by Phihong <strong>Technology</strong>, uses highly<br />

efficient MPU and multi-threading scheduling<br />

to execute the control and monitoring of the<br />

electric vehicle chargers. It is mainly used in<br />

DC fast chargers and high-end commercial AC<br />

chargers. There are 6 main functions:<br />

In order to respond to the booming trend of<br />

electric vehicle and power grid system demand<br />

worldwide, Phihong <strong>Technology</strong> a leading global<br />

supplier of OEM power solutions, with close<br />

to 50 years of professional power supply and<br />

production technology, provides multiple electric<br />

vehicle charging solutions and is dedicated to<br />

realizing the future of green energy through even<br />

smarter and ecological electric vehicle charging<br />

solutions.<br />

Figure 1: main functions of CSU3.0<br />

Process Control of The Charger<br />

CSU3.0 has many standard communication and<br />

control interfaces that control, monitor, and protect<br />

various functional modules inside the charger.<br />

e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | www.e-motec.net 61


User-friendly Graphic<br />

Interface<br />

CSU3.0 employs a clear and understandable graphic<br />

interface to interact with users for operations and<br />

eliminates the associated problems of translation<br />

between various languages.<br />

Power Control and<br />

Communication of the Power<br />

Module<br />

The CSU3.0 communicates with and controls the<br />

power module inside the charger through a CANbus<br />

communication interface. During non-charging time, an<br />

energy saving principle is deployed in standby or off<br />

mode control. When charging, the power output control<br />

is based on the principles of power demand and backend<br />

power management.<br />

The system has the standard global open source<br />

charging communication built in, including widely used<br />

CCS2 in Europe, CCS1 for North American cars, CHAdeMO<br />

for Japanese cars, and GBT used in China.<br />

To ensure compatibility and enhance electric vehicle<br />

communication in the future mass production, Phihong<br />

<strong>Technology</strong> actively participates in testing seminars<br />

sponsored by various units or car companies to<br />

enhance the EV charging communication protocol<br />

compatibility of the CSU3.0.<br />

Figure 2: Phihong <strong>Technology</strong> EV charger, CSU3.0<br />

and power modules<br />

The Linkage and<br />

Communication of Back End<br />

Management<br />

It also supports the widely used standard charger backend<br />

management communication protocol : OCPP.for<br />

smart charging.<br />

The increase in vehicles and chargers in the future<br />

will put heavy pressure on power grids. The increase<br />

requires charging processes to proceed in response<br />

to a different level of charging demand rather than<br />

charging at full load all the time. The charging<br />

process planning requires comprehensive information<br />

communication to be synchronized between the<br />

charger and the back-end management.<br />

Figure 3: Graphic user interface<br />

Figure 4: illustration of smart power grid<br />

communication support<br />

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Smart Home and Smart<br />

Power Grid Communication<br />

Support<br />

All advanced nations in the world now face the<br />

problems of rising peak loads, energy depletion, and<br />

the greenhouse effect, and have been devoting efforts<br />

to development and promotion of renewable energy,<br />

like wind and solar power. However, renewable energy<br />

is easily affected by seasonal changes and cannot<br />

be generated in a stable condition. Furthermore,<br />

the traditional power grid can no longer satisfy the<br />

development demand of renewable energy. To ensure<br />

that the power grid provides safe and reliable power,<br />

having smarter, immediate modulation and even more<br />

precise prediction and grasp on loading is necessary.<br />

Therefore, developing smart power grids can elevate<br />

the quality of power usage, and smart energy usage<br />

has become an international energy-saving trend.<br />

In a smart home, the CSU3.0 is planning to support<br />

the linkage and communication of the current<br />

standard Energy Management System, including<br />

Echonet lite used in Japan, IEEE 2030.5 standard in<br />

North America, and EEBus in Europe.<br />

To balance the power load impact on the power<br />

grid, the system will support OpenADR, IEC61850<br />

energy management communication for an existing<br />

power grid to respond to the smart power grid being<br />

developed.<br />

The Plan for Global Safety<br />

Protocol Certification<br />

To meet the global demand for chargers for electric<br />

vehicles, Phihong <strong>Technology</strong> is deploying a global<br />

safety certification strategy that will comply with the<br />

laws and regulations of various nations, and meet<br />

the requirements for electricity, personal safety,<br />

conduction radiation, and radio frequency such as<br />

North American UL, European CB, CE, etc.<br />

Integrating and refining charging technology is<br />

regarded as the first step towards the future smart<br />

power grid.<br />

by Jim Chen, Phihong <strong>Technology</strong>-Electric Vehicle BU RD VP &<br />

Vern Chang, Phihong <strong>Technology</strong>-Electric Vehicle BU Software<br />

Director.<br />

* 1: Using Tesla Model 3 as the example: For a 60KWh battery<br />

capacity to be fully charged in 10 minutes requires a 360 KW<br />

charging system and 180 KW for charging in 20 minutes.<br />

* 2: Using BMW I3 as the example: For a 42KWh battery capacity to<br />

be fully charged in 10 minutes requires a 240 KW charging system<br />

and 120 KW for charging in 20 minutes.<br />

e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | www.e-motec.net 63


POWERTRAINS<br />

EV Performance and Safety Demands<br />

Drive Changes to Hardware and Software<br />

By Rolland Dudemaine, VP Engineering, eSOL Europe<br />

The priorities driving the development of EV electrical architecture differ<br />

significantly from those that govern conventional internal combustion<br />

engine (ICE) vehicles, and will be met through fundamental changes to<br />

hardware and software.<br />

Consumer adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) is<br />

expected to grow, driven by factors such as increasing<br />

concern over climate change, new and improved<br />

models entering the market, and proposed legislation<br />

to ban sales of new ICE vehicles in the future.<br />

The arrival of the EV introduces a step in the<br />

otherwise curved trend of electrification sweeping<br />

through established function categories: body/<br />

chassis, comfort, safety, powertrain and infotainment.<br />

With no combustion engine on board to power<br />

subsystems such as cabin heating, or drive an<br />

alternator, the EV’s electrical infrastructure differs<br />

significantly from that of conventional vehicles.<br />

Changing Priorities of the<br />

Electrical Infrastructure<br />

New priorities are taking precedence in EV electrical<br />

infrastructures, including safe battery management<br />

and efficient use of electrical energy everywhere to<br />

extend driving range. Where the battery is concerned,<br />

greater care must be given to monitoring the<br />

battery condition and stabilizing aspects such as<br />

internal temperature and cell balancing to maximize<br />

performance and longevity. Meanwhile, EV battery<br />

voltages are generally higher than the 12V lead-acid<br />

battery in a conventional vehicle, meaning extra<br />

safety precautionsare required.<br />

Drivetrain electrification, in combination with<br />

other trends such as the infusion of V2X (vehicle to<br />

everything) connectivity and higher-level autonomous<br />

driving capabilities, is a catalyst for more centralized<br />

vehicle electrical infrastructures. Aggregation and<br />

integration of multiple domains, currently handled<br />

by large numbers of individual ECUs distributed<br />

throughout the vehicle, enable vehicles to become<br />

software-defined and help to enhance overall<br />

quality, cost, and performance. Importantly for EVs<br />

in particular, aggregation also helps to reduce wiring<br />

weight and complexity, as well as saving precious<br />

battery energy – all of which contribute to increased<br />

driving range.<br />

64 e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | www.e-motec.net


e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | Vol 7 | <strong>Winter</strong> <strong>2020</strong><br />

The trend to centralize control of demanding<br />

vehicle functionalities is driving demand for highperformance<br />

computing with a minimal power<br />

requirement, leading to the development of highly<br />

efficient, heterogeneous, manycore processors to<br />

handle these diverse workloads.<br />

At the same time, there is a clear requirement<br />

for flexibility and scalability within the electrical<br />

infrastructure. OEMs need this to create differentiated<br />

product ranges cost-effectively by implementing<br />

different applications and features on different<br />

models, utilize different hardware platforms of<br />

varying cost and complexity throughout their product<br />

ranges, and deliver new models within tough time-tomarket<br />

targets. They also need to deploy and enable<br />

new functionality after physical delivery, Over-The-Air<br />

(OTA).<br />

Meanwhile, new concerns surrounding safety and<br />

cyber-security are appearing. With increasingly<br />

pervasive connectivity and higher levels of autonomy,<br />

there is clear potential for malicious hacking to<br />

threaten individual safety and even national security.<br />

As far as functional safety is concerned, established<br />

standards like ISO 26262 arguably may not be<br />

sufficient for emerging use cases like autonomous<br />

driving. Newer standards such as SOTIF (Safety of<br />

the Intended Functionality) and UL4600 are being<br />

developed to cater for these applications. OEMs and<br />

Tier 1s need hardware and software architectures they<br />

can rely on as part of the solution to these challenges.<br />

Changing Faces of Hardware<br />

and Software<br />

To give the best chance of success, it makes sense<br />

to consider the software platform as well as the<br />

hardware and, in particular, the architecture of the<br />

operating system (OS) which brings together these<br />

rapidly developing computing elements.<br />

Figure 1 depicts an automotive software platform<br />

which incorporates the AUTOSAR Adaptive Platform<br />

Figure 1. The software platform of the future must support safety, scalability, and real-time determinism.<br />

e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | www.e-motec.net<br />

65


(AUTOSAR AP). This addresses the demands of<br />

future vehicles and is intended for use in systems<br />

certified up to ISO 26262 ASIL-D. AUTOSAR AP<br />

standardizes foundation-layer software and allows<br />

for planned dynamics, which permits adaptability<br />

without compromising the handling of safetycritical<br />

processes. Planned dynamics is achieved<br />

through several measures, such as making sure all<br />

processes are registered during system integration,<br />

and restricting privileges for starting processes.<br />

In addition, AUTOSAR AP manages communication<br />

between application processes and external entities<br />

according to strict policies established during system<br />

integration.<br />

The platform shown is based on a Service-Oriented<br />

Architecture (SOA), which is well suited to future<br />

centralized and zone-based vehicle electrical<br />

architectures and provides flexibility as well as<br />

transparency in terms of implementation and<br />

mapping: the location of the server providing the<br />

service is independent of its use, which is critical<br />

for distributed computing. Moreover, transparency<br />

provides a good foundation for Freedom From<br />

Interference (FFI), which is one of the central concepts<br />

in functional safety. On the other hand, a physical<br />

mechanism like the memory management unit (MMU)<br />

of the processor is needed to provide assurance of<br />

FFI. The OS virtualizes this mechanism in the form of<br />

‘OS processes’, which are the physical instances of the<br />

services and applications.<br />

In the architecture illustrated in Figure 1, many<br />

components run as processes. Frequent interaction<br />

between processes is necessary, for example if an<br />

application process needs to use a service that is run<br />

as another process. Historically, functional safety has<br />

been predicated on protecting processes from one<br />

another. AUTOSAR AP now introduces a reliance on<br />

Inter-Process Communication as an OS feature, which<br />

can be much more costly performance-wise than<br />

intra-process communication; it can also evolve into<br />

a significant system performance issue when all the<br />

software is integrated.<br />

OS for Manycore Processing<br />

With demands for unimpeded inter-process<br />

communication in software, as well as large<br />

numbers of intercommunicating processor cores<br />

in the manycore CPUs at the heart of the emerging<br />

centralized hardware architecture, traditional OSes<br />

are increasingly likely to fall short in their ability to<br />

service all parts of the system adequately to maintain<br />

performance.<br />

In contrast, a distributed microkernel OS is inherently<br />

suited to servicing large numbers of interlinked cores<br />

and processes. It enables fast and deterministic<br />

response, which is particularly important to ensure<br />

proper handling of real-time control applications<br />

in domains such as powertrain. A distributed<br />

microkernel OS is unlike typical microkernel OSes.<br />

With no need for cross-core kernel locks to prevent<br />

concurrent accesses, which can impair performance,<br />

the architecture ensures parallelism is preserved.<br />

eSOL has developed such a distributed microkernel<br />

OS, eMCOS, to meet the future needs of the<br />

automotive sector including the requirements<br />

for scalability, safety and real-time determinism.<br />

eMCOS can scale in multiple ways to handle either<br />

small or large sets of functions. Applications can be<br />

connected between the microkernels and users can<br />

customize the adaptation layer to suit their intended<br />

purpose. Ideally suited to state-of-the-art manycore<br />

processors, eMCOS supports inter-cluster message<br />

passing and so allows dynamic AUTOSAR AP and static<br />

AUTOSAR CP (Classic Platform) to run on the same<br />

chip. A layered scheduling mechanism enables hard<br />

real-time determinism and permits high-throughput<br />

computing combined with load balancing. Standard<br />

support is available for multi-process POSIX and<br />

AUTOSAR programming interfaces, and there are<br />

special-purpose APIs for functions such as Distributed<br />

Shared Memory (DSM), fast messaging, NUMA memory<br />

management, thread-pool, and others.<br />

Conclusion<br />

The demands placed on vehicle electrical<br />

infrastructures continue to intensify and are being<br />

further compounded by the transition to fullelectric<br />

powertrain. Centralization and aggregation<br />

of functions formerly handled by individual ECUs is<br />

driving moves to adopt manycore CPUs to achieve<br />

a suitable combination of computer performance,<br />

energy efficiency and low power consumption. These,<br />

however, are not best served by conventional OSes.<br />

Designers therefore need to understand the effects of<br />

OS selection and, in particular, consider a distributed<br />

microkernel OS to maximize the advantages gained by<br />

adopting manycore to meet the needs of tomorrow’s<br />

vehicles.<br />

66 e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | www.e-motec.net


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Big Data Logging<br />

Efficient validation of e-<strong>mobility</strong><br />

ADAS<br />

Bernhard Kockoth, Advanced Development<br />

Lead at ViGEM GmbH<br />

BIG DATA LOGGING<br />

The automotive industry is investing billions<br />

of euros in the development of new <strong>mobility</strong><br />

concepts. Although experts are convinced that<br />

the widespread advancement and adoption of<br />

autonomous vehicles will soon be associated<br />

with the development of e-<strong>mobility</strong>, today´s<br />

development of electric (EV) and autonomous<br />

vehicles (AV) are running on two tracks. However,<br />

the advantages of such a combination are<br />

obvious: autonomous driving brings efficiency<br />

in driving and battery use, while EV technology<br />

drastically cuts down on emissions, fuel costs,<br />

and maintenance.<br />

Due to the complexity of environmental and<br />

traffic conditions, the validation of such new<br />

<strong>mobility</strong> concepts is a big challenge for the<br />

automotive industry and its suppliers. The<br />

recording of data as a basis for the development<br />

of automated driving functions and autonomous<br />

driving easily exceeds conventional embedded<br />

storage solutions and capacities. For more than<br />

ten years, ViGEM has provided comprehensive,<br />

all-in-one solutions for collecting, storing,<br />

and transferring big data and has established<br />

itself as a technology leader in the field of Car<br />

Communication Analyzers (CCA).<br />

Next level of<br />

autonomous driving<br />

Before merging onto roadways, self-driving<br />

cars will have to progress through 6 levels of<br />

driver assistance technology advancements.<br />

Most vehicles on our roads today belong to<br />

the category of level 0 or 1. This refers to cars<br />

that have systems allowing both machine and<br />

driver to share control (driver only or partly<br />

automated).. The use of ADAS functions helps<br />

pilot vehicles in level 2 (i.e., lane assist) and 3<br />

(temporary hands off). The vision of the future<br />

is that the<br />

automation of<br />

driving reaches<br />

highly automated<br />

and autonomous<br />

driving technologies<br />

operating in level 4 and 5. For example, cars will<br />

communicate directly with other vehicles and<br />

infrastructure, such as parking lots or traffic<br />

lights. This new technology, called vehicle-toeverything<br />

(V2X), will be enabled by data from<br />

sensors and other sources that travel via high<br />

bandwidth, high reliability, and low latency<br />

signals. This will not only improve safety but<br />

provide drivers and passengers with valuable<br />

information about the road ahead. Equipped<br />

with this kind of artificial intelligence, selfdriving<br />

cars will be able to act as independent<br />

road users them-selves.<br />

To realize the development of<br />

sophisticated, advanced driver<br />

assistance functions, a number of<br />

requirements for the authentic recording<br />

of all internal vehicle network traffic<br />

must first be fulfilled, e.g.:<br />

1. Logging of ground truth sensors and<br />

vehicle bus data for use in machine<br />

learning.<br />

2. Validation of new ADAS technology<br />

under real-world conditions to<br />

keep raw data for proof of correctness<br />

and to counter future legal<br />

challenges.<br />

3. Reproduction of realistic scenarios<br />

for Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) and<br />

Software-in-the-Loop (SIL) testing.<br />

68<br />

e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | www.e-motec.net


e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | Vol 7 | <strong>Winter</strong> <strong>2020</strong><br />

Challenge 1: Logging of ground truth data<br />

The validation of complex functionalities often<br />

requires a huge number of kilometers/miles to be<br />

driv-en by fleets of test vehicles. The data acquired<br />

from these field operational tests (FOT) become valuable<br />

puzzle pieces in ascertaining the roadworthiness<br />

of a vehicle. Among the most complex function-ality<br />

elements in a modern vehicle are ADAS features<br />

like adaptive cruise control (ACC), lane keeping,<br />

emergency braking, and of course, piloted driving.<br />

This is why accurate and high-performance data<br />

loggers are needed most during the development<br />

process.<br />

The validation of new ADAS functions requires a<br />

comprehensive collection of environmental and<br />

traffic data. New sensors, especially high-resolution<br />

cameras, as well as lidar and radar interfaces<br />

generate enormous amounts of data to supply the<br />

best “vision of the environment.” Capturing all such<br />

signals, a necessity in the development of automated<br />

driving systems, requires very high performance that<br />

goes beyond the typical embedded systems capability<br />

found in most traditional electronic control units<br />

(ECUs). For comparison: ten years ago, a fleet of cars<br />

generated a few hundred gigabytes of data per week.<br />

Today, a single vehicle in level-3 development easily<br />

generates 60 TB or more during one driving shift!<br />

These high data rates require recording capabilities<br />

of up to 10 Gbit/s per channel, and the ag-gregated<br />

data rate in cars can pass 50 Gbit/s in continuous<br />

operation.<br />

“When installed in the trunks of test vehicles, data<br />

ViGEM data logger CCA 9010.<br />

logger devices have to be very robust to guarantee<br />

reliable operation in automotive environments while<br />

enduring shocks and vibrations, as well as a wide<br />

range of temperatures. For example, the rugged<br />

ViGEM data loggers and removable data storages<br />

feature temperature stability ranging from usually -20<br />

to +65° C”. explained Bernhard Kockoth, Advanced<br />

Development Lead, Vigem GmbH<br />

“The data loggers put all collected data onto one<br />

robust removable data storage with capacities of 16<br />

TB, or up to 64 TB. These cartridges can be exchanged<br />

in a matter of seconds so that no valuable testdrive<br />

time gets lost. Removable data storage can be<br />

shipped from almost anywhere in the world to the<br />

data center where a CCA Copy Station performs a fast<br />

upload into the cloud while the vehicle keeps driving.<br />

A holistic approach to easy and reliable recording of<br />

ground truth data makes the CCA an ideal tool for<br />

field operational tests where a fleet of cars does not<br />

need to return to a location with data center upload<br />

capability after every test drive. In this manner, the<br />

read-out raw data is quickly available for further<br />

analysis purposes, such as use in machine learning or<br />

the development of artificial intelligence”, Bernhard<br />

continued.<br />

Mobile big<br />

data logger<br />

with interfaces<br />

for cameras,<br />

radar, lidar,<br />

and multiple<br />

other sensors.<br />

e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | www.e-motec.net<br />

69


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e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | Vol 7 | <strong>Winter</strong> <strong>2020</strong><br />

Challenge 2:<br />

Limited electrical power<br />

OEMs and suppliers of the EV industry face an<br />

additional challenge when advanced driver<br />

assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving<br />

have to be tested on pure electrical platforms: the<br />

current draw from measurement equipment. In a<br />

combustion-powered vehicle, there is no problem<br />

in placing additional electronics and computer<br />

equipment consuming kilowatts of power. One<br />

simply adds an extra battery and an inverter.<br />

But available power management in electric<br />

vehicles is different from that in combustion<br />

vehicles, and the mobile measurement equipment<br />

power draw is comparable to that of an air<br />

conditioning system. In some circumstances,<br />

drivers must deactivate their air conditioning in<br />

order to make the remaining kilometers to the<br />

next charging station. The situation is similar for<br />

the power consumption of the measuring devices:<br />

lower power consumption is more important than<br />

high computational power. That´s why engineers<br />

need the best of both worlds for tests under<br />

realistic conditions: high computa-tional ability<br />

running on low electrical power.<br />

To deal with this challenge, ViGEM provides high<br />

performance data loggers that operate within<br />

low electrical power requirements. The compact<br />

Car Communication Analyzer CCA 9003 hardly<br />

requires more current than a car stereo and may<br />

be powered directly from most vehicle 12V circuits<br />

without the need for a second battery and power<br />

rail. It allows for longer operation time and better<br />

range when used in an EV.<br />

Challenge 3:<br />

HiL testing<br />

For the authentic reproduction of real-world<br />

scenarios, all captured data must be recorded with<br />

synchronous timestamps. ViGEM devices manage<br />

the distribution of time via the gen-eralized<br />

Precision Time Protocol (gPTP). gPTP, defined in<br />

IEEE 802.1AS is a protocol used to synchronize<br />

clocks throughout a computer network, allowing<br />

clock accuracy in the nano-seconds range, making<br />

it suitable for measurement and control systems. It<br />

is used not only to synchronize multiple cascaded<br />

CCA devices but all connected capture modules<br />

in a dis-tributed measurement setup, where<br />

incoming data packets get timestamped instantly<br />

at arrival. Timestamping the data with nanosecond<br />

resolution as close as possible to the sensor or<br />

ECU is essential for frame-by-frame scenario<br />

reconstruction in HIL labs.<br />

Outlook<br />

The progress of automated driver assistance<br />

systems and autonomous driving functions will<br />

depend on qualification and validation processes.<br />

The upcoming age of <strong>mobility</strong> will combine<br />

these two emerging technologies: autonomous<br />

driving and fully electric cars. Advancements in<br />

the battery charge times, range, and reliability of<br />

electric vehicles can both define and accelerate<br />

the speed at which autonomous vehicles will be<br />

ready for real road trips.<br />

Bernhard Kockoth is an Advanced Development<br />

Lead at ViGEM GmbH from Karlsruhe, Germany.<br />

Over the past 20 years, he has worked for a<br />

number of Tier-1s on automotive drivetrains,<br />

infotainment, ADAS, and since 2017 in<br />

measurement systems for automated driving. At<br />

ViGEM, he researches technology solutions to<br />

respond to future industry demands.<br />

Every bit counts. Big data logging for the validation<br />

of autonomous driving.<br />

e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | www.e-motec.net<br />

71


ELECTRIFICATION<br />

PLANNING<br />

Future<br />

<strong>mobility</strong>:<br />

The innovation space beyond<br />

the vehicles of today<br />

The need for transport decarbonisation<br />

continues<br />

Professor David Greenwood, Advanced Propulsion Systems lead at<br />

WMG, University of Warwick<br />

As we entered <strong>2020</strong>, the automotive world was<br />

undergoing a technology transition faster that<br />

we have seen in the last hundred years – from<br />

petrol powered to electric cars, which are IT<br />

connected. Covid-19 has accelerated this, forcing<br />

us to think carefully about why, whether and how<br />

we travel. Home working and travel restrictions<br />

were implemented in a matter of months. Walking<br />

and cycling enjoyed a renaissance, mass transit<br />

(buses and trains) were deserted and concepts like<br />

electric scooters, previously effectively banned by<br />

government, were pushed forward into regional trials.<br />

We now have the opportunity to focus on a different<br />

future. Our actions over the next three to five years<br />

can be aligned to a 20 to 30 year vision which delivers<br />

better air quality, zero net carbon emissions, healthier<br />

lifestyles, profitable industries and high quality<br />

employment.<br />

The transport sector is pivotal to improving our<br />

environmental and economic future. If we are to<br />

deliver continuing economic growth for the UK, it will<br />

be essential to develop connected, green solutions<br />

across multiple modes of travel – from trains, planes<br />

and cars to boats, bikes and scooters.<br />

The UK Government’s ‘Road to Zero’ strategy sets<br />

out a pathway for decarbonising transport and<br />

consultation is now underway regarding banning sales<br />

of new non-electric cars, including petrol, diesel and<br />

hybrid vehicles from 2035.<br />

This needs to happen at a time when the automotive<br />

industry is least able to invest in innovation due to<br />

the triple challenges of electrification, post-Brexit<br />

trade rules, and a sales slump. Innovation is crucial<br />

to bring sustainable technologies to the market at an<br />

affordable cost and in a way, which meets all users’<br />

needs.<br />

Approaches to mass transit<br />

We need to think about modal shift in a different way<br />

– mass transit in buses, trams and trains is one way to<br />

deliver low carbon transport, by using a heavy vehicle<br />

to transport many people. Another is to look again<br />

at micro-<strong>mobility</strong> - the use of smaller vehicles to<br />

transport a single person, especially for local journeys<br />

Statistics indicate that use of bicycles, e-bikes and<br />

motor bikes for instance have been significantly<br />

higher post-covid, and that some migration from<br />

public transport to private cars is likely.<br />

72<br />

e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | www.e-motec.net


e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | Vol 7 | <strong>Winter</strong> <strong>2020</strong><br />

What is micro-<strong>mobility</strong>?<br />

Micro-<strong>mobility</strong> is about using smaller, lighter and<br />

more efficient vehicles to achieve short journeys. It<br />

could include hoverboards, bikes, e-bikes, scooters,<br />

mopeds, motorcycles and small four wheel vehicles<br />

(like the Renault Twizy) – technically referred to as<br />

L-Category vehicles.<br />

For short journeys, these can be time-efficient, cost<br />

effective and very low energy consumption, reducing<br />

congestion and parking problems. These can be<br />

municipal (e.g. Boris bikes) or privately owned.<br />

Where powered, they are usually good candidates for<br />

electrification.<br />

Cities around the world have taken very different<br />

approaches with very different results. Some (like<br />

San Francisco) could be likened to the “wild west”<br />

of scooters and bikes, with thefts, littering, dumping<br />

and road accidents – others (like Berlin) have put<br />

regulation in place and seen the benefits of that.<br />

There are lots of key variables to consider around<br />

these new modes of transport, including elements<br />

such as age restrictions, licensing, insurance, lanes<br />

and road infrastructures, ownership and protective<br />

equipment.<br />

Regulation in this area hasn’t kept pace with<br />

technology and acts as a barrier. Vehicles such as<br />

hoverboards and electric scooters are currently<br />

classed as motor vehicles in the UK and are therefore<br />

illegal to ride on either the road or pavement. Electric<br />

assisted bikes are classed as bicycles, although the<br />

difference between these and electric mopeds is<br />

becoming more blurred.<br />

Adopted and applied correctly, these forms of<br />

transport could have real benefits, but played badly<br />

we could result in safety and sustainability problems<br />

similar to those in San Francisco.<br />

Vehicle categories<br />

The smallest examples of micro-<strong>mobility</strong> are selfbalancing<br />

unicycles and hoverboards, which are<br />

small enough to carry on a bus or into the office.<br />

These are often first and last mile solutions in<br />

conjunction with public transport, but currently<br />

illegal on pavements, cycle lanes and roads in<br />

the UK. Safe use of these could, in future, provide<br />

last-mile transport, and increase public transport<br />

ridership.<br />

Limited trials, on electric scooters, are currently<br />

being carried out for people with a provisional<br />

licence, and for rental fleets. Comparatively, France<br />

allows usage from 12 years old and use of privately<br />

owned scooters. Here, however, no infrastructure<br />

was enacted and scooters should ride in the main<br />

carriageway. Many concerns have been raised over<br />

safety.<br />

Bikes and e-bikes should use cycle lanes where<br />

possible, but the state of these in the UK is<br />

not as good as other European countries. The<br />

surfaces are often poor, lanes are often shared<br />

with pedestrians, and often end abruptly at road<br />

junctions, Petrol or electric mopeds are restricted<br />

to 28mph and can be ridden from 16 years old in<br />

UK with a licence, basic training, insurance and a<br />

helmet. These vehicles are not allowed on cycle<br />

ways, and therefore must be on the road (not<br />

motorways). Arguably such vehicles would be safer<br />

on “cycle lanes” at speeds 30mph.<br />

Petrol or electric motorcycles can be ridden from<br />

17 years old in the UK with a licence, insurance and<br />

a helmet, and can be used on a main carriageway.<br />

Petrol or electric quadricycles require the same<br />

licensing and insurance as a car, however the<br />

vehicle type approval requirements, especially for<br />

crash protection, are much lower.<br />

e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | www.e-motec.net 73


Water-based Thermal Management<br />

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Solutions for electric vehicles & charging stations<br />

Powerful corrugated and smooth tubes<br />

Form-fitting connecting elements<br />

Space-optimized connectors<br />

CONNECT 6<br />

Securely lockable fixing elements<br />

Function-integrated plug systems<br />

with integrated sensors<br />

Protection sleeves and pads<br />

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e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | Vol 7 | <strong>Winter</strong> <strong>2020</strong><br />

Adapting behaviours<br />

The public response to Covid 19 has highlighted that<br />

societal behaviours can be malleable and receptive in<br />

ways that were previously unthinkable. Sales and use<br />

of bikes and e-bikes have increased. Rental e-scooter<br />

trials have been accelerated, and there are also more<br />

electric motorcycles, with many more planned for<br />

release.<br />

If sustainability through micro-<strong>mobility</strong> is technically<br />

achievable at scale, it assumes people will continue<br />

to adapt their daily routines. This may not always be<br />

the case, and significant research is still required to<br />

understand public attitudes and behaviours. If not,<br />

we could fail to realise the benefits or worse, we could<br />

see unintended consequences such as an increase in<br />

injuries through traffic accidents. Questions like “how<br />

do I look when using this” can also have as much of<br />

an impact on uptake, as price or technical capability.<br />

It would clearly be desirable to lock in some of the<br />

carbon and air quality benefits we saw during the<br />

early stages of lockdown. As we look at growing our<br />

“cycle lane” network we have a unique opportunity<br />

to think about how this could be used for a wider<br />

variety of low carbon transport solutions. There is a<br />

good argument that low speed, vulnerable vehicle<br />

types – such as bicycles, e-bikes etc could share<br />

a cycle lane operating at


The Rise of Electro<strong>mobility</strong><br />

Offers Opportunity to Advance<br />

Next Generation ADAS<br />

Lidar-enabled ADAS is happening now,<br />

delivering next level capabilities to protect<br />

pedestrians, assist drivers and save lives.<br />

Sally Frykman, VP of communications,<br />

Velodyne Lidar, and Dieter Gabriel, marketing manager<br />

EMEA, Velodyne Europe<br />

ADAS<br />

The automotive industry is ever-changing. The<br />

COVID-19 pandemic may have a lasting impact on the<br />

way we live and work. The automotive industry could<br />

change dramatically, accelerating innovation to meet<br />

global needs on the roadways and in communities.<br />

“Plunging sales could force factories to close and<br />

lead to takeovers and mergers, but also bolster<br />

sales of electric cars. Some automakers may emerge<br />

stronger…The pressure to go electric could become<br />

more intense,” writes Jack Ewing, New York Times, May<br />

13, <strong>2020</strong>. This in line with a recent statement from<br />

Volkswagen that the overall situation“ is more likely to<br />

accelerate the transition towards e-<strong>mobility</strong> because<br />

of increased environmental and social awareness.”<br />

If the pandemic does foster the rise of electric<br />

vehicles, this could be a catalyst for quicker adoption<br />

of next-generation advanced driver assistance<br />

systems (ADAS).<br />

The digitization of the automotive industry is being<br />

advanced hand-in-hand with electrification. These<br />

moves will stimulate the demand for connectivity,<br />

shared <strong>mobility</strong> and enhanced levels of ADAS features<br />

and autonomy.<br />

Mobility as a service is an example of the progression<br />

of automotive technology. Ownership, maintenance<br />

and management of fleets through centralized<br />

<strong>mobility</strong> or platform providers are becoming<br />

increasingly important. This trend has the potential to<br />

fundamentally influence or change industry business<br />

models.<br />

Furthermore, connectivity of vehicles is advancing.<br />

Functions, such as dynamic navigation based on<br />

traffic, weather and road conditions or automatic<br />

guidance to free parking spaces, may become easy<br />

to implement. Buyers of modern electric cars, which<br />

are equipped with evolving technology, are coming to<br />

increasingly expect these features.<br />

And now comes the crucial point: it is assumed that<br />

as autonomous vehicles become more market-ready,<br />

the proportion of specific electronics and software<br />

in vehicles would or must increase, e.g. advanced<br />

sensors or algorithms for environmental simulation.<br />

However, this point also applies the other way<br />

around: the rise of electric cars has the potential<br />

to significantly pave the way for next generation<br />

ADAS functionality. For one simple reason: consumer<br />

demand. For customers of state-of-the-art electric<br />

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cars, the communication and infotainment systems,<br />

combined with safety functionality, is an important<br />

factor. Ultimately, with such important decisionmaking<br />

criteria in the purchasing process, the OEMs<br />

who offer the most differentiating technologies have<br />

an advantage.<br />

And, when it comes to enhanced ADAS, lidar could<br />

become the most significant catalyst to bring<br />

functionality to the next level.<br />

Lidar: An Ideal Safety Choice<br />

for ADAS<br />

Automakers can greatly improve the effectiveness and<br />

efficiency of driver-assist features by employing lidar<br />

as a key perception component.<br />

A Frost & Sullivan report on driver assistance<br />

technology observed that “unlike radar, lidar provides<br />

much higher resolution, enabling accurate object<br />

detection. Unlike cameras, lidar provides accurate<br />

depth perception, with distance accuracy of a few<br />

centimeters, making it possible to precisely localize<br />

the position of the vehicle on the road and detect<br />

available free space for the vehicle to navigate.”<br />

The report also commented that lidar technology<br />

can “offer a 360-degree horizontal field of view and<br />

up to 40-degree vertical field of view” – capabilities<br />

“essential for accurately locating the vehicle within its<br />

environment and planning its driving path.” It pointed<br />

out how lidar “can operate in poor lighting conditions,<br />

unlike cameras, since lidars are their own light<br />

source.” By employing lidar in night-time scenarios,<br />

there is the potential to improve the detection and<br />

safety of pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorcyclists<br />

during this time.<br />

Lidar sensors have the potential to enable<br />

automakers to create superior ADAS, addressing<br />

edge-cases for current approaches, including winding<br />

roads, potholes, on/off ramps and roadways with<br />

unclear lane markings. This functionality can be<br />

realized in a compact form factor; for example,<br />

directional lidar sensors can be situated behind the<br />

vehicle’s windshield for streamlined integration,<br />

allowing vehicles to maintain their aerodynamic<br />

design.<br />

Need for Validation and<br />

Future Standardization<br />

developed an ever-evolving portfolio of lidar<br />

solutions, is a thought-leader in safety. The company<br />

is actively advocating for autonomous solutions.<br />

Velodyne envisions the automotive community<br />

pulling together to identify lidar requirements and<br />

standardize how to address them. The goal is to have<br />

lidar products undergo testing and validation based<br />

on the standards early in their product lifecycle<br />

with the results available to automakers and Tier 1<br />

suppliers.<br />

As lidar sensors become more widespread in vehicle<br />

deployment, there has been a call within the industry<br />

to identify requirements and methods for lidar sensor<br />

testing and validation.<br />

Misleading reports and information have been<br />

published about the precision, accuracy and range of<br />

lidar sensors. To be of value to automakers, all lidar<br />

sensors should be assessed by the same gauge.<br />

Velodyne Lidar, an industry pioneer that has<br />

Lidar Takes ADAS to the<br />

Next Level<br />

As electro<strong>mobility</strong> advances, the potential of nextlevel<br />

ADAS can too. Automakers will continue to<br />

make customer safety a priority as they roll out<br />

autonomy and ADAS. Employing lidar, along with a few<br />

inexpensive cameras, is a revolutionary approach to<br />

safety. It enables vehicles to detect and avoid objects<br />

in a range of environmental conditions and roadway<br />

settings.<br />

Lidar-powered ADAS is happening now, delivering<br />

next level capabilities to protect road users, assist<br />

drivers and save lives.<br />

e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | www.e-motec.net<br />

77


The smart<br />

battery innovation<br />

BATTERY<br />

TECHNOLOGY<br />

A pioneering innovative technology<br />

for a more sustainable and efficient<br />

EV battery production<br />

“Sustainable<br />

Li-ion<br />

battery cell<br />

production<br />

with less<br />

overall energy<br />

consumption<br />

bears various<br />

advantages,<br />

especially<br />

for mass<br />

production”<br />

Ralf Hock<br />

IP PowerSystems GmbH<br />

E-<strong>mobility</strong> is one of the most prominent<br />

issues of our time as it can solve many<br />

of the occurring world problems like<br />

environment pollutionand climate<br />

change. Still, electric vehicles remain<br />

a niche market. The main obstacles to<br />

boost an e-<strong>mobility</strong> revolution lie in<br />

the high costs and the environmental<br />

impact, i.e. the sustainability of the Liion<br />

battery cells. So, innovative materials<br />

and processes receive continuously<br />

increasing attention to lower production<br />

costs and to enable a “greener” battery<br />

production.<br />

A major ecological and economic<br />

problem is the energy consumption<br />

to create a moisture-free atmosphere<br />

necessary for cell production for the<br />

protection of the moisture-sensitive<br />

electrolyte and electrode materials.<br />

Large dry rooms consuming high<br />

operating costs are hardly to avoid.<br />

After extensive research one company<br />

has developed a new and efficient<br />

solution to overcome this unfavourable<br />

issue.<br />

In the town of Coswig, northwest of<br />

Dresden Germany, IP PowerSystems<br />

GmbH develops processes and designs<br />

machines which offer efficient and<br />

ecologically advantageous solutions<br />

for the automated and sustainable<br />

production of lithium-ion battery<br />

cells. Here, Ralf Hock, managing<br />

director of IP PowerSystems GmbH,<br />

explains a pioneering technology that<br />

he is convinced will lower costs and<br />

the carbon footprint for EV battery<br />

production.<br />

As a result of the company’s extensive<br />

R&D efforts, an innovative technology<br />

arose with the aim of finding an effective<br />

and environment-friendly alternative to<br />

the conventional production of Li-ion<br />

battery cells.<br />

The result of which enables electrolyte<br />

filling at ambient atmosphere without<br />

a dry room, a process which has not<br />

been possible until now. This novel<br />

“Method for producing electrolyte<br />

pouch cells for electric battery<br />

arrangements, corresponding device<br />

and electrolyte pouch cells“, is patented<br />

with international application number<br />

WO 2016/198145 A1. It includes a new<br />

production process starting with the cell<br />

assembly and final sealing before the<br />

filling step.<br />

The assembly of the cell components –<br />

i.e. the electrode-separator-stack with<br />

welded-on tabs and the pouch foil – is<br />

completed similar to conventional<br />

production. Additionally, closed filling<br />

plugs – so called ports – are integrated<br />

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within the seam of the pouch cell<br />

for the sealing process, which can be<br />

performed in a dry microenvironment.<br />

The sealing machine executes the<br />

complete and hermetical sealing of the<br />

cell. Due to this pioneering technology<br />

no special dry/clean atmosphere is<br />

needed for the next steps in process.<br />

Subsequently, the hermetically sealed,<br />

dry pouch cell is transported to the<br />

filling without the need for a dry room.<br />

The number and position of ports are<br />

adapted to the required cell size and<br />

electrolyte quantity. Access into the<br />

cell is realised by penetration of one<br />

or multiple ports by dosing needles.<br />

The needles are specially designed to<br />

enable vacuuming and filling of the cell<br />

with the same needle. Both process<br />

steps can be realised by one or multiple<br />

needles. Due to the flexibility in filling,<br />

the wetting of the electrode surface with<br />

electrolyte can be improved.<br />

The wetting of the electrode surface,<br />

especially wetting of the large pore<br />

surface of the electrochemically active<br />

electrode material, is one of the crucial<br />

bottleneck steps and can take up to<br />

48hs. Due to the novel technology of<br />

IP PowerSystems GmbH, this process<br />

can be accelerated by fast spreading of<br />

the electrolyte within the cell and by<br />

adjustment of temperature as well as<br />

pressure.<br />

In the conventional production process<br />

the filling is typically done in a vacuum<br />

chamber. Such is not required in the<br />

filling machine of IP PowerSystems<br />

GmbH. Here, the filling under standard<br />

pressure facilitates a pressure difference<br />

between inside (vacuum) and outside<br />

(standard pressure) of the cell leading<br />

to faster wetting. The technology also<br />

provides the opportunity to reduce<br />

process time and hence production<br />

costs.<br />

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79


Directly after filling, the ports are sealed off by sealing<br />

clamp jaws. Thus, the cell is hermetically closed at any<br />

time. In addition, the contaminated sealing seam is<br />

minimised resulting in reduced negative effects on the<br />

battery´s lifetime.<br />

The formation gas, which is generated during the<br />

activation/formation process, can be extracted by<br />

the degassing machine utilising port and dosing<br />

needle. The degassing can be accomplished in one<br />

step after the formation or continuously during<br />

the formation. The latter is another novel, patentpending<br />

technology by IP PowerSystems GmbH. This<br />

eliminates the need for conventionally used gas bags<br />

for the collection of formation gas. These gas bags are<br />

typically contaminated with electrolyte resulting in<br />

high disposing costs and efforts as hazardous waste.<br />

The process flexibility is granted for all required<br />

process conditions. The requirements and conditions<br />

were determined in collaboration with OEMs,<br />

manufacturers for niche products and research<br />

institutes. This also includes the format flexibility.<br />

All existing pouch cell formats can be produced on<br />

the machines based on this innovative technology.<br />

The company provides equipment for cell production<br />

from sample quantity up to mass production covering<br />

niche applications as well as mass applications.<br />

IP PowerSystems GmbH not only has different<br />

technologies for electrolyte filling of pouch cells but<br />

also has further significant developments for the<br />

sustainable and automated production of cylindrical<br />

and prismatic cells.<br />

Automation of cell manufacturing can make a<br />

substantial contribution to a lower overall energy<br />

consumption of the Li-ion battery cell production.<br />

A flexible and module-based automation system to<br />

efficiently optimise the complete cell production is<br />

Robo Automation Kit, which has been developed by<br />

the company. The Robo Automation Kit is a flexible,<br />

universally applicable automation kit in which various<br />

modules can be combined and existing machines<br />

and production lines can be easily integrated. If<br />

required, the modules can be re-combined to form a<br />

new solution allowing a flexible process adaption of<br />

production lines for pouch, prismatic and cylindrical<br />

cells.<br />

The modules of Robo Automation Kit consist of the<br />

same Basic Unit with integrated switch and control<br />

cabinet. Due to its very small size, it fits in any<br />

Pilot Sealing Machine<br />

Pilot Filling Machine<br />

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Pilot Filling Machine<br />

Robo Automation Kit<br />

place of an existing production. With the camera<br />

image recognition system and the menu-supported<br />

sequence control, no robot programming knowledge<br />

is required.<br />

Existing machines of a cell manufacture can be easily<br />

automated by Robo Operator® for a production<br />

line. Robo Operator® is a self-working, mobile and<br />

flexible automation solution for operating and<br />

handling different kind of production machines.<br />

Neither mechanical connection to the production<br />

machine nor data exchange interface is required. An<br />

employee without special robot setup knowledge<br />

can commission Robo Operator® on the intended<br />

machine within a very short time, so that Robo<br />

Operator® can work completely on its own without<br />

intervention or supervision. Eventually, the vision of<br />

flexible production becomes reality.<br />

In collaboration with research institutes, it is planned<br />

to equip Robo Automation Kit and Robo Operator®<br />

with AI and machine learning in order to be able to<br />

react flexibly to new circumstances or disruptions in<br />

the process chain. The method of machine learning<br />

has numerous advantageous aspects in predictive<br />

maintenance and predictive process control to reduce<br />

ramp-up time.<br />

In summary, a “greener” and more efficient Li-ion<br />

cell production can be reached by the innovative<br />

technologies and developments of IP PowerSystems.<br />

Sustainable Li-ion battery cell production with less<br />

overall energy consumption bears various advantages,<br />

especially for mass production.<br />

The filling without dry room results in considerably<br />

reduced expenses, energy consumption and carbon<br />

footprint. Due to the elimination of the gas bag,<br />

no excessive amount of pouch foil is required and<br />

costs as well as effort for the disposal are reduced<br />

contributing to a sustainable cell production.<br />

Accessibility of different filling strategies allows for<br />

the acceleration of the wetting procedure, one of the<br />

crucial bottleneck steps.<br />

Lower overall energy consumption and thus,<br />

further enhancement in production efficiency can<br />

further be accomplished by automation of the cell<br />

manufacturing, e.g. with the help of Robo Automation<br />

Kit and Robo Operator®. The modules of this<br />

flexible construction kit can be easily combined and<br />

recombined to achieve flexible production lines for<br />

pouch, prismatic and cylindrical cells.<br />

“Thanks to the company’s new developments and its<br />

special expertise we are able to play a big part in our<br />

customers’ success. We are convinced, the use of our<br />

pioneering technologies will pave the way towards the<br />

e-<strong>mobility</strong> revolution.” Ralf Hock concluded.<br />

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CONNECTIVITY<br />

Unlocking<br />

Next-Generation Vehicle<br />

<strong>Technology</strong> with 5G<br />

Peter Stoker, Chief Engineer – Connected and Autonomous<br />

Vehicle at Millbrook, lifts the lid on the 5G testbed for<br />

transport at Millbrook and the ground-breaking work<br />

enabled by the AutoAir project.<br />

The 5G testbed for transport at Millbrook Proving<br />

Ground, launched last year as the AutoAir project, is<br />

a private, fully operational high-speed mobile data<br />

network. It was installed to support the development,<br />

testing and validation of connected and self-driving<br />

vehicles.<br />

As the first network of its kind in the UK, AutoAir really<br />

is leading the charge when it comes to innovation.<br />

Not only is it supporting developers of connected<br />

and autonomous vehicles (CAVs) and associated<br />

technologies, it is also helping to position the UK<br />

automotive industry as a leader in global CAV and<br />

driverless vehicle technology development.<br />

Before we dive too far into the use cases being<br />

explored and the impact that AutoAir is already<br />

having on future technology and transport<br />

infrastructure, it is important to first understand the<br />

origins of the testbed.<br />

In 2017, the UK government Department of Digital,<br />

Culture, Media and Sport called for the establishment<br />

of 5G vertical sector testbeds and trials. The AutoAir<br />

consortium, led by Airspan, which brings together<br />

leading lights from the mobile communications and<br />

transport sectors, was formed in response to call to<br />

action.<br />

The testbed is the only accelerated development<br />

programme for 5G technology based on small cells<br />

that operate on a neutral host. This makes it a truly<br />

unique set up. It allows multiple public and private<br />

mobile network operators (MNOs) to simultaneously<br />

use the same infrastructure using network slicing,<br />

which can radically improve the economics for 5G<br />

networks.<br />

As part of the project, the consortium set up 60GHz<br />

mmWave mesh radio between small cell sites to<br />

connect them to the core network (“backhaul”). This<br />

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has enabled the consortium to compare this with the<br />

costs of deploying fibre. The testbed itself consists<br />

of 89 radios, covering 2.3, 3.5, 3.7GHz 4G and 5G<br />

spectrum, 60GHz mmWave mesh and 70GHz highspeed<br />

vehicle-to-infrastructure links. 59 masts were<br />

fitted around Millbrook, linked by 30km of power lines<br />

and fibre cabling.<br />

The AutoAir testbed has already yielded significant<br />

insight. For instance, it’s provided clarity as to how<br />

MNOs, vehicle manufacturers, governments and<br />

transport operators could harness neutrally hosted 5G<br />

and mmWave spectrum networks in the future for a<br />

more cost-effective and connected <strong>mobility</strong>.<br />

AutoAir’s innovative proposition is a wholesale access<br />

neutral host hyper-dense small cell deployment<br />

model for transport corridors. It provides a single,<br />

shared infrastructure set across multiple MNOs.<br />

This makes mobile services on transport corridors<br />

more attractive for mobile operators and end users,<br />

unlocking a multitude of possibilities.<br />

For example, in the UK, all four existing MNOs would<br />

be able to share the same physical network. In<br />

addition, other organisations, such as emergency<br />

services, road maintenance firms and vehicle<br />

manufacturers would be able to run their own private<br />

networks on the same shared infrastructure at a<br />

fraction of the cost of deploying their own physical<br />

networks.<br />

It should be evident that the fledgling stages of the<br />

AutoAir testbed were more concerned with transport<br />

infrastructure. The reality, though, is that the AutoAir<br />

testbed has only really begun to scratch the surface of<br />

how 5G technology might be harnessed more widely<br />

in the automotive sector.<br />

That is why it is exciting, and hugely important,<br />

that the AutoAir testbed is now being operated on<br />

a commercial basis. This gives CAV developers the<br />

ability to really push the network to its limits and<br />

make significant advances in their technology.<br />

Millbrook’s unique environment provides an<br />

unrivalled location in which to do this. For instance,<br />

developers can simulate weak and strong cell signals<br />

and understand the impact of hills and other terrain<br />

in a single location, while having access to all data<br />

generated during testing. They can also create<br />

virtual events using augmented and virtual reality<br />

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83


for vehicles on its allowing them to test complex<br />

scenarios that simply would not be practical, or safe,<br />

on public roads.<br />

As a result, a variety of organisations, working on<br />

a myriad of uses-cases, are already exploring the<br />

capabilities of the 5G network. One particularly<br />

interesting, and potentially lifesaving, trial that was<br />

successfully run courtesy of AutoAir was the “Smart<br />

Ambulance” trial with the East of England NHS.<br />

This pioneering project involved equipping a<br />

standard ambulance with state-of-the-art devices<br />

and connectivity to create a Smart Ambulance that<br />

simulated 5G connectivity. The ambulance was<br />

transformed into a unique remote consultation room,<br />

able to relay a live video stream to a remote team –<br />

potentially saving the time needed to save a life.<br />

And that’s just one example of how the super-fast<br />

data transfer afforded by 5G might shape our futures<br />

on the road.<br />

Indeed, the 5G testbed at Millbrook is also enabling<br />

CAV developers to expedite the testing and<br />

development of new infotainment and multimedia<br />

technologies. As was demonstrated with the Smart<br />

Ambulance trial, 5G facilitates vehicle-to-vehicle (or<br />

vehicle-to-remote location) communication in realtime.<br />

But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. This new<br />

level of connectivity enables over-the-air software<br />

updates in real-time, as well as delay-free video and<br />

music streaming, real-time map downloads and more.<br />

Looking beyond road transport, one area explored<br />

is that of high-speed rail. Trials were done on the<br />

mmWave network, installed by Blu Wireless as part<br />

of Autoair, with a view to improving the passenger<br />

experience. How often has connectivity on the rail<br />

network delayed communication, broken voice calls,<br />

and interrupted data? The challenge was to see how<br />

effective the deployment of mmWave trackside could<br />

be. Using the High-Speed Circuit at Millbrook for<br />

the work, Blu Wireless, in partnership with McLaren<br />

Applied fitted a vehicle with a train antenna system<br />

and drove at up to 160mph, whilst streaming data to<br />

and from the vehicle. The results were impressive – a<br />

steady 1.6GBps, peaking at 3GBps. Work continues to<br />

evolve, now looking at infrastructure installations in<br />

remote areas – where there may not be ready access<br />

to power and fibre.<br />

This new age of connectivity and autonomy is not<br />

without its pitfalls. One of the biggest areas of<br />

concern in relation to connected and autonomous<br />

cars has always been cyber security. With enormous<br />

amounts of data being transferred in real-time from<br />

vehicle to vehicle, vehicle to infrastructure and<br />

beyond, there is little wonder there are concerns over<br />

hacking and privacy.<br />

The UK Government in the form of the Centre for<br />

Connected and Autonomous Vehicles ran a feasibility<br />

study competition in 2019/20, looking at the threats<br />

to vehicle networks. As a direct result of the Autoair<br />

testbed, Millbrook was a partner in a consortium<br />

with industry experts Cisco, Telefonica and Warwick<br />

Manufacturing Group, looking at the challenges,<br />

mitigations and regulatory futures in cyber. This could<br />

well pave the way to the creation of bespoke CAV<br />

Cyber test facilities in the future, equipping the UK at<br />

the forefront of this important area.<br />

There is, however, much<br />

more work to be done.<br />

The achievements and findings of the AutoAir testbed<br />

so far are fundamental steps towards enabling key<br />

5G use cases for CAVs and other transport solutions.<br />

The project is also a prime example of why working<br />

at Millbrook is so rewarding. Having the opportunity<br />

to be ‘in the room’ when cutting-edge technology<br />

solutions that could change the future of <strong>mobility</strong> are<br />

being devised and tested is a real privilege. While the<br />

AutoAir testbed is, in every respect, a collaborative<br />

team effort, I feel a certain amount of pride that it’s<br />

our Bedfordshire proving ground that is home to the<br />

project.<br />

The final point I’d like to impart is this: the AutoAir<br />

testbed will not be a snapshot in time in the<br />

development of CAVs, the associated technology and<br />

the wider infrastructure. Instead, the testbed will be<br />

updated with the latest technology as it nears market<br />

reality, and is set to serve the industry as a national<br />

standard for many years to come.<br />

Peter Stoker, Chief Engineer – Connected and Autonomous<br />

Vehicle at Millbrook.<br />

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e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | Vol 7 | <strong>Winter</strong> <strong>2020</strong><br />

BIG DATA LOGGING<br />

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EVERY BIT COUNTS.


MATERIALS RESEARCH<br />

Signed, sealed, delivered<br />

Signed, sealed, delivered<br />

Whether it’s electric compressors, lithium-ion batteries<br />

and supercapacitors, or solid-state batteries, the use of<br />

glass in EVs now goes way beyond the windscreen<br />

The heart of air con<br />

Glass is a key component of electric<br />

compressor seals, the tiny bonds that are at<br />

the heart of all air conditioning systems in<br />

EVs, and without them the cabin temperature<br />

would quickly rise, along with the tempers and<br />

safety of the passengers. Studies have shown<br />

that road safety is at great risk if drivers suffer<br />

from temperatures beyond the 30-degree<br />

mark, while air conditioning also protects the<br />

driver and passengers from air pollutants since<br />

substances such as dust are removed along<br />

with humidity.<br />

On the outside, an EV appears the definition<br />

of calm – an oasis of silence. But under the<br />

bonnet it’s a different story. High pressure,<br />

high voltage, high humidity and high<br />

temperature make it a harsh environment for<br />

small components. The electric compressor<br />

seal not only has to cope with the extreme<br />

pressure of the refrigerant, but the vibration<br />

of the engine, remaining fully gas-tight and<br />

insulated over a long period of time. Glass-tometal<br />

sealing (GTMS) provides all that, with the<br />

potential to do more.<br />

Developed by German technical glass maker<br />

SCHOTT about 80 years ago, the first hermetic<br />

glass-to-metal seals were used in radios<br />

and the emerging TV market, providing an<br />

effective bond between the two materials for<br />

tube amplifiers. SCHOTT continued to work<br />

on the technology, developing compressor<br />

seals for refrigerators in 1957, vastly improving<br />

their efficiency. In more recent years, the<br />

company started to apply its GTMS experience<br />

to improve the effectiveness of automotive<br />

electric compressors, with the EV market a<br />

major focus.<br />

“When you think about the robustness of<br />

a glass-to-metal seal, it’s very important<br />

to select the material combinations very<br />

carefully,” explains Yasuo Tsukada, Sales<br />

Manager for Electric Compressor Terminals at<br />

SCHOTT. “One of our USPs is that we have the<br />

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longest experience and the broadest portfolio when it<br />

comes to product range and the number of industries<br />

that we serve, enabling us to develop perfectly<br />

optimized components.”<br />

Here comes the<br />

science bit<br />

In compressor applications, the effectiveness<br />

of glass-to-metal seals relies on ‘compression<br />

sealing’ and therefore the high compressive<br />

strength of glass and the relative coefficients of<br />

thermal expansion (CTE) of the glass and metal.<br />

Choosing an outer metal housing that has a CTE<br />

that’s much higher than that of the glass and<br />

the conductor pins results in the metal housing<br />

shrinking firmly onto the glass during cooling<br />

to create a hermetic seal. This gas-tight seal<br />

is mechanically strong, virtually impervious to<br />

gases, and provides high electrical insulation.<br />

Glass-to-metal seals aren’t just used in air<br />

conditioning. They are so strong and pressureresistant<br />

that they are also used as connectors<br />

in oil and gas exploration equipment, electrical<br />

terminals for cryogenic pumps for liquefied<br />

natural gas vessels, and even as containment<br />

penetrations for nuclear power plants.<br />

“A key advantage of glass-to-metal seals is that<br />

they are manufactured using purely inorganic<br />

materials,” Yasuo Tsukada continues. “In comparison<br />

to non-hermetic, organic polymer seals for example,<br />

glass is non-aging, highly resilient to mechanical<br />

stress, high pressure and temperature cycling. It is<br />

also resistant to aggressive and potentially corrosive<br />

media.”<br />

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87


High voltage challenge<br />

The development of electric compressors and their<br />

seals is moving as quickly as the development of<br />

all other EV technology – and that includes power.<br />

There’s little doubt that to increase endurance<br />

and performance while decreasing charging time,<br />

the voltages involved in EVs have to go higher,<br />

which makes life more challenging for component<br />

manufacturers whose products need to increase<br />

their electrical insulation to match.<br />

Three types of compressor terminals:<br />

1. Ceramic insulation<br />

In high-voltage systems, the operating voltage from<br />

the drive battery is often above 200V, reaching 500V<br />

for particularly powerful batteries. Some OEMs even<br />

use 800V systems. This level of electrical power<br />

places huge demands on the electrical insulation<br />

of the car’s components, with compressor seals and<br />

feedthrough terminals particularly challenging for<br />

the automotive industry.<br />

2. Extended sealing glass insulation<br />

SCHOTT have responded to this challenge by<br />

developing a GTMS solution that incorporates<br />

rubber. While glass provides the physical<br />

connection, rubber increases insulation and<br />

prevents condensation, which would shorten<br />

the creepage path and encourage sparkover.<br />

“After conducting an extensive series of tests,<br />

our engineers have found the ideal combination<br />

of materials,” explains SCHOTT R&D Manager<br />

Akira Fujioka. “The elastic components make the<br />

connection much more reliable and durable.<br />

3. Rubber insulation<br />

Cross section of compressor<br />

with the compressor terminal.<br />

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The next generation of seals<br />

The effectiveness and reliability of glass-to-metal<br />

sealing means it has a wider range of EV applications<br />

than air conditioning, and SCHOTT is the first company<br />

in the world to successfully create a permanently<br />

tight connection between glass and aluminium. These<br />

hermetic glass-to-aluminium seals (SCHOTT GTAS®) are<br />

designed to eliminate moisture intrusion and electrolyte<br />

dry-out by using an inorganic, non-aging<br />

glass seal.<br />

SCHOTT now offers lithium-ion battery lids with glassaluminum<br />

sealed terminals that prevent humidity<br />

intrusion into the cell housing. These rugged, gas-tight<br />

designs are simpler than conventional lid designs and<br />

can significantly enhance both safety and the service<br />

life of the battery.<br />

The technology can also be used with supercapacitors<br />

and Electric Double Layer Capacitors. The gas-tight lids<br />

offer a reduction of capacity losses over time by up to<br />

60%, enabling capacitor developers to design smaller<br />

capacitors with long operating lives. Similar in structure<br />

to lithium-ion batteries, supercapacitors can store and<br />

release large amounts of energy in much less time,<br />

recharging electric cars in minutes and supporting startstop<br />

functions.<br />

A solid future<br />

Lithium-ion batteries are the most common source of<br />

power for EVs, but the technology behind solid-state<br />

batteries is promising to overcome the limits of today’s<br />

battery cells. It’s estimated that solid-state batteries<br />

could shorten charging times, increase reliability and<br />

extend the range of EVs above 300km – a significant<br />

increase and one that could finally fulfil the wishes of<br />

the drivers.<br />

But while lithium-ion batteries use liquid electrolytes<br />

for ion conduction, solid-state batteries use solid forms,<br />

enabling the use of alternative electrode materials.<br />

Since energy density is increased, storage capacity<br />

is pushed up, which increases the amount of energy<br />

available on a single charge. Key to the success of<br />

solid-state batteries are glass-ceramic powders. Used<br />

as an electrolyte, they show high levels of conductivity,<br />

plus temperature and chemical stability – the ideal<br />

properties for a high-performance battery.<br />

“Our team is in the process of further developing these<br />

materials and their production on an industrial scale<br />

to achieve the best possible performance,” says Dr<br />

Andreas Roters, one of SCHOTT’s leading scientists.<br />

“We have been working with solid-state batteries<br />

since 2011, when hardly anyone in Europe spoke of<br />

them. We are now involved in a variety of cooperation<br />

and development projects, and have built up a global<br />

network of partners with contacts to leading industrial<br />

manufacturers and suppliers.”<br />

SCHOTT GTAS Lid<br />

Heart of glass<br />

Whether it’s electric compressors,<br />

lithium-ion batteries and<br />

supercapacitors, or solid-state<br />

batteries, the use of glass in EVs now<br />

goes way beyond the windscreen. It<br />

has a major role in the development<br />

of technology that will define the<br />

future of the sector, pushing it<br />

forward to fulfil its huge potential.<br />

That’s great news for manufacturers,<br />

the environment, and, most<br />

importantly, people. “Glass may be<br />

one of the world’s oldest materials,<br />

but it has a crucial role to play in our<br />

future,” Dr. Roters concludes.<br />

SCHOTT GTAS Lid System<br />

SCHOTT GTAS Lid Systems for Capacitors<br />

SuperCaps<br />

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89


MATERIALS<br />

RESEARCH<br />

Adhesives and Sealants in<br />

Battery and Hybrid Electric Vehicles<br />

When I was a child, I used to see battery-powered milk floats trundling along<br />

at 15mph, holding up the traffic. How things have changed! Battery-powered<br />

sportscars are now zipping up and down the motorways and autobahns. Battery<br />

technology has moved on in leaps and bounds to make it a practical, economical<br />

and viable everyday driving solution for the modern-day motorist - whilst also<br />

helping cut emissions to improve local air quality.<br />

About the Author:<br />

Rebecca Wilmot 20<br />

years at Permabond,<br />

starting in the<br />

laboratory, technical<br />

service department,<br />

and now on the<br />

business, sales,<br />

and marketing<br />

management side of<br />

activities. She loves<br />

the adhesive industry<br />

and finds the diversity<br />

of applications,<br />

markets, and products<br />

fascinating.<br />

Key areas of focus for battery development include:<br />

• Efficiency and size<br />

• Increased power output<br />

• Speed of charging<br />

• Cost of materials<br />

• Safety<br />

Whilst the whizz-kids are revolutionising batteries;materials suppliers are having<br />

to up-the-stakes with their offerings to the industry. For adhesives manufacturers,<br />

this means developing products that combine some quite specific features:<br />

#1 in this season’s must-haves<br />

is thermally conductive adhesive.<br />

Batteries get extremely hot whilst<br />

charging, the demand is to charge<br />

as quickly as possible, which tends<br />

to exacerbate the situation, so it is<br />

essential to dissipate heat away from<br />

battery cells quickly and effectively.<br />

Battery cells are arranged in modules<br />

which make up the battery pack (the<br />

large unit normally concealed under the<br />

floor in electric cars). The need to keep<br />

the battery size as small, yet efficient as<br />

possible, means tightly stacking battery<br />

cells - increasing the temperature<br />

within the battery module. Heat needs<br />

driving away from the battery cells,<br />

so they are potted with thermally<br />

conductive adhesive.<br />

The modules sit on top of a heat sink,<br />

to maximise heat transfer, a thermally<br />

conductive adhesive is used to bond<br />

them in place. The adhesive also<br />

couples as a way of absorbing shock<br />

and vibration whilst driving to prevent<br />

damage to sensitive components.<br />

Inclusion of thermally conductive<br />

fillers into adhesives can affect other<br />

properties, for example, viscosity. It<br />

is all very well asking for an adhesive<br />

with the maximum thermal conductivity<br />

possible, but can you dispense the<br />

material is the question?! High levels<br />

of thermally conductive filler material<br />

render the adhesive virtually solid and<br />

unable to be mixed or extruded easily.<br />

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Ability to cope with expansion and<br />

contraction.<br />

Battery cells and other components expand and<br />

contract significantly as they heat up and cool<br />

down; there is also the issue of sudden temperature<br />

changes or “thermal shock.” Adhesives and sealants<br />

are used around the cells to hold them in place and<br />

need to have some flexibility to cope with expansion<br />

and contraction without inducing stress onto the<br />

components or cracking off. Different materials<br />

expand and contract at different rates, this is more<br />

evident with larger components, so choosing an<br />

adhesive with a degree of flexibility and optimising<br />

the glue line thickness will help cope with the stress<br />

of differential expansion and contraction without<br />

debonding or causing damage to the parts.<br />

Graph showing how the % content of metal oxide filler affects<br />

thermal conductivity and viscosity of adhesive material.<br />

Electrical resistance.<br />

It is important that whilst the adhesive is thermally<br />

conductive, it must also be electrically nonconductive.<br />

Otherwise there will be short circuits<br />

galore and a car full of frazzled occupants going<br />

nowhere. A high dielectric strength is essential<br />

(dielectric strength is the maximum electrical field a<br />

material can withstand before it becomes conductive).<br />

Another benefit of using adhesives for sealing battery<br />

housings is that they provide a 100% seal against<br />

moisture ingress, and potting adhesives surrounding<br />

the cells and other electrical components prevent<br />

contamination and possible malfunction.<br />

Safety.<br />

Non-burning, fire retardant adhesives help to<br />

maximise vehicle safety. Fire retardant fillers can<br />

be combined into the adhesive formulation, and<br />

these are often thermally conductive as well - so can<br />

kill two birds with one stone! These fillers are selfextinguishing<br />

– so if you try to set fire to the material<br />

and take the flame away, the fire does not propagate<br />

along the adhesive layer, and the flame dies out.<br />

Using toughened adhesives in the construction of<br />

battery packs helps absorb impact forces, reducing<br />

the level of damage to the battery during a collision.<br />

Toughened adhesives also help to protect the battery<br />

pack against the shocks and vibrations experienced<br />

when driving; they can also help with sound<br />

deadening for improved passenger comfort.<br />

Production considerations.<br />

There is no point in having a new technically<br />

advanced innovative adhesive that lacks practicality<br />

on a production line. Battery production is big<br />

business and getting bigger by the day as EV<br />

popularity and demand increases, so it is essential<br />

that the adhesive selected can lend itself to<br />

automatic dispensing and have a cure schedule that<br />

optimises production throughput and efficiency.<br />

Two-part adhesives may need metered dosing and<br />

mixing before dispensing onto parts, single-part<br />

adhesives may require an oven or UV lamp to cure the<br />

adhesive. Solvent-based products or other hazardous<br />

chemicals may no longer be allowed in the workplace,<br />

or less hazardous products preferred for easier<br />

handling.<br />

e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | www.e-motec.net<br />

91


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e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | Vol 7 | <strong>Winter</strong> <strong>2020</strong><br />

Cost.<br />

Capital expenditure costs of implementing adhesive<br />

on a production line vary depending on the level<br />

of automation required and sophistication of the<br />

equipment. It is possible to use adhesives for<br />

minimum outlaye.ghandheld dispensing guns.<br />

Overheads will vary according to the amount of<br />

space required and cost of running and maintaining<br />

equipment. Adhesive products themselves,<br />

considering the amount of adhesive used per battery,<br />

will come under ongoing cost scrutiny. It is interesting<br />

to note, the level of thermally conductive filler and<br />

the nature of the filler is the main cost driver for<br />

thermally conductive adhesives.<br />

Higher levels of thermal conductivity can be achieved<br />

with different, more expensive fillers, but dielectric<br />

strength can be affected, with materials becoming<br />

electrically conductive – for some applications, this<br />

is great, but in the case of high voltage batteries for<br />

Graph showing how the cost is relational to conductive<br />

filler content (metal oxide).<br />

electric vehicles, probably not so desirable!<br />

Where are adhesives and sealants used?<br />

• Encapsulation or potting of battery cells<br />

• Bonding cells into modules<br />

• Bonding modules to cooling plate / heat sink<br />

• Gasketing and sealing the battery pack<br />

• Encapsulation and potting of other sensitive<br />

electronic components<br />

• Potting of connectors and sealing pyrotechnic<br />

disconnect units<br />

As well as battery bonding, high performance<br />

adhesives are also used for electric motor bonding –<br />

bonding magnets to rotors, magnets to stators, and<br />

sealing motor housing. Motors are often requiring<br />

adhesives to withstand 180-220°C as well as rigorous<br />

impact and thermal shock testing. In the event of an<br />

accident, a pyrotechnic disconnect unit detonates to<br />

release the battery system<br />

to help prevent fire and<br />

electrocution, adhesives<br />

are used to secure and<br />

pot connectors as well<br />

as seal and protect units.<br />

Friable adhesives can<br />

be used to secure the<br />

explosive charge, similar<br />

to those found in airbag<br />

detonation devices.<br />

“ Here at Permabond<br />

we have a portfolio of<br />

special developments<br />

combining high<br />

thermal conductivity,<br />

fire retardancy,<br />

toughening, and<br />

also adhesives with<br />

high-temperature<br />

resistance. We have a<br />

long and impressive<br />

history of supplying<br />

adhesives to the<br />

automotive industry<br />

worldwide, with many<br />

products specified by<br />

leading automotive<br />

manufacturers and Tier<br />

1 automotive suppliers,<br />

who insist on high<br />

quality cutting-edge<br />

products. Bespoke<br />

formulations can be<br />

developed to meet<br />

our customers exact<br />

requirements, helping<br />

them to achieve<br />

production savings and<br />

performance benefits. ”<br />

e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | www.e-motec.net<br />

93


THERMAL<br />

MANAGEMENT<br />

Long term stability of<br />

Thermal Interface Materials<br />

Recently, there has been a strong and increasing<br />

demand for innovative manufacturing concepts for<br />

electric and hybrid vehicle batteries. The design<br />

of a battery system from lithium-ion cells presents<br />

special challenges to thermal management. As the<br />

performance and durability of the cells depend<br />

strongly on the temperature of their environment,<br />

the thermal management system has to care for an<br />

efficient dissipation of the heat losses, as well as<br />

for the heat supply in case the batteries are cold.<br />

In operation, heat is generated when the system is<br />

being discharged due to accelerating, but also when<br />

charged at the charging station or during recuperation<br />

of braking energy.<br />

Heat delivery and dissipation can be provided<br />

in various ways. Liquid-cooled systems have<br />

heat exchangers joined to the cells where the<br />

cooling medium absorbs the heat and conveys it<br />

to an external chiller. The heat transfer is mostly<br />

accomplished directly from the cells into a cooled<br />

baseplate, where Thermal Interface Materials<br />

(TIMs) ensure an optimal thermal connection of<br />

the components and compensate for dimensional<br />

tolerances.<br />

Structural thermally conductive adhesives ensure<br />

both mechanical and thermal connection. They are<br />

used to bond prismatic (hard case) cells to coolers<br />

or housings or to attach external chillers to frames<br />

holding the individual cells, e.g. in hybrid or 48V<br />

batteries.<br />

Fig 1: Cell Bonding.<br />

Fig 2: Gapfiller injection.<br />

Removable TIMs such as single component non-curing<br />

conductive pastes or curing gap fillers are designed<br />

to provide thermal connection only, while cells or<br />

modules are fixed mechanically to the cooler or a<br />

battery tray. They thus allow for repair concepts when<br />

individual modules need to be replaced.<br />

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Fig. 3: Chemical and physical factors responsible for<br />

ageing and their impact on composite materials.<br />

Typically, TIMs are dispensed on one of the<br />

components prior to assembling. However, more<br />

recent assembly processes require TIMs that can be<br />

injected into the resulting gap after cell-modules have<br />

been attached to the cooling system.<br />

Independent of the nature of the respective TIM,<br />

they are all composites made up of two or more<br />

components. Since the organic matrix, predominantly<br />

a polymer or liquid, generally has a low thermal<br />

conductivity of about 0.1 to 0.5 W/mK, it is<br />

complemented with thermally conductive fillers such<br />

as metal oxides or nitrides. This type of composite<br />

thus combines the advantages of the polymers such<br />

as low weight, good processability, and corrosion<br />

resistance, with the thermal conductivity provided<br />

by the inorganic fillers. The resulting thermal<br />

conductivity of a composite material can reach<br />

between appr. 1 and 5 W/mK and is a function of<br />

the different thermal conductivities and the volume<br />

fractions of both matrix and filler.<br />

A key risk factor in the development of thermal<br />

interface systems is the need to provide the material<br />

with sufficient thermal and mechanical stability to<br />

maintain its function when used in a battery during<br />

the vehicle lifetime of 10 – 15 years. TIMs are exposed<br />

to manifold operating conditions and environmental<br />

impacts during their service life. Both physical and<br />

chemical ageing processes may occur (Fig.3).<br />

In real-life operation the influencing factors and<br />

ageing mechanisms are complex. During vehicle<br />

use, the material is simultaneously subject to<br />

increased temperatures, temperature changes, shock/<br />

vibration, mechanical stress and load changes as<br />

well as exposure to environmental media such as<br />

atmospheric oxygen or air humidity. Moreover, the TIM<br />

must be compatible with the common construction<br />

materials used in batteries, like steel, aluminum, and<br />

various polymers and coatings, where no interactions<br />

or alterations of both the components and the TIM are<br />

allowed.<br />

In order to advance research and development of<br />

new materials, it is essential to simulate real-time<br />

ageing processes with the aid of laboratory tests in<br />

a timely manner. The aim of carrying out accelerated<br />

stress tests is to simulate the real loads in continuous<br />

operation as best as possible. The estimated<br />

conditions in the battery over lifetime will determine<br />

the selection of appropriate accelerated ageing tests.<br />

Common methods of accelerated ageing include high<br />

temperature storage (HTS), temperature cycling or<br />

shock (TC), climatic storage, alternating climate test,<br />

power cycling (PC), and various mechanical tests<br />

like vibration or shock tests. The evaluation of the<br />

tests is based on monitoring of parameters like the<br />

visual appearance, thermal conductivity, thermal<br />

or electrical resistance, thermal mass loss, oil or<br />

plasticizer separation, mechanical characteristics or<br />

rheological properties (complex viscosity, yield point,<br />

etc.).<br />

High Temperature Storage<br />

In high temperature storage, the thermal stress upon<br />

the material is simulated. By using high, constant<br />

temperatures, the aging of a material is accelerated,<br />

which in turn allows for a prediction of lifetime,<br />

provided that there is a uniform reaction kinetics. A<br />

respective industrial standard series is ISO 60216/<br />

DIN EN 60216, which is designed to estimate thermal<br />

degradation of electrical insulating materials. Here<br />

the relative temperature index (RTI) represents the<br />

numerical value of the temperature corresponding<br />

to the time where a selected property reaches a<br />

predetermined limit.<br />

Temperature Cycling<br />

In contrast to the constant temperature load when<br />

performing high temperature storage, a temperature<br />

profile is applied during the cycle tests. Respective<br />

industrial standards are known from semiconductor<br />

testing and can be applied to TIMs. This procedure<br />

simulates changing environmental temperatures as<br />

well as temperature variations due to charging and<br />

discharging processes in batteries. A distinction is<br />

made between slow and continuous temperature<br />

changes in contrast to rapid temperature shocks<br />

where the change between high and low temperature,<br />

e.g., +80 °C and -40 °C, takes place within a very short<br />

time after a defined holding time.<br />

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e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | Vol 7 | <strong>Winter</strong> <strong>2020</strong><br />

Climatic Storage/Alternating<br />

Climate Test<br />

Some stress tests feature a combination of<br />

temperature and humidity (damp-heat) storage. This<br />

type of highly accelerated temperature and humidity<br />

stress test (HAST) puts extraordinary stress upon<br />

the components. Depending on the conditions, a<br />

failure can be brought about already after a few<br />

days. There are also combinations of temperature<br />

cycling and humidity storage called alternating<br />

climate test. An extremely accelerated ageing, as with<br />

this load combination, is important for the efficient<br />

development of new material systems.<br />

Power Cycling<br />

The power cycling test is the most realistic but also<br />

the most elaborate stress test. Here, the stress is<br />

simulated not only by a temperature profile, but by<br />

applying operating conditions, such as the charging<br />

and discharging of a battery. In contrast to passive/<br />

external temperature changes, the temperature<br />

change is actively effected by electrical heat output,<br />

which is introduced directly into the experimental<br />

setup. Very high numbers of cycles are feasible<br />

using this test. As a result, the influence of the<br />

parameter changes occurring during operation, such<br />

as temperature, gap width or air humidity, can be<br />

properly simulated. Power cycling can be carried<br />

out even under difficult conditions such as extreme<br />

temperature, abrupt temperature change or high<br />

relative humidity.<br />

Vibration Testing<br />

By vibration of the engine or interaction of the vehicle<br />

with the road in operation, almost all components of<br />

an automobile constantly subject to vibration. This<br />

type of stress can be simulated in a vibration test<br />

bench by setting certain vibration frequencies. There<br />

are respective industrial standards for components in<br />

general but also especially designed for EV batteries.<br />

Fig. 4: Thermal resistivity of gap filler vs. no. of power cycles.<br />

Complex/Combined Testing<br />

As described above, overall lifetime prediction of<br />

TIMs used in EV batteries is complex.<br />

Only a combination of accelerated ageing tests such<br />

as climate storage (HAST), temperature change (TC)<br />

and high-temperature storage (HTS) may provide<br />

reliable information for the long-term assessment of<br />

TIMs.<br />

Test procedures and respective boundary conditions<br />

have to be selected, which give a reasonable<br />

representation of the environment found in the<br />

battery, and which can be suitably amplified in order<br />

to accomplish accelerated ageing<br />

However, also, the dimensions and level of testing<br />

play a crucial role in evaluating the results. Where<br />

a certain material may survive in small test setups,<br />

when it comes to large samples the thermal<br />

expansion may lead to additional voiding or cracking.<br />

Gravity effects may play a role in samples that<br />

are inclined according to parking in steep terrain,<br />

which won’t be detected in samples that are stored<br />

horizontally. Hence, it is necessary to find evaluation<br />

criteria to assess the scaling of degradation and<br />

ageing effects from laboratory samples into real-life<br />

sized setups.<br />

“ Here at Polytec PT we have developed a comprehensive range of TIMs, designed for different battery types, assembly<br />

processes and performance requirements.<br />

As an ISO 9001:2015 certified company, our production processes are well documented and the compliance of our<br />

employees with these production processes are regularly reviewed.<br />

Every batch of our finished product is tested to ensure compliance with standard or customized specifications. Our test<br />

lab is well equipped for measuring rheological behavior, mechanical, electrical and thermal properties and the stability<br />

of our TIMs under exposure to various environmental conditions. ” Ralf Stadler, R&D, Polytec PT<br />

e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | www.e-motec.net<br />

97


BATTERY<br />

TECHNOLOGY<br />

How to get rid of the weakest link<br />

Creating a cost- and quality-optimized battery value<br />

chain in Europe<br />

Alexander Schweighofer, Business Development Manger LIB<br />

Electric and hybrid vehicles offer a great potential<br />

to meet the social challenges of future <strong>mobility</strong> in<br />

a sustainable manner. Here, the lithium-ion battery<br />

plays a key rolenow. The cell technology enables high<br />

ranges of electric vehicles while at the same time<br />

providing attractive driving dynamics, which makes<br />

the new vehicles attractive for the customer.<br />

Battery systems of hybrid vehicles include up to a<br />

hundred lithium-ion cells, depending on the range<br />

required to drive the vehicle electrically and the<br />

capacity of the cells. Several thousands of cells can<br />

be installed in pure electric vehicles. As a cell format,<br />

three different lithium-ion cells have prevailed:<br />

cylindrical, pouch and prismatic cells. Depending on<br />

the electrical connection of the cells and the available<br />

space, several lithium-ion cells are installed by<br />

contacting to a battery module. These subunits offer<br />

advantages in handling and mounting the battery<br />

system. Battery modules are<br />

then merged into a high-voltage<br />

battery pack and integrated into a battery system.<br />

According to the current state of knowledge, the<br />

assembly of E-Mobility modules and packs is done<br />

on automatic or semi-automatic chained production<br />

lines.<br />

The module feeding, the module test, the module<br />

installation into the battery housing and the module<br />

screwing are automated. All other production steps<br />

such as cooling systems, cabling, pre-assembly of<br />

plugs or venting elements as well as installation of<br />

coolant distributors or seals are carried out at manual<br />

stations.<br />

The module production has a higher degree of<br />

automation but is also carried out on state-of-the-art<br />

chained production lines. The printed circuit boards<br />

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and wiring harness are usually assembled manually<br />

here. There is a lot of catching up to do in series<br />

production, but also in the prototype and small series<br />

sector.<br />

Conventional production lines have various<br />

disadvantages:<br />

1. high change-over times<br />

2. low flexibility<br />

3. small variety of product variants which can be<br />

produced<br />

4. no shared used of processes between different<br />

chained assembly lines possible<br />

5. in the event of an accident/unexpected break<br />

down of a machine part in a chained production<br />

line will causes the shutdown of the entire<br />

production line.<br />

In general, as with a chain, a production line is only<br />

as strong as its weakest link. The slowest machine in<br />

the production line therefore specifies the maximum<br />

production cycle/output. To compensate for different<br />

cycle times on different production lines, small<br />

intermediate storage (buffers) must be set up at the<br />

ends. Not only does their use cause time delays; from<br />

the logistics sector, it is well known that storage costs<br />

must be avoided.<br />

Due to the ever-increasing demand for high-voltage<br />

batteries and the associated high number of cells<br />

installed in electric and hybrid vehicles, automated<br />

and highest flexible manufacturing processes with<br />

short process times and high process reliability are<br />

required.<br />

Data handling and processing are one of the most<br />

important parts in the battery systems value chain<br />

to increase quality and safety for the customers and<br />

to decrease battery cost via smart solutions. Those<br />

topics must be implemented in very early stages of<br />

prototyping and small series to ensure reproduceable<br />

production quality for product testing, validation and<br />

legal approbation.<br />

For those reasons, the innovative principle of matrix<br />

production is being developed by Rosendahl Nextrom,<br />

which is a highly flexible manufacturing (technology)<br />

solution for small and large-scale production without<br />

sacrificing the cost-effectiveness of a flow production.<br />

The aim is to create a cost- and quality-optimized<br />

battery value chain in Europe. The market penetration<br />

of e-<strong>mobility</strong> and new battery systems in Europe<br />

is to be supported in the best possible way by<br />

standardization and flexibilization of production as<br />

well as process innovation and optimization using the<br />

digitalization of factories.<br />

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“The intelligent<br />

production of the<br />

future must be<br />

highly flexible, highly<br />

productive and<br />

resource efficient”.<br />

A new road to success<br />

Innovation, flexibility, scalability, cost-efficiency –<br />

these and a lot of other words describe the way to<br />

success. Therefore, production solutions for E-Mobility<br />

Module and Pack assembly for the processing of<br />

cylindric, prismatic and pouch cells with different<br />

sizes and materials are necessary.<br />

The implementation of a matrix production allows<br />

newcomers, well established manufacturers and<br />

transformers to build up a scalable E-Mobility<br />

manufacturing system which is easily adaptable to<br />

different battery types. The optimization of resource<br />

management, avoidance of environmental pollution<br />

and development of innovative hard- and software<br />

applications is in the focus.<br />

Small-series production and mass production have<br />

their own, very special requirements. Individual<br />

adjustments in the level of automation fulfill these<br />

requirements - of course the costs for these changes<br />

should be kept as low as possible.<br />

One step further is to implement an AGV system<br />

(automated guided vehicles) which leads to another<br />

level of automation.<br />

The aim is to achieve a lot size of 1 with the new<br />

production solution that means that you can<br />

produce products individually without incurring high<br />

costs when changing the machine. The upgraded<br />

production plant is capable of processing cylindrical,<br />

prismatic as well as pouch cells almost fully<br />

automatically into battery packs.<br />

The production system can grow at any desired time<br />

from micro to large-scale production.<br />

Another key advantage is that new extensions are<br />

integrated into the overall system without negatively<br />

affecting them in manufacturing.<br />

In summary, the innovative matrix structured<br />

production enables not only flexible manufacturing<br />

but also reduces the lead time through unit<br />

extensions. That means modules with premium<br />

quality can be produced at affordable cost with<br />

extreme variety of types.<br />

“We follow the approach to elaborate an additional<br />

benefit for customers targeting and efficient<br />

production process, overlapping traceability of the<br />

whole value chain of battery systems and a reduction<br />

of further development durations for change<br />

implementation and new products”, according to<br />

Mr. Alexander Schweighofer, Business Development<br />

Manger LIB<br />

Rosendahl Nextrom aims to build a comprehensive<br />

network architecture including simulation and 3D<br />

visualization for a holistic planning and realization<br />

of the products. Generated data during production<br />

process shall be used as well as feedback loops for<br />

the development and optimization of new machines<br />

with the support of the digital twin approach.<br />

The specific focus of the solution is to give customers<br />

the ability to make continuous improvements and<br />

optimization in order to build a sustainable value<br />

chain.<br />

One major technology which will be implemented<br />

to build a network which is capable of fulfilling the<br />

requirements of the connection of different kind of<br />

tools is the usage and expansion of the 5G technology.<br />

5G enables a real time connection between<br />

different end users and machines and supports<br />

the integration and the data transfer between all<br />

connected participants. A main advantage of 5G for<br />

us in implementing data along the value chain is the<br />

generation of our own private 5G VPN tunnel with the<br />

relevant companies. This opens an opportunity to<br />

implement and improve process quality based on the<br />

availability a raw data information.<br />

The intelligent production of the future must be<br />

highly flexible, highly productive and resource<br />

efficient.<br />

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LIB Matrix<br />

Development Center for new<br />

solutions<br />

“Our development center, which is in Austria, not<br />

only offers space for R&D projects and process<br />

developments but also the possibility to test and<br />

successively develop new kinds of manufacturing<br />

solutions in close cooperation with local and<br />

European companies, research institutions and<br />

universities” Alexander continued.<br />

“In conclusion new kinds of manufacturing could be<br />

tested and successively developed to reduce the longterm<br />

costs to produce modules and battery packs. The<br />

development of the required different manufacturing<br />

solutions is driven by Rosendahl Nextrom due to its<br />

longtime experience in battery machine production<br />

and knowledge and contacts in the battery producing<br />

industry.<br />

The final goal is to establish a new manufacturing<br />

(technology) solution highly variable and flexible for<br />

different market demands”. Alexander concluded.<br />

BM Rosendahl battery production system<br />

e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | www.e-motec.net<br />

101


POWERTRAINS<br />

Impact of sensor technologies on<br />

the e-vehicle powertrain performance<br />

The resolution and accuracy of the rotor position sensor has an<br />

influence on the performance of an electric drive.<br />

All over the world, new electric motors are currently<br />

being developed for the future drive-train of electric<br />

vehicles. The electric motor and its components<br />

will undergo various levels of maturity similar to<br />

combustion engines in recent decades. The goal of<br />

all developers is increasing the efficiency of the drive<br />

system with respect to the greatest possible range of<br />

one battery charge.<br />

An important component in this context is the motor<br />

sensor system.<br />

The measurement of the current of the 3 phases Iu,<br />

Iv Iw and the angular position θ of the rotor are of<br />

crucial importance.<br />

The following diagram shows the mathematics behind<br />

a field-oriented control of a synchronous machine.<br />

This article points out the impact of the parameters<br />

resolution and accuracy of rotor position and rotor<br />

speed on the performance of a drive.<br />

Lenord + Bauer and Altair have added a configurable<br />

rotor position sensor to the already existing and<br />

validated simulation of a typical IPM machine of a<br />

mid-range vehicle.<br />

This image shows the<br />

components of the<br />

simulation. The element<br />

Position Sensor is new.<br />

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Influence of the<br />

resolution on<br />

performance<br />

Evaluations of the torque curve show, as expected, a<br />

low-resolution leads to higher torque fluctuations in<br />

the starting phase.<br />

Especially when a vehicle has to accelerate<br />

under a high-torque condition avoiding<br />

sliding wheels and vibration and thus<br />

material-friendly, the resolution of the<br />

speed-sensor is of decisive importance.<br />

The graph on he left clearly shows that, for<br />

example, a sensor resolution of 8 bit and a<br />

typical inverter switching frequency of 10kHz<br />

leads to a resolution of the speed of 2344<br />

RPM. During run-up at very low speed the<br />

speed controller does not measure the real<br />

gradient of speed and therefore the torque<br />

controller overdrives. This inevitably leads<br />

to vibrations in the drive and ultimately<br />

to noises when starting up. That’s what we<br />

know from trams or other railways where<br />

this does not play a major role due to the<br />

few starting phases and the very stable<br />

mechanical design of the engines. In electric<br />

vehicles with many stop and go phases<br />

vibrations and noises are undesirable.<br />

A typical situation in a passenger vehicle<br />

is, for example, driving over a curb or a<br />

fully occupied bus, which has to start on an<br />

ascending road.<br />

Blue line: 8-bit resolution<br />

high torque ripple causes<br />

high vibrations and loud<br />

noises.<br />

Red line: 10-bit resolution<br />

lower torque ripple causes<br />

lower vibrations and less<br />

noises<br />

Comparison of the power consumption shows<br />

in the start-up area that a higher resolution<br />

(red line) contributes to a gain in efficiency.<br />

e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | www.e-motec.net<br />

103


THINK HOLISTIC<br />

FIBERS &<br />

TEXTILES<br />

BATTERY<br />

MATERIALS<br />

SYNTHETIC<br />

RUBBER<br />

ELECTRONICS<br />

PERFORMANCE<br />

PLASTICS<br />

FOAM<br />

MATERIALS<br />

WE MAKE FUTURE MOBILITY WORK .<br />

automotive-asahi-kasei.eu


e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | Vol 7 | <strong>Winter</strong> <strong>2020</strong><br />

Influence of the accuracy<br />

on performance<br />

The second important parameter is the accuracy<br />

of the system. For this we simulated various load<br />

scenarios for an electric vehicle. One of the bestknown<br />

scenarios is certainly the acceleration of a<br />

car from 0 to 100 km/h. This scenario was simulated<br />

3 times. The individual simulations only differed in<br />

the accuracy of the rotor position sensor used.<br />

Rotor position<br />

accuracy<br />

Time<br />

0- 100km/h<br />

0 – 62,4 m/h<br />

Torque ripples<br />

+- 2° el. 7,04 s High<br />

+-1° el. 6,64 s Middle to high<br />

+-0,2° el. 6,44 s Low to middle<br />

The results in the table above show that the accuracy of the<br />

rotor position sensors is crucial for the performance of the<br />

powertrain. With the same engine power, same controller and<br />

inverter it is possible to accelerate faster while consuming the<br />

same or less power.<br />

Evaluations of the torque curve show, as expected, a low-resolution leads to<br />

higher torque fluctuations in the starting phase.<br />

Summary and Conclusion<br />

We have proved in various simulations of electric<br />

drive trains, that the resolution and accuracy of<br />

the rotor position sensor has an influence on the<br />

performance of an electric drive.<br />

Therefore, developers of new drive systems<br />

should consider not only possible variations<br />

of the rotor and stator design or faster inverter<br />

switching times, but also the sensor technology in<br />

their test stands as part of the statistical design<br />

of experiments. Crucial parameters of the rotor<br />

position sensor are resolution and accuracy.<br />

“Our sensors have been playing an important role<br />

in electric drives for more than 30 years. We are<br />

passionately driving the development of electro<br />

<strong>mobility</strong> in order to increase comfort of driving<br />

and contributing to an eco-friendly environment.”<br />

concluded Dr. Matthias Lenord, Founder, Lenord,<br />

Bauer & Co. GmbH<br />

Dipl.-Ing Ulrich Marl<br />

In 2009 he became the<br />

head of production at<br />

Lenord + Bauer, followed<br />

by the position of general<br />

manager of production<br />

for 8 years. In 2018 he decided to face a new<br />

business challenge and changed the position<br />

into sales department to conquer the worldwide<br />

market for upcoming electrical vehicles. Based<br />

on fundamental technical experience and<br />

excellent knowledge of production and quality<br />

management method he is an excellent point of<br />

contact for many engineers in the automotive<br />

R&D departments around the world.<br />

e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | www.e-motec.net<br />

105


VEHICLE CONNECTIVITY<br />

BlackBerry’s pedigree in safety, security, and continued innovation has led<br />

to its QNX technology being embedded with more than 45 OEMs and more<br />

than 150 million vehicles on the road today.<br />

Autonomous Vehicle Accidents Test Human Trust<br />

Jeff Davis, Senior Director, Government Relations and Public Policy at BlackBerry<br />

Humans have an issue with trust. While innate to our nature, trust is also something that must be earned<br />

over time, and once lost it can take a long time to get it back, if at all. This is particularly true where new<br />

technologies like autonomous vehicle safety are concerned. We see time and again that regardless of the<br />

extensive number of hours that autonomous vehicle testing is done safely, a single incident can overwhelm a<br />

news cycle.<br />

Think of last year’s Uber crash or the more recent Tesla crashes. They do not become associated with a single<br />

company, rather, they become a trust challenge for a whole industry.<br />

New Technologies Bring New<br />

Challenges to Safety and Security<br />

In the findings from an investigation into one crash, a<br />

Tesla was found to have repeatedly made maneuvers<br />

at one particular area of highway that eventually<br />

resulted in the vehicle crashing into a concrete<br />

barrier. On several occasions, the driver was able<br />

to maintain control and override the maneuvers to<br />

safely keep the vehicle in lane, but during the final<br />

incident, the driver was distracted and was not able to<br />

avoid the crash. Of further concern is that the car first<br />

increased speed from 62 mph to 71 mph just prior to<br />

steering into the barrier.<br />

In an investigation by the National Transportation<br />

Safety Board (NTSB) of an unrelated accident, the<br />

NTSB found that the fatal collision of a car with<br />

autonomous driving features and a slow-moving truck<br />

was also partly the result of the driver not regaining<br />

control of the vehicle in time. It referenced an earlier<br />

accident where systems that “underpin AEB systems<br />

have only been trained to recognize the rear of other<br />

vehicles… in part because radar-based systems<br />

have trouble distinguishing objects in the road from<br />

objects that are merely near the road.”<br />

This represents a challenge with autonomous vehicle<br />

technology in its current state. Drivers tend to lose<br />

focus on the road, giving too much responsibility to<br />

low-level automation features, allowing technology<br />

to work in a domain beyond its capabilities. The end<br />

results are both tragic and fear-inducing. Distracted<br />

driving is just as life-threatening in a vehicle with<br />

automated features as it is in a conventional vehicle.<br />

The misunderstanding lies on two fronts: first, some<br />

companies are overly bullish in their confidence<br />

of the self-driving features of the car, leaving their<br />

consumers at risk. This is miseducation, and it<br />

is dangerous in itself. The second inappropriate<br />

interaction comes from a misunderstanding of what<br />

autonomous features are designed to do in today’s<br />

vehicles. Lower level autonomy is there to augment<br />

a human driver, not replace them. It helps the driver<br />

with things we humans are really bad at, like paying<br />

attention for long periods of time, or checking all our<br />

blind spots.<br />

However, at this point, there are a lot of things<br />

that humans do better than cars, like contextual<br />

understanding and object identification. In any case,<br />

the technology gets blamed much more than the<br />

humans do, and it results in a lack of trust that hurts<br />

the entire industry.<br />

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Mistrust, with a Side of Mistrust<br />

Another modern phenomenon that impacts the<br />

trust of a consumer is a security incident, and if a<br />

misbehaving autonomous feature was the result of a<br />

cyberattack, the court of popular opinion could put<br />

an end to autonomous vehicles. Even with drivers<br />

maintaining control, there is a risk that these highly<br />

connected vehicles could be infected with malware<br />

when connecting to a mobile device, downloading<br />

traffic reports, or with updates for a potential<br />

maintenance issue by the manufacturer, which could<br />

have devastating consequences.<br />

The mind can go to several nightmare scenarios:<br />

attackers crashing cars into each other, threat actors<br />

stopping cars on the highway and blocking major<br />

arteries, and other similar scenarios. But more<br />

likely, attackers could use malware to steal payment<br />

credentials stored in the car’s systems for use in<br />

automatic payments at gas stations, drive-through<br />

restaurants, car washes, or similar businesses where<br />

the driver may not need to exit the vehicle to make a<br />

purchase.<br />

And an almost-inevitable scenario could be that<br />

marketing data collection companies could monitor<br />

communications to know where you drive and when,<br />

how long you stayed, what communications you saw<br />

or listened to, etc.<br />

Adapting Current Security Solutions<br />

to New Technologies<br />

This brings the world of connected and autonomous<br />

vehicles right up there with every network that<br />

requires the protections offered by security<br />

technologies such as firewalls, antivirus (EPP),<br />

endpoint detection and response (EDR), distributed<br />

ledger technology (DLT), etc. The massive mobile<br />

endpoint that is the modern vehicle comes with<br />

more than its share of security concerns and begs<br />

the question: are today’s security solutions going to<br />

translate well to an autonomous vehicle?<br />

On the one hand, that car should appear to those<br />

security systems as one big network, albeit one that<br />

weighs more than a ton and can move faster than 100<br />

mph. As a practical matter, though, the nature of the<br />

systems that make up that vehicle are going to be<br />

radically different. As such, manufacturers must work<br />

closely with firms on advanced security systems that<br />

are designed to work specifically with autonomous<br />

vehicles.<br />

Safety, Security, and Trust<br />

The future of transportation and <strong>mobility</strong> is one of<br />

the most exciting fields of technology, one that is<br />

both growing rapidly and producing advancements<br />

that occur at dizzying speeds.<br />

It is critical that safety and security are top of mind<br />

from the beginning of the process and throughout<br />

the development and production processes if the<br />

industry is going to foster and maintain the trust<br />

required for the adoption of these technologies.<br />

Safety, security, and trust are fundamental to this<br />

effort and inseparable in their importance.<br />

In the race to produce<br />

self-driving cars,<br />

the ability to build<br />

consumer trust is<br />

as important as the<br />

ability to build the<br />

technology itself. For<br />

the driving public to<br />

adopt autonomous<br />

vehicles en masse,<br />

it’s not enough to<br />

simply trust the<br />

technologies – people<br />

must also trust that<br />

the companies building<br />

these technologies<br />

will act responsibly. It<br />

is a moral imperative<br />

for those of us within<br />

the industry that are<br />

advancing this fast<br />

approaching future to<br />

make sure it is both<br />

safe and secure.<br />

About<br />

Jeff Davis:<br />

Currently,<br />

Senior Director,<br />

Government<br />

Relations and<br />

Public Policy<br />

at BlackBerry,<br />

Jeff previously<br />

served as a<br />

Senior Vice<br />

President<br />

at ITSA, the<br />

nation’s largest<br />

organization<br />

dedicated to<br />

advancing<br />

the research,<br />

development<br />

and deployment<br />

of Intelligent<br />

Transportation<br />

Systems (ITS)<br />

e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | www.e-motec.net<br />

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MATERIALS<br />

RESEARCH<br />

Enhancing<br />

reliability of<br />

e-<strong>mobility</strong><br />

through<br />

Parylene<br />

<strong>Technology</strong><br />

Rakesh Kumar Ph.D. at SCS Coatings explains<br />

As we move towards e-<strong>mobility</strong><br />

due to environmental friendliness,<br />

economic considerations and social<br />

forces, scientific and engineering<br />

communities have focused their<br />

efforts on creating motors/engines<br />

that receive their energy from the<br />

power grid or energy storage sources.<br />

These motors and engines support<br />

many types of vehicles, including<br />

ships, hover boats, planes, helicopters,<br />

drones, unmanned aerial vehicles,<br />

etc., and their long-term success<br />

heavily relies on the development of<br />

reliable electronic systems and energy<br />

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storage systems (electric, hybrid and<br />

fuel cell technologies).<br />

Today, electronic systems no longer<br />

work as independent components,<br />

but as fully integrated systems<br />

that use sensors, MEMS and radar<br />

to control various autonomous<br />

functions. The reliability of electronic<br />

components and systems can<br />

be compromised, at best, or fail<br />

completely, worst case, due to their<br />

exposure to harsh environments,<br />

which causes the corrosion of<br />

components due to water, salt<br />

and other stress factors. Parylene<br />

technologies enhance the reliability<br />

of electronic systems and components<br />

by not only offering solutions to<br />

eliminate such catastrophic reliability<br />

failures, but they also enable the<br />

development of innovative electronic<br />

systems and components for<br />

e-<strong>mobility</strong>. Electronic systems and<br />

components can either be coated with<br />

Parylene for their protection from<br />

environmental degradation, and/or<br />

Parylene can be used as a structural<br />

material to make such components<br />

and systems.<br />

e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | www.e-motec.net<br />

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What are Parylene<br />

technologies?<br />

Parylene is the name for a unique series of polymeric<br />

organic coating materials that are polycrystalline<br />

and linear in nature, possess excellent dielectric<br />

and barrier properties per unit thickness, and are<br />

chemically inert. Of the commercially available<br />

Parylene variants, Parylene C, Parylene HT® and<br />

ParyFree® are the most suitable for e-<strong>mobility</strong><br />

applications. In addition to electrical insulation<br />

at ultra-thin levels, Parylenes provide outstanding<br />

moisture, chemical and dielectric barrier capabilities.<br />

Parylene HT also offers increased thermal and UV<br />

stability. Parylenes are RoHS and REACH compliant<br />

and have been proven to provide metallic whisker<br />

mitigation in lead-free solder applications. Parylenes<br />

are ideal for protecting electrical components, wires,<br />

PCBs and sensors – any component that require<br />

reliable, long-life performance in harsh environments,<br />

including those in electric power drivetrains.<br />

What differentiates<br />

Parylenes from other<br />

conformal coatings.<br />

Rather than dispensing, spraying, brushing or<br />

dipping, Parylene coatings are applied using a<br />

vapor deposition process. The Parylene process is<br />

carried out in a closed system under a controlled<br />

vacuum, with the deposition chamber remaining<br />

at room temperature throughout the process. No<br />

solvents, catalysts or plasticizers are used in the<br />

coating process. The molecular “growth” of Parylene<br />

coatings ensures not only an even, conformal coating<br />

at specified thicknesses, but because Parylenes are<br />

formed from a gas, they conforms to all surfaces,<br />

edges and crevices of a substrate, including the<br />

interiors of multi-layer electronic packages. Parylenes<br />

provide a superior pinhole-free shield to protect<br />

against corrosive liquids, fluids, gasses and chemicals,<br />

even at elevated temperatures (up to 350°C longterm).<br />

Parylenes are typically applied in thicknesses<br />

ranging from 500 angstroms to 75 microns. A 25 micron<br />

coating of ParyFree, for example, will have a dielectric<br />

capability in excess of 6,900 volts. No other coating<br />

material can be applied as thin as Parylene coatings<br />

and still provide the same level of protection, which<br />

is why manufacturers have used Parylenes in the<br />

automotive and transportation industries for over 4<br />

decades.<br />

In markets such as e-<strong>mobility</strong>, where many electronic<br />

systems, RF devices and sensors are used, it is critical<br />

that such devices and systems are well protected for<br />

long-term reliability, without the loss of any signal or<br />

communication. To avoid signal degradation of high<br />

frequency devices when they are protected with a<br />

conformal coating, it is important that loss tangent of<br />

the conformal coating does not adversely change over<br />

the operating frequencies. The loss tangent and low<br />

dielectric constant of Parylenes are very stable up to<br />

70 GHz, as tested, but expected to be stable up to 100<br />

GHz as well, which help advance next generation high<br />

frequency devices.<br />

Harsh Environments<br />

Parylenes have also been used to provide moisture<br />

and chemical barrier properties to a wide array of<br />

components, including sensors and circuit boards,<br />

providing protection from the most corrosive<br />

chemicals such as nitric and sulfuric acids and<br />

common automotive fluids like brake fluid, power<br />

steering fluid, and windshield washer fluid. For<br />

example, fuel cells operate in the midst of corrosive<br />

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e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | Vol 7 | <strong>Winter</strong> <strong>2020</strong><br />

chemicals at elevated temperatures, a very harsh<br />

environment for electronics. Parylene HT provides<br />

superior protection for these fuel cell components<br />

due to its moisture and chemical barrier properties<br />

and high temperature stability.<br />

The operating system environment of vehicles can<br />

range from -40°C to more than 300°C, making coating<br />

stability imperative to the trouble-free life of vehicle<br />

electronics. As stated, Parylene HT provides longterm<br />

thermal stability up to 350°C, with intermittent<br />

exposures up to 450°C. The coating also offers UV<br />

stability (more than 2,000 hours of highly accelerated<br />

UV exposure, per ASTM G154), providing protection<br />

from degradation and discoloration.<br />

With electronic systems increasingly replacing<br />

mechanical control systems, tight package protection<br />

is needed to keep moisture and chemicals from<br />

causing shorts. At the same time, this protection must<br />

not add dimension to the control electronics, and the<br />

coating must be dielectrically compatible to ensure<br />

that signals are not blocked. Parylene coatings are<br />

lightweight, do not add significant mass or dimension<br />

and do not block communication signals.<br />

Even as vehicle monitoring and conditioning has<br />

moved to electronic systems, traditional printed<br />

circuit boards and sensors are also being replaced<br />

with MEMS technologies in this next generation of<br />

vehicle design. The use of MEMS reduces overall<br />

package size while putting more capabilities into one<br />

tiny microelectronic package. Due to their properties<br />

and gas-phase deposition process, which results in<br />

ultra-thin, conformal coatings, Parylenes are able<br />

to effectively protect MEMS packages against wear,<br />

moisture and corrosive fluids.<br />

The prevalence of complex and integrated electrical<br />

systems shows no signs of slowing down. Pressures<br />

to lower costs, migrate offshore production and<br />

consolidate abound in the electric vehicle industry.<br />

At the same time, OEMs feel pressures to bring<br />

better, faster and cheaper components and systems<br />

to the market. Adding Parylene technologies to the<br />

component manufacturing process enhances the<br />

reliability of electric driven vehicles’ electronics and<br />

components, regardless of the type of vehicle or<br />

operating system. The level of protection Parylenes<br />

afford manufacturers is one that reduces costly<br />

maintenance and warranty issues for the life of<br />

the vehicle. The good news is that as components<br />

become more complex and are exposed to new and<br />

increasingly extreme environments, new Parylene<br />

technologies and services are being developed and<br />

deployed to parallel this growth.<br />

e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | www.e-motec.net<br />

111


DRIVETRAIN<br />

Assembly solutions<br />

in e-Mobility<br />

Jürgen Hierold, presents the Use<br />

of Screwdriving Systems in the<br />

e-Mobility Sector<br />

Electro <strong>mobility</strong> is the definitive key technology for<br />

the sustainable transport system of the future. The<br />

policy-assisted development of E-<strong>mobility</strong> is moving<br />

in the right direction. The automotive industry and its<br />

suppliers, however still find themselves in a dilemma<br />

regarding the design and project planning of their<br />

production and assembly systems. Uncertainties in<br />

planning for volume and unknown practical values<br />

continue to be the greatest challenges.<br />

E-<strong>mobility</strong> imposes certain requirements on the<br />

assembly process: top processing reliability for safetyrelated<br />

components, high flexibility due to the wide<br />

variety and targeted reliable electro-static discharge<br />

(ESD capability) of system components utilised. In<br />

addition, these components require an assembly<br />

environment which fulfils the guidelines of technical<br />

cleanliness and also scores highly on ergonomic<br />

aspects. The customer may face difficulties in coming<br />

up with an economical solution to this complexity.<br />

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e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | Vol 7 | <strong>Winter</strong> <strong>2020</strong><br />

DCAM<br />

The automation specialists need to offer flexible<br />

assembly solutions for all grades, which can all<br />

be adapted to the current market situation: from<br />

components and manual work stations, up to semi<br />

or fully-automatic assembly systems. This flexibility<br />

specifically counteracts planning uncertainties and<br />

should be continually responsive to modification<br />

demands.<br />

One such guarantee of success is the “intelligent<br />

manual work station”, which can be flexibly<br />

adjusted to any economic situation and is<br />

particularly beneficial if automatization appears<br />

uneconomical. This is particularly relevant for<br />

E-<strong>mobility</strong> where production rate trends are<br />

difficult to predict. For the assembly of E-<strong>mobility</strong><br />

components, it is preferable to opt for a flexible,<br />

upgradeable assembly line with intelligent manual<br />

work stations which combine manual handling with<br />

top processing reliability.<br />

“In addition to our standardised manual work<br />

stations, we have developed automated, extremely<br />

flexible assembly cells of our DCAM product<br />

family. Equipped with one of our most modern<br />

screwdriving function modules, combined with<br />

high quality industrial spindle screwdrivers with<br />

a screw feeder, it will complete any screwdriving<br />

task. The modular assembly cell is particularly<br />

suitable for fluctuating production rates, diverse<br />

product ranges and short product life cycles. As<br />

a system solution, the DCAM combines efficiency<br />

with the best possible processing reliability. The<br />

modular, flexible platform concept, in combination<br />

with the freely programmable X-Y axles, justifies<br />

the implementation of this assembly cell for the<br />

most varied of assembly tasks”, says Jürgen Hierold,<br />

Sales Director at the machine builder Deprag in<br />

Amberg, Germany.<br />

A measure in attaining highest flexibility is the use<br />

of modular system concepts with standardised<br />

components. Deprag has a comprehensive module<br />

portfolio including sensor-controlled screwdrivers,<br />

feeding systems, controllers etc., all from a single<br />

source. These individual modules are already<br />

coordinated with each other, thereby saving time<br />

and effort in integration. The high flexibility means<br />

that assembly systems can be quickly adapted<br />

to the current market situation; counteracting<br />

planning uncertainties and quickly reacting to<br />

changing requirements.<br />

MANUAL<br />

WORKSTATION<br />

e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | www.e-motec.net<br />

113


Virtual Testing of ADAS and AV<br />

Proven Turnkey Solutions for Accelerated System Development<br />

Industry leading solutions for scenario based testing of ADAS and AV<br />

Full suite of perception sensors to enable full-stack testing<br />

Comprehensive representation of vehicle systems physics<br />

Edmund House | Rugby Road | Leamington Spa | CV32 6EL | UK<br />

Telephone +44 1926 885900 Email sales@claytex.com<br />

www.claytex.com<br />

SOLUTIONS CONSULTANCY TRAINING


e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | Vol 7 | <strong>Winter</strong> <strong>2020</strong><br />

Abrasion and Particle<br />

Elimination<br />

ADAPTIVE DFS<br />

With regard to technical cleanliness the manufacturer<br />

has developed it’s own complete CleanFeed concept<br />

with specific CleanFeed components. This includes<br />

elements for low abrasion part feeding to minimise<br />

the accumulation of damaging particles from the<br />

outset. Low abrasion sword feeders are particularly<br />

gentle at sorting, separating and suppling fasteners.<br />

Sensors on the device automatically determine<br />

the number of strokes necessary so that stroke<br />

movement and therefore abrasion is kept to a<br />

minimum. Furthermore, hoppers help to keep<br />

a consistently low quantity of fasteners in the<br />

feeding system because fewer screws mean less<br />

contamination. However, because the generation<br />

of particles cannot be entirely eliminated, suction<br />

systems are also an effective method of creating<br />

cleanroom conditions. The “Particle Killer” targets and<br />

removes dirt particles before assembly and ejects<br />

them through a filter. A SFM-V vacuum screwdriving<br />

module on the other hand, uses suction to remove<br />

residual dirt directly from the screwdriving tool via<br />

additional vacuum sources. As well as modifications<br />

to the hardware, particle contamination is also<br />

combatted by intelligent adjustments managed by<br />

the controller, such as a reduction in speed during bit<br />

engagement with the screw head, at the same time<br />

averting wear and tear on the tool.<br />

Because productivity plays an essential role in the<br />

e-Mobility sector, Deprag has developed the ‘Cockpit’<br />

a new digital service, which facilitates an easy<br />

introduction to the interconnected factory.<br />

The software facilitates supervision and analysis<br />

of assembly tasks and provides analysis tools for<br />

continuous process optimisation and the recognition<br />

of trends. The data from a company’s various factory<br />

locations, their production lines and connected<br />

devices are collected centrally by the system. Data<br />

can even be collected from production locations<br />

spread throughout the world. The ‘Cockpit’ can be<br />

configured remotely through the ‘Internet of Things’<br />

and current operating data can be retrieved.<br />

This ensures early detection of potentials and<br />

swift reaction to any variations. When screwdriving<br />

processes are optimised in a timely manner less<br />

reworking is required, production time and quality<br />

improves, and products can be safeguarded or even<br />

enhanced. Whether it is used to connect screwdriving<br />

systems or smart tools – all processes can be<br />

monitored, analysed and optimised centrally.<br />

Stefan Müller, Head of Deprag Software Development,<br />

clarifies: “Our ‘Cockpit’ is a practical and extremely<br />

efficient development which operators can access at<br />

any time to get a clear overview of all our controllers”.<br />

Conclusion<br />

All customer specifications for E-<strong>mobility</strong> are fully<br />

satisfied by our standard components: processing<br />

reliability, flexibility, ESD-capability, technical<br />

cleanliness, ergonomics and economic efficiency.<br />

“With over 760 employees and representation in<br />

over 50 countries, we are constantly learning and the<br />

knowledge we have accumulated is what makes us<br />

a respected partner for the realisation of innovative<br />

automation concepts on a global scale. As well as<br />

full service in the field of screwdriving technology,<br />

feeding, controller and measurement technology, we<br />

incorporate the products in complex semi- or fully<br />

automatic assembly systems. Everything is available<br />

from a single source, from consultation to service and<br />

system maintenance”, Hierold concludes.<br />

e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | www.e-motec.net<br />

115


Design Constraints for<br />

EV Cooling Systems<br />

THERMAL<br />

MANAGEMENT<br />

Fritz Byle Project Manager at TLX Technologies explains the Discrete Proportional Valve System<br />

Designs for EV cooling systems are significantly more<br />

complicated and challenging than designs for ICE<br />

(Internal Combustion Engine) vehicles. EV cooling<br />

systems must accommodate several sources of heat<br />

generation in the vehicle (Figure 1) including:<br />

• Inverter electronics to control the motors used<br />

for the vehicle’s propulsion<br />

• Charging electronics (may or may not be<br />

integrated with inverter electronics)<br />

• Motor(s) used for vehicle propulsion and energy<br />

recovery<br />

• Vehicle propulsion (high voltage battery)<br />

Therefore, an optimal EV cooling system configuration<br />

is significantly different and more complex than what<br />

is required for ICE cooling applications. The method<br />

for controlling the coolant flow between components<br />

is one critical aspect of this type of cooling system.<br />

The main attributes of such a proportioning method<br />

are:<br />

• Predictable relationship between setting and flow<br />

(lack of hysteresis)<br />

• Zero steady-state power at any setpoint (energy<br />

efficiency)<br />

• Capable of fully shutting off flow (leak-free off<br />

state)<br />

• Fail-safe condition when power is lost (e.g., full<br />

open)<br />

Figure 1, EV Cooling Components<br />

In a typical EV drivetrain, each of these heat sources<br />

may require maximum flows of eight to ten liters<br />

of coolant per minute. Sizing the cooling system to<br />

accommodate concurrent maximum flows results in<br />

energy and weight penalties in the pumping system.<br />

Precisely controlling the flow of coolant to each heat<br />

source based on temperature feedback is a more<br />

efficient solution. This allows for a smaller capacity<br />

pump because different optimal setpoints can be<br />

established for each heat source. For example,<br />

inverter electronics can be operated at their optimal<br />

temperature of 40°C to 65°C while motors or the<br />

battery can be cooled further or allowed to run<br />

warmer as performance demands dictate. In addition,<br />

waste heat from electronics and motors can be<br />

recycled to provide cabin heat and/or warm the<br />

battery during cold weather operation. This can avoid<br />

or minimize electrical resistance heating, greatly<br />

reducing parasitic electrical loads.<br />

Issues with Extant<br />

Solutions<br />

The combination of the above attributes is not<br />

shared by any extant control valve. Specifically,<br />

valves that incorporate near-zero hysteresis, zero<br />

steady-state power, and a near-zero flow state are<br />

available (e.g., rotary valves actuated by stepper<br />

motors). In stepper-driven rotary valves, hysteresis<br />

is not truly zero but is determined by the<br />

repeatability of the step position and the backlash<br />

between the motor shaft and the valve element<br />

(backlash may be zero if the valve element is an<br />

integral part of the shaft). However, stepper-driven<br />

rotary valves have some undesirable attributes:<br />

1. A rotating seal is required on the stepper<br />

shaft. Rotating seals are prone to leakage.<br />

2. No fail-safe condition. If power is lost to the<br />

stepper, the valve will remain in the lastcommanded<br />

position.<br />

3. Stepper motors are relatively costly and can<br />

add substantial weight to a valve.<br />

4. A stepper motor controller is required.<br />

5. A position sensing/feedback system may be<br />

needed.<br />

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e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | Vol 7 | <strong>Winter</strong> <strong>2020</strong><br />

Figure 2, DPV Section<br />

Table 1, Three-Valve DPV States<br />

The DPV Concept as an<br />

Alternative<br />

Figure 3, DPV and Continuous Proportional Valve Performance Curves<br />

An alternative solution for enabling all the desired<br />

attributes while relying on a simpler valve actuation/<br />

control strategy is a discrete proportional valve (DPV).<br />

The DPV concept relies on intelligent combination of<br />

simple binary (on/off) solenoid valves (Figure 2). Two<br />

or more on/off valves with differing flow coefficients<br />

are combined in a single manifold to achieve a stepped<br />

approximation of a linear flow response. For example,<br />

a system of three valves gives 23 or eight possible flow<br />

states. The flow states can include a zero-flow state<br />

or a non-zero minimum flow state depending on the<br />

design. Table 1 shows the possible states for a 3-valve<br />

system where the individual valves are sized for flows<br />

of 1.0, 2.0, and 4.0 volumes per unit time. Figure 3<br />

shows the resulting relationship between flow and<br />

valve command for such a system compared to the<br />

typical response of a continuous proportional valve.<br />

Referring to Figure 3, the blue curve reflects the typical<br />

performance of a continuous proportional valve. At<br />

0% command, the valve has some minimum flow due<br />

to bypass leakage. As the command is increased, there<br />

must be some built-in deadband to accommodate<br />

part-to-part variation in response. This is shown by<br />

the flat portion of the curve between 0% and 15%<br />

command. As command is further increased, the valve<br />

begins to open, and the flow response follows the<br />

lower blue curve. An upper deadband at 100% flow<br />

occurs, typically between 85% and 90% command.<br />

As the valve is commanded to reduce flow again, the<br />

response follows the upper blue curve. The difference<br />

between the upper and<br />

lower blue curves is the<br />

hysteresis of the system<br />

due to mechanical<br />

friction and magnetics.<br />

Hysteresis also increases<br />

the effective deadband<br />

at full flow.<br />

The orange curve in<br />

Figure 3 shows the<br />

response of a 3-valve<br />

DPV system. The<br />

response is stepped, and<br />

there is no hysteresis.<br />

By definition, a given<br />

command will always<br />

result in the same valve<br />

members opening, and<br />

thus the same flow<br />

coefficient. In addition,<br />

e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | www.e-motec.net<br />

117


Driving e-<strong>mobility</strong> forward<br />

Advanced surface solutions for a more sustainable future<br />

Your key to successful, high-quality products:<br />

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Tailored PVD coatings and heat treatments for a variety of e-<strong>mobility</strong> applications<br />

Increased performance, efficiency and service life for e-<strong>mobility</strong> components<br />

Significantly extended service life and higher productivity of manufacturing tools<br />

Better-quality products and the component properties your customers need<br />

Sustainable, REACH-compliant coating technologies to protect our environment<br />

e<strong>mobility</strong>.balzers@oerlikon.com<br />

www.oerlikon.com/balzers


e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | Vol 7 | <strong>Winter</strong> <strong>2020</strong><br />

there is no requirement for either lower or upper<br />

deadbands. What appears to be a lower deadband is<br />

actually the controlled true off state. It can be designed<br />

as such or designed to be a minimum flow value such<br />

that there is always some flow through the system (to<br />

avoid pump damage, etc.).<br />

The DPV concept in its simplest form does require<br />

steady-state power. However, by incorporating a<br />

latching solenoid design into the valve actuator, the<br />

steady-state power requirement can be eliminated.<br />

Latching solenoids can be constructed by using<br />

permanent magnets or other means to hold the<br />

actuator latched. This eliminates power draw in any<br />

given steady state.<br />

A true zero-flow state is a native attribute of a DPV<br />

valve system (all valves off). Other implementations<br />

of proportional control can also provide effectively<br />

zero flow, however tight mechanical tolerances can be<br />

required, which raise the risk level related to debris<br />

sensitivity and wear. Tight mating tolerances also<br />

increase cost. The DPV concept achieves a zero-flow<br />

state without requiring this trade-off.<br />

DPV Control<br />

The control system to drive a DPV valve system can be<br />

implemented in essentially two ways:<br />

1. The control system is embedded in the valve system.<br />

Analog or digital input is used to command the<br />

system.<br />

2. Establish an electrical connection only to the DPV<br />

system. Control is centralized remotely.<br />

Schema (1) requires some intelligence be built into the<br />

valve system as well as power electronics to control<br />

each valve via an on-valve control board. This DPV<br />

control board would require a minimum of only three<br />

incoming wires: power, ground, and signal. The control<br />

board would translate the desired state, communicated<br />

on the signal line, into commands to the valves. The<br />

control board will also provide for the fail-safe state if it<br />

detects a loss of power.<br />

Schema (2) requires two wires for each valve in the DPV<br />

system. The control electronics can then be centralized.<br />

This increases the amount of wiring required but offers<br />

better environmental protection.<br />

In an actual vehicle application, some of the benefits<br />

of both options may be realized by co-locating multiple<br />

DPV systems on a manifold and locating the control<br />

electronics close by. Such a configuration would also be<br />

desirable from a fluidics perspective.<br />

The control electronics for a DPV system are inherently<br />

simple, requiring only a mapping of the desired flow to<br />

DPV state. The single complicating factor for DPV control<br />

is a result of the zero steady-state power. Opening a<br />

valve requires a forward current pulse; closing the same<br />

valve requires a reverse current pulse. The requirement<br />

for both polarities eliminates the possibility of a<br />

common ground and requires two independent<br />

connections to each valve. Even with remote electronics,<br />

however, the wiring requirements for a three-valve<br />

system are not prohibitive.<br />

Conclusions<br />

According to Dennis Jensen, Business Development<br />

Manager of Advanced Products at TLX Technologies<br />

“Adapting extant technologies to the new and everchanging<br />

advancements in e-<strong>mobility</strong> is often not<br />

the best solution. For example, the cooling systems<br />

for internal combustion engines are relatively simple<br />

and are not designed to deal with the widely-varied<br />

cooling needs from multiple heat sources found in<br />

electric vehicles. Therefore, adapting that technology<br />

to electric vehicles is not the most efficient or effective<br />

solution and can be counter-productive in the quest for<br />

increasing energy efficiency”.<br />

The simplicity and design flexibility of the discrete<br />

proportional valve (DPV) provides advantages that<br />

match the unique needs of EV cooling and energy<br />

management systems. While the DPV does not provide<br />

for smooth control of output, but rather stepped<br />

control, it alleviates the need for deadbands and<br />

eliminates hysteresis completely, simplifying control<br />

algorithms. Importantly, it is also a power-efficient<br />

solution in line with the demands of next generation<br />

EVs. The DPV also has the potential to enable further<br />

efficiency gains by recycling heat that otherwise would<br />

be rejected to the environment.<br />

TLX Technologies seeks to offer solutions that are<br />

designed and manufactured specifically for the<br />

e-<strong>mobility</strong> market. That is why we developed the<br />

discrete proportional valve (DPV). The DPV provides<br />

lightweight, customizable semi-proportional coolant<br />

flow with exceptional energy efficiency, a leak-free off<br />

state, fail-safe condition, and no hysteresis.<br />

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Trends and innovations<br />

in Electric Drive Units for<br />

lower cost and improved<br />

performance<br />

POWERTRAINS<br />

Electrification is entering a new market phase. At this<br />

turning point into its next chapter, a significant shift<br />

in focus for electrified vehicles can be observed. It is a<br />

shift away from technology feasibility demonstration,<br />

premium vehicles or small series development<br />

towards kick-off of mass production, technology<br />

commercialization and consequently more affordable<br />

and technology optimized vehicles. For some time,<br />

production volumes and customer acceptance of<br />

electric vehicles has widely increased as more and<br />

more vehicles have a sufficient driving range (>400<br />

km) and very good driving performance.<br />

Nevertheless, most current generation EVs are still<br />

considered to be too expensive or less attractive<br />

when compared with combustion engine cars.<br />

Consequently, a reduction in cost and improved<br />

performance is paramount to ensure successful and<br />

sustainable growth of the market.<br />

Integrated electric drive units (EDUs) combine electric<br />

machine, transmission, differential and usually<br />

the power inverter into one easy to install unit. In<br />

contrast to past EDUs with separate and standalone<br />

components, this integration has resulted in reduced<br />

weight and dimensions, fewer connections, cables<br />

& interfaces as well as an overall lower cost. Also,<br />

vehicle assembly is more efficient through the<br />

packaging advantage of an integrated EDU.<br />

Figure 1, EV Cooling Components<br />

120<br />

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Multiphase<br />

Integrated<br />

E-Drives<br />

EMC<br />

New Semi-<br />

Conductors<br />

SiC/GaN<br />

Diversified<br />

voltage<br />

ranges<br />

Cooling<br />

technology<br />

Figure 2 Main trends & innovations for power electronics to reduce cost & size and to increase efficiency &<br />

robustness<br />

In addition to integration, several other technology<br />

trends on the EDU sub-component level are expected<br />

to bring costs down and boost performance further<br />

to make EVs even more viable. New, faster and more<br />

efficiently switching semiconductors like SiC & GaN.<br />

are entering automotive applications or soon will do.<br />

Even though these new semiconductors are currently<br />

still more expensive than Si-based technologies,<br />

cost savings in other parts of the system due to their<br />

unique characteristics can compensate for the higher<br />

semiconductor cost. Examples include a reduction<br />

of DC link capacity, simpler cooling, fewer required<br />

EMC (electromagnetic compatibility) measures and a<br />

reduction in size.<br />

Multiphase approaches result in a reduction of<br />

phase currents enabling higher power applications<br />

at lower voltage levels, such as 48 V. Overall, a<br />

diversification in voltage levels will result in more<br />

cost optimized solutions because components<br />

can be better adapted to the specific performance<br />

requirements of the different vehicle applications.<br />

Greatest component availability currently exists<br />

for passenger cars around 400 V with low cost due<br />

to economies of scale for mainstream and mass<br />

volume vehicles. A strong short-term momentum<br />

for electrified vehicles market growth will come<br />

from 48 V based applications because of their safer<br />

voltage level, no/less isolation requirements as well<br />

as cheaper and simpler integration into existing IC<br />

based platforms. This offers a relatively fast and<br />

cost-efficient reduction of CO2 emissions for OEMs to<br />

comply with emission legislation. On the other side,<br />

800 V systems come with significant advantages such<br />

as minimized charging times enabling comfortable<br />

long-distance trips, highest power & torque but also<br />

lower weight and reduced dimensions of relevant<br />

powertrain components. Consequently, 800 V or<br />

higher is the preferred voltage level for performance<br />

and commercial BEVs.<br />

AVL pioneered this technology with a first 800 V<br />

based demonstration vehicle (AVL Coup-E 800) back<br />

in 2012 and has since then continuously evolved<br />

respective inverters, e-motors and EDUs. For some<br />

time now, AVL has experienced growing customer<br />

interest in 800 V not only for commercial vehicles but<br />

also for passenger cars.<br />

Considering increasing component power densities,<br />

EMC progressively faces more challenges to fulfill<br />

regulatory requirements, to maintain overall system<br />

reliability and at the same time to keep cost at the<br />

lowest feasible level. As a result, we see a clear need<br />

and trend to take EMC optimization into account at<br />

the earliest possible development phases. AVL has<br />

developed dedicated EMC simulation tools allowing<br />

early guidance and design optimizations for inverter<br />

developers to greatly reduce EMC issues. This is<br />

achieved through advanced inverter layouts and<br />

incorporation of passive but also active filters. The<br />

latter can contribute to significant cost and volume<br />

reduction compared to passive elements.<br />

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e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | Vol 7 | <strong>Winter</strong> <strong>2020</strong><br />

Multiphase<br />

Speed<br />

increase<br />

Winding<br />

technology<br />

Less rare<br />

earth<br />

materials<br />

Integrated<br />

E-Drivers<br />

Cooling<br />

techology<br />

Figure 3 Main trends & innovations for e-motors to reduce cost, size, less need of critical materials and<br />

increased performance<br />

Optimal electronic hardware cooling is critical for<br />

reliable performance and durability. Innovative<br />

cooling concepts (e.g. air-cooling or common cooling<br />

loops instead of separate cooling for inverter and<br />

e-motors in integrated EDUs) offer significant<br />

potential for overall system simplification and<br />

thereby cost and volume saving.<br />

All above trends and innovations on both EDU<br />

and component levels are likely to power a more<br />

accessible electrified future with the next generation<br />

of electric vehicles. Customers want short charging<br />

times and greatest possible vehicle range at an<br />

acceptable cost.<br />

The key to design and enable such EDUs are system<br />

understanding, methods and tools that support<br />

the design and innovations as described before.<br />

AVL offers the full range of simulation, testing,<br />

engineering capabilities and experience from past<br />

projects to successfully drive these innovations and<br />

bring them into the market.<br />

AVL is the technology development partner to<br />

not only engineer the propulsion technologies of<br />

tomorrow, but also to make them ready for series<br />

production utilizing the company’s global presence<br />

and independent access to a broad network of<br />

suppliers.<br />

Thomas Frey Head of E-drive/ Innovation, AVL<br />

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123


POWERTRAINS<br />

P2 hybrid modules<br />

enable flexible<br />

customer solutions<br />

and easy<br />

hybridization<br />

New environmental protection guidelines<br />

and stricter emission standards are the<br />

result of a growing sense of responsibility<br />

for climate protection. In the automotive<br />

industry, rigorous emissions regulations and<br />

the aim to achieve greater efficiency are<br />

driving innovations and the development of<br />

new <strong>mobility</strong> concepts. Current trends are, for<br />

example, autonomous driving and e-<strong>mobility</strong><br />

– a large number of hybrid and electric<br />

solutions are conquering the ever growing<br />

market.<br />

Various drivetrain architectures are available to<br />

automobile manufacturers for the design of mild<br />

and plug-in to full hybrids, ranging from a simple P0<br />

configuration to P1, P2, P3 and P4 to PS (power split).<br />

The P2 architecture, which is currently receiving a<br />

lot of attention in the industry, is positioning the<br />

electric motor between the transmission and the<br />

combustion engine. To disengage the combustion<br />

engine, this configuration uses a disconnect clutch<br />

enabling pure electric driving. The technology<br />

is suitable for various types of trans-missions,<br />

including manual transmissions.<br />

On-axis and off-axis P2<br />

module<br />

BorgWarner’s innovative technologies support<br />

manufacturers in hybridizing their vehicles by<br />

providing a wide range of functions and design<br />

options. The company’s portfolio includes two types<br />

of P2 hybrid modules (Fig. 1), which are easy to<br />

integrate into a drivetrain and can be tailored<br />

Fig. 1: BorgWarner’s P2<br />

modules enable purely<br />

electric driving, improve<br />

performance and optimize<br />

fuel efficiency.<br />

to customer requirements. An on-axis design with<br />

the electric motor integrated directly into the drive<br />

shaft or a configuration parallel to the axis can be<br />

used depending on the installation space available.<br />

The on-axis arrangement is ideal for powertrains with<br />

longitudinally mounted engines, with sufficient space<br />

for integrating the electric motor. Due to the axisencompassing<br />

design, torque transmission can be<br />

realized easily and cost-effectively.<br />

Configurations with transversely mounted engines and<br />

limited space often use off-axis configurations, which<br />

provide advantages in the transmission ratio and high<br />

flexibility in installation. In this solution, the rotational<br />

speed and torque are transmitted, for instance, by a<br />

chain (Fig. 2).<br />

Both architectures can be supported with normal<br />

pressure (about 20bar system pressure) or high<br />

pressure (up to 60bar system pressure) clutch layouts.<br />

Hydraulic control modules which exactly fit to these<br />

applications are available in the BorgWarner product<br />

portfolio, too.<br />

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Fig. 2: Placement of the electric engine<br />

in a on-axis (top) and off-axis (bottom)<br />

design.<br />

selecting the rotor design an interior permanent<br />

magnet (IPM), which is suitable for all stator designs,<br />

is preferable to an induction machine. It maintains<br />

the magnetic field without external excitation, thus<br />

increasing the overall performance and efficiency of<br />

the electric engine.<br />

Criteria for the module<br />

configuration<br />

When implementing various module configurations<br />

with electric engines not only space requirements<br />

but also the operating voltage, winding type and<br />

cooling system are relevant. An electric motor with a<br />

small diameter and high rotational speeds for better<br />

efficiency can be easily integrated within the off-axis<br />

solution. The on-axis design, on the other hand, is<br />

more suitable for a larger electric engine with lower<br />

rotational speeds and higher torque generation.<br />

There are two alternatives available for the operating<br />

voltage. Low-voltage systems offer a cost-effective<br />

solution and significant CO2 reductions. Sufficient<br />

power for pure electric driving is generated by highvoltage<br />

systems providing more than 100 kW. These<br />

are also characterized by the highest power savings<br />

potential. (Fig. 3).<br />

Not only the operating voltage, but also details<br />

such as the windings and wire shape influence the<br />

performance of the electric motor. Thanks to their<br />

low torque ripple and low cogging torque, distributed<br />

stator windings improve the Noise, Vibration, Harshness<br />

behavior (NVH) of the overall system. Ideally, a<br />

rectangular wire, which maximizes current density and<br />

improves heat transfer, acts as a conductor. When<br />

Various cooling solutions<br />

Depending on the operating conditions and<br />

temperatures, different types of cooling can be<br />

used for the electric motor. With oil cooling, the<br />

principal thermal components and the coolant<br />

are in direct contact. This process is very effective<br />

and achieves a continuous cooling capacity for<br />

constant average temperatures and ensures an ideal<br />

heat transfer. Cooling with a water-ethylene glycol<br />

mixture represents an alternative method in which<br />

significantly lower coolant inlet temperatures can be<br />

realized, which is at an advantage for dealing with<br />

temporary temperature peaks. The overall efficiency<br />

is slightly lower since the cooling medium itself is not<br />

direcly in contact with the heat source. The so-called<br />

outer cooling jacket dissipates the heat of the electric<br />

engine to the coolant via the stator.<br />

When both methods are combined, the waterethylene<br />

glycol mixture flows around the stator at<br />

an inlet temperature of only 65°C. Internally injected<br />

oil, which typically has a temperature of approx. 90°C<br />

due to gearbox operation, dissipates the heat from<br />

the rotor. This approach achieves high efficiency in<br />

normal operation and very good performance at<br />

peak temperatures. However, the use of an additional<br />

cooling jacket often comes at significantly higher<br />

costs. For this reason, the cooling capacity actually<br />

required to meet the target should be carefully<br />

examined in the design phase.<br />

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Fig. 3: Individual solutions thanks to different advantages<br />

of high- and low-voltage electric engines.<br />

Types of coupling<br />

In a P2 hybridization configuration, different types of<br />

couplings can be used to separate the combustion<br />

engine from the rest of the drivetrain. Due to its small<br />

size and low cost, combined with high efficiency, a<br />

freewheel is particularly suitable for applications<br />

where space is critical and applications are trimmed<br />

for maximum efficiency. Functional disadvantages<br />

can be avoided mainly by using multi-disc clutches.<br />

Especially wet friction plate clutches, which are<br />

characterized by a combination of high functionality<br />

and compactness as well as durability, are particularly<br />

suitable for this.<br />

If the transmission architecture employs a dual<br />

clutch basic transmission, the disconnect clutch as<br />

well as the dual clutch can even be integrated into<br />

a complete module along with the electric motor,<br />

resulting in many advantages. The triple clutch thus<br />

generated leads to a further significant reduction<br />

in installation space requirements and is currently<br />

becoming the most popular configuration in this<br />

transmission segment.<br />

Summary<br />

The P2 configuration represents one of the most<br />

future-proof hybridization architectures that<br />

manufacturers can employ to speed up their vehicles’<br />

readiness for the market. The bonus: It offers easyto-use,<br />

cost-effective electrification options and can<br />

be flexibly adapted to customer specifications. It also<br />

enables hybrid functionalities such as stop-start,<br />

regenerative braking, electric motor charging and<br />

pure electric driving. Manufacturers can hybridize<br />

existing power trains at low additional costs because<br />

neither the engine nor the transmission need to be<br />

modified or even replaced on a large scale.<br />

BorgWarner’s technology combines efficiency,<br />

flexibility in design options and durability, thus<br />

making a significant contribution to the success of<br />

hybridized vehicles.<br />

Author:<br />

Eckart Gold Engineering Director at<br />

Borg Warner Transmission Systems in<br />

Shanghai, China.<br />

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127


Intelligent Power<br />

POWER<br />

ELECTRONICS<br />

Modules accelerate<br />

transition to<br />

SiC-based<br />

Electric Motion<br />

New fast switching Silicon Carbide (SiC) Power Transistors<br />

are now widely available as discrete devices or bare die.<br />

Their low on-resistance at high blocking voltages, high<br />

switching speed and thermal performance allows system<br />

engineers to achieve significant gains in size, weight<br />

and efficiency for motor drives and battery chargers<br />

whilst anticipating a continuous drop in SiC devices<br />

pricing. However, an important brake for the adoption of<br />

SiC in high power applications is the availability of welloptimized<br />

power modules as well as the learning curve in<br />

reliably driving them. Intelligent Power Modules answer<br />

both challenges by offering highly integrated and plugin-play<br />

solutions accelerating time-to-market and saving<br />

engineering resources.<br />

Pierre Delatte, CTO, CISSOID<br />

This article discusses the benefits of selecting<br />

CISSOID’s 3-Phase 1200V SiC MOSFET Intelligent<br />

Power Module (IPM) scalable platform for power<br />

converter designs in E-<strong>mobility</strong> applications. This<br />

low-loss technology offers a fully integrated solution<br />

including a 3-Phase water-cooled SiC MOSFET power<br />

module with built-in gate drivers. This article not only<br />

presents the electrical and thermal characteristics of<br />

the power modules but also discusses the support<br />

they bring to fully benefit from SiC advantages. There,<br />

a key element is the gate driver and its ability to drive<br />

safely and reliably the SiC MOSFETs.<br />

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Figure 1. CXT-PLA3SA12450<br />

3-Phase 1200V/450A SiC<br />

MOSFET Intelligent Power<br />

Module<br />

Low losses & enhanced<br />

thermal robustness translate<br />

into higher power density<br />

CXT-PLA3SA12450 is part of a scalable platform ranging<br />

from 300A to 600A per phase. This 3-Phase 1200V/450A<br />

SiC MOSFET IPM features low conduction losses,<br />

with 3.25mOhms on-resistance, and low switching<br />

losses, with 7.8mJ turn-on and 8mJ turn-off energies<br />

at 600V/300A (see Table). It cuts losses by at least a<br />

factor of three with respect to state-of-the-art IGBT<br />

power modules. The module is water-cooled through<br />

a lightweight AlSiC pin-fin baseplate for a junction-tofluid<br />

thermal resistance of 0.15°C/W. The power module<br />

is rated for junction temperatures up to 175°C while<br />

its gate driver operates up to 125°C ambient. The IPM<br />

withstands isolation voltages up to 3600V (50Hz, 1min).<br />

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129


3D models & trusted thermal characteristics enable<br />

fast power converter design<br />

A great benefit of this IPM is the high level of<br />

integration of the power module with its gate driver<br />

and cooling AlSiC pin fin baseplate. This allows a rapid<br />

mechanical integration with the other elements of<br />

the power converter such as the DC bus capacitor and<br />

the cooling system as shown in Figure 2. The system<br />

designer may save a lot of time having access to an<br />

accurate a 3D model of the IPM including the gate<br />

driver right from the very beginning.<br />

Having the conduction and switching losses of the<br />

power module fully characterized together with a fully<br />

optimized gate driver reduces the thermal<br />

design space and possible iterations in the<br />

optimization of the power converters.<br />

Figure 2. Co-integration of CXT-PLA3SA12450 IPM with<br />

DC Bus capacitor and liquid cooler<br />

Based on the junction-to-fluid thermal<br />

resistance of 0.15°C/W per switch<br />

position, with a flow rate of 10l/min<br />

(50% ethylene glycol, 50% water) and an<br />

inflow temperature of 75°C, the maximum<br />

continuous drain current derating versus<br />

the case temperature can be calculated.<br />

This is based on the on-resistance at<br />

maximum Tj, and the maximum operating<br />

Tj, and is shown in Figure 3.<br />

If the maximum continuous drain current<br />

is a standard characteristic useful to<br />

compare the current rating of power<br />

modules, a more realistic Figure-of-Merit<br />

(FoM) is probably the RMS phase current<br />

versus the switching frequency as shown<br />

in Figure 4 for the CXT-PLA3SA12450. It is<br />

calculated for a DC bus voltage of 600V, case<br />

temperature of 90°C, junction temperature<br />

of 175°C and 50% duty cycle. This FoM is<br />

more useful to understand the applicability<br />

of the module. With this Intelligent Power<br />

Module platform being scalable, Figure 4<br />

also extrapolates the safe operating area of<br />

1200V/600A module (dashed line).<br />

Figure 3. CXT-PLA3SA12450 maximum Continuous Drain Current<br />

versus the case temperature.<br />

Figure 4. Phase current (Arms) versus switching frequency (Conditions: VDC=600V, Tc=90°C, Tj


e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | Vol 7 | <strong>Winter</strong> <strong>2020</strong><br />

Robust SiC Gate Drivers<br />

enable fast switching and<br />

low losses<br />

The CXT-PLA3SA12450 3-phase gate driver leverages<br />

on the experience gained with single-phase SiC gate<br />

drivers, e.g. CMT-TIT8243 [1, 2] and CMT-TIT0697 [3]<br />

designed respectively for 62mm 1200V/300A and<br />

fast-switching XM3 1200V/450A SiC MOSFET power<br />

modules (see Figure 5). The 3-phase gate driver<br />

has been optimized to fit on top of CXT-PLA3SA12450<br />

power module thanks to a more compact transformer<br />

module or creepage distances compliant with<br />

pollution degree 2. The CXT-PLA3SA12450 gate driver<br />

also includes a DC bus voltage monitoring function.<br />

As for CMT-TIT8243 and CMT-TIT0697, the CXT-<br />

PLA3SA12450 gate driver board has been designed for<br />

a maximum ambient operating temperature of 125°C.<br />

All the components have been carefully selected and<br />

sized to be suitable for operation at this temperature.<br />

It also relies on CISSOID’s high temperature gate<br />

driver chipset [4, 5] and a power transformer module<br />

optimized for low parasitic capacitance (10pF<br />

typically) to minimize common mode currents at high<br />

dV/dt and for high operating temperature.<br />

Figure 5. CMT-<br />

TIT0697 Gate<br />

Driver Board<br />

for fastswitching<br />

XM3<br />

1200V/450A SiC<br />

MOSFET Power<br />

Module<br />

The CXT-PLA3SA12450 gate driver still has headroom<br />

to support the power module scalability. The<br />

module has a total gate charge of 910nC. At 25KHz,<br />

the average gate current is equal to 22.75mA. This is<br />

well below the 95mA maximum current capability of<br />

the on-board isolated DC-DC converter. The current<br />

capability and gate charge of the power module<br />

can thus be increased, without gate driver board<br />

modifications. With the populated gate resistors, the<br />

actual max dV/dt is in the range of 10 to 20 KV/µs. The<br />

gate driver has been designed to be immune to dV/<br />

dt up to 50KV/µs, offering margin in terms of dV/dt<br />

robustness.<br />

Gate Driver Protections improve<br />

system functional safety<br />

Gate Driver protection functions are critical to<br />

guarantee the safe operation of the power module.<br />

This is particularly true when driving fast-switching<br />

SiC transistors. The CXT-PLA3SA12450 gate driver<br />

offers the following protection functions:<br />

• Undervoltage Lockout (UVLO): CXT-PLA3SA12450<br />

Gate Driver monitors primary & secondary<br />

voltages and reports a fault when below a<br />

programmed voltage.<br />

• Anti-overlap: avoids simultaneous turn-on of<br />

both high-side and low-side to prevent short<br />

circuit of the power half bridge.<br />

• Protection against any short-circuit at secondary:<br />

isolated DC-DC converter cycle-by-cycle current<br />

limitation protect the gate driver against any<br />

short-circuit (e.g. gate-source short-circuit).<br />

• Glitch filter: suppresses glitches on incoming<br />

PWM signals which might be due to common<br />

mode currents.<br />

• Active Miller Clamping (AMC): implements a<br />

bypassing of the negative gate resistor after<br />

turn-off to protect the power MOSFETs against<br />

parasitic turn-on.<br />

• Desaturation detection: at turn-on, checks after<br />

blanking time that the power MOSFET drainsource<br />

voltage is below a threshold.<br />

• Soft Shut-down: in case of fault, a slow turn-off of<br />

the power transistor is implemented to minimize<br />

overshoots due to high dI/dt.<br />

Conclusion<br />

Silicon Carbide (SiC) Intelligent Power Modules<br />

(IPM) provide system designers with an optimized<br />

solution accelerating their power converter design.<br />

The co-integration of driving and cooling functions<br />

offers trustable electrical and thermal characteristics<br />

from the start reducing the long learning curve often<br />

associated with this still relatively new technology.<br />

This new scalable IPM platform will support<br />

new adopters of SiC technology for E-<strong>mobility</strong><br />

applications.<br />

References<br />

[1] CMT-TIT8243: 1200V High Temperature (125°C) Half-Bridge SiC MOSFET Gate<br />

Driver Datasheet : http://www.cissoid.com/files/files/products/titan/CMT-<br />

TIT8243.pdf<br />

[2] P. Delatte “A High Temperature Gate Driver for Half Bridge SiC MOSFET<br />

62mm Power Modules”, Bodo’s Power Systems, p54, September 2019<br />

[3] CMT-TIT0697: 1200V High Temperature (125°C) Half-Bridge SiC MOSFET Gate<br />

Driver Datasheet : http://www.cissoid.com/files/files/products/titan/CMT-<br />

TIT0697.pdf<br />

[4] High Temperature Gate Driver Primary Side IC Datasheet: DC-DC Controller<br />

& Isolated Signal Transceivers http://www.cissoid.com/files/files/products/<br />

titan/CMT-HADES2P-High-temperature-Isolated-Gate-driver-Primary-side.pdf<br />

[5] High Temperature Gate Driver -Secondary Side IC Datasheet: Driver &<br />

Protection Functions http://www.cissoid.com/files/files/products/titan/CMT-<br />

HADES2S-High-temperature-Gate-Driver-Secondary-side.pdf<br />

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131


Virtual Testing of ADAS<br />

& AV Systems<br />

Mike Dempsey<br />

ADAS<br />

Edge Case<br />

Simulations<br />

Cars today are delivered with a plethora of advanced<br />

driver assistance systems (ADAS) such as lane keeping<br />

assistance, adaptive cruise control, automated<br />

emergency braking and much more. These systems<br />

are very complex and expensive to develop and yet<br />

the customer perception and experience with them is<br />

often quite negative.<br />

There are a number of factors to explain this:<br />

customer expectations often exceed what the systems<br />

are designed to do and it’s difficult to explain the<br />

limitations in clear, easily understandable terms.<br />

Another issue is that the systems are developed to<br />

meet the regulatory requirements but these test cases<br />

do not reflect the real world in which they need to<br />

perform.<br />

What does this have to do<br />

with simulation and edge<br />

cases?<br />

Well, if we want to develop our ADAS features to<br />

perform better in the real world we need to be able to<br />

test them in scenarios that are representative of the<br />

real world. However, it is difficult to safely recreate<br />

real world scenarios on a physical proving ground.<br />

For instance, we don’t really want to risk crashing our<br />

prototype vehicle into another vehicle during a test.<br />

But the real challenge is the number of edge cases<br />

that need to be considered. We define an edge case<br />

as a scenario that is individually unlikely but when<br />

considered together, they make up all the risk.<br />

Autonomous vehicle developers now recognise that to<br />

achieve commercial viability their systems will need<br />

to be trained, tested and validated on a huge number<br />

of edge cases. Similarly, for ADAS features it is<br />

increasingly apparent that they need to be developed<br />

and validated on the relevant set of edge cases.<br />

At Claytex we have been developing autonomous<br />

vehicle simulators that are designed to support the<br />

testing, training and validation of the vehicle systems.<br />

We focus on scenario-based testing of the complete<br />

system, which means we combine vehicle dynamics,<br />

sensor models, control systems and a detailed<br />

virtual world complete with traffic and pedestrians<br />

to challenge the vehicle. ADAS developers can, and<br />

should, utilise the same simulation technology as<br />

they are using the same sensors and control methods.<br />

The type of simulation tool that you need to<br />

effectively test an ADAS feature or AV controller is<br />

quite different to the simulation tools that have<br />

been used for the past 10-20 years of vehicle<br />

development. These are complex closed loop systems<br />

where simplifications in any one part of the system<br />

model can have a significant impact on the overall<br />

capability of the system. For example, if you have a<br />

great vehicle dynamics model with the real control<br />

system but use a smooth road and basic animation<br />

then it won’t present a representative scene to the<br />

perception sensors which in turn means the object<br />

detection will find it easy to identify and track targets.<br />

The end result is that you will be limited in how much<br />

you can use the simulation tools to develop, test and<br />

validate your system.<br />

Figure 1: Block<br />

diagram of ADAS<br />

and AV appropriate<br />

simulator<br />

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Our simulators are built around rFpro which is a driving<br />

simulation tool and provides our virtual environment.<br />

A unique feature of rFpro, compared to traditional<br />

driving simulation solutions, is that it allows driving<br />

simulation to be used to test the vehicle dynamics of<br />

road vehicles. By delivering a high-resolution road<br />

surface in real time, while generating accurate, realistic<br />

graphics without lag, professional test drivers may<br />

contribute to the engineering process while the car<br />

design is still model-based.<br />

The vehicle model can be developed using any of<br />

the major vehicle dynamics tools including Dymola,<br />

CarMaker, CarSim, Simulink and many more. At Claytex,<br />

we favour the use of Dymola as this allows our vehicle<br />

model to include more than just the suspension,<br />

we can also model the powertrain, battery, thermal<br />

management and all the other vehicle systems.<br />

rFpro has the industry’s largest library of digital twins<br />

of public roads, test tracks and proving grounds,<br />

spanning North America, Asia and Europe. These<br />

include multi-lane highways, urban, rural, mountain<br />

routes and automotive proving grounds, all replicated<br />

faithfully from the real world using their unique 3D<br />

reconstruction process.<br />

For drivers testing aspects of vehicle dynamics, these<br />

models come with accurately modelled digital road<br />

surfaces, built from kinetic LiDAR surveys, using rFpro’s<br />

TerrainServer to map the entire drivable surface to<br />

a 1cm grid along, and across, the road. Every bump,<br />

ripple and discontinuity will find its way through your<br />

tyre model into your vehicle under test.<br />

What this means for ADAS and AV development is that<br />

we can develop the vehicle dynamics model and test<br />

scenes to have a very high level of correlation between<br />

the real and virtual world. This ensures that the motion<br />

and related noise sources that affect the sensors is<br />

captured in the simulation.<br />

Physics-based sensor models<br />

ADAS and AV systems rely on their perception sensors<br />

to detect and understand the world around them.<br />

They typically use a suite of different types of sensor<br />

including camera, LiDAR and radar to measure the real<br />

world and sensor fusion within the control system<br />

to interpret the data. Detailed sensor models are<br />

required to support the development of these systems<br />

as when ideal sensors are used it becomes too easy<br />

for the systems to identify and understand the scenes<br />

and react. This leads to, for example, automated<br />

emergency braking systems being able to identify<br />

pedestrians much earlier in the ideal simulation<br />

compared to the real world which could lead you down<br />

the wrong development path.<br />

Our camera sensors rely on the rendering capabilities<br />

of rFpro which supports both real-time and non-realtime<br />

simulation modes. When running in real-time<br />

mode we can easily achieve full HD resolutions at<br />

60fps, typically our driving simulators run at even<br />

higher resolutions and frame rates. Camera sensors<br />

can be calibrated to include lens distortion and tone<br />

mapping effects that enable the simulation to match<br />

the real camera you are using.<br />

Figure 2:<br />

Simulation<br />

of an RCCC<br />

camera<br />

with lens<br />

distortion<br />

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e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | Vol 7 | <strong>Winter</strong> <strong>2020</strong><br />

Claytex has developed detailed LiDAR and radar<br />

models that include environmental and weather<br />

effects. For example, our real-time model of the<br />

Velodyne Puck LiDAR sensor runs at 325 frames-persecond<br />

and its position is updated at each frame<br />

based on the underlying vehicle dynamics model and<br />

rotational speed of the sensor. The weather model<br />

has been developed using real test data to determine<br />

the effect of rain, and other weather effects such<br />

as fog, on range accuracy, intensity and number of<br />

returns.<br />

The end result is that the sensor models are capable<br />

of generating representative data feeds that include<br />

the appropriate noise features. To support the<br />

training and validation of the perception systems<br />

these data feeds are backed up with a wealth of<br />

data such as depth maps, bounding box information,<br />

object velocities and much more.<br />

Figure 3: Velodyne Ultra-Puck sensor model output from<br />

simulation of a complex scenario<br />

Scenario based testing<br />

Harnessing all this simulation power in an effective<br />

way is challenging and scenario-based testing is<br />

the most appropriate way when working on the<br />

development of the control systems. Scenariobased<br />

testing means that we have a way to specify<br />

every aspect of the test including the scenery, static<br />

objects such as traffic cones, dynamic objects such as<br />

traffic and pedestrians, weather conditions and the<br />

intended path for the ego vehicle. Taken together a<br />

specific combination of these define a scenario.<br />

This presents another big challenge which is the<br />

definition and management of the scenarios within<br />

some form of database. For instance, if we consider a<br />

generic scenario where a pedestrian steps out in front<br />

of a moving vehicle then there are a huge number of<br />

parameter variations that we might need to consider<br />

such as the basic mechanics of the scenario: vehicle<br />

speed, distance from the vehicle to the pedestrian<br />

when they step out, other traffic and parked cars; but<br />

there are other factors such as time of day, weather<br />

conditions, pedestrian clothing. This very quickly<br />

leads to a huge number of potential scenarios from<br />

one simple conceptual scenario.<br />

As part of a collaborative R&D project we are working<br />

with several partners on novel approaches to the<br />

management of the scenarios and how we go about<br />

testing and assessing the performance of your system<br />

to identify any weak points without having to test<br />

every possible parameter combination for every<br />

conceivable scenario which is impractical.<br />

Figure 4: Test scenario including pedestrians and parked<br />

cars after a short shower has made the road surface wet<br />

Figure 5: Same test scenario replayed at night which<br />

presents a different challenge to the perception systems<br />

To summarise<br />

The effective development of ADAS features to meet<br />

real world usage requirements can be enabled<br />

through simulation but you will find that the tools you<br />

need are more complex and need to integrate every<br />

aspect of the system performance. This migration<br />

to new and improved simulation tools to support<br />

ADAS development is perhaps even more important<br />

in a post-Covid world where physical testing has<br />

become even more complicated with additional safety<br />

requirements related to social distancing.<br />

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135


POWER<br />

ELECTRONICS<br />

New PCB technologies enabling<br />

New Electrical Power Applications<br />

Highlighting the possibilities of PCB technology in the<br />

field of power electronic substrates.<br />

Authors:<br />

T. Gottwald,<br />

Dr. Manuel Martina,<br />

Christian Rößle of<br />

Schweizer Electronics<br />

Glossary<br />

MOSFET:<br />

Metal-Oxide-<br />

Semiconductor Field-<br />

Effect Transistor<br />

PCB:<br />

Printed Circuit Board<br />

DBC/DCB:<br />

Direct Bonded Copper /<br />

Direct Copper Bonding<br />

SMT:<br />

Surface Mount<br />

<strong>Technology</strong><br />

GaN:<br />

Gallium nitride<br />

SiC:<br />

Silicon carbide<br />

Al2O3:<br />

Aluminum oxide<br />

AlN:<br />

Aluminum nitride<br />

Si3N4:<br />

Silicon nitride<br />

CTE:<br />

Coefficient of thermal<br />

The transition from mechanical to electrical power brings new challenges to<br />

manufacturers and requires new solutions for the electrical system, where the PCB<br />

(Printed Circuit Board) is of crucial importance.<br />

High currents, heat dissipation of power electronic components, low inductances<br />

and miniaturization needs are only a few of the requirements that lead to<br />

innovative solutions on PCB level.<br />

Chip embedding technologies are meanwhile used to embed thin bare dies of<br />

Power Semiconductors into the PCB which leads to powerful alternatives to<br />

conventional power electronic modules.<br />

Introduction<br />

The global warming and the pressure on<br />

CO2 reduction led to an increasing ratio<br />

of Renewable Energy from wind power<br />

plants and solar energy systems. As<br />

these sources must be connected to the<br />

power grid DC to AC, AC to DC, DC to DC<br />

converters and the like are applications<br />

of growing volume. Because the energy<br />

of renewable sources tends to be more<br />

costly, the total systems´ efficiency is<br />

crucial.<br />

Due to the same reason the Automotive<br />

Industry is under legislative pressure<br />

to achieve their CO2 reduction targets.<br />

That’s why hybrid and electrical<br />

drive is bringing momentum to the<br />

development of new solutions for<br />

the electrification of automotive<br />

applications. High power demand<br />

leads to increasing challenges for high<br />

current and for thermal management of<br />

dissipated power losses as well.<br />

The power conversion is done with<br />

power semiconductors which have to<br />

be assembled on a substrate. This can<br />

either be a power module made from<br />

Ceramic substrates like Direct Bonded<br />

Copper (DBC/DCB) or with a Printed<br />

Circuit Board (PCB).<br />

The task of the substrate is to manage<br />

high currents, high heat dissipation and<br />

high switching frequencies to support<br />

the electrical conversion of energy in<br />

the best way.<br />

Over the last few years PCBs<br />

achieved an increasing share in these<br />

applications as they typically have a<br />

cost advantage over Ceramics. PCBs<br />

offer the opportunity to manage the<br />

power stage and the control board in<br />

one single substrate while Ceramic<br />

power stages always need to have<br />

an additional control board and the<br />

related interconnection architecture like<br />

plugs and cables.<br />

This article highlights the possibilities<br />

of PCB technology in the field of power<br />

electronic substrates.<br />

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Fig. 1: 6-layer multilayer PCB with 4 inner layers, 400 µm<br />

copper each.<br />

1. Heavy copper PCBs<br />

Heavy copper PCBs have been used in the automotive<br />

industry for a long time, e.g. for fuse- and relay boxes.<br />

This technology experiences a revival as the electrical<br />

power increases in many applications. The technology<br />

is also useful to reduce the parasitic inductance of the<br />

conductors by using the heavy copper layers as power<br />

lines which can be stacked one above the other in a<br />

heavy copper multilayer.<br />

Up to 4 layers made from 400 µm (12 oz) Copper<br />

can be realized in the inner layers, which leads to a<br />

potential ampacity of more than 1000 A. The outer<br />

layers of such a heavy copper multilayer should be<br />

kept below 150 µm. Otherwise additional effort must<br />

be made for the solder mask process to achieve a safe<br />

electrical insulation.<br />

2. Power Combi-Board<br />

The disadvantage of heavy copper PCB technology<br />

is the incompatibility with fine pitch structures<br />

which cannot be etched with heavy copper.<br />

A power electronic system typically consists of a<br />

power stage with heavy copper design and a separate<br />

control board with standard copper thickness for<br />

SMT assembly. The installation space must be large<br />

enough to host both boards and the connectors<br />

between the two boards.<br />

With the Power Combi Board, a combination of both<br />

requirements can be achieved. Heavy copper is<br />

partially installed in the inner layers beside standard<br />

copper construction. The electrical connection of the<br />

whole board is carried out with one common outer<br />

layer in SMT compatible copper thickness.<br />

For heat dissipation the insulation layer between the<br />

heavy copper layers are a barrier for optimal heat<br />

transportation in z-axis. Heavy copper PCB technology<br />

should therefor preferably be used to manage high<br />

currents. Therefore, If heat dissipation is important<br />

for the application, other technologies should also be<br />

considered like the Inlay technology.<br />

Fig.2: Power Combi Board: Heavy copper beside standard copper thickness for power and control in one PCB<br />

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137


3. Insulated Metal Substrates<br />

(IMS)<br />

An Insulated Metal Substrate typically consists of a<br />

metal heat sink, a thin insulation layer and a single<br />

copper layer on top. The construction is useful for<br />

simple designs which host a lot of heat generating<br />

components. For more complex components it is not<br />

possible to do the routing with one layer only.<br />

Today IMS substrates can also be manufactured<br />

with more than one layer to enable the combination<br />

of higher complexity layouts with optimized heat<br />

dissipation.<br />

The typical Aluminum back is a light weight but also<br />

a high CTE metal. To increase the reliability of the<br />

assembled components Copper was introduced as<br />

heat sink metal on the back side. This also improves<br />

the thermal capacity and other characteristic as<br />

shown in Fig. 4<br />

4. Inlay <strong>Technology</strong><br />

For minimizing the thermal resistance from the power<br />

components to the heat sink the shortest way will<br />

lead to the lowest thermal resistance. In most cases<br />

the heat is dissipated in z-axis from the assembled<br />

top side of a PCB through the board to a heat sink,<br />

which is installed at the bottom. By laminating a<br />

massive copper element into the PCB, the thermal<br />

resistance can be reduced<br />

dramatically. If the Inlay<br />

is not only used for heat<br />

dissipation but also for<br />

high currents the lowest<br />

ohmic resistance can also<br />

be achieved.<br />

Fig 5: Top: Top and bottom side of an inlay board for<br />

1200 A peak currents. Bottom: Cross section through an<br />

inlay board with 2 mm thick copper inlays in the inner<br />

structure.<br />

Fig. 3: Insulated Metal substrate with copper<br />

back<br />

5. Embedding <strong>Technology</strong><br />

When it comes to highest performance requirements<br />

and lowest installation space, conventional solutions<br />

encounter limitations regarding installation space<br />

and power density. Miniaturization was the first driver<br />

for embedding because space savings are possible<br />

if some of the components are installed inside the<br />

PCB instead of the outer<br />

surface.<br />

To improve heat<br />

dissipation from the inside<br />

of the PCB to the heat sink<br />

Schweizer Electronic [3]<br />

and Infineon Technologies<br />

[4] developed the socalled<br />

p² Pack® <strong>Technology</strong><br />

Fig.4: Comparison of characteristics Copper vs. Aluminum<br />

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e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | Vol 7 | <strong>Winter</strong> <strong>2020</strong><br />

which uses a power semiconductor assembled in a<br />

lead frame which acts as a heat spreader and reduces<br />

the thermal resistance significantly. The top side<br />

contacts are connected with a heavy copper layer<br />

using copper filled micro vias which replace the bond<br />

wires, which typically are used in conventional power<br />

modules. With this technology not only the heat<br />

dissipation but also electrical parameters could be<br />

improved as follows.<br />

Electrical performance<br />

On State Resistance: The part of the package<br />

resistance associated with the bond wires is virtually<br />

eliminated with chip embedding. The exact value<br />

depends on the respective semiconductor technology<br />

generation, the voltage class, and the semiconductor<br />

package.<br />

Thermal Resistance: Due to the excellent heat<br />

spreading which is achieved with a lead frame in<br />

p² Pack technology the systems thermal resistance<br />

significantly improves. Also, the thermal impedance<br />

and therefor the robustness of the devices is<br />

therefore improved due to the thermal capacity of<br />

the lead frame.<br />

Switching performance: Low parasitic inductance<br />

is achieved as a result of the almost flat connection<br />

between the top of the chip and the vias, and short<br />

distances between the DC-link capacitors and power<br />

semiconductors. This enables faster switching, with<br />

lower losses especially with fast switching devices<br />

like GaN and SiC semiconductors.<br />

Miniaturization: Many systems for current and<br />

future applications need to be shrinked while<br />

simultaneously providing additional functionality.<br />

Chip embedding can save valuable space on PCB<br />

level.<br />

Higher Reliability: Replacing bond wires or DCB<br />

ceramics substantially increases reliability. In power<br />

cycling tests with a temperature difference dT of 120<br />

K, designs were able to withstand more than 700,000<br />

active cycles.<br />

System Cost Reduction: With savings on plug<br />

connectors and cables, optimized cooling, reductions<br />

in required chip surface areas for power components,<br />

smaller passive components, fewer EMC issues, the<br />

insulation already built in and overall space savings,<br />

system cost savings are considerable.<br />

Figure 6: Cross section of a Smart p² Pack<br />

power PCB (top) and a half bridge (bottom).<br />

Fig. 7: Inverter PCB in Smart p² Pack<br />

<strong>Technology</strong>. Top: partly X-Ray image<br />

showing the Standard Cells in top view.<br />

Bottom: Cross section of Smart p² Pack showing<br />

the embedded Standard Cells in side<br />

view.<br />

e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | www.e-motec.net<br />

139


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e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | Vol 7 | <strong>Winter</strong> <strong>2020</strong><br />

Roadmap to high voltage<br />

and Wide Bandgap<br />

Semiconductors<br />

PCB embedding technologies like the p² Pack<br />

technology will enhance the performance of<br />

power electronic applications. Due to its´ very low<br />

parasitic inductance this new technology supports<br />

low loss switching at high frequencies which is of<br />

utmost importance when so called wide band gap<br />

semiconductors come into play. The next generation<br />

of Automotive drives, which will be equipped with SiC<br />

and with GaN devices, is already in development and<br />

showing outstanding results. [2]<br />

With a built-in insulation it will be possible to<br />

assemble the Smart p² Pack directly on the Heat sink.<br />

The TIM (Thermal Interface Material) can be chosen<br />

either as electrically non-conductive or as electrically<br />

conductive material.<br />

Additional features<br />

Standardization and modularization are important<br />

factors for the success of a new technology. Therefore,<br />

half bridge designs were built as demonstrators with<br />

current sensing by using shunt elements for the<br />

measurement of the phase current of an electrical<br />

motor. As shunts are relatively large components,<br />

miniaturization efforts are supported while reliability<br />

improves: Solder joints are replaced by micro – vias<br />

for the connection to the board.<br />

By embedding the shunt into the p² Pack the heat<br />

dissipation from the shunt is improved dramatically<br />

which increases the possibility to use shunts for<br />

current measurements even for very high currents e.g.<br />

300 A per phase.<br />

Conclusions<br />

New PCB technologies have the potential to support<br />

e-<strong>mobility</strong> systems by minimizing form factors,<br />

increasing the systems´ performance and by reducing<br />

the system cost when determined on system level.<br />

The embedding of power electronic devices is able<br />

to replace conventional power modules, which<br />

also improves system performance and reliability<br />

significantly and is useful for low voltage applications<br />

with highest currents as well as for wide band gap<br />

devices in high voltage applications. [2], [5]<br />

Acknowledgement<br />

The authors acknowledge the contribution of Infineon<br />

Technologies AG and the Schweizer Electronics’ Innovations<br />

Team to this work.<br />

References<br />

[1] Adrian Röhrich and Christian Rössle, Chip Embedding<br />

of Power Semiconductors in Power Circuit Boards, ATZ<br />

elektronics worldwide, 06/2018<br />

[2] C. Marczok, M. Martina, M. Laumen, S. Richter, A. Birkhold,<br />

B. Flieger, O. Wendt, T. Päsler: SiC modul - Modular hightemperature<br />

SiC power electronics for fail-safe power<br />

control in electrical drive engineering. Proceedings CIPS<br />

<strong>2020</strong>, 11th International Conference on Integrated Power<br />

Electronics Systems<br />

[3] https://www.schweizer.ag/de/produkteundloesungen/<br />

embedding/p2_Pack.html<br />

[4] https://www.infineon.com/cms/en/about-infineon/<br />

press/market-news/2019/INFATV201905-068.html<br />

[5] Thomas Gottwald, Christian Roessle : Minimizing form<br />

factor and parasitic inductances of Power Electronic<br />

Modules: The p² Pack <strong>Technology</strong>. 7th Electronic System-<br />

Integration <strong>Technology</strong> Conference (ESTC 2018)<br />

Figure 9: X-Ray image of a Half-Bridge design<br />

with embedded shunt (right). X-sectional view<br />

of Half-Bridge design with embedded shunt in<br />

the middle (bottom)<br />

e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | www.e-motec.net<br />

141


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e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | Vol 7 | <strong>Winter</strong> <strong>2020</strong><br />

CONNECTIVITY<br />

SHOWCASING<br />

A NEW ONLINE<br />

ENERGY<br />

PREDICTION<br />

MODEL WITH<br />

AN ACCURACY<br />

CLOSE TO 99%<br />

The energy consumption of electric<br />

buses has proven to be more sensitive<br />

to driving style and external conditions,<br />

such as ambient temperature, than their<br />

fossil fuelled cousins. This sensitivity,<br />

coupled with a shorter range and the<br />

need to opportunity charge during<br />

the day, means that the operations in<br />

public transport are exposed to more<br />

volatility as well as planning uncertainty.<br />

This volatility requires bus operators to<br />

invest in additional battery capacity or to<br />

acquire more assets in order to service a<br />

concession. Or, alternatively, to adopt new<br />

tools and technologies that bring more<br />

visibility and adaptability to the operation.<br />

From an economical and sustainability<br />

point of view, the latter would seem the<br />

better choice.<br />

e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | www.e-motec.net<br />

143


Towards operational<br />

excellence in zero-emission<br />

public transport<br />

In this magazine, we have previously covered some<br />

of the innovations coming out of the Cloud-Your-Bus<br />

(CYB) programme co-funded by EMEurope. CYB is a<br />

consortium of a group of technology leaders and<br />

technical universities and with a mission to create<br />

operational excellence in zero-emission public<br />

transport. This article deals with a unique algorithm<br />

that has been developed by the Technical University<br />

of Eindhoven (TU/e) together with IoT and telematics<br />

company Sycada and which allows for accurate SoC<br />

prediction at the end of a route just shortly after that<br />

the vehicle has commenced its journey.<br />

The SoC prediction challenge,<br />

closer to solved<br />

Accurately predicting the energy consumption<br />

of a bus on a given route is one of those critical<br />

tools, but it is not a trivial task to accomplish a<br />

high level of accuracy. Current energy consumption<br />

prediction models suffer from several practical and<br />

computational limitations and, more often than<br />

not, fail to factor in environmental and contextual<br />

parameters. Hence they have limited real value in<br />

a dynamic operational or bus planning context. As<br />

a result, most, if not all, bus operators plan their<br />

zero-emissions operations based on limited historical<br />

datasets for buses and routes. But these estimations<br />

are inherently inaccurate with an error margin up to<br />

40%.<br />

The online energy consumption prediction model<br />

developed by the TU/e and Sycada in the context of<br />

CYB has shown to bring this error margin down to an<br />

average close to 1%.<br />

When made available to bus operators, this more<br />

accurate information can facilitate better and faster<br />

decision making and help optimise route and charge<br />

planning throughout the day. This in turn has a<br />

massive positive impact on both capital (Capex) and<br />

operational (Opex) expenses and will help accelerate<br />

the transition to zero-emission public transport in<br />

Europe and beyond.<br />

themselves was to develop a prediction algorithm for<br />

electric city buses which does not rely on plenty of<br />

vehicle parameters and time series to be accurate. In<br />

fact, the model only requires two parameters, along<br />

with a chosen route and its recorded characteristics,<br />

to be updated in real-time.<br />

The model is divided in two parts: an offline and<br />

an online algorithm. The offline model uses the<br />

historical data to generate an initial estimate of the<br />

energy consumption. The online model will correct<br />

the prediction result by adjusting the vehicle mass<br />

value. Additionally, the online approach is based on<br />

a recursive algorithm to adjust only two parameters,<br />

which greatly reduces the complexity and practical<br />

(computing) limitations during the operation.<br />

Offline estimates based on<br />

historical data<br />

For a given route from location A to location B,<br />

relevant data can be collected repeatedly to establish<br />

a historical energy usage database. The essential<br />

signals consist of the time of day, vehicle location<br />

and speed, battery voltage, battery current, drivetrain<br />

voltage and drivetrain current. These datasets are<br />

collected via a wireless gateway that connects to<br />

the CANbus system(s) in the bus. Assuming that the<br />

sampling frequency is identical for all signal channels<br />

and the data lengths for all channels are identical, the<br />

reference profile and reference auxiliary power profile<br />

can be obtained. Using the profiles, the initial energy<br />

consumption estimate can be done.<br />

The figure below shows the energy consumption<br />

(black line as reference profile) for a specific route<br />

calculated based on measured drive-train and<br />

auxiliary power profiles over 16 different cycles.<br />

Because the vehicle mass is assumed as a constant,<br />

and the time for operating the auxiliary system is<br />

fixed, the estimated total energy consumption for the<br />

investigated route is fixed as well.<br />

A new algorithmic approach<br />

The challenge that the CYB researchers gave<br />

144 e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | www.e-motec.net


e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | Vol 7 | <strong>Winter</strong> <strong>2020</strong><br />

Online corrections with<br />

tuning parameters<br />

However, in case of electric city buses the drive-train<br />

power request is significantly influenced by the load<br />

of passengers being carried for a particular trip on<br />

a given route. The auxiliary request is influenced<br />

by several factors, one of the most dominant is<br />

ventilation and air conditioning. Both of these terms<br />

are subject to change as the trip progresses and<br />

requires the algorithm to make relevant corrections in<br />

real time. The two parameters needed to be updated<br />

are mass-estimate for drive-train power estimation<br />

and correction gain-estimate for auxiliary estimation.<br />

All other influencing factors on energy estimation are<br />

considered as perturbation.<br />

Input for adaptive line and<br />

charge planning<br />

“The practical usability of the model is twofold”, says<br />

Kristian Winge, CEO of Sycada. “Firstly, it allows for<br />

early flagging of critical deviations from assumptions<br />

that can ruin the current day-to-day operational<br />

planning and hence require adaptations. Secondly, it<br />

allows for continuous improvements in tactical lineand<br />

charge planning by creating more transparency<br />

in the impact of passenger load, environmental<br />

factors, seasonality and time of day on energy usage<br />

patterns”.<br />

Impressive level of prediction<br />

accuracy<br />

Live test results confirm that the real-time estimation<br />

model is an advanced system capable of estimating<br />

the approximate energy consumed by the electric<br />

city bus over the given route well in time, and is also<br />

producing robust results over different data cycles.<br />

In offline estimations the absolute error over some<br />

cycles would go as high as 40 % and on an average<br />

remains at 18.5%. On the other hand in real-time<br />

(online) energy estimations the absolute error were<br />

under 4 % and on an average remains 1.2%.<br />

This illustrates the superior performance of the realtime<br />

energy estimation system developed by TU/e<br />

and Sycada.<br />

In the adjacent figure the results are compiled for the<br />

progression of the absolute error in estimation for all<br />

available data cycles with the reference profile used<br />

as base data profile. It can be seen that, as more data<br />

is made available, the resulting error rate decreases<br />

and eventually becomes bounded around zero. The<br />

performance of the real-time energy estimation is<br />

exceptionally good in the region from around 20-25%<br />

of the travelled distance along the route.<br />

The new model is particularly useful in public<br />

transport operations where the distance for lines and<br />

rotations are known and fixed.<br />

e-<strong>mobility</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> International | www.e-motec.net<br />

145


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