Green Digital Mobility

Applications

E-Mobility &
Infrastructure

Europe’s transportation sector moves towards decarbonization with the rise of affordable electric and hybrid vehicles.

Improving air quality and preventing global warming is at the top of the agendas in Europe and the rest of the world. This means that the European and global automotive industry is currently facing the challenge of reducing CO2 emissions.

The goal is to minimize the direct CO2 emissions from cars with combustion engines while increasing the number of fully electric vehicles that produce no exhaust gases locally.

Since 2007, VIRTUAL VEHICLE has been working on core topics of Sustainable Vehicle Technology in order to contribute to the success factors of e-mobility.

Central Research Topics

 

  • Emission-free drives: safe and efficient technologies
  • Reduction of energy consumption
  • Optimization of the e-charging infrastructure
  • Powerful and sustainable lithium-ion battery technology
  • System simulation: digital twin “overall electromobility system”

 

Smart charging solutions for a wide range of vehicle classes

Analyze the needs of cities, operators and drivers

Improvement of the total vehicle costs

Development of innovative charging management strategies

Truck Platooning

Car-to-Car-Communication

Investigating the effect of energy-efficient, semi-automated truck platoons

Efficient Power Electronics

Advancements in Electric Vehicle Technology: GaN and SiC Power Electronics for Enhanced Performance and Efficiency

State-of-the-art research relies on gallium nitride (GaN) for e-vehicles and hybrid vehicles.

 

At the VIRTUAL VEHICLE, we deal with all areas of gallium nitride (GaN) power electronics (from base materials to complete subsystems). Improving reliability and applications with lower voltages, such as 48 V systems, is the focus of our research in this area.

 

In addition, the latest silicon carbide (SiC) components are being introduced into new architectures, controls and applications for advanced inverter systems in high-performance powertrains and test systems to reduce energy losses and reduce the weight and size of components in modern EV powertrains.

Optimized Energy Management

A Focus on Optimized Energy Management and Innovative Technologies at VIRTUAL VEHICLE

One of the biggest obstacles to the large-scale introduction of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles is the limited storage capacity of electric batteries, which limits the range of the vehicles. This obstacle can be overcome through optimized energy management and optimized energy use. It will require a vehicle occupant-centric approach, taking into account space, cost and complexity requirements.

 

In particular, VIRTUAL VEHICLE intends to develop a number of innovative core technologies (such as integrated thermal management systems) and complementary technologies (local air conditioning, PV panels, etc.) in combination with intelligent control systems (“eco-driving” and “eco-routing”).

Innovative Charging Technologies

Evolving Electric Vehicle Infrastructure: Smart Charging and Digital Twins for Grid Optimization

With the rapidly increasing number of electric vehicles, the demands on the required infrastructure and the load on the power grid are also increasing. Innovative charging technologies such as smart charging, vehicle-to-home, vehicle-to-building and vehicle-to-grid can not only reduce the load on the power grid, but also actively contribute to grid stabilization.

 

VIRTUAL VEHICLE is working on “digital twins” to simulate and optimize the entire charging chain (from energy generation to the e-vehicle). Investigating and modeling user behavior is crucial, as the conduct of e-vehicle owners significantly influences the outcome.

References

Current
Projects

Tri-State

The main objective of this project is to develop and test an interdisciplinary evaluation method for battery systems for the holistic assessment of thermal safety.

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Use Cases

Further Tops

Future car

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