Higher Voltage, Megawatt Charging System Compatible, Modular Powertrain For Heavy Duty Vehicles (HDV) (2ZERO Partnership)

Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:

• Demonstrated integration potential and modularity of next level advanced high-voltage systems to benefit cost of Commercial Vehicles (CV) in particular for the Heavy-Duty Vehicles (HDV) segment.
• Improved energy efficiency and higher utilization potential of HDV (ensuring full operational capability for the intended usage models) via high-voltage powertrain configurations.
• Demonstrated benefits of high-voltage systems also for fast charging and auxiliary components.

Major challenges still faced by Heavy Duty Battery Electric Vehicles (HD-BEV) are cost and fast charging. As electric vehicles become more attractive through Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), significantly higher acquisition costs remain, partly caused by the wide spectrum of usage scenarios and a relatively low number of vehicles, which makes development costs a significant factor for vehicle price.

Proposed actions are expected to address all of the following aspects:

• Simplify system configurations while ensuring energy efficiency for achieving economies of scale and extending component lifespans.
• Increase the voltage (post 800V) to an optimal level with regard to efficiency, affordability, and performance – and especially the compatibility with Megawatt Charging Systems (MCS) – to support faster charging needs and reduction of charging losses within the vehicle by 10 %, while considering the context of modularity and safety.
• Demonstrate the benefits of high-voltage systems also for fast charging and addressing auxiliary components, e.g. thermal management, including the modular interchangeability.
• Consider the possibility of modular and removable battery systems that would favour second-life applications to further enhance sustainability.
• Develop modular powertrain systems to enable tailored solutions for specific use cases, maintain flexibility for broader applications also by developing and defining relevant hardware and software interfaces.
• Demonstrate vehicle solutions in relevant environments to ensure the ability for effective integration with innovative Electrical/Electronic (E/E) architecture and thermal management strategies, or wider solutions.
• Evaluate life-cycle costs against previous lower voltage systems in order to identify potential improvements.

This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on ‘Towards zero emission road transport’ (2ZERO). As such, projects resulting from this topic will be expected to report on the results to the European Partnership ‘Towards zero emission road transport’ (2ZERO) in support of the monitoring of its KPIs.