The electrification of vehicles responds to numerous challenges facing society and economy today.
The introduction of electric vehicles is a benefit for the electrical system integration of renewable energy and smart grid power distribution. Electric vehicles may act injecting or demanding electricity in accordance with the specific needs of the smart grid.
The electrical solution introduces a number of inherent electromobility technologies, such as storage and electric traction or power electronics for control for power management. It also requires technology to improve efficiency of small electrical and lighting to minimize their impact on the battery.
In this sense, the design and architecture of future electric vehicles severely limit their development and undergo remarkable changes in their platforms. The small size of the wheel motors, flexibility in the distribution of the battery or weight distribution, for example, are aspects that will determine new vehicle concepts compared to large and unyielding heat engines, drive systems and deposits Fuel, or such as communication systems in the vehicle and incorporating the whole intelligent software for connecting the vehicle with its environment, for reasons of security and logistical charging (the latter very important due to anxiety range to generate the first generation of electric vehicle).
The trend towards the interconnectivity between electric vehicle and its environment (including other vehicles), no longer in line with current trends (social network connections ...) and the fact that increasingly greater extent, the vehicle is becoming livable.
Some of the technological capabilities of the UPC are:
- Traction systems (morphologies reluctance electrical machines and permanent magnet hybrid systems axial flow engines ...).
- Modelling and control of electric motors.
- Design and development of chargers and V2G/V2H systems based on proprietary protocols and standards.
- Definition of specifications for charging stations.
- Design ultrafast charging stations.
- Battery Chargers: Lithium Ion, Ni MH, VRL
- Battery Management Systems.
- New requirements for electric vehicle EMC.
- Connectivity electric vehicle with its environment.
- Design by CFD and CSM components.
- Aeroacoustics and noise generation.
- Analysis of the impact of electric vehicles on power grids.
- Analysis of new business models for electric vehicles.
RELATED PROJECTS
- The Biological Treatment of Gaseous Pollutants and Odours Group (BIOGAP) at UPC is participating in the BIOMETCRI project, which aims to implement an innovative biotechnological process to recycle batteries from electric and hybrid vehicles, recovering valuable metals such as cobalt, lithium, nickel, and manganese.
- The research group Barcelona Innovative Transportation (BIT) and the innovation and research laboratory of Barcelona School of Informatics (inLab FIB) at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech (UPC) is taking part in the project eBRT2030 (European Bus Rapid Transit of 2030: electrified, automated, connected).
- The SCAPE project has been developed with the participation of the Power Electronics Research Group (GREP) of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech (UPC). The aim is to advance towards design standardisation, cost reduction and an improvement in the features of electronic power conversion systems for the future generation of electric vehicles.
- The flexibility of electrical systems is fundamental in the process of energy transition towards more sustainable energy generation models. The European Commission promotes the development of solutions that respond to the challenges of managing electricity distribution networks in the future energy system based on renewable sources. An increasingly large proportion of fluctuating electricity generators, such as wind and solar systems, makes it difficult to calculate the loads that are being supplied.
