MULTI-MOBY is an ambitious proposal aiming at quickly finalizing the results of a cluster of GV and FoF EU projects addressing the development of technology for safe, efficient and affordable urban electric vehicles. A fleet of multi-passenger and multi-purpose commercial vans will be manufactured assuring: • Best-in-class safety for occupants and Vulnerable Road Users (VRUs) protection as required per the M1/N1categories, • Autonomous capabilities by adopting the most on-the-road-experimented sensing and computational platforms, with the addition of low-cost scanning and night vision functionalities, • High efficiency 48V and 100V powertrains adopting the most advanced power semiconductor technologies amongst Si, SiC and GaN, • Robust battery packs based on hybrid cells with specific energy close to 200Wh/kg at pack level, • On-board charger integrating a DCxxV-DC12V converter optimized for the two voltages of interest, • A standardized low cost charging system able to operate DC charging at 48V and 100V, • Advanced Electric Electronic (EE) architecture with implemented secured procedures for remote updates and upgrades of the firmware and predictive maintenance, by applying advanced artificial intelligence (AI) methodologies, • Application of low-cost, flexible, agile and lean manufacturing through a low-investment micro-factory concept, • Competitive price positioning with respect to existing and forthcoming fully electrical urban passenger and commercial vehicles.

The ORCA Project proposal addresses topic GV-03-2016, of the Transport Work Programme. The work proposed will, in a single coordinated project, address all the aspects of the domain 2 “For pure and plug-in hybrids, power-train system integration and optimisation through the re-use of waste heat, advanced control, downsizing of ICEs, innovative transmissions and the integration of electronic components” regarding Heavy Duty Vehicles. The activity proposed will be conducted by an 11-member consortium from 7 different European Members States representing all requested competencies in the field of powertrain optimization for Heavy Duty vehicles. The consortium comprises OEMs with IVECO-ALTRA, CRF and VOLVO (also members of EUCAR, suppliers VALEO, BOSCH, JOHNSON MATTHEY and JSR MICRO (CLEPA), leading Engineering and Technology Companies/organizations and Universities with TNO, FRAUNHOFER, and VUB (EARPA). The majority are also active members of ERTRAC and EGVIA. The overall objectives of the ORCA project are: Reduce the TCO to the same diesel vehicle TCO level, targeting over 10% system cost premium reduction compared to actual IVECO hybrid bus and VOLVO conventional truck with the same performances, same functionalities and operative cost, and also targeting up to 10% rechargeable energy storage (RES) lifetime/energy throughput improvement. Improve the hybrid powertrain efficiency up to 5% compared to actual IVECO hybrid bus and conventional truck through optimized RES selection & sizing and by improving the energy and ICE management. Reduce the fuel consumption by 40% compared to an equivalent conventional HD vehicle (bus & truck). Downsize the ICE by at least 50% compared to actual IVECO hybrid bus and VOLVO conventional truck. Improve the electric range from 10km to 30km by adding the PHEV capabilities and optimising the RES capacity. Case study assessment to replace a diesel engine by a CNG engine for future heavy-duty vehicles.

The European “Green Deal” initiative by the EU commission strives for sustainable mobility and efficient use of resources. Within HiEFFICIENT the project partners will work towards these goals and will develop the next generation of wide band-gap semiconductors (WBG) in the area of smart mobility. To boost this development and the market introduction in automotive applications, HiEFFICIENT partners have set ambitious goals to gain higher acceptance and achieve the maximum benefit in using WBG semiconductors: 1.) Reduction in Volume of 40%, by means of integration on all levels (component-, subsystem- and system level), 2.) Increase efficiency beyond 98%, while reducing losses of up to 50%, 3.) Increase reliability of wide band-gap power electronic system to ensure a lifetime improvement of up to 20%. To accomplish the targeted goals, the partners will work on industrial use cases to demonstrate the key achievements and the progress that goes beyond state of the art. This includes, amongst others, modular inverters with different voltage levels (such as 48V, 400V, 800V), flexible on- and multi-use off-board chargers for different voltage levels, multi-purpose DC/DC converters and test systems for power electronics’ lifetime testing. These use cases are led by OEMs and other industrial partners, who define requirements and specifications for the envisioned systems. The project work starts at component-level, developing highly integrated GaN and SiC devices, and is followed by multi-objective design optimization and virtual prototyping approaches. High integration means big challenges in thermal management, which will be addressed by the development of advanced cooling concepts and modularity for the sake of maintainability and flexibility for future applications. Finally, the demonstrators are integrated in relevant environments to proof the concepts and the applicability for electric drivetrains with higher integration, higher efficiency, and higher reliability.

WInSiC4AP core objective is to contribute in developing reliable technology bricks for efficient and cost-effective applications addressing social challenges and market segments where Europe is a recognized global leader as well as automotive, avionics, railway and defence. WInSiC4AP approach is to rely on the strength of vertical integration allowing optimization, technologies fitting application requirements, developing the full ecosystem and approach relevant issues as reliability in the full scope. That enhances the competitiveness of EU- Industries as well as TIER1 and TIER2 down to the value chain in a market context where other countries today, such as the USA or Japan, are advancing and new players accessing SiC enter in the market. New topologies and architecture will be developed for targeted application simulating operational environment, at laboratory level, driving the needed and still missed technologies, components and demonstrators to fill the gap between current state of the art and the very high demanding specifications. WInSiC4AP framework has been built so that companies working in different domains (i.e. automotive car maker and TIER1-2 and avionics, railway and defence TIER1-TIER2) and in the vertical value chain (semiconductor suppliers, companies manufacturing inductors and capacitors) as well as academic entities and laboratories will collaborate to co-design solutions, solve problems and exchange know-how, such that unforeseen results may also emerge. WInSiC4AP will be supported with synergy between ECSEL JU and ESI funding enabling complementary activities with relevant economic and social impact envisage in a less development region of Union.

Rare Earths (RE) are crucial materials for Europe's successful green and digital transition, thus classified as highly critical. The market for RE magnets itself is relatively small - about €6.5 billion - however its downstream leverage is enormous: the mobility business in the EU27 alone is expected to grow to about €500 billion by 2030, with 6 million jobs. While being a world leader in the manufacturing of e.g. electric motors, the EU27 is fully import-dependent along the entire value chain of RE magnet materials. Despite a growing market, European magnet production capacity is underutilised and tends to serve specialised niche applications. In addition, RE magnets are increasingly imported as part of motors and generator assemblies and products. The main reasons for these developments are that China has a monopoly in the RE supply chain across all stages from mining to refining. To overcome this issue, REEsilience will categorise RE for geographic locations, quantities, chemical composition, ethical and sustainable indicators, ramp-up scenarios, and pricing, considering all value streams from virgin to secondary material. It will build a production system that ensures a resilient and sustainable supply chain for RE as critical raw materials for the e-mobility, renewable energy and further strategic sectors in Europe with less dependencies on non-European economies. A newly-developed software tool will determine optimum mixing ratios to ensure consistently high product quality with maximum secondary materials for high-tech applications. Combined with new and improved technologies for alloy production and powder preparation, especially of secondary materials, the yield and stability of processes will be further enhanced, allowing further augmentation of the proportion of secondary materials in RE PM production, reducing at the same time waste, environmental damage, and consumption of energy linked with virgin production.