Eco-operated, Modular, highly efficient, and flexible multi-POWERtrain for long-haul heavy-duty vehicles

Project Information

EMPOWER

Grant agreement ID: 101096028

DOI

10.3030/101096028

EC signature date 13 December 2022

Start date 1 January 2023

End date 31 December 2026

Funded under

• Climate, Energy and Mobility

Total cost

€ 27 008 688,16

EU contribution

€ 18 034 188,00

Coordinated by

AIT AUSTRIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY GMBH
Austria

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - EMPOWER (Eco-operated, Modular, highly efficient, and flexible multi-POWERtrain for long-haul heavy-duty vehicles)

Reporting period: 2023-01-01 to 2024-06-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Rising global CO2 emissions and increasing temperatures show the crucial need of a drastic decarbonisation of our economies and of making Europe the first digitally enabled circular, climate-neutral and sustainable economy through the transformation of its mobility systems. The decarbonization of transport plays a key role. A study conducted by the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) found out, that in 2020 about 6.2 million medium and heavy-duty commercial vehicles were on the EU’s roads . Only 0.24 % of them were zero-emission, providing a huge potential for the transformation of the transport sector to ZE HDVs to reach carbon neutrality by 2050.

The objective of EMPOWER is to deliver two modular and flexible Zero-Emission Heavy-Duty Vehicles with a Gross Vehicle Weight of at least 40 tons, both at TRL 8. One of the trucks will be a Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV) for long-haul operation conditions with a maximum unrefuelled range of 750 km. The second one, a Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV), will be designed for regional distribution mission profiles with a maximum unrecharged driving range of 400 km.

The ambition of EMPOWER involves the development, implementation, and demonstration of these vehicles at TRL 8, guaranteeing a maximum load capacity of not less than 90 % compared to conventional trucks of the same vehicle class and making them ready to enter the market in 2029 with equal Total Cost of Operation (TCO) as 2020 engine-based solutions, assuming a production volume of more than 10,000 vehicles/year.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

#Obj. 1 - FCEV and BEV demonstrators
The power requirements of the battery system, the fuel cell, the e-axle, the HVAC system, etc. were determined in various simulations. The component specifications were then defined accordingly to meet the requirements of the defined use cases.

#Obj. 2 - Tank-to-wheel energy efficiency
Measures were analysed for reaching a higher tank (battery/H2 storage)-to-wheel efficiency compared to the baseline Diesel HDV. In the FCEV this is reached by the integration of a fuel cell with efficiencies above 50 % also in the least efficient points. For the BEV, the battery system itself has a high efficiency and algorithms are implemented that allow for an optimised charging efficiency. A highly efficient e-axle helps to increase the efficiency even further.

#Obj. 3 - Efficiency and modularity of e-axle
An improved inverter solution based on SiC is developed to improve the efficiency from 96 % to 98 %. To gain advanced performance for the e-axle a new inverter solution following the latest HW/SW technologies is currently implemented.

#Obj. 4 - HVAC system power
The heating and cooling power of the cabin should be reduced by 40 % and 30 %, respectively. Currently the cabin is prepared for the initial measurements of the HVAC system power, which will then deliver the baseline for the comparisons in the project. The improvement of the insulation is expected to reduce the power of conditioning the cabin. Also, a first draft of the new, efficient HVAC system based on the refrigerant CO2 was created.

#Obj. 5 - Delivery load capacity
The resulting load capacity of both demonstrators should reach at least 90 % of that of the baseline vehicle. A modular and scalable application makes this platform customer oriented, guaranteeing the best compromise between range needs, payload and type of mission.

#Obj. 6 - Operation lifetime of FC
As a FC system capable of delivering high power within the available space is needed, efficiency plays a critical role on the overall FC performance, sizing, integration and TCO. As the vehicle allows the integration of only one fuel cell system, this system needs to work at a minimum power of 180 to 200 kW to complete alpine missions over the Brenner Pass. The design for reaching the target of 30,000 hours operation lifetime is still ongoing but improving.

#Obj. 7 – Maximum driving range
The objective of EMPOWER is to demonstrate the possibility to reach unrecharged and unrefuelled target distances in the Balocco proving ground. Therefore, to define the number of batteries for the BEV to accomplish the unrecharged target of 400 km, simulations have been performed with the representative parameters (e.g. constant speed) of the test.
For the FCEV, the definition of the Hydrogen Storage System is based on the best compromise between space availability, needed ground clearance, range and passive safety requirements. The proposed storage topology with five tanks, and approximately 73 kg of hydrogen, is sufficient to cover more than 750 km, according to the simulation results.
The development of the innovative Human-Vehicle Interface (HVI), advanced routing and driving strategies is currently underway.

#Obj. 8 - Daily average driving range
According to recent simulations, the average daily driving range of 400 km for the FCEV and 300 km for the BEV should be reachable according to the EMPOWER targets. Simulations for the optimum number of battery packs for the BEV are performed. For the FCEV the important part is the functionality and performance of the refuelling stations, which is currently analysed and improved.

#Obj. 9 - Total cost of operation
A fundamental objective was to develop the LCA and TCO models of the two 2020 baseline diesel trucks, representing the regional and the long-haul vehicles. The baseline is used as a reference point for comparison of the two novel demonstrators that will be developed during the project.
EMPOWER partners have also worked at scientific dissemination activities that will be presented at congresses, events or journals within 2024 or in the initial months of 2025. At least other 2 journal papers and 1 congress participation are going to be finalised in the next few months.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

Progress on direct impacts against the expected topic outcomes
The work of EMPOWER and the results hereof are in line with the aim of making the EU climate neutral by 2050 and limiting the temperature rise to 1.5 °C. This should be reached through a systemic approach and the collaboration of consortium partners from the entire value chain.
Demonstrating the functionality, high efficiency and range of both, the BEV and the FCEV trucks on the Balocco proving ground and during a 6-months real world demonstration phase represent the main technological impacts in this project. There, considerable progress has been made, as the vehicle concepts have been defined, the sizing of the components was finished, and work on the powertrain and energy storage components is on track. Also, an extensive TCO/LCA assessment was performed for defining the baseline for the analysis of the EMPOWER vehicles at the end of the project.

Progress on wider impacts targeting zero emission road transport
At this stage of the project, it is too early to quantify any impact of EMPOWER, as not enough results have been generated so far. Nevertheless, EMPOWER is on track for delivering two zero emission heavy duty vehicles which will generate societal impact by effectively reducing air pollutants and reducing excessive noise levels in cities and urban areas. User acceptance will be established by TCO parity with that of conventional fossil-fuel powered vehicles which will in turn increase market penetration which will eventually lead to a replacement of conventional HDVs.

Graphical objectives of the EMPOWER project