Project description
Ensuring electric vehicles keep humming in extreme cold
Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) often meet challenges when operating in extremely cold weather conditions. There is a need to ensure their performance and energy management is fit for all seasons. The EU-funded AETHER project aims to improve energy management for BEVs, particularly light-duty (LDVs) and light commercial vehicles (LCVs) in extreme weather. It will identify user needs for thermal comfort through experiments and surveys, developing AI-driven climate control systems. The project will create sustainable components designed to optimise energy use and enhance comfort. It will validate performance and market readiness through demonstrations on LDV and LCV platforms. Overall, the project aims to deliver efficient, user-friendly thermal management solutions for electric mobility.
Objective
The AETHER Consortium brings together 12 participants from industrial and research backgrounds to de-liver innovative energy management solutions for Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs), with a focus on light duty vehicles (LDVs) and light commercial vehicles (LCVs) operating in extreme weather conditions. The project activities will include: i) identification of user requirements for BEV thermal comfort through controlled sim-ulator experiments, participatory driving sessions, and large-scale surveys, and their integration into the thermal management design to enable personalized, AI-driven climate control; ii) development of AI-supported smart BEV energy management strategies, leveraging Smart City services and Software-Defined Vehicle functionalities to ensure robust operation across diverse weather conditions, optimize cabin and battery energy use, and adapt to individual comfort preferences; iii) design and deployment of sustainable and affordable systems and components relevant to BEV thermal management and comfort, including PCM/PTC-based interior materials, oil-free centrifugal e-compressors, wide-bandgap converters, additive-manufactured heat exchangers, and NVH-optimized acoustic solutions; and iv) virtual, hybrid, and full-scale demonstration of the AETHER technologies on representative LDV and LCV platforms, complemented by scalability and replication studies, validating energy savings, enhanced comfort, reduced range loss in extreme conditions, and readiness for market adoption. Through this integrated approach, AETHER will deliver robust, energy-efficient, and user-centric BEV thermal management solutions, combining advanced system architectures, AI-driven control, and sustainable components to enhance performance, comfort, and sustainability in next-generation electric mobility.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.2.5 - Climate, Energy and Mobility
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-IA - HORIZON Innovation Actions
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-CL5-2025-04
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
98693 Ilmenau
Germany
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.