DEMOBASE aims at the generation of the necessary tools and technology solutions that will drastically reduce price differences between conventional and electric vehicles, while assuring much lower operational cost, higher efficiency, higher availability, increased driving range as well as improved comfort and attractiveness.
DEMOBASE is an original closed-loop project. In a first loop of the EV development, building blocks and their integration processes are investigated and their efficiency assessed using Key Performance Indicators. Then the most efficient bricks and processes will demonstrate their added value in a second step in 6 months runs starting from new high performances cells to operational EV. Compared to a single run project, it secures project deliveries and reinforced collaborations which are an innovation key factor.
In DEMOBASE, cost reduction activities, higher car performances and availability, mainly on the key battery system component, will be achieved through incremental and breakthrough research activities and demonstrated in a dedicated demonstration vehicle. The EV demonstration focuses on the sector of electro-mobility with the highest growth, i.e. four wheels urban vehicles.
These activities will be supported by highly advanced multi-level and multi-domain simulation. A key aspect will be gateway development to ensure the seamless process effectiveness for a variety of software environments.
Specific objectives are:
- Cost reduction of batteries: seamless development chain with drastically reduced development time and costs.
- Cost reduction of chassis: development and demonstration of a breakthrough methodology that allows the design and development of novel safe chassis in less than one tenths the usual time and at a small fraction of the usual cost.
- Battery safety: improvement without additional expense by addressing battery risks by a fail aware concept and a new safety approach based on tests at cell level and innovative battery models.
- Battery availability: new battery system functionalities that is immune to thermal runaway events. Residual fire or thermal runaway risk will be managed inside the vehicle without stop of service.
- Accelerated battery ageing modelling: Innovative characterization technics are used to develop battery ageing models within 4 months.
- Battery recycling as part of the process: tools and recommendations for safe and efficient recycling will be elaborated to integrate recycling in the overall End to End life cycle of the battery. This will also drastically reduces the recycling costs.
- Radical reduction of the necessary investments: Process capability for a variety of different vehicle architectures derived from a single chassis will be demonstrated.
- Scalability of design for both vehicle and battery system: a parametric methodology to design and developed batteries and a new chassis will be demonstrated for different vehicle classes.
- Increased efficiency of e-drivetrains under real conditions: Development and demonstration of a wheel-tire design with lower manufacturing costs, reduced weight and lower rolling resistance as well as improved handling stability.
- EV extended range and efficiency: most advanced battery technologies with a specific energy higher than 250 Wh/kg. Cell design is adapted according to passenger car or fleets expected lifetime, respectively 400 000 km or more than 1 000 000 km.
- EV with low price: flexible microfactories to produce urban electric vehicles with an early return of investment.
- EV with much lower operational cost than conventional vehicles: achieved by low maintenance cost and much lower depreciation than conventional vehicles, in particular by a battery pack keeping its capacity at above 90% its original value after the first ten years of life..
- Virtual development of all EV major building blocks: batteries, vehicle design, wheel-tire system design, recycling. Implementation and refinement of state-of-the-art processes and software tools for virtual development. DEMOBASE uses and develops software allowing collaborative work and widely shared model bricks.