Nearly 100 stakeholders from the electric vehicle industry and affiliated sectors attended the workshop Innovative Research to Improve Energy Efficiency in EVs that took place in Vigo, Spain.
The workshop marked the official end of the trans-European project collaboration JOSPEL, which has developed a novel energy efficient climate control system to help reduce the energy used for passenger comfort in electric vehicles.
The results show energy savings of more than 57 per cent for heating and cooling systems combined with optimised thermal management, eco-driving technologies, weight reduction and improved cabin insulation.
Initiated three and a half years ago, the project had an ambition to significantly reduce the amount of energy that is wasted on heating and cooling in electric vehicles.
Since then, industry and research partners from Spain, Croatia, Italy, United Kingdom, Luxembourg, France, Portugal, Denmark and Germany have worked to develop, implement, and test innovative technologies that could help improve the energy consumption and optimise the battery capacity, thereby extending the range of electric vehicles.
To document the effects of the JOSPEL developments, all systems and technologies have been installed in two demonstrator vehicles that have undergone extensive testing.
AIMPLAS
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Thermoplastic panels and thermoset textiles were developed as heating elements, reducing the energy consumption with at least 30 per cent compared to existing PTC heaters.
Climatic chamber tests were carried out to simulate extreme climate conditions in the car, and the thermal comfort was evaluated with sensors (ISO14505-2) and real passengers (ISO14505-3).
In addition to developing new heating and cooling systems based on thermoelectric technology, JOSPEL has applied optimised thermal management to the battery and other vehicle components, and by adding eco-driving technologies, the project has achieved further energy reductions of 24 per cent.
“By bringing together science and industry from across Europe, JOSPEL has managed to exploit emerging research opportunities in the field of heating and cooling, insulation, and communication systems for electric vehicles,” said Itziar Carracedo Fernández from AIMPLAS, who is the project manager of JOSPEL.
“With the project coming to an end, the next step is to make the results, approaches and technologies available to SMEs and companies in the electric vehicle industry, so they can advance them further in the pursuit of a cleaner, healthier, and more sustainable society.”
