by Nada Welker | Jan 19, 2024 | Automotive Industry, Electrification, New Mobility
Electromobility is gaining an increasingly significant role in the “Power Ecosystem,” presenting companies with a multitude of challenges. Simultaneously, it opens up numerous opportunities for innovative solutions and new business models. In this blog article, we will delve into the key aspects of electromobility in the power ecosystem, succinctly summarized.
Challenges of Electromobility in the Power Ecosystem
Ensuring sufficient grid capacity is crucial for reliable charging processes. Companies face the task of investing in technologies that optimize grid capacity and promote the integration of renewable energies.
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Diversity of Plugs and Standards
The variety of plugs and standards poses a challenge. Compatibility of charging stations with different plug types and standards is essential, necessitating standardized solutions.
Fast charging times are a crucial customer need. Companies must choose the right charging speed and technology to meet requirements, with technological innovations playing a vital role.
Strategic site selection for charging stations is critical for success. Companies need to carefully consider factors such as accessibility, traffic density, and parking facilities.
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Costs and Economic Viability
Investing in charging stations is expensive. Companies must conduct economic planning that considers usage and charging prices.
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User-Friendliness and Customer Experience
User-friendly charging stations, simple payment systems, and a positive customer experience are crucial. The integration of apps and reliable systems contributes to customer satisfaction.
Awareness and compliance with regulatory requirements are indispensable. Companies must be aware of and fully comply with local laws and regulations.
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Fleet Charging Infrastructure
Developing an efficient charging infrastructure for fleets requires a holistic strategy. Scalable solutions are needed to meet the demands of fleet operators.
Regular maintenance is crucial to avoid failures. Companies must ensure well-organized maintenance processes and provide reliable support when needed.
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Data Security and Billing
The security of customer data and reliable billing processes are of great importance. Companies should rely on robust security protocols and implement transparent billing procedures.
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Availability of Charging Infrastructure
Providing sufficient charging stations is a challenge. Companies need to develop scalable models to support the growing number of electric vehicles.
Successfully addressing these challenges requires comprehensive strategic planning, technical expertise, and close collaboration with various stakeholders. At magility, we are pleased to assist companies in developing and successfully implementing a comprehensive e-mobility strategy in the power ecosystem. Energy Management and balancing plays a key role in the future.
Electric Vehicles and Fleets as Flexible Energy Sources in the Power Ecosystem
Electric vehicles and fleets not only offer mobility but can also act as flexible energy sources. Through bidirectional charging, also known as Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G), they can contribute to grid stabilization.
Challenges in Electric Vehicles and Fleets
- Infrastructure for Charging Stations: See previous section
- Charging Times: Require careful planning and integration into operations.
- Range Anxiety: Concerns about limited range require specific solutions
- Costs: Higher acquisition costs compared to conventional vehicles
- Charging Infrastructure Costs: Investments in charging stations and infrastructure
- Technical Expertise: Transition requires qualified personnel or access to skilled workers
- Fleet Management: Requires specialized software solutions
- Charging Infrastructure Management: Optimal use of infrastructure
- Environmental Impacts: Consideration of ecological aspects
- Brand Impacts: Transition can influence brand imag
- Cybersecurity: Implementation of necessary security measures
- Availability of Government Incentives: Dependent on regional incentive programs
Addressing these challenges requires strategic planning, infrastructure investments, and employee training. At magility, we offer comprehensive consulting services to assist companies in successfully implementing their electric vehicle initiatives.
Bidirectional Charging: Potentials and Challenges in the Electricity Ecosystem
Bidirectional Charging (BDL) or Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) is an innovative technology where electric vehicles not only draw energy from the grid but can also feed energy back into the grid.
Challenges of Bidirectional Charging in the Power Ecosystem
- Technical Complexity: Requires special hardware in vehicles and charging stations
- Battery Lifespan: Controlled charging and discharging are crucial
- Standardization: Uniform standards for interoperability are lacking
- Grid Integration: Requires careful integration into the existing grid
- Security: Robust security protocols and hardware are necessary
- Economic Incentives: Creation of incentives for end consumers and operators
- Regulatory Hurdles: Adjustments in existing regulations are necessary
- Data Security: Protection of user data is a central challenge
Potentials of Bidirectional Charging in the Power Ecosystem
- Grid Stabilization: Contribution to stabilizing the power grid
- Peak Load Management: Reduction of peak loads on the grid
- Renewable Integration: Efficient integration of renewable energies
- Additional Revenue Streams: Income through energy feed-in
- Emergency Power Supply: Use of electric vehicles as emergency power sources
- Sustainability: Increase in the overall sustainability of the energy system
Companies investing in bidirectional charging technology can benefit not only from ecological advantages but also unlock new business opportunities. Our experts at magility and the experts of our partner Hive Power are ready to assist companies in realizing the associated potentials.
Magility, we don’t just drive business ecosystems. We invite you to connect with us for a discussion on the electricity landscape. Stay tuned for more insights in our upcoming blog on the Electricity Ecosystem!
by Nada Welker | Jun 21, 2023 | Alternative Drives, Automotive Industry, New Mobility, Startups
e-mobility on the rise
The importance of climate protection is increasingly being recognised worldwide. An outstanding element on the path to the desired energy transition is electric mobility as part of sustainable mobility, which is being steadily expanded in Germany. The majority of the population associates electric vehicles primarily with environmental awareness and independence from fossil fuels. The focus is always on climate-friendly mobility and thus a positive view of this development. Critics, however, point out that electric vehicles could potentially pose a health risk. Read about what exactly electromagnetic fields (EMF) are and how we tested their impact with an experiment.
Electromagnetic fields in electric mobility
Despite all the advantages that electric vehicles can bring, if they are operated with sustainably generated electricity and the production and disposal of the batteries is efficient and climate-friendly, there is nevertheless a downside that should not be neglected. Whenever electricity is used, electric and magnetic fields are generated. When operating electric vehicles, for example, this occurs around the cables, the battery and the motor. When charging the electric vehicles, these electromagnetic fields also arise in a strength that cannot be neglected. Depending on where the battery is located in the vehicle, how the cables are laid and how the vehicle is constructed, the field strength of the radiation varies. Some vehicles record the highest field strength in the boot, others in the driver’s side footwell and still others in the back seat, where in case of doubt our children sit.
EMF – danger to life and limb?
The German Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) emphasises that radiation protection must be the focus of attention when expanding electromobility in order to avert dangers to health. But what do these fields do to us humans? Why is it important to address this issue with all seriousness?
What makes the difference?
A distinction is made between electromagnetic fields in different areas. In static and low-frequency fields, the electric and magnetic components can be considered separately. In the case of high-frequency fields, these two components are closely connected. Therefore, one then speaks of electromagnetic fields. Low-frequency magnetic and electric fields can generate electric fields and currents in the human body. High-frequency electromagnetic fields can even heat biological tissue. The biological effect of magnetic, electric and electromagnetic fields on the body varies according to frequency, strength, duration of exposure and modulation. Individual characteristics, such as body size, and physical boundary conditions, such as grounding or orientation to the field, can also play a role in the extent of the biological effect. We humans have no sensory organs to perceive EMF, so electromagnetic fields can only be assessed by measuring methods. Measurements are made in the unit Gauss, which can be used to measure the intensity of the magnetic flux density.
Analysis suggests that average exposures greater than 3-4 milli Gauss (mG) may pose a risk to health. Studies have shown that chronic low-frequency exposure is associated with an increased risk of leukaemia and other health hazards. Other health effects include effects on personal behaviour, learning ability, the hormonal system or cell metabolism, as found in experiments with cell cultures, animals or humans.
How do EMF affect humans?
EMF belong to the category of non-ionising radiation. Short-term effects such as irritant effects (non-thermal effects) of low-frequency and static fields from 0-100 kHZ can have an irritant effect on sensory organs, nerves and muscles if they are above the irritation threshold. Static fields can also affect implants in the body and disrupt their function. High-frequency fields from 100 kHz to 300 GHz can absorb radiant energy in body tissue through thermal effects. In the range 100 kHz – 10 MHz, both irritation effects and heating effects can occur.
Radiation protection – limits and guidelines
The International Commission on Non-Ionising Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) published new guidelines for limiting exposure to electromagnetic fields at the beginning of the year. Although these guidelines are basically “only” equivalent to a recommendation and have no legal character, many countries are adopting them in the corresponding regulations. The World Health Organisation also recognises the ICNIRP, although it is only a registered association. The limit values for non-ionising radiation for the protection of people against damage to health in the Twenty-sixth Ordinance of the Federal Immission Control Act (26th BImSchV) are also based on the recommendations of the ICNIRP. The task of radiation protection is to set limits for the strength of fields that are so low that no damage to health occurs. The upper limit that is classified as harmless to human health is 4mG.
e-mobility and EMF
Electric vehicles include both purely battery-electric motor vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles. The electromagnetic fields generated by electric mobility range from 0 hertz to hundreds of kilohertz in the case of static fields to low-frequency fields and fields in the so-called intermediate frequency range. We at magility wanted to know exactly and started a self-experiment to find out how high the electromagnetic exposure is for us in the company car in everyday working life.
The EMF-experiment with our CEO’s company car
A hybrid vehicle from the upper luxury segment of a large German car manufacturer was tested. To obtain meaningful results on EMF, we measured the vehicle under various conditions:
- Testing for maximum values (speed/discharge and braking/recuperation).
- Checking the values at 50 km/h
- Checking the values at 100 km/h
- Detecting anomalies during parking
Throughout the test, we used a portable meter (Tv 3-Axis Emf Electromagnetic Magnetic Field Gauss Meter Tester) that displays the intensity of the field strength on the top of the meter. The field strength is measured in mG (milli-Gauss). The yellow device can be seen in the measurement photos. Hybrid vehicles have several parts with a particularly high voltage, such as the high-voltage battery or the HV charging socket.
The tests were carried out at three standardised positions per seat (head / back / floor), at different speeds and at different positions in the vehicle. The final values were assigned to three ranges and coloured as follows:
Category 1 – 0-7.9mg – Green
Category 2 – 8-23.9mg – yellow
Category 3 – >24mg – red
What was noticeable in the results: Passengers sitting behind the driver seem to be exposed to very high levels in this vehicle.
Overall, the lowest values were measured for rolling without braking or accelerating. High values were measured for the driver and passenger next to the combustion engine.
Even if our series of measurements does not yet claim to be a comprehensive, scientifically sound study, it does provide immensely important insights for dealing with the problem of EMF and proves a great need for action.
Our conclusion
We’ll let the results take effect for now, but we don’t feel quite as carefree when we’re on the road in our company car. We hope that radiation protection in electric and hybrid vehicles will become more of a focus in the future and have high hopes for the start-up VHOLA from our magility network, which is dedicated to this explosive topic and has developed solutions for the reduction of EMF in vehicles.
If you have any questions about our experience or enquiries about studies in this area, please do not hesitate to contact us. Our magility experts look forward to discussing the topic of EMF with you, to discussing and presenting solutions and to developing new business models together with you.
by Julia Riemer | Sep 14, 2022 | Interviews, Know-How and inspiration, Market development & Trends, New Mobility, Smart City, Technologies for new markets
With technological progress, the demand for electrical energy is increasing immensely, making not only generation but also distribution a challenge. This growing demand increases the complexity of power grids as requirements for reliability, efficiency, safety, and environmental and energy compatibility increase. These circumstances require an intelligent grid, now known as the “smart grid.” This is a technology in which intelligent functions are implemented to make the power distribution system more efficient, reliable, and sustainable. This article provides an overview of “smart grids” with its features and application scenarios. Read in the following why smart grids are becoming increasingly important and what solutions are already on the market.
The International Energy Agency (IEA), headquartered in Paris, cites grid integration as one of the four biggest challenges in expanding renewable energy capacity, along with the non-technical challenges of financing, permitting and social acceptance.
By 2026, renewables could grow 60% faster than in the past five years, as the technology to harness wind and solar power has matured and 137 countries have pledged to reduce their fossil fuel power generation to zero. But for the promises to become reality, we need smart grids so that this energy generation and, above all, energy distribution can function properly.
Smart grids perform four important tasks for the energy transition: They increase the resilience of the grid, increase the integration of renewable energies, reduce costs and enable universal access to clean electricity.
What makes smart grids so special?
The constantly increasing demand for energy should no longer be met, or only in exceptional political situations, by building more power plants that use fossil fuels, as these pollute the environment and contribute to global warming. Therefore, renewable energy is preferred instead – but these are distributed, volatile resources that must be managed within a smart grid infrastructure to ensure a steady supply of energy at all times.
Smart grids allow real-time data from line sensors, loads and generators to be collected and transmitted to a central control point that can perform analysis and control functions. This enables power load balancing, outage restoration and distribution management.
Limitations of the traditional network
Unlike renewable energy generators, whose output depends largely on prevailing weather conditions, conventional fossil fuel power plants provide predictably steady energy. However, they come up against the barrier of environmental sustainability and should accordingly be taken off the grid wherever and whenever possible.
In the meantime, demand for electricity is steadily increasing as, for example, we increasingly take our personal and work lives online and use more and more electric vehicles. So without technological advances, we would be faced with a shrinking stock of fossil fuel power plants that would have to serve an incessant increase in demand for electricity.
This strain would have led to an increasing frequency of power anomalies and blackouts on aging grids that have limited ability to detect and respond to faults in real time.
Fortunately, there are now new technologies being deployed to address these issues. These technologies, and in particular the way they work together, can be grouped under the umbrella term “smart grid”.
[infobox headline=”The morst important facts in brief”]
- Power grids are becoming more complex as demands for reliability, efficiency, safety, and environmental and energy sustainability continue to rise
- The technology behind smart grids makes the power distribution system more efficient, reliable and sustainable
- Smart grids enable power load balancing, outage restoration, and optimize distribution management
- With smart grids and renewable energy sources, electricity consumers can move from pure consumption to “prosumerism”
- Smart meters: By 2032, all electricity consumers in Germany must have at least one digital meter without a gateway
- Semiconductors: The use of modern power electronics could save more than a quarter of electrical energy
- Smart grids could also solve the problem of charging stations for electric vehicles in the future
- Once the technology is fully installed, including in the field, the potential for energy costs to drop significantly and for real-time data control and large-scale charging to become easier increases
- Hive Power offers innovative solutions for smart grids
[/infobox]
Smart grid technologies and interactions
Renewable energies have the advantage that they are clean and cost less and less. However, in addition to the aforementioned disadvantage of volatility, there is also the challenge that plants such as wind farms tend to be widely dispersed rather than centralized.
For this newer grid model, with its multiple distributed energy sources, to function reliably and efficiently, it must be monitored and controlled. It can be thought of as a typical IoT application. Data can be collected in real time from line sensors, loads and generators and relayed to a central control point that can perform analysis and control functions. This enables balancing of power loads, troubleshooting of outages, and management of distribution.
It also facilitates peak shaving, where grid operators can draw on energy supplies from users’ on-site renewable energy systems or even batteries to supplement their own capacity during periods of high demand.
The grid is developing self-healing properties as control systems can detect simple problems and make repairs without intervention. More serious damage to the infrastructure can be reported to technicians in the control center so that timely repairs can be made. To further improve reliability and uptime, the grid can become adaptive, meaning that power is rerouted to bypass problem areas. In this way, the area affected by power outages is limited.
Germany’s progress in renewable energies
In 2020, Germany exceeded all forecasts and achieved 45% renewable energy based on total gross energy consumption. 33% of this came from solar and wind power, the most volatile energy sources. Globally, a 30% share of renewables has been achieved, and grids today, thanks to a combination of robust infrastructure and smart grid technology, are not only cleaner, but also more reliable and resilient.
Digitization allows us to transform the complexity of the modern grid from a weakness to a strength.
This is necessary for the operation of the modern grid, where distributed energy resources (DERs) are on the rise – from small solar and wind farms to electric vehicles (EVs), homes with solar panels, and commercial microgrids. Literally hundreds of millions of new supply points are added to the grid every year. The number of electric vehicles is also growing exponentially, with 26 million vehicles expected to be sold in the U.S. alone by 2030, up from 5.6 million this year.
Possible savings through smart grids
Digitization – sensors, artificial intelligence, and automation – harnesses the combined power of all these DERs and shifts electricity demand in buildings and e-vehicles to times when solar and wind power are available. In this way, cities can use more renewable energy and less fossil fuel backup power. This demand flexibility also helps to mitigate peak demand. In the EU alone, the flexibility of smart grids could save billions annually from now until 2030, as infrastructure expansion can be adjusted to the necessary level.
And the cost savings go even further, extending to ordinary electricity consumers. With smart grids and renewables, electricity consumers can move from pure consumption to “prosumerism,” meaning they can generate and consume electricity themselves and even sell the rest back to the grid.
Imagine 26 million electric car drivers who can charge their vehicles on the grid. At 40 kWh per e-vehicle, they could sell enough clean electricity back to the grid to power 100,000 U.S. homes for an entire year. Prosumerism could make clean electricity affordable for many more people.
The International Renewable Energy Agency also recommends smart grids for developing countries to meet rising renewable electricity demand while creating new opportunities for economic growth.
Universal access to clean electricity is central to a successful energy transition. Specific care must be taken to ensure that people can use safe, smart, sustainable electricity wherever they cook, heat, cool, drive, etc.
All the answers to the question of how we can achieve net zero emissions globally by 2050 may not yet be answered. The potential of green hydrogen and other innovations is still being explored to curb the emissions in aviation, shipping and heavy industry.
But the technology we need to meet the U.N. Environment Program’s goal of halving global emissions by 2030 already exists. In fact, clean electrification of buildings, industry and transport could eliminate three-quarters of global emissions.
Application scenarios for smart grids
While the conventional power grid distributes the electricity generated centrally by large power plants to consumers, smart grids also bring together all the data streams of the energy supply. For example, the highly fluctuating feed-ins from solar and wind power plants can be efficiently balanced and specifically controlled in the existing power grids. The amounts of energy generated and consumed must be continuously measured and analyzed by IoT-enabled sensors and devices.
Smart meters
On the consumer side, this is addressed with smart meters. They also control the feed-in of solar power when consumers with a solar system on the roof also become electricity producers (prosumers). Installation of the necessary smart metering systems (iMSys) is not mandatory until annual electricity consumption exceeds 6,000 kWh – or when consumers feed electricity into the grid themselves. In this case, a smart meter gateway (SMGW) with an integrated security module receives the metering data and processes it for external market participants, internal controllable energy consumers and energy generators (smart household appliances, photovoltaic systems). By 2032, all electricity consumers in Germany must have at least one digital meter without a gateway.
Semiconductors for the energy transition
Measuring, controlling, transforming and communicating – power electronics are of particular importance in the energy transition. While photovoltaic systems or batteries, for example, supply direct current, wind turbines deliver alternating current at a frequency that cannot be used directly. At the same time, electricity consumers have individual needs in terms of current and voltage. The energy-saving potential is immense, because statistically speaking, electricity already passes through at least one converter on its way from the generator to the consumer. According to a study by the European Center for Power Electronics (ECPE), more than a quarter of electrical energy could be saved by using modern power electronics.
And in some areas, silicon is no longer the first choice. Wide bandgap semiconductors, such as the increasingly used silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN), benefit from higher switching power while maintaining low losses. However, according to analysts at Yole Développement, the technology is still at an early stage of development. They expect SiC devices to generate $6.3 billion in sales in 2027. In the meantime, silicon devices continue to surprise with significant performance gains and will continue to be a source of revenue for the industry in the coming decades. In general, thermal management, robustness, reliability and ultimately packaging continue to be key issues in semiconductors.
Embedded systems
Semiconductors are also the building blocks of embedded systems in a digital, networked and automated energy world. For example, they provide data on the state of the grid, the temperature, the current flow and the angle of the cables. The data is processed in the cloud or directly on site (edge) with AI algorithms. Embedded systems are also transforming traditional building automation into a form of prediction-based management that offers significant potential for energy savings. And in the future, buildings with smart meters (iMSys) connected to a smart grid will not only be able to optimize their own consumption, but also take on the role of electricity producer themselves by feeding surplus energy into the grid.
Interview with Hive Power –Innovative solutions for smart grids
Founded in Switzerland in 2017, Hive Power is a leading provider of innovative smart grid solutions. Hive Power offers a SaaS platform that optimizes existing electrical distribution networks, both from a technical and economic point of view.
Hive Power’s team consists of researchers and scientists with deep knowledge in smart grids, data science and optimization with many years of experience in research and pilot projects on distributed energy management. We spoke with Mr. Gianluca Corbellini, CEO of Hive Power and appreciate the informative answers.
5 Questions for Mr. Ginaluca Corbellini from Hive Power
Q: What has your experience been like tackling the traditional grid with new ideas?
A: It’s been an impactful journey. When we set out in 2017, we had a clear objective to optimize flexibility management for distribution grids and energy suppliers. And we have proven our viability and market fit with our applications for Flexibility Orchestration used in operation by our customers who are innovating from the traditional grid into the smart grid.
Through the help of key mobility industry players, we have tested smart-grid applicable solutions like Vehicle-to-Grid and EV smart charging and produced the FLEXO Smart EV Charging solution that serves automotive companies and EV fleet managers.
Q: What’s your most interesting smart grid application project so far?
A: It’s hard to choose because we worked on amazing smart grids, mobility research, and pilot projects around Europe. One that stands out is called DrainSpotter. It’s unique because we’re developing a solution that faces the consumers and the Distribution System Operator – in this case, AEM.
DrainSpotter is an intuitive mobile application that consumers can use to monitor their electricity usage over time, receive informative summaries of their consumer behaviour, and be automatically notified about anomalies detected by machine learning algorithms.
Through this app, AEM’s residential users eliminate excessive standby power – over 200 W. If they do this consecutively for two weeks, AEM will deliver 10% less energy in total, and 5% of customers would reduce their total energy consumption by at least 20%, and 4.2% of customers would save at least €513 off their total energy bill over 1.5 years.
Q: Looking at the entire smart grid market in Europe, how is Germany performing relatively?
A: As you’ve pointed out earlier, Germany excels in their renewable energy journey. In the first half of this year, 49% of the power used in Germany was generated from renewable sources – that translates into a growth in smart grid adoption. Judging from the SINTEG project, the German government seems committed to increasing smart grid technology. There’s a reliable forecast that Germany’s smart grid investment will increase to $23.6 billion between 2016 and 2026.
There’s a lot of potential in this market, especially in the applications of Electric vehicles, as the boom of EVs is coming alongside smart grids. EV charging in Germany will need to be smarter and more cost-effective as they can interact with the grid and provide Vehicle-to-Grid services using enabling platforms like our FLEXO Smart EV Charging.
Q: How important are smart meters in this innovative smart grid journey?
A: Smart meters make smart grids possible! A smart grid uses advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) (which consists of smart meters, sensors, communications protocols and data management systems) to monitor and control energy demand, distribution, and generation in near real-time.
We need more smart meters to enable our innovative grid systems to make accurate decisions and predictions from the data generated at these smart meter points. For example, the AI algorithms we create in Hive Power are made possible by the enormous amount of data collected from smart meters.
Q: Lastly, What would you say are the most important benefits of smart grids?
A: Sustainability, cost-saving, and energy decentralization!
Having sustainable earth is the grand reason why we are promoting renewable energy sources; we want to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Smart grids make it possible to effectively manage and optimize the mix of these variable sources of energy without interrupting the energy supply. Consequently, smart grids save energy consumers and producers a lot of costs through proper grid balancing, voltage and frequency anomaly detection, and demand response.
Lastly, smart grids make it possible for us to have integrated microgrids. So homes or communities can produce renewable energy, manage their energy, and sell and buy from the main grid as needed. Sounds impressive, right? We are active in this field and making outstanding contributions to projects around Europe with our FLEXO Community Manager.
Thank you Mr. Corbellini for the exciting interview – we at magility look forward to following the developments of Hive Power further.
Magility’s vision of the future
Smart grid technology is booming, and the federal government is offering incentives for implementation. In addition, smart meter installations are expected to increase. As the cumulative market capitalization will increase exponentially in the coming years, this could be the beginning of a new era.
The smart grids of the future could also solve the problem of charging stations for electric vehicles. But they are not only valuable for closing the gap between supply and demand for intermittent renewable energy sources.
With sufficiently intelligent power grids, power spikes and the frequency of power outages can be prevented. Once this technology is fully installed, including in the field, it will also be able to significantly reduce energy costs and facilitate real-time data control and large-scale charging.
At Magility, we are watching these exciting developments and will keep you updated.
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by Nada Welker | Jul 8, 2022 | Automotive Cyber Security, Automotive Industry, Cyber Security Management, Future Trends, Know-How and inspiration, Market development & Trends, News from magility, strategy in change
At the 26th International Automotive Electronics Congress 2022 in Ludwigsburg, the top industry event for electronics experts and decision-makers in the automotive sector, the focus was on the path to the software-defined car. What does it take in the automotive industry to develop the software-defined car safely, efficiently and sustainably? What are the automotive industry’s current pain points in this multi-layered challenge? What role do regulations play? Do we need cross-border standards to get there? And what role do consumer experiences play? How are the individual players in the automotive industry meeting the current challenges, and why are open source approaches and cooperation particularly important now? Many questions, but also controversial discussions, characterized the traditional congress at the Forum am Schlosspark. Despite many answers, also many questions remained unanswered. The conclusion: There is still a lot to do!
The software-defined car
Up to now, software has been and still is to a large extent very closely linked to the hardware module or electronic control unit (ECU) in the vehicle, which takes over a very specific functionality there. In the “traditional car”, the software hardly evolved during the life of a vehicle and any necessary updates required a visit to the workshop. In the software-defined car, functions are defined by the software rather than the specific hardware modules, similar to applications we run on our smartphones or computers. This allows the functions to evolve and improve throughout the life of the vehicle and even add new functions and features as necessary within the hardware limits. With the software-defined vehicle, new features and services or apps are enabled in the vehicle as needed, either individually or for a limited time. This creates multiple opportunities for new business models, and software-as-a-service becomes tangible for car users. The value of a vehicle can even be increased during its life cycle by adding features at a later stage. Manufacturers’ focus on user experience is becoming a critical success factor. Data can be transmitted over-the-air (OTA), the vehicle can communicate with the infrastructure, collect and send data to the cloud, and receive data. Mobility services, automated driving and the further development of e-mobility are only made possible by software. So the car continues to evolve into a software-centric electronic device on wheels. This no longer has much to do with the original way an automobile worked. The automotive industry is still in the midst of transformation and must open itself up to an even greater extent to market participants from and cooperations with the software and communications industry.
The most important topics and statements of the speakers
After the opening by Alfred Vollmer, Editor-in-Chief of “Automobil-Elektronik” and initiator of the Automotive Electronics Congress, Ricky Hudi took over the moderation and handed over to the first speaker of the day, Porsche CEO Oliver Blume, who spoke about Porsche’s vision of the future and appealed to the emotions of the audience. In this regard, when it came to software-defined vehicle, the use of an open operating system that works with AI and enables the vehicle to connect to different ecosystems around the world was particularly important to him. He also clearly stood for the recognition of the human factor and emphasized the importance of bringing employees along in the transformation and placing them at the center of concepts for success. After all, he said, the transformation cannot be mastered without motivated employees who share the company’s vision and brand values and understand and internalize the necessary steps on the way to the software-defined vehicle.
The future strategy at Mercedes-Benz was the focus of the keynote speech by Magnus Österberg, Head of Software at the Stuttgart-based automaker. It became quite clear: Mercedes-Benz claims market leadership in the luxury segment. The new MB.OS operating system (to go into series production in 2024) and the software development center in Sindelfingen play a decisive role in achieving the ambitious goals. However, Österberg was also critical: “We are leaders in the field of electrical engineering, but there is still a long way to go before we become market leaders in the field of software.”
The world’s largest automotive supplier has managed the transformation from a pure hardware company to a software company, said Mathias Pillin (President Cross Domain Computing Solutions at Bosch). Today, however, the biggest challenge of a Tier 1 is to make it clear to the OEM that not only hardware, but also software has an independent value. It is the software, he said, that makes it possible to process data from a connected vehicle in the quantity and quality to provide individual services and functions.
Dipti Vachani, SVP Automotive and IoT at arm, sees an interplay between hardware and software: “Software-defined vehicles need specific computing power and hardware tailored to the workload of the car. To achieve this, software development today must be integrated into the vehicle development process at a very early stage and meet different demands for performance and compatibility. This compatibility across the entire vehicle is and remains a major challenge for manufacturers. For her, the interlocking further development of hardware and software is the top priority.
Panel discussion “Semiconductors: The Base of the Software-defined Car”.
Moderated by Alfred Vollmer (Automotive Electronics), Jens Fabrowsky (Bosch), Calista Redmond (RISC-V International), Dipti Vachani (arm), Lars Reger (NXP) and Magnus Östberg (Mercedes-Benz), discussed the position of semiconductors in the automotive sector. Commenting on the reports and rumors that OEMs are now building their own chips, Lars Rieger of NXP said, “Let’s dispel the myths a bit. Tesla gets 99% of its chips from companies like us. All they have done is develop an AI accelerator.” And on semiconductor shortages, he commented, “98% of all automotive semiconductors will be above 20 nm in the next 15 years.” Arm’s Dipti Vachani emphasized that innovation has not slowed down due to Corona and that the industry is moving like never before. Magnus Östberg argued that the industry should become more professional in dealing with risks. All the panelists were equally clear that scaling must become the focus of attention.
User experience as a central feature of the software-defined vehicle
The vehicle as the ultimate mobile device: a major topic at the congress. According to Stephan Durach, SVP Connected Company Development at BMW, hardware is increasingly taking a back seat, while intuitive, natural interaction in the car is becoming more and more important. At BMW, this is implemented in the form of a virtual assistant or intelligent navigation. However, it would remain exciting to see what would happen with Apple’s Car Play system, for example, should conflicts of interest arise on the subject of user interface.
When it came to the topic of user experience, three speakers were very much in agreement: Dirk Walliser, SVP Corporate Research & Development at the ZF Group, got to the heart of the matter in his very interesting presentation. The software-defined vehicle is much more than just software. It is much more about the user experience. As far as the cost structure is concerned, however, it is still not clear who will bear the costs for additional software functions in the future: The OEM or the customer?
At Harman International, the focus is also on the consumer experience. For Christian Sobottka, President of the Automotive Division, customers rightly expect to find everything they use on their smartphones in their cars within a very short time. And Riclef Schmidt-Clausen, SVP Domain Intelligent Cockpit & Body at Cariad, noted that smartphone manufacturers clearly still lead the way in user experience. Reaching this level in the automotive industry is a major challenge, he said.
Collaboration as the key to success?
Christoph Hartung (ETAS) spoke about how this challenge could be solved quickly in his presentation, which also contained quite provocative statements: There is no more hierarchical industry than the automotive industry, and AUTOSAR (an initiative to create an open software architecture for ECUs) was founded in 2003 because the industry was “deep in the sh***” at that time. Currently, we are again in a similar situation with the further development of the user interface in the software-defined vehicle, says Hartung – but the willingness to cooperate is basically there in the industry. Karsten Michels, Head of Productline at Continental Automotive, put it similarly, but less provocatively: “Collaboration is the key, we’re all in the same boat.”
Calista Redmond, CEO of RISC-V International brought the topic of open source collaboration model to the stage with a lot of enthusiasm. RISC-V is a free and open ISA that aims to enable a new era of processor innovation through open standards collaboration.
Other presentations by top-notch speakers on exciting insights enriched the congress.
The setting and the atmosphere
For the 26th time already, the doors of the congress opened, which every year is the central meeting point for almost 600 industry experts, mainly from the automotive electrics/electronics sector. The “Great Reunion of the Industry”, as the congress is also fondly called, takes place at the Forum am Schlosspark in Ludwigsburg. For the first time, the event was held exclusively in English – whether this contributed to the quality of the congress is something we at magility critically question. Criticism was also voiced among the participants that with a proportion of German-speaking visitors of certainly at least 90%, a great deal was “lost in translation”. Visitors were able to visit the accompanying trade exhibition before the lecture rooms and find out about the latest developments from exhibitors in the industry live and make contacts. At the culinary networking event in the evening in the neighboring riding hall, the mood was relaxed; many finally saw each other in person for the first time after two years of pandemic.
We were struck this year by the slight increase in the number of female visitors, both on and off stage. With a share of about 3% of the total number of visitors, however, there is still plenty of room for improvement!
The number of female attendees was clearly reflected in the visit to the ladies’ toilets. Conclusion: At this congress the men have to queue 😉
magility Insights
We from magility met many business partners at the congress, had interesting conversations and were pleased to be able to network in person again. As always, the congress was smoothly organized. Thematically, it was more about “in the vehicle” and less about networking and infrastructure, which plays an equally important role in the software-defined vehicle for us at magility. The topic of fleet clearly came up short for us and the subject matter of the speakers has changed only minimally from the time before Corona. Cooperations are important, almost all participants agreed on that. This was also the case before Corona. However, few cooperations were presented this year, which may be an unintended side effect of the Corona pandemic with its contact restrictions.
For us from magility, the presentation by Huawei was very impressive, in which it was explained what has already been implemented and achieved there in the last 3 years. Huawei introduced its first electric car Seres Huawei Smart Selection SF5 only last year and the speed with which Huawei is on the move in the further development of intelligent automotive solutions should shake up all other market players. In their presentations the German companies talked even more about what should be implemented.
The road to the software-defined vehicle is without a doubt one of the key challenges for the German automotive industry that needs to be tackled with verve and without delay. Here in the Stuttgart metropolitan region, we have the best prerequisites for helping to shape the mobility of the future on a solid basis if we approach the new market participants with an open mind, see cooperation as an opportunity, and rely at least in part on uniform software development. Not everyone has to cook their own soup. But together we have the chance to turn the soup into a star menu! Let’s do great things together! We at magility are happy to help!
by Nada Welker | Dec 1, 2021 | Market development & Trends
Electric cars are the future, and they will dominate the car market in a few years. Every year, automakers expand their product lineup, setting the stage for new generations of e-cars. Today, every vehicle manufacturer is working on e-vehicles, from established players to new names like Byton, Lordstown and Rivian. The big players are focusing primarily on newly developed platforms. These are expected to contribute to significantly more variability, performance and range compared to previous generations of e-cars. However, the newly developed electric car platforms score points primarily for their increasing flexibility and savings potential, as they can serve as a basis for different types of e-cars. This variable basis will be able to be used for vehicles from the VW Group’s own brand world as well as for vehicles from competitors – similar to the Modular Electric Building Kit (MEB) first introduced in 2016.
Global industry leaders
While COVID-19 has negatively impacted markets for combustion engine vehicles worldwide, sales of electric vehicles (xEVs) have surged, particularly in Europe.
According to Roland Berger’s E-Mobility Index 2021, China is currently the industry leader in the sector, producing the largest number of xEVs and battery cells. It is expected that the total production of BEVs (battery electric vehicles) and PHEVs (plug-in hybrid vehicles) will increase by 13 percent from 2018 to 2023 compared to the previous period of 2017 to 2022. Cumulative domestic battery cell production capacity calculated for the 2018-23 period is expected to account for more than 70 percent of global installed capacity:
China continues to strengthen its leadership role by expanding local production capacity. German OEMs are also achieving strong growth in vehicle production, but have little battery cell production capacity, ranking only third behind the United States.
Europe saw strong market growth in the 2021 E-Mobility Index, led by Germany and Italy. Both markets achieved sales growth of over 200 percent. In Germany, sales of xEVs increased from 112,000 to more than 400,000 vehicles, meaning that Germany now accounts for the second-largest market for xEVs. In terms of BEV/PHEV market share of the overall market, Germany now even takes first place.
Development of new e-vehicles on the rise – and helping the climate
The range of vehicles with electrified powertrains has increased massively in recent years. There is now a choice of xEVs in every segment. Many new or updated BEV and PHEV models were launched in 2020. In addition, OEMs had already increased their xEV production capacity in 2019 in preparation for the introduction of the Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP) – a uniform standard for calculating pollutant levels, CO2 emissions, fuel consumption and range – and continued to do so during the reporting period. This means they will likely be able to meet the 95g CO2/km target for average fleet emissions in 2021:
Electric base of Renault and Nissan
Renault and Nissan unveiled a new electric base last year: the CMF-EV platform. This is to be used not only across brands but also across manufacturers by alliance partner Mitsubishi. The CMF-EV platform is variable enough to serve as the basis for city vehicles, sedans, or even large SUV models that can travel long distances without stopping to charge. The Renault Mégane eVision is intended to build on the success of the Renault Zoé. With an output of 160 kW/217 hp, a battery capacity of 60 kW, and fast-charging capability, the vehicle guarantees long ranges and a versatile range of uses.
BMW’s “New Class” platforms
Inspired by the successful 1500 and 1800 models of the 1960s, BMW’s new “New Class” architecture brings forth platforms exclusively for e-cars. Scheduled to launch in 2025, the first model will be a sedan in the 3 Series format, dubbed NK1. The new architecture features redefined IT and software amenities, a newly developed electric drive and battery generation, and a whole system of lifecycle sustainability. It is said to be optimized exclusively for electric powertrains.
General Motors: New e-platform called “Ultium Drive”.
General Motors’ “Ultium Drive” multi-purpose electric underpinnings include a skateboard-like base structure with a battery made of pouch cells that sits flat and low to the ground, and drive units on the front and rear axles. Also planned are 400- and 800-volt architectures. Drivetrains consisting of five genset units will be available to represent front-, rear- and all-wheel-drive systems for passenger cars and commercial vehicles in many power levels. Because of the versatility of the new platforms, scaling effects are achievable, bringing the cost of Ultium batteries below $100 per kilowatt-hour, according to a GM forecast.
Those who prefer high performance will be well served by the roughly 1,000-horsepower new edition of the GMC Hummer EV: This one is powerful enough to reach 100 km/h from a standstill within three seconds while offering 560 kilometers of range. Thanks to 800-volt technology, recharging power for 160 kilometers is possible within ten minutes.
This most powerful version of the Hummer is already available on the market. Those who can be patient can look forward to innovations from the future Cadillac electric brand from 2022, along with other GM models: the Lyriq SUV and the Celestiq luxury sedan.
GM plans to launch more than 30 electrically powered models by 2025. So we can be curious.
Mercedes-Benz: Electric Versatility Platform
New e-platforms are also planned for the commercial vehicle sector. The Electric Versatility Platform differs significantly from the eSprinter model already available: instead of relying on front-wheel drive, the original engine compartment accommodates most of the control and charging electronics in a compact package. Instead, the drive is provided by an integrated e-axle with a central electric engine directly in the axle beam.
Would you like to learn more about topics such as e-mobility, smart grids or the Internet of Things? Get to know our colleague Jürgen Schenk – He is our top expert in the fields of electric vehicle and drive development, evaluation and design of complex systems.
We’ll keep you up to date here at magility when exciting new e-platforms appear. Follow us on LinkedIn to never miss any news.
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