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HiEFFICIENT project makes a substantial contribution to the European Commission’s “The European Green Deal” initiative, by ensuring sustainable mobility and resource efficiency for future transportation. Therefore, highly reliable and integrated wide-bandgap (WBG) technologies in electronic power circuits and systems of electrified vehicles and charging infrastructures shall be developed in the course of the project.

Based on the overall objectives of HiEFFICIENT, an efficient, reliable, reconfigurable, and highly integrated power electronic converter system based on the application of SiC power devices will be realized and demonstrated in this use case. By dynamic reconfiguring of multiple grid-isolated units, the overall charging system can produce multiple output voltages and multiple output powers to cater for the growing demand of e-mobility equipment, especially fast DC charging.

The proposed converter system aims to accommodate different charging needs for different e-mobility devices, unlike the existing charging infrastructure where it has been designed for a specific type and can only charge one piece of equipment. Also, the flexibility of the charging infrastructure will be extended by developing and testing new charging functionalities, which are enabled by the higher switching frequency of WGB devices. Where feasible, according to the power and voltage levels, a hybrid solution of SiC and GaN technologies will be applied and integrated. The integration at system level of grid-isolated WBG technology-based converter modules will be the basis for demonstrating a reliable and flexible charging station. The isolated DC output units can be arranged in series or parallel by a charging router circuitry, providing by this way the required power needs of different EVs connected at the same time.

WBG, SiC MOSFETs power devices, suited for higher switching frequencies, will be used in the power processing converters to generate high frequency voltage signals that allow isolation transformer volume reduction. Furthermore, switching nodes in the semiconductor stacks will have actively controlled dv/dt through auxiliary circuits, aiming at reduction in overall power loss, inductor volume (especially the required EMI filters), and weight. For the UC4 demonstrator, a limited fleet of electric vehicles for professional transport, such as E-buses or E-trucks, will be addressed. The flexibility of the vehicle charging equipment will be explored by studying new charger functionalities enabled by WBG power devices.

To do so, research is going to be carried out describing possible strategies which are enabled by the chosen switching frequency of the WBG power modules. The research is going to describe, among others, charger requirements, such as frequencies, power levels, harmonics, communication requirements, vehicle requirements, and expected impacts. Then, algorithms are going to be implemented on the charger side for controlling the WBG power modules and on the vehicle side for evaluating the benefit of the added functionality. The algorithms implementation will be focused on ensuring compatibility with rapid prototyping tools, real-time execution and compatibility with the WBG power modules developed by the partners. Algorithms functionality is going to be demonstrated with a WBG power module converter, in a proof-of-concept lab setting.

This project has received funding from the ECSEL Joint Undertaking (JU) under grant agreement no. 101007281. The JU receives support from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme and Austria, Germany, Slovenia, Netherlands, Belgium, Slovakia, France, Italy, and Turkey.

The HYPOBATT project will focus on the developing of two full modular multi-MW recharging systems in two European ports with fast turnaround times of battery electric ships and easy charging of larger on-board batteries.​

Partners: 18 Partners from 10 European countries.
Start date: 1. June 2022
Duration: 42 months

Heliox is one of the European companies actively supporting HYPOBATT with its own optimal fast charging solutions. The specific tasks of Heliox are mainly the development of the modular multi-MW ship charging system and the standardization of charging infrastructures between ship and shore an DC charging for ships. Installation is planned for 2025.

Moreover, one of Heliox's main tasks is to implement an adaptive energy management strategy to minimize both the impact on battery performance and potential loads on the power grid infrastructure. Finally, Heliox is also expected to develop an optimal thermal management system for the modular multi-MW marine charging container.

Heliox has been involved for many years in various European innovation and research projects, such as ASSURED, HiEfficient, Hiperform, Navais and many more, to advance the energy and transport transition through innovation together with innovation partners.

HYPOBATT has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement № 101056853.

The high-power requirements of ultra-fast charging stations give rise to special challenges when designing smart charging infrastructure. In support of Europe’s 2030 climate targets, the EU-funded PROGRESSUS project aims to introduce a next-generation smart grid demonstrated by the application example of a smart charging infrastructure integrating seamlessly into current smart-grid architecture concepts.

To do so, it will research new efficient high-power converters that support bidirectional power flow. New DC microgrid management strategies for energy efficiency and service provision that consider renewable energy sources, storage and flexible loads will be investigated. It will also explore novel sensor types, inexpensive high-bandwidth communication technologies and security measures based on hardware security modules and blockchain technology to protect communication and services.

The project’s solution will promote a more environmentally friendly and efficient next-generation energy supply infrastructure.

Heliox holds ample experience and knowhow on R&D, manufacturing, implementation and operation of large scale charging infrastructure. Thus covering the full scope of research related topics to practical operational knowledge.

Heliox will contribute to define the requirements, realization and implementation of a battery integrated fast charger based on a dynamical reconfigurable power converter, delivering 450kW output power with less than 150kW input power, and the EV high-power charging infrastructure Use-case.

Appropriate analysis, supported by modelling and simulation will be done and finally the demonstrator and the use-case will be realized, operated and evaluated.

This project has received funding from the Electronic Components and Systems for European Leadership Joint Undertaking under grant agreement No 876868. This Joint Undertaking receives support from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme and Germany, Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Slovakia.

‍The project has an overall budget of about 19.576 M€. The project will receive an ECSEL JU funding of some 5.785 M€ completed with national funding from – Germany, Netherlands, Spain, Italy and Slovakia.

Within the project, the partners are developing a system architecture for digital infrastructure within the project, including the critical core technologies associated with localization, traffic services, digital maps, and charging infrastructure. This is the basis for: (1) Enabling higher levels of autonomous driving and (2) a cyber-secure and reliable interconnection of electric vehicles and the management of energy infrastructure.

DITM will enable the Netherlands to make mobility more efficient and safer on a national level, create a stronger export position for Dutch technology and influence international standards. The project will run until Q3 2026 and has 20 partners.

Heliox is in the lead for the Energy Systems work package. The energy system work package develops an 'energy exchange system' (EnergyPod) as a crucial link between the autonomous electric vehicle (EV) and the environment (distribution and transport network operators). The EnergyPod makes both the physical and digital links that are essential to be able to tunnel energy and information securely (cyber security) and according to the requirements of the grid operators from storage in EV and battery systems to distribution by the grid operator.

The Energypod is required due to the growth of electric vehicles and of local energy generation leads to the challenge of properly matching supply and demand of electrical energy between different locations or different times at a location. This brings complications regarding balance and congestion of the electricity grid. With each new wind farm and solar field, closure of coal-fired power stations and more electric vehicles (EV), this challenge is growing. Joint grid operators (DSO) and TenneT (TSO) are now sounding the alarm about congestion on the electricity grid. Billions of investments are necessary for the future.

The EnergyPod serves as a physical and digital infrastructure hub that transfers energy between electric vehicles, stationary batteries, and local renewables generation in a safe and reliable manner to the network operators. It thus facilitates congestion reduction and possibilities for increased grid stabilization.

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The DITM project is made possible by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management (I&W).
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‍Project period: 1 October 2022 - 1 October 2026
‍Project budget: €60.000.000

The Green Transport Delta – Electrification project aims to develop a strong battery ecosystem in the Netherlands and accelerate the transition to climate-neutral mobility.

The gap in the market that Dutch companies can fill is the production of battery modules and packages for specific applications for which the global production chain is not yet organized. This includes battery packs for buses, trucks, industrial vehicles/machines, aircraft and ships. The Netherlands has leading players in all these markets.

The Green Transport Delta - Electrification project is made possible by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Change.
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‍Project period: 1 October 2021 - 31 December 2024
‍Project budget: € 36,082,844