Predictive energy and thermal management of electric vehicles with connectivity to infrastructure (PETECI)

Research Project, 2021 – 2022

Increased concern for global warming and emissions has initiated a paradigm shift within the automotive industry towards battery electric vehicles (BEV). The main disadvantages of BEVs, however, compared to conventional vehicles, are limited driving range and long re-charge times, particularly at cold or warm temperatures.

To address the issues of driving range and long recharge times, the proposed project will investigate combined energy and thermal management of BEVs. The objective is to develop a high-level supervisory controller that can take a holistic approach, based on real-time data from navigation system and charging infrastructure, and consider both pre-climatization, driving and charging aspects. Example of potential control signals are: heating/cooling of compartment and battery, charging power, and cruise control set speed. The project should also investigate balancing of different control objectives, e.g. cost, total trip (driving, waiting, and charging) time, and energy consumption. The benefit for the end user will be reduced fast charging times and/or improved energy efficiency and range. A secondary effect of reduced fast charging times will be increased utilization of the charging infrastructure.