Sustainable Transport

Systems

Hybrid and Electric

Propulsion

National R&D Projects

2

Table of contents

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 4

ELECTRIC and HYBRID PROPULSION SYSTEMS 7

Electric Vehicles 7

Hybrid Vehicles 10

POLICY BACKGROUND

RESEARCH CONTEXT AND PROGRAMMES

Some initiatives in EU and in the world 20

RESEARCH RESULTS

The National Research Plan in Italy 29

The national “Industria 2015” programme 30

Research in Electric and Hybrid Vehicles: the example of two national

projects in Italy 31

Project 1: HI-ZEV High performance sustainable sport vehicle 33

Project 2: HI-QUAD Ecological vehicle for urban areas 36

RESULTS 38

What next? 42

OUTLOOK ON RESEARCH 45

What next? 45

CONCLUSIONS

REFERENCES 51

This publication was produced by the PRESS4TRANSPORT consortium on behalf of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Research. The European Union, the European Commission or any person acting on their behalf are not responsible for the accurateness, completeness, use of the information contained in this Fiche, nor shall they be liable for any loss, including consequential loss, that might derive from such use or from the findings of the Fiche themselves. Although the authors exercised all reasonable efforts to ensure the accuracy and the quality of the contents of this publication, the Consortium assumes no liability for any inadvertent error or omission that may appear in this publication. Additional information on the analyzed projects is available on the PRESS4TRANSPORT website at http://www.press4transport.eu/vpo/thematic_fiches.php

Created by: PRESS4TRANSPORT Consortium

Coordinator: Cybion Srl

Responsible Scientific Partner: POMOS – Pole for Sustainable Mobility – Sapienza University of Rome, Italy

Authors: Gianluca Fabbri, Maurizio Paschero

4

EXECUTIVE

SUMMARY

In recent years there has been a

growing interest in electric and

hybrid-electric vehicles mainly

due to environmental concerns.

Efforts are directed toward

developing improved propulsion

systems for electric and hybrid-

electric vehicles applications and

and research in this area has

seen a significant and

remarkable development.

Certainly one of the greatest

achievements of modern

technology has been the

development of internal

combustion engine

automobiles. This has lead to a

highly development of the

automotive industry and the

increasingly large number of

automobiles in use around the

world are causing serious

problems for the environment

and hydrocarbon resources. The

deteriorating air quality, global

warming issues, and depleting

petroleum resources are

becoming serious threats to

modern life and transportation

systems. Progressively more

rigorous emissions and fuel

efficiency standards are

stimulating the aggressive

development of safer, cleaner,

and more efficient vehicles. It is

now well recognized by industry

and the scientific community that

electric and hybrid electric drive

train technologies are the most

promising vehicle solutions for

the foreseeable future and

successful research and

development programs are

required to allow the spread of

these technologies. Moreover,

the organization of transport, the

technological progress and

understanding the supply and

demand factors are key elements

in European transport research

and innovation. The main

5

challenge for transport is to

make growth and sustainability

compatible, by decoupling

environmental impacts from

economic growth, while assuring

the competitiveness and

innovative character of the

European transport industry.

Economic crisis, increasing

scarcity of non-renewable energy

sources, aging, migration and

internal mobility, urbanisation,

and globalisation of the economy

are among the other challenges

to be faced by Transport

research. To meet this challenge,

an increasing number of R&D

projects in Europe and around

the world, have been developed

or are under development in

order to study and apply

advanced energy and vehicle

technologies. Many of these

projects owe their success to the

efforts of small and medium-

sized European enterprises

(SMEs) that have had the

courage to work together in

networks or consortiums. The

goal of this document is to

illustrate the main characteristics

of electric and hybrid

vehicles giving a general

overview on the available

technologies and introducing the

EU policy background. Moreover

two high budget national

programs selected among the

projects registered on the

PRESS4TRANSPORT platform will

be presented and compared.

PRESS4TRANSPORT details:

This fiche is produced within the

PRESS4TRANSPORT (Virtual

Press Office to improve EU

Sustainable Surface Transport

research media visibility on a

national and regional level)

project. The overall aim of the

project is to assists EU, National

and Regional funded projects

communicate their surface

transport research results to the

media.

6

PRESS4TRANSPORT is funded

by the European Commission's

Directorate-General for Research

under the Seventh Framework

Programme for Research and

Technological Development

(FP7).

ELECTRIC and HYBRID PROPULSION SYSTEMS

Introduction

The large number of automobiles

in use around the world has

caused and continues to cause

serious problems for

environment and human life. Air

pollution, global warming, and

the rapid depletion of the Earth’s

petroleum resources are now

problems of paramount concern.

In recent decades, the research

and development activities

related to transportation have

emphasized the development of

high-efficiency, clean, and

safe transportation. Electric

vehicles (EVs) and hybrid electric

vehicles (HEVs) have been

proposed as a possible solution

to replace conventional vehicles

in the near future. In the

following paragraphs a general

overview of the two technologies

is given.

Electric Vehicles

EVs makes use of an electric

motor for traction, whereas

electrochemical batteries, fuel

cells, ultra-capacitors, and/or

flywheels are used as their

corresponding energy storage

system. The EV has many

advantages over the

conventional internal combustion

engine vehicle (ICEV), such as

absence of emissions, high

efficiency, independence from

petroleum, and quiet and smooth

operation. Previously, the EV was

mainly converted from the

existing ICEV by replacing the

ICE and fuel tank with an electric

motor drive and battery pack

8

while retaining all the other

components. Drawbacks such as

its heavy weight, lower flexibility,

and performance degradation

have caused the use of this type

of EV to fade out. To overpass

this problem, a modern EV is

purposely built, based on original

body and frame designs. This

tailored design satisfies the

specific structure requirements

of EVs and makes use of the

greater flexibility of electric

propulsion. A modern electric

drive train is conceptually

illustrated in Figure 1 and

consists of three major

subsystems: electric propulsion,

energy source, and auxiliary.

Figure 1: Modern electric drive train

The electric propulsion

subsystem includes the vehicle

controller, the power electronic

converter, the electric motor,

mechanical transmission, and

driving wheels. The energy

source subsystem involves the

energy source, the energy

management unit, and the

energy refueling unit. The

auxiliary subsystem consists of

the power steering unit, the

climate control unit, and the

auxiliary supply unit.

As mentioned before electric

motors have several

advantages over ICEs,

namely:

Energy efficient. Electric motors

convert 75% of the chemical

energy from the batteries to

power the wheels whereas ICEs

only convert 20% of the energy

stored in gasoline.

Environmentally friendly. EVs

emit no tailpipe pollutants,

although the power plant

9

producing the electricity may emit

them. Electricity from nuclear,

hydro, solar or wind-powered

plants causes no air pollutants.

Performance benefits. Electric

motors provide quiet, smooth

operation and stronger

acceleration and require less

maintenance than ICEs.

Reduce energy dependence. Electricity is a domestic energy

source.

Furthermore EVs gives an

interesting chance to face

significant battery-related

challenges:

Driving range. Many EVs have

limited range, due to the low

energy density of batteries

compared to the fuel of ICEVs.

"Range anxiety" is a label for

consumer concern about EV

range.

Recharge time. Often EVs have

also long recharge times

compared with the relatively fast

process of refueling of a tank.

Fully recharging the battery pack

can take 4 to 8 hours. Even a

"quick charge" to 80% capacity

can take up to 30 min. This is

further complicated by the

current limitation of public

charging stations and by the

need to adapt the electrical

system.

Battery cost: The large battery

packs are still expensive whereas

their life time is still inadequate.

Bulk & weight: Battery packs are

heavy and take up considerable

vehicle space.

Anyway, researchers are working

on improved battery technologies

to increase driving range and

decrease recharging time,

weight, and cost. These factors

will ultimately determine the

future of EVs. They will be better

analyzed and discussed in the

last paragraph of this document.

10

Vehicle to Grid (V2G). Since EVs

can be plugged into the electric

grid when not in use, there is a

potential for battery powered

vehicles to even out the demand

for electricity by feeding

electricity into the grid from their

batteries during peak use periods

while doing most of their charging

at night, when there is unused

generating capacity. This Vehicle

to Grid (V2G) connection has the

potential to reduce the need for

new power plants. Some concepts

see battery exchanges and

battery charging stations, much

like gas/petrol stations today.

Clearly these will require

enormous storage and charging

potentials, which could be

manipulated to vary the rate of

charging, and to output power

during shortage periods, much as

diesel generators are used for

short periods to stabilize some

national grids.

Renewable energy. The current

electricity infrastructure may need

to cope with increasing shares of

variable-output power sources

such as windmills and PV solar

panels. This variability could be

addressed by adjusting the speed

at which EV batteries are

charged, or possibly even

discharged.

Figure 2: Hybrid vehicle

Hybrid Vehicles

Conventional vehicles using

internal combustion engines

provide long operating range and

good performance by utilizing

11

the high energy density

advantages of petroleum fuels

but have the disadvantages of

poor fuel economy and

environmental pollution. The

main reasons for their poor fuel

economy are mismatch of engine

fuel efficiency characteristics

with the real operation

requirement; dissipation of

vehicle kinetic energy during

braking, especially while

operating in urban areas; and

low efficiency of hydraulic

transmission in current

automobiles in stop-and-go

driving patterns. Battery-

powered EVs, on the other hand,

possess some advantages over

conventional ICEVs, such as

high-energy efficiency and zero

environmental pollution.

However, the performance,

especially the operation range

per battery charge, is far less

competitive than ICEVs, due to

the much lower energy density

of the batteries than that of

gasoline. HEVs, which use two

power sources (a primary power

source and a secondary power

source), have the advantages of

both ICEVs and EVs and

overcome their disadvantages.

Hybrid-electric vehicles (HEVs) in

fact combine the benefits of

internal combustion engine and

electric motors (see Figure 2)

and can be configured to obtain

different objectives, such as

improved fuel economy,

increased power, or additional

auxiliary power for electronic

devices and power tools.

Some of the advanced

technologies typically used

by hybrids include:

Regenerative Braking. The

electric motor applies resistance

to the drivetrain causing the

wheels to slow down. In return,

the energy from the wheels turns

the motor, which functions as a

generator, converting energy

normally wasted during coasting

and braking into electricity,

12

which is stored in a battery until

needed by the electric motor.

Electric Motor Drive/Assist. The

electric motor provides additional

power to assist the ICE in

accelerating, passing, or hill

climbing. This allows a smaller,

more efficient engine to be used.

In some vehicles, the motor

alone provides power for low-

speed driving conditions where

internal combustion engines are

least efficient.

Automatic Start/Shutoff.

Automatically shuts off the

engine when the vehicle comes

to a stop and restarts it when the

accelerator is pressed. This

prevents wasted energy from

idling.

Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles

(PHEVs) are hybrids with high

capacity batteries that can be

charged by plugging them into

an electrical outlet or charging

station. PHEVs can store enough

electricity from the power grid

to significantly reduce their

petroleum consumption under

typical driving conditions.

Figure 3: Series configuration

There are two basic PHEV

configurations:

Series PHEVs, also called

Extended Range Electric Vehicles

(EREVs). In Series PHEV (see

Figure 3) the powers is provided

to the wheels only by the electric

motor; whereas the ICE is used

to generate electric power which

is used to recharge the energy

storage system or to drive the

electric motor directly. The main

advantage of this configuration is

the opportunity to let the ICE

work in a more efficient fashion.

13

This kind of vehicle are suitable

for those applications where it is

needed to drive for a short path

and then have a rest period as a

bus line. In this case it is

possible to size the ICE

accurately increasing its

efficiency.

Parallel or Blended PHEVs.

In Parallel PHEV (see Figure 4)

both the ICE and electric motor

are mechanically connected to

the wheels, and both of them are

allowed to propel the vehicle

simultaneously or independently

depending on the instantaneous

driving conditions. Pure-electric

operation usually occurs only at

low speeds, where the ICE is

really bad performing. Electric

traction can be even used to

sustain the ICE during fast

transients.

Figure 4: Parallel configuration

PHEVs also have different battery

capacities, allowing some to

travel farther on electricity than

others. PHEV fuel economy, like

that of electric vehicles and

regular hybrids, can be sensitive

to driving style, driving

conditions, and accessory use.

Benefits and Challenges of the

PHEV are:

Less Petroleum Use. PHEVs are

expected to use about 40 to 60

%t less petroleum than

conventional vehicles. Since

electricity is produced primarily

14

from domestic resources, PHEVs

reduce our dependence on oil.

Less Greenhouse Gas (GHG)

Emissions. PHEVs are expected

to emit less GHG than

conventional vehicles, but the

amount generated depends

partly on the fuel used at

electrical power plants—nuclear

and hydroelectric plants are

cleaner than coal-fired power

plants.

Higher Vehicle Costs, Lower Fuel

Costs. PHEVs will likely cost

€1,000 to €6,000 more than

comparable non-plug-in hybrids.

Fuel will cost less since electricity

is much cheaper than gasoline,

but it is unclear whether fuel

savings will offset the vehicle

cost when PHEVs are first

introduced. Tax incentives should

be available for qualifying PHEVs

and encourage their spread

Re-charging Takes Time. Re-

charging the battery typically

takes several hours, but a "quick

charge" to 80% capacity may

take as little as 30 minutes.

However, PHEVs don't have to be

plugged in to be driven. They

can be fueled solely with gasoline

but will not achieve maximum

range or fuel economy without

charging.

The first Hybrid Vehicle by Ferdinand

Porsche in 1898.

15

POLICY

BACKGROUND

The European Union has a

strategy on clean and energy

efficient vehicles aiming to:

promote a new industrial

approach, based on clean

and energy-efficient vehicles

that will boost the

competitiveness of the

European industry;

help the European industry

in taking globally aleading

role in the deployment of

alternative propulsion

technologies;

create a green economy

based on sustainability that

will support the

decarbonisation of transport.

In 2001 the EU’s transport policy

was facing a number of

challenges like road congestion,

environmental pressures and

quality of life and the

Commission presented a White

Paper proposing various

measures to overhaul the EU’s

transport policy in order to make

it more sustainable and avoid

huge economic losses due to

congestion, pollution and

accidents. The main policy

objectives wer for transport to

become cleaner, more efficient,

including energy efficient, safer

and more secure.

The White Paper has led to

various policy initiatives like:

improving road safety

through the European road

safety action programme and

the Communications on

eSafety, laying down a set of

measures for supporting the

development of safer and

more intelligent vehicles,

16

were adopted, with the

overall objective of improving

road safety and halving the

number of road deaths by

2010;

preventing congestions by

promoting intermodality,

through the Marco Polo

programmes I and II, and

with the adoption of

new TEN-T Guidelines

establishing a legal

framework for the funding

of motorways of the sea

With the aim to rebalance the

policy towards economic and

stressing the key role of

innovation in ensuring

sustainable, efficient and

competitive mobility in Europe,

in June 2006 the Commission

presented a review of the White

Paper, which states that the

2001 objectives are still relevant

but that, over the last five years,

the context defining Europe’s

transport policy has changed:

Globalisation is accelerating,

further challenging Europe’s

competitiveness and

economic growth;

Oil prices have increased

dramatically;

The Kyoto Protocol came into

force, generating emission

reduction commitments for

Europe;

Electrification of transport

(electromobility) figures

prominently in the Green Car Initiative (GCI), included in

the European Economic

Recovery Plan. DG TREN is

supporting a large European

"electromobility" project on

electric vehicles and related

infrastructure as part of the

Green Car Initiative. There are

measures to promote efficient

vehicles in the Directive

2009/33/EC of the European

Parliament and of the Council of

23 April 2009 on the promotion

of clean and energy-efficient

road transport vehicles and in

the Directive 2006/32/EC of the

17

European Parliament and of the

Council of 5 April 2006 on

energy end-use efficiency and

energy services. Other

European Union policies are also

of relevance for Transport

research. Following the adoption

by the Commission of the

‘European Economic Recovery

Plan’ on 26 November 2008, a

‘European Green Cars Initiative

(EGCI)’ has been launched

involving research on a broad

range of technologies and smart

energy infrastructures essential

to achieve a breakthrough in

the use of renewable and non-

polluting energy sources, safety

and traffic fluidity. The initiative

is funded by the European

Union, the European Investment

Bank (EIB), industry and

Member States. It is worth to

mention as well the Sustainable

Development Strategy, the

Marine and Maritime Research

Strategy, the European Road

Safety Action Programme 2011-

2010, the European Agenda for

Freight Logistics, the

establishment of the European

Maritime Transport Area without

barriers, the EU Maritime

Transport Strategy 2018, the

ITS Directive and its Action

Plan, the Action Plan on Urban

Mobility, and a European

strategy on clean and energy

efficient vehicles.

18

RESEARCH CONTEXT AND PROGRAMMES

European transport research and

innovation have a role to

maintain and increase the

efficiency of the different

transport modes as well as their

interaction and to foster

progress. Technological progress,

the organisation of transport and

understanding the supply and

demand factors are key elements

in European transport research

and innovation. The European

transport system serves key

roles in the transportation of

people and goods in a local,

regional, national, European and

international context. At the

same time, it is essential to

Europe’s prosperity and closely

linked to economic growth and

quality of life.

In the Political guidelines for the

next Commission, it is stated

that “the next Commission needs

to maintain the momentum

towards a low emission

economy, and in particular

towards decarbonising our

electricity supply and the

transport sector – all transport,

including maritime transport and

aviation, as well as the

development of clean and

electric cars. Decarbonising

electricity supply and transport

will also bring additional benefits

in terms of security of energy

supply”. The Commission

Communication ‘Europe 2020 – A

strategy for smart, sustainable

and inclusive growth’ emphasises

that essential elements of the

transport policy are better

integration of transport

networks, promoting clean

technologies, and upgrading

infrastructure. Two of the

flagship initiatives of this

strategy, ‘Innovation Union’ and

‘Resource efficient Europe’ are of

particular relevance to Transport

research. The concept of the

19

Innovation Union recognises the

need of strengthening the

innovation chain today by

launching a new approach, the

European Innovation

Partnerships, which will pool

efforts and expertise in research

and innovation to focus on

results, outcomes and impacts,

and rapid modernisation in key

transport-related areas such as

cities and mobility. Further, a

New White Paper on Transport

has been adopted by the

Commission on 28 March 2011,

which lays down a long term

strategy that would allow the

transport sector to meet its goals

with a 2050 horizon.

The EU Transport 2050 Roadmap

aims to break transport’s current

oil dependency and allow

mobility to grow because

currently transport is 96%

dependent on oil for its energy

needs and this is totally

unsustainable. Transport 2050

calls for a reduction of CO² from

transport of at least 60 per cent

by 2050. A major part of the

measures designed to help the

EU reach this goal is the major

push to convert drivers in cities

to HEVs, away from gas-

guzzlers. Transport 2050 aims to

half the number of

conventionally fuelled cars in

cities by 2030 and phase them

out by 2050.

Green eMotion

The four year long project ‘Green

e motion’ is part of the European

Green Cars Initiative, and is

funded under the Seventh

Research and Development

20

Framework Programme. It plans

to compare the twelve on-going

regional and national

electromobility initiatives in eight

different EU Member States and

compare the different technology

approaches. The objective is to

ensure environmentally friendly

surface transport activities

through the greening of

transport products and

operations. Research will

concentrate on vehicles, vessels,

infrastructures and their

interactions with special

emphasis on system

optimisation. Activities will

explore a wide range of possible

innovative solutions and

technologies for pollution

reduction (greenhouse gases,

local emissions, noise and

vibration, and wash),

maximisation of energy

conversion and rationalisation of

energy use.

Some initiatives in EU and in

the world

In order to compare different

initiatives in Europe and in the

World, in this section some

initiatives undertaken by

different countries concerning

electric and hybrid vehicle will

be illustrated.

Portugal is one of the first

countries in the world to have an

integrated policy for electric

mobility and a national charging

network for Electric Vehicles. By

the first semester of 2011, a

wide public network of 1 300

normal and 50 fast charging

points will be fully implemented

in the main 25 cities of the

country, thus allowing electric

vehicle users the ability to travel

throughout the country in all

comfort and safety. The

21

Portuguese Government

launched in early 2008 a national

Programme for Electric Mobility

called Mobi.E based on an

innovative approach to electric

mobility. It has an open-access

and market-oriented philosophy

and, as a result, it proposes a

fully integrated and totally

interoperable system, multi-

retailer and multi-operator

model. Rather than a local

experience, Mobi.E is deploying a

national electric mobility system.

However, the system was

designed to be scalable and used

in multiple geographies,

overcoming the current situation

of lack of communication among

the different electric mobility

experiences that are being

deployed in Europe. Mobi.E

allows any individual the access

to any provider of electricity in

any charging point explored by

any service operator. This

ensures transparency, low entry

barriers and competition along

the value chain, with the goal of

attracting private investors and

benefiting the users, contributing

to a faster expansion of the

system. In the top of the system

there is a “Managing Authority”

which acts as a Clearing House

and intermediates the financial,

information and energy flows

among users, electricity sellers,

operators of charging points, and

the providers of any other

associated service. Additionally,

several measures were taken to

increase the demand for EVs and

HEVs in Portugal:

EVs are fully exempt from

both the Vehicle Tax due

upon purchase (Imposto

Sobre Veículos) and the

annual Circulation Tax

(Imposto Único de

Circulação);

Personal Income Tax

provides an allowance of

EUR 803 upon the purchase

of EVs;

EVs are fully exempt from

the 5%-10% company car

22

tax rates which are part of

the Corporation Income Tax;

The Budget Law provides for

an increase of the

depreciation costs related to

the purchase of EVs for the

purpose of Corporation

Income Tax;

the first 5,000 EVs to be

sold in Portugal will receive

a 5,000€ incentive fund, and

the Cash-for-Clunkers

program grants an

additional 1,500€ fund if a

internal combustion engine

vehicle built before 2000 is

delivered when acquiring the

new EV;

The Portuguese State did

also commit to play a

pedagogic role and defined

that EVs will have a 20%

share of the annual renewal

of public car fleet, starting in

2011.

Also Germany is investing in

Sustainable Mobility and the

German government launched

the "National Electric Mobility

Platform" (NEMP) which is an

initiative to develop Germany

into a leading market for electric

mobility, with about 1 million

electric vehicles on its streets by

2020. As the latest development

(October 2010) DBM Energy's

electric Audi A2 completes record

setting 372-mile (599 km) drive

on a single charge.

Spain started in 2010 a

consortium dedicated to the

development of electric vehicles.

The main objective of this

initiative is to research

technologies that will permit

electric vehicles to be integrated

into the power grid and

introduced into the Spanish

market. The VERDE project,

spearheaded by Seat, already

enjoys the backing of the

Ministry of Science and

Innovation, and is financed by

the CENIT (the National Strategic

Consortia for Technical Research

promoted by the Ministry of Science

23

and Innovation) programme and

has a budget of around Euro 40

million.

Various projects involving

different European states aim at

the integration of the HEVs into

smart grids such as the G4V and

ELVIRE projects.

The G4V (Grid for Vehicles)

project has a budget of around

Euro 2.5 million, will run for 18

months and involves the main

European sector players: ENEL,

RWE, EDF, EDP and Vattenfall.

Its aim is to evaluate the large-

scale impact of the integration of

the Electric Vehicle into the

electricity grid infrastructure and

to establish recommendations for

its introduction from 2020. It is

also looking at mass use of the

Electric Vehicle, its societal

impact, the services and

communications required and

possible challenges and

opportunities.

The ELVIRE project has a

budget of around Euro 10

million, runs for three years, and

also involves Continental,

Renault and Volkswagen. The

aim of this project is to develop

the necessary technology,

solutions and services to permit

constant interaction between EV

drivers, their energy suppliers

and the smart grid. A consumer-

oriented development is also

proposed, with a services

platform that optimises

communication between users

24

and their vehicles. Of particular

note is the development of

communication infrastructure

with the energy supplier, charge

control and system tariffs.

Different possible scenarios are

being investigated, taking into

account security and

interoperability.

In 2011 Italy also started a

Technological Platform in order

to fostering an holistic approach

to Electrified Mobility Research.

The Italian Electrified Mobility

Technological Platform is a

community of companies, people

and research organizations

interested in taking proactive

actions, aimed to identify and

deal with new needs for

products, infrastructure and

services continuous innovation

capable to promote the

electrified mobility in Italy.

In particular the Italian Electro

Mobility Technological Platform

(ITALEMP) community wants to:

develop a new approach for

the mobility in the urban

area able to satisfy the

expressed and latent needs

of citizens;

define the technological

research and industrial

needs such as to define an

industrial policy for medium

and long term capacity to

develop the necessary

technical skills;

define and implement an

integrated and coherent

approach to real needs

expressed by ensuring the

technical results and

industrial impact on

employment.

develop an integrated Italian

network with strong

relations with other national

platforms, European

initiatives (e.g. Green Car

Initiative) and national

organization (e.g. Eposs)

having a European relevance

in this field.

25

The Italian Electrified Mobility

Platform aims to pro-actively

contribute to collectively define

an emerging R&D area dedicated

to changing the current approach

to urban mobility in order to

define the needs of innovation,

to provide new products and

national infrastructures and

coordinate national efforts in a

European context.

The essence of IEMP is to

strengthen the culture of an

ecological mobility and to detect

and analyze the needs of citizens

in order to allow Italian industry

to have a competitive advantage

and exploiting new market

opportunities of the global green

economy. Therefore, ITALEMP

want to define a national plan

whose implementation will

dramatically affect the mobility

of urban centers through a

creative, innovative and

integrated approach. The

implementation of this plan will

be in 5-10 years and put the

nation on top of the green

economy, as regards mobility

and energy savings associated

with it. The new approach for

electrified mobility in urban area

will be focused on value

propositions:

Identification of real user

needs (explicit, non explicit,

indirectly connected);

Identification of new

technologies and an

innovative infrastructural

system for identifying new

innovative solution to satisfy

users expectations;

In order to achieve the general

objectives of the national plan

for electrified mobility, will be

defined a number of Research

Areas consistent with the

following topics:

Urban Mobility: Defining a

project for urban mobility for

people and goods to be

implemented on a number of

Italian cities and / or places are

particularly sensitive to the

26

environment (smaller Italian

islands) and tourist attractions.

Areas of Research: Personal

Mobility, Comfortable Multimodal

solutions, Public Transport,

Demand Management, New

Business Models, Infomobility,

New Services etc.

Grid Integration: Definition of new integrated

management methodologies for

electrified vehicles, to be

considered as structural

elements of a Smart Grids. Areas

of Research: Quick Charging,

Charging Infrastructures,

Bidirectional Trading, Billing

Concepts, etc.

Social Benefits: Develop

and implement methodologies

for the assessment of electrified

mobility in a quality of life

prospective and assess the

economic benefits related to

public health. Areas of Research:

Development of Safety Concepts,

Setup of Standards, Acoustic

Perception, Economic Health

Benefits, etc.

Concepts of New

Vehicles: Define

requirements for electrified

mobility from which to derive the

functional specifications for new

vehicle concepts capable of

meeting real needs and latent in

an integrated concept of

integrated urban transport.

Define the key technologies for

the development of electrified

vehicles and launch a coherent

national development strategy of

the supply chain to ensure its

competitiveness through specific

industrial projects and innovative

R&D projects. Areas of Research:

Vehicle Weight, Aerodynamics,

Safety, Engine Efficiency, etc.

Energy Storage

Systems: Define batteries

providing tripled energy, tripled

lifetime at a third of today’s

costs. Areas of Research: Cell

Degradation, Recycling

Processes, Cell Materials, Post-

Lithium Technology, Reuse

Concepts, etc.

27

System Integration: Optimized control of energy

flows for a new electrical

architecture. Novel platforms

based on improved system

integrations. Areas of Research:

Component Efficiency, Solutions

for Heating, Venting and Cooling,

Light-Weight Materials, etc.

Transport Systems: Road

Infrastructures and

communication tools,

encouraging the use of electrical

vehicles. Integration of electric

vehicles with other modes of

transport. Automated Driving

Systems based safety and car to

x communications. Areas of

Research: ITS for Energy

Efficiency, Sensors for

Autonomous Driving, Road

Infrastructures Measures, Wide

Signage, etc.

Energy Production and

Management: The

convergence of renewable

energies and electrified mobility

appears to be a strong issue. The

request of “clean electrons”,

which commonly means

electricity from renewable energy

sources, will raise among users.

The whole chain of current

conversion should be considered:

power plants, electrical grid,

AC/DC inverter, energy-power

storage systems in slow

charge/discharge modes, power

electronics, electrical motors.

Areas of Research: Photo Voltaic

on Board, On Site Micro

Generation, New Distribution

Models, etc

It is also interesting to analyze

the situation in China because

many electric vehicle companies

are looking to China as the

leader of future electric car

implementation around the

world. In April 2009, Chinese

officials announced their plan to

make China the world's largest

producer of electric cars. The

Renault-Nissan Alliance will work

with China's Ministry of Industry

and Information Technology

28

(MITI) to help set up battery

recharging networks throughout

the city of Wuhan, the pilot city

in the country's electrical vehicle

pilot program. The corporation

plans to have electric vehicles on

the market by 2011. In 2010, it

is reported that China, aiming to

improve air quality and reduce

reliance on fossil fuels, is going

to commence a two-year pilot

program of subsidizing buyers of

alternative- energy cars in the

five cities: Shanghai, Changchun,

Shenzhen, Hangzhou and Hefei.

The subsidy will be as much as

60.000 yuan (6.450 €) for

battery electric cars and 50.000

yuan (5.375 €) for plug-in

hybrids. In 2009, a company

named BYD delivered 48 F3DM

plug-in hybrids in the country.

The BYD F3DM is a compact

plug-in hybrid compact sedan

with an all-electric range of 64 to

97 km and a hybrid electric

powertrain that can extend the

range an additional 480 km.

China also plans to expand a

project of encouraging the use of

energy-efficient and alternative-

energy vehicles in public

transport.

29

RESEARCH RESULTS

In this section are discussed and

compared two high budget

projects developed in Italy are

discussed and compared.

Moreover a brief introduction on

the research system in Italy and

on the new National Research

Plan will be made.

The National Research

Plan in Italy

In April 2011, the Italian

government launched a new

research plan (Piano Nazionale

della Ricerca, PNR) with the aim

to bring the overall investments

in RTD from currently 0.56% of

GPD – which is among the lowest

in the EU - to 1.53% by 2013.

This is an ambitious project in

the current economic scenario

where a tight spending policy

cannot be waived. There is

nevertheless consensus that a

push for innovation and

competitiveness is necessary to

counteract the poor economic

growth that the country has been

facing in the past years. The

budget will come partly from the

national research fund

(Fondo Agevolazione e

Ricerca, FAR) and partly from

the research centres’ own

resources. An additional funding

of € 900 million may be added to

support industrial districts. The

mechanism for selecting projects

will be based on calls and will

include systems for ceasing the

brain drain and attract

researchers from abroad.

The plan, long waited for, was

designed after a consultation

process involving the main

stakeholders, both at national

30

and regional level. It envisages

two action lines – a central and a

regional one. The Ministry will

manage directly the medium-

long term strategic actions in

basic research and enabling

technologies. The regions will be

in charge of driving the local

industrial systems towards the

adoption of innovation. Specific

actions are envisaged for high-

tech sectors. The Ministry will

keep the responsibility for the

technical and scientific

assessment of the projects and

the overall strategic guidance. A

yearly assessment will be carried

out to check the progress and

the alignment to the expected

outcomes.

The rationale behind this plan is

to focus on strategic areas and

overcome fragmentation of

scattered investments, looking

for integration of competences

and consistency among the

policies of the various

stakeholders. This will turn into

support to the national

technological platforms that will

coordinate their activities with

the correspondent European

platforms, support to the high-

tech districts, building poles of

excellence (similar to the

districts but focused on

technological developments),

investments in technological

infrastructure, the “innovation

backbone”.

The national “Industria

2015" programme

One of the most important

research program in Italy is the

so called “Industria 2015”

proposed by the Italian Ministry

of Economic Development. The

program has established the

strategic lines for the

development and

competitiveness of the future

31

production systems in Italy. The

aim of the program is to

stimulate industrial innovation

projects to create new cross

sector industries (which integrate

manufacturing, advanced

services and new technologies)

to encourage the development of

specific types of products and

services with a high content of

innovation in strategic areas for

the country: energy efficiency

(200M€), sustainable mobility

(180M€) and new technologies

for the made in Italy (190M€).

The actors involved, in addition

to the production sectors, are

national and local

administrations, universities and

research institutions.

Research in Electric and

Hybrid Vehicles: the example

of two national projects in Italy

Two projects participating to the

Industria 2015 programme have

been selected among the ones

registered in the

PRESS4TRANSPORT platform.

The selected projects are the

following:

Project 1: HI-ZEV High

performance sustainable

sport vehicle;

Project 2: HI-QUAD,

ecological vehicle having a

sustainable propulsion

system and an innovative

energy flow management

system.

The two projects are

characterized from having a

similar budget (~10 M€) and for

involving public-private

partnerships. Project 1 aims to

develop two prototypes of an

ecological sport vehicle having a

sustainable propulsion system

(full electric and full hybrid) and

an innovative energy flow

management system; Project 2

has the goal to identify and build

an hybrid urban vehicle which,

directly or indirectly, can give a

32

contribution to the solution of

mobility problems in both the

small urban areas and the big

metropolitan areas. Moreover the

two projects are an example of a

national application having a

potentially transferability at

European level.

33

Project 1: HI-ZEV High performance

sustainable sport vehicle

Behind the HI-ZEV project lays

an analysis made by Italian

Pole for Sustainable Mobility

(POMOS), active in the field of

transfer of knowledge from

academia to industry,

encouraging the aggregation of

small and medium enterprises

involved in the field of Ultra Low

Emission Vehicles (ULEV) and

Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEV).

More precisely, a potential area

of the market (i.e. luxury sports

cars) has been identified in the

international scenario (UAE

market, but also EU and USA) to

encourage and develop

innovative design platforms for

the development of quality

products conceived and designed

in Italy.

In this regard, it should be

remarked that in the automotive

field the technological

innovation, even the one to be

applied to large scale

productions, mainly comes "from

above", since it is first tested on

high performance vehicles like

the ones proposed in the HI-ZEV

Industrial Innovation Project.

The principal issue addressed in

this project is the pure

electrical and hybrid

propulsion and the

development of two prototypes

of sport cars (one full electric

and one full hybrid). The final

goal of this project is therefore

the development of two versions

of an ecological sport vehicle

having an sustainable propulsion

34

system and an innovative energy

flow management system. A

large number of technological

solutions will be studied and

analyzed in the project and these

solutions are finalized to make

the final product highly

innovative and competitive. The

strategic HI-ZEV Industrial

Innovation Project has an

approach which combines

traditional manufacturing

production with the development

of new services and technologies

while exploring the synergies

between manufacturing

companies, service companies,

industrial research and

academia. This network, with

cross-sector chains of production

integrating manufacturing,

advanced services and new

technologies, includes both

companies and research centres

with proven experience skills in

different fields both at national

and international level. This

union of diverse skills should

achieve a significant impact in

the automotive sector. The HI-

ZEV project is a partnership

composed of medium, small and

micro enterprises, research

centres and universities.

The HI-ZEV Consortium: the kick off of the

project.

More than 24 entities are

involved in the HI-ZEV

consortium. The project kicked

off in January 2011 and will last

36 months. The budget of the

project is of 9.5 M€. The

industrial production of the final

prototype - an ecological sport

vehicle with a sustainable

propulsion system and an

innovative energy flow

management system - is also

foreseen by the end of this

35

project. Co-funded by Italy's

Industria 2015 National program,

a large number of technological

solutions will be studied and

analyzed in the project. These

solutions are set to make the

final product highly innovative

and competitive. More precisely,

the main aspects to be finely

tuned in this project are:

• Hybrid parallel plug-in

propulsion having low

consumption and emissions and

high performances, capable to

produce zero emissions;

• Modular purely electrical

propulsion in alternative to the

hybrid one;

• Purely electrical active

stability and traction control;

• Lithium polymer

accumulator pack with

intelligent management system

integrated with the propulsion

system for the temperature and

the voltage control of the

accumulators and electronic

management of the charge;

• Intelligent management of the

regenerative braking;

• Light aluminium alloy

structural materials produced

through costumed technological

processes;

• Innovative and reusable

covering materials produced

through costumed technological

processes.

Contact:

gianluca.fabbri@pomos.it

36

Project 2: HI-QUAD Ecological vehicle for

urban areas

The main idea of this project is

to identify a vehicle which,

directly or indirectly, can give a

contribution to the solution of

mobility problems in both the

small urban areas and the big

metropolitan areas. The

attention is focused on the issues

related to traffic congestion,

pollution, recyclability, and

energetic consumption which

remarkably penalize the lifestyle

in the cities and on the aspect

related to the easy management

and the vehicle’s maintenance

which indirectly contribute to an

objective improvement of the

environmental and economical

context. The principal issues

addressed in this project are

mainly related to urban

sustainable mobility.

The final goal of this project is

the development of an

ecological vehicle having a

sustainable propulsion

system and an innovative

energy flow management

system.

A large number of technological

solutions will be studied and

analyzed in the project and these

solutions are finalized to make

the final product highly

innovative and competitive In

the project is foreseen the study

and the implementation of

different techniques that will

allow to make the product an

highly-integrated and

competitive system; in

particular, the main aspects

which will be addressed in this

project are:

37

- thermo-electric hybrid

propulsion with low fuel

consumption and low emission;

- hybrid battery pack;

- innovative air conditioning

systems with high performance;

- Frame: structural material

made of aluminium alloy and

innovative entirely recyclable

covering materials;

- Innovative pressure sensor

for the engine combustion

chamber.

More than 10 entities are

involved in the HI-QUAD

consortium. The project will last

36 months and will end in 2014.

The budget of the project is of 10

M€.

The final product will be

particularly attractive for the

market and for the following

industrial production of the

prototype, due to the following

advantages with respect to the

actual competitors:

-smallest size which will improve

mobility in the traffic and parking

opportunities;

- Electrical propulsion (noiseless

and smooth to drive);

- Performances and full speed

highest then other available

products, that will allow to move

out of the city;

- Reduced fuel consumption and

polluting agents, due to the

optimization of the two

integrated propeller and to the

innovative battery pack;

- Better stability;

- Costs very close to big scooter;

- Great attention given to

aesthetics of the vehicle (care of

shapes and details) alloy and

innovative entirely recyclable

covering.

Contact:

andrea.vignoli@hi-quad.it

RESULTS

It is very interesting to compare

the two projects as though

turned to two different markets

(urban hybrid vehicles and

electric and hybrid sport cars),

they have much in common.

They are both characterized by

a network of SMEs, they have a

similar budget and they are

funded by the same program. As

seen the HI-ZEV project will lead

to the production of two sport

cars characterized by the hybrid

and full electric propulsion and

by an attractive “Made in Italy”

design.

The sport cars market,

traditionally well represented in

the richest markets, has got a

remarkable increase in market

shares during the last years.

Italy is traditionally highly active

in this sector, especially in the

development of peculiar models,

with innovative “architectural”

solutions, and at the leading

edge of technology. This niche in

the marketplace privileges, in

fact, the technical contents of

the product and the driving

pleasantness. Hence, it is greatly

important to adopt vanguard

technical features, with a high

social “visibility”.

Besides these considerations it

can be observed that the

safeguard of the environment

has reached in the last years the

status of an important highlight

feature with a relevant social and

commercial value.

The described project represents

a highly remarkable step forward

with respect to the traditionally

employed solutions in this sector.

It has to be observed, in fact,

that in the last years a certain

technological stagnation has

been remarked even in this niche

which, traditionally and

especially in the '60s, was

characterized by an outstanding

innovation spirit.

By now, the main protagonists of

this sector act as they reached a

technological asymptote, with an

insufficient will to bring the

changes and innovation

required by our times. This is a

very niche sector and therefore

characterized by small numbers,

39

but some margins exists for

“daring” with eminent

innovations without having to

fear big risks in term of

investments. Instead, those risks

are typical of the large scale

production, where the error and

risk margin is major due to the

high numbers into play.

The technical innovations,

especially if radical like the ones

here proposed, necessarily have

to come from above (this applies

to every market sector), to be

then applied at the lower levels.

Innovations like ABS, Airbag,

stability controls, electro-

actuated gearboxes, all followed

this path. And so it will probably

be, for the electric propulsion,

the brake-by-wire and steer-by-

wire systems, and so on.

Moreover, it has to be observed

that the typical prestige of the

high performance car niche

confers its appeal even to the

new eco-compatible

technologies. In such way, these

technologies gain a greater

strength of penetration even in

the widely pervasive market

sectors.

The innovative prototype

proposed in HI-QUAD will be able

to give a contribution to the

solution of mobility problems in

both small urban areas and big

metropolitan areas. The

attention is focused on the issues

related to traffic congestion,

pollution, recyclability, and

energetic consumption which

remarkably penalize the lifestyle

in the cities. Aspect related to

the management and the

maintenance of the vehicle will

indirectly contribute to an

objective improvement of the

environmental and economical

context.

Results from the two projects

shown that both the proposed

projects have the similar goal of

developing a sustainable vehicle,

with highly technological and

innovative contents.

The goals to achieve are the

reduction of the environmental

40

impact and the improvements of

the dynamic performance and

energy efficiency, associated

with a winning image, especially

in the international markets. All

this will be achieved by means of

electric and hybrid propulsion

and by innovative solutions. To

this aims, high-level professional

and instrumental resources will

have to synergically concur.

The results of the planned

activities of industrial research

will act as the input for the

realization of the final prototype.

The two projects are both

characterized by the

cooperation of a large

number of partners and by the

great effort in creating an

environment that encourages

innovation, R&D and the

participation of SMEs .

In fact, one of the main aim of

the EC is to strengthen the

innovation capacity of small and

medium-sized enterprises

(SMEs) in Europe and their

contribution to the development

of new technology based

products and markets.

The participation of SMEs to the

2 projects will help them

outsource research, increase

their research efforts, extend

their networks, better exploit

research results and acquire

technological know how, bridging

the gap between research and

innovation.

SME’s representing in fact 99%

of all enterprises in Europe and

contribute more than two thirds

of European GDP and provide 75

million jobs in the private sector.

They are therefore key to

implementation of the renewed

Lisbon strategy for economic

growth and employment.

We can conclude that the two

projects represent a concrete

example of how to do research

at a high level thanks to the

collaboration of many small

partners that would not be able

to do it alone. In this way,

combining their strengths and

41

with the help of the national

fund, it is possible to achieve the

necessary excellence and know

how to allow the subsequent

industrial production of the

developed prototypes.

42

EUROPEAN POLICY IMPLICATIONS

What next?

Over recent years, the transport

industry has changed under the

impact of the internal market

and of globalisation. Transport is

a high-technology industry,

making research and innovation

crucial to its further development

and conducive to European

competitiveness, environmental

and social agendas.

To reflect the new political

context and the needed priority a

new approach will be adopted for

the following years. This new

approach will be based on

focusing on major socio-

economic challenges and

responding to societal concern

an it will be structured

accordingly to these challenges

in order to address the

innovation cycle in its integrity,

while respecting the rules of

competition.

In this way the Transport theme

takes a holistic ‘transport

system’ approach in addressing

the challenges and the

innovation dimension, by

considering the interactions of

vehicles or vessels, networks or

infrastructures and the use of

transport services.

43

Such an approach will

necessitate the integration and

demonstration of new concepts,

knowledge and technologies, and

the support to bringing them to

the market within a socio-

economic and policy context.

For the period 2012-13, a multi-

annual strategy will focus on this

new approach and a smooth

transition towards the future EU

research and innovation funding

should be ensured.

Based on the policy context, to

achieve critical mass, leverage

effect and EU added-value, the

strategic research and innovation

priorities in 2012 will focus on

three major socioeconomic

challenges:

1. Eco-innovation – The

decarbonisation of the

transport system and an

efficient use of natural

resources, i.e. eco-

innovation in all transport

modes and the further

development of clean

vehicles and vessels.

2. Safe and seamless mobility

– The optimisation of the

global efficiency and safety

of the transport system (by

application of Intelligent

Transport Systems and

logistics), making efficient

use of infrastructure and

network capacity, with the

aim of offering safe and

seamless transport and

mobility to all European

citizens, as transport is also

crucial for social inclusion.

3. Competitiveness through

innovation – The

strengthening of the

competitiveness of European

transport industry through

innovation, as competition

from developed and

emerging economies is

44

intensifying in a global

economy.

A thorough approach need to be

taken in order to identify the

most promising technology areas

and innovation prospects to

attain the three major challenges

mentioned above.

It will take into account the

consultations with all the

Commission services, the

Transport Advisory Group,

MS/AS and stakeholders

(including the Transport

Technology Platforms of the four

transport modes; and the EGCI

Advisory Group), which will

ensure the added-value at EU

level, ERA dimension and

complementarity with national

programmes and synergies of

the activities and topics

proposed.

The development and spread of

R&D activities for HEVs shall be

based upon an evaluation of

needs involving all relevant

stakeholders, and shall comply

with the following “4i

principles”:

Internal market: Create a

genuine Single European

Transport Area by eliminating all

residual barriers between modes

and national systems;

Innovation: EU research to

address the full cycle of

research, innovation and

deployment in an integrated

way;

Infrastructure: EU transport

infrastructure policy needs a

common vision and sufficient

resources. The costs of transport

should be reflected in its price in

an undistorted way

International: Opening up

third country markets in

transport services, products and

investments continues to have

high priority.

45

OUTLOOK

ON RESEARCH

What next?

The electric and hybrid vehicle

market and the commercial and

industrial models planned in the

next few years are well

publicized. It is anticipated that

the total market for these

vehicles is expected to double for

cars, and the total market is

expected to quintuple in the next

10 years.

Progress of the electric and

hybrid vehicle industry continues

to be transformed by

breakthroughs in both design

and technology. The concept of

sustainables cars, which run on

large rechargeable batteries as

opposed to gas-powered internal

combustion engines, has been

around for decades. But rising

climate-change fears, tougher

fuel-efficiency standards, billions

in government subsidies, and

rivers of venture capital appear

to be creating a tipping point

that could move these kind of

cars from the transportation

fringes into the mainstream.

Cutting down carbon emissions

has become a growing concern

for policy makers, car

manufacturers, and building

designers in our present world.

One of the biggest issues that

needs to be investigated are the

energy storage devices. Batteries

as energy storage devices have

taken the centre stage in the

search for alternative sources of

46

energy and development of low-

cost hybrid electric vehicles.

A major breakthrough in both

renewable energy and hybrid

electric vehicle research is

dependent on the availability of

batteries with high energy

density. In the 1990s, significant

developments in battery

chemistries, low cost

construction and new recharging

methods have made the Electric

Vehicle (EV) a practical

alternative to environment

polluting cars.

Batteries and other energy

storage devices are used to store

the electricity that powers the

electric motor in the vehicle.

Although electricity production

may contribute to air pollution,

an EV is a zero emission vehicle

and its motor produces no

exhaust or emissions to the

immediate environment. The

nickel-metal hydride battery was

considered at one time to be one

of the most promising candidates

in EV applications, because of its

(then) relatively high-power

capability, long cycle life and no

memory effect.

However, the nickel-metal

hydride system has been

surplanted by the superior

performance offered by lithium

ion batteries for this application.

Currently the dominant

technology is the lithium-ion

based battery (including lithium

polymer). It has the highest

energy density compared with

other popular rechargeable

batteries and is widely available

in the consumer market of cell

phones and laptop computers.

Early problems of overheating

and combustion are being

overcome. The battery is

regarded as being relatively

environmentally friendly, but

manufacturing and particularly

recycling costs are high as little

metallic lithium is recovered from

the reprocessing, currently

estimated at a cost of around

€1000/ton. Unless these costs

47

are reduced this could be one

reason for the possible decline of

this type of battery in the very

long term by an alternative

energy storage technology.

However, in the short to medium

term, lithium-ion based batteries

will continue to become more

popular as they supplant the

older nickel based rechargeable

technologies and they will

represent the core of the

research in the next years.

Battery breakthroughs are

critical, but it is also important to

keep in mind that a widespread

and robust transportation

infrastructure based primarily on

HEV's will require advances not

only in batteries, but in many

other areas such as power

electronics, next-gen vehicle

designs, consumer behavior, new

business models, and perhaps

most of all, a smarter, cleaner,

and more secure electricity grid.

To achieve this goals the EU is to

support a four-year, €41.8

million partnership to accelerate

the development and up-take of

HEVs across Europe.

As an example, the Green

eMotion initiative will work in

partnerships with forty two

partners from a wide range of

industry segments including

utilities firms, electric car

manufacturers, municipalities,

universities and technology and

research institutions.

The aim of the initiative is to

exchange and develop know-how

and experience in selected

48

regions within Europe as well as

facilitate the market roll-out of

HEVs in Europe.

Other research and innovation

goals for the next future will be:

Contribution to CO2

reduction emissions from surface

transport operations aligned with

new policy targets as set out in

the Climate and Renewable

Energy Package of 2009.In the

short to medium term (before

2020) reducing greenhouse gas

emissions by 10% compared to

1990 levels. Beyond 2050,

reducing greenhouse gas

emissions through domestic and

complementary international

efforts by 25 to 40% by 2020

and by 80 to 95% by 2050

compared to 1990 levels. For

road transport research will aim

by 2020 at a 50% CO2 reduction

for new passenger cars and light-

duty vehicles and 30% for new

heavy-duty vehicles.

Reduction of exhaust

and local emissions to reach

near-zero-emission levels in view

of the compliance with future

legislation at European and

international levels and to allow

national and local authorities

meet their air quality

engagements.

Increased share of

renewable energy (bio-fuels,

renewable electricity) as an

alternative to hydrocarbon fuels

in transport applications; for

renewable energy the aim will be

to arrive at a 10% share in

transport by 2020.

Introduction of

hydrogen and fuel cell

technology in surface transport

applications by 2020 as an

economic, safe and reliable

alternative to conventional

engines.

Reduction of external

and interior noise and vibration.

49

For road and rail transport the

target will be a 10 dB to a

20dB3reduction compared to

present noise levels particularly

in urban environments.

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CONCLUSIONS: key outputs from the two

projects

In this Thematic Analysis Fiche the main characteristics of electric and

hybrid vehicles have been illustrated with the aim of giving a general

overview on the available technologies.

In particular traditional and pure electric vehicles have been described

focusing on advantages and disadvantages. Hybrid vehicles have been

described as an opportunity to merge advantages from both traditional

and pure electric vehicles.

Main EU policy background have been introduced and briefly described to

give an overview on the actual political scenario concerning

transportation.

Finally, two high budget national programs selected among the projects

registered on the PRESS4TRANSPORT platform have been presented and

compared in order to highlight how national funding can be virtuously used

to support both academic research and those small companies interested

in moving their business interest forward strategic sector having an high

technological content.

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REFERENCES

Modern Electric, Hybrid Electric and Fuel Cells Vehicles, Fundamental, Theory and Design, Second Edition, Mehrdad Ehsani, Ymin Gao, Ali Emadi, CRC Press

European transport policy for 2010: time to decide, White Paper. COM(2001)370, Brussels.

Green Paper on "Towards a new culture for urban mobility", September 2007.

Review of the White Paper— European Transport Policy for 2010’, European Commission, 2006.

The Action Plan on Urban Mobility, European Commission, September2009

“The Common Transport Policy. Sustainable mobility: perspectives for the future”, COM898716, Brussels.

FP 7 Cooperation Work Programme: Transport, 2011, European Commission.

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