Escalate

 

The ESCALATE project aims to promote the integration of zero-emission vehicles into fleets, to reduce CO₂ emissions and meet the objectives of the Paris Climate Agreement and the Green Deal. The project plans to develop and demonstrate high-efficiency drivetrains for heavy-duty long-haul vehicles. These vehicles are intended to be capable of travelling 800 km without recharging or refueling and covering at least 500 km per day on average under real conditions.

ESCALATE focuses on three main areas of innovation: standardized, cost-effective modular and scalable multi-powertrain components; fast fueling and grid-friendly charging solutions; and digital twins (DT) & AI-based management tools. These innovations are expected to help consider the capacity, availability, speed, and nature of charging infrastructures as well as the structures of fleets.

Within the ESCALATE project, the TME is involved in the following tasks:

Battery Development:

• Definition of high-level performance requirements of the battery-electric storage system
• Implementation of a systematic battery concept method using virtual battery components enabling the efficient consideration of various layout concepts
• Early systematic evaluation of the generated base concepts according to several criteria such as packaging density, performance, cooling, expected LCA evaluation, etc.
• Development and dimensioning of a modular system design after concept selection according to the developed evaluation methods

Functional Safety:

• Development of a tool for design and evaluation of functional safety concepts for modular powertrains

Thermal System and Energymanagement:

• Development and application of intelligent system conditioning for charging (before, during, and after charging), including a scalable, modular predictive thermal control strategy for the powertrain and vehicle cabin
• Development of a system topology design to utilize waste heat, including efficiency requirements
• Application of energy-efficient cabin climatization that takes into account a hotel function, concerning the optimization of auxiliary load and comfort influence

 

Title	Powering European Union Net Zero Future by Escalating Zero Emission HDVs and Logistic Intelligence
Acronym	ESCALATE
Funding	European Commission
Period	01/2023 – 06/2026