The number of battery-powered electric vehicles is expected to be at 30-40 million by 2030 in the EU. This strong increase of electric vehiclesis a big challenge for the energy system in Europe, but at the same time a chance to use V1G/V2G/V2X-technologies. As vehicles are mainly parking, they can be used as energy storage in order to increase grid stability. The overall project objective is to optimize the entire charging chain - from energy provision to the end user - to create a clear benefit for all stakeholders. Therefore, a ubiquitous on-demand charging solution based on an optimized charging network considering human, technical and economic factors along the entire charging chain shall be developed. The investigation of the user behavior as well as the analysis of the energy system and grid will form the basis from a research side, to predict the future behavior of EV owners and fleet operators as well as possible shortcomings in the electric grid and energy system. The development of advanced charging technologies and control mechanisms as well as advanced charging and sector coupling concepts, will form the basis for the virtual and real evalulations/demonstrations conducted in 4 different European countries(Belgium, Germany, Italy, Portugal). In parallel a smart charging simulation environment (digital twin of the charging chain with a holistic simulation environment with multilevel component models and representative information flow between all agents) will be built up. This digital twin will incorporate the results of the demonstration actions and enable an upscaling to show the impact of these technologies. To ensure the interoperability and the optimization along this charging chain, the consortium comprises all relevant partners/stakeholders (energy providers, grid operators, charge point operator, EV equipment providers as well a vehicle manufacturer) This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement number 101056756. Funding has been granted through Innovate UK under the Horizon Europe Guarantee.. UK participants in Horizon Europe Project: XL-Connect Large scale system approach for advanced charging solutions are supported by UKRI Grants Number 101056756. Ricardo UK Limited.

Long-haul BEVs and FCEVs need to become more affordable and reliable, more energy efficient, with a longer range per single charge, and a reduced charging time to meet the user’s needs. Next to those, there is a real need to take zero-emission long-haul goods transport in Europe to the next level by executing real-world demonstrations of BEVs and FCEVs spread all over Europe; this also requires that technology soon can deliver on promised benefits(easy handling,similar driving hours & charging/fueling, and high speeds, and ability to operate in complex transportsupply chains); flexible and abundant charging pointsfor the rising number of vehicles must be implemented fast and to support this, novel charging concepts are needed. In addition, as multiple needs in the logistics chain exist, require novel tools for fleet managers providing them with better information on ZEV in logistic operation, providing a twin of the real use thereby giving valuable information regarding predictive maintenance, eco-driving etc., providing information on better logistics planning, the (available) charging and refuelling along the route, access to roads and traffic information. ZEFES major outcomes: Executing of real world demonstrations of long-haul BEVs and FCEVs across Europe to take zero-emission long-haul goods transport in Europe to the next level. Pathway for long-haul BEVs and FCEVs to become more affordable and reliable, more energy efficient, with a longer range per single charge and reduced charging times able to meet the user’s needs. Technologies which can deliver promised benefits (easy handling, similar driving hours & charging/fueling, high speeds and ability to operate in complex transport supply chains). Mapping of flexible and abundant charging/fueling points and novel charging concepts. Novel tools for fleet management to support the rising number of long-haul BEVs and FCEVs vehicles in the logistics supply chains.

_This project will develop an electric motor concept embodying novel rotor, stator and distributed power electronics cooling technologies to yield a 15 to 20% improvement in performance over public domain automotive approaches. This will allow the achievement of the 2030 Automotive Council UK motor and power electronics specific power targets by 2021\. As a result, the concept will deliver 10-20% motor downsizing and weight reduction, improved vehicle packaging as well as total vehicle cost reduction. It will support the Government's drive to increase the rate of electrification across a range of transport sectors and is applicable to BEV, HEV, PHEV and Fuel Cell drivelines._ _Ricardo will develop the concept using our advanced thermal and electromagnetic digital design and analysis tools, which will be updated to cover the novel solutions focused on in this project. These will also be used to assess the concept in a relevant automotive environment over legislative drive cycles and Ricardo's real-world driving cycles. These updated tools support Ricardo's goal of halving the development time of motors and drives._ _The final output from the project will be a well-developed 3D CAD concept design with manufacturing considerations which, supported by the analysis output, will be used to communicate the vison to our UK and global customer base. This advancement will allow us to accelerate our customers' developments to market in the competitive space of electrification. The robust concept design will also form the basis of subsequent programmes to move the technology towards production intent._

The Syner-D project is a collaborative group working on the technologies and software required to significantly reduce the CO2 output and enhance the performance feel of a premium brand diesel passenger car. It will meet future worldwide emissions standards by use of engine and aftertreatment technologies. The partner contributions have further extended the knowledge of the benefits and constraints these respective technologies offer. Deploying these technologies into future mainstream programmes will bring a major competitive advantage to the project members.

VERA will develop, optimise and demonstrate innovative tailpipe retrofit solutions that address particle (sub-23nm) and NOx emissions of road vehicles running on gasoline and natural gas and driving high mileages within the city (taxi, delivery van, bus), while particular considerations will be made for NH3 emissions. System adaptability will be ensured by a central development methodology for all the retrofit systems, allowing fast and accurate optimisation according to the requirements of each application, while the cost will be minimised using innovative washcoats and compact packaging. A variety of brake retrofit solutions will be developed, deployed and optimised for brake particle emissions of road vehicles, comprising an active filtration system capturing the generated particles and innovative brake discs and pads to reduce brake wear. The combination of the two solutions will aim at the maximum reduction of brake particles, while alternative production techniques will be applied to reduce the cost. Brake particles from metro applications will be also addressed with an active filtration system and properly machined pads, covering two types of braking technologies. The brake solutions of VERA combine unique advantages: they can all be used for first installation on new vehicles, the discs and pads can be manufactured for any vehicle as replacement parts, while the capturing system can be applied from road vehicles to metros. Further to the systems, exposure of workers and passengers in a metro station will be assessed with combined field measurements and modelling of particle dispersion inside stations and tunnels. Following the detailed evaluation of the systems, an impact assessment study will highlight the benefits of the proposed solutions against their cost. Both environmental and health impacts will be analysed, while possible incentive and regulatory schemes for retrofitting will be considered in the scenarios of the cost-benefit analysis