Specifically, this project, funded by the State Research Agency (AEI), promotes the design and development of a battery charging and replacement station for light mobility vehicles. It is a system that facilitates the rapid swapping of batteries using solar charging and predicts energy consumption through the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms. It also involves the creation of an innovative smart energy management platform that eliminates the risks of electromagnetic interference and improves safety.
Sustainable mobility, in the words of AIMPLAS Sustainable Mobility researcher Begoña Galindo, is already “a strategic priority at the local, national, European and global levels, making it essential to promote new technological solutions that guarantee safe, connected and intelligent mobility, applied to both individual and delivery vehicles, and that reduce CO2 emissions. To ensure high safety and protection against possible electromagnetic interference, SMART5G is generating lightweight composite materials protected by electromagnetic shielding (EMI) that optimize these new models.”
Thermoplastic Composites for Sustainable Battery Housings
In this regard, the initiative also proposes an innovative, sustainable structural battery housing for light vehicles based on a reusable and recyclable long-fiber thermoplastic composite with dual functionalities: flame-retardant additives and electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding particles. This new solution increases vehicle range by reducing weight compared to conventional metal housings, thereby lowering costs, energy consumption, and the carbon footprint.
“Thermoplastic matrix composites can play a key role in 21st-century industry, as they offer significant advantages in terms of reduced weight, high rigidity, and specific strength comparable to metallic materials. For this reason, the new generation of electric cars is relying on the use of these plastic materials, which enable flexible design and a weight reduction of around 40%,” explains Begoña Galindo.
This project, in which AIMPLAS is working together with the companies ITERA Mobility Engineering, ELIX Polymers, and the University of Valencia (UV), with reference PLEC2021-007994, has been funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by the European Union's NextGenerationEU/PRTR program.
