Major Automotive Manufacturers Research Articles

An AHP-based evaluation framework for automotive stamping suppliers

PurposeThis study aims to establish a robust evaluation framework for suppliers within the automotive supply chain, specifically in the stamping sector. The primary objectives are to elucidate the performance criteria of suppliers, identify indicators and scales for measuring these criteria and find the importance of the criteria.Design/methodology/approachThe evaluation framework comprises a criteria hierarchy and indicators developed based on the evaluation criteria of major automotive manufacturers. Specific indicators and measurement scales are recommended for assessing suppliers. Importance weights for the criteria are assigned based on the input of nine experts using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). Finally, four sheet metal stamping tooling (SMST) suppliers are evaluated by four specialists using the proposed evaluation framework.FindingsThe study introduces a novel classification of criteria, encompassing financial and commercial perspectives, delivery capability, supplier facility and cultural approaches and business process necessities. The findings underscore the significance of financial and commercial stability in the selection of SMST suppliers, emphasizing their role in mitigating risks associated with disruptions, bankruptcies and unforeseen events. Additionally, several SMST evaluation factors identified in this study contribute to the development of resilience capabilities, highlighting the crucial importance of their inclusion and assessment in the proposed evaluation framework.Originality/valueThis research presents a comprehensive model for evaluating SMST suppliers, which tackles the multidisciplinary challenges within the automotive supply chain. Given the inadequacy or nonexistence of current SMTS selection models, this study bridges the gap by exploring potential and necessary criteria, alongside 116 specific indicators and measurement scales.

Powering Ahead: Current Landscape of Electric Vehicles (EV) in India

Electric vehicles have gained widespread acceptance globally, driven by increasing awareness of environmental issues and government initiatives promoting sustainable transportation. The market for electric vehicles has witnessed exponential growth, with major automotive manufacturers investing heavily in research and development to bring innovative and competitive electric models to the market. The core technology of electric vehicles revolves around electric powertrains, which replace traditional internal combustion engines with electric motors powered by rechargeable batteries. This shift not only reduces reliance on fossil fuels but also significantly decreases greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to the mitigation of climate change. Recent advances in battery technology, particularly in energy density and cost reduction, play a pivotal role in enhancing the range and affordability of electric vehicles. The transition towards electric vehicles (EVs) has gained significant momentum in India, in recent years. This paper examines the current status of electric vehicles in the Indian market, including government initiatives, infrastructure development, challenges, and future prospects. The analysis highlights the key factors driving the adoption of EVs, the state of charging infrastructure, policy framework, and the impact of electric mobility on the environment and the economy.

In search of the perfect process

AbstractBattery cases in modern electric vehicles must meet very demanding functional requirements. WMG – an independent research and development Institute at the University of Warwick – tested laser welding processes for optimizing aluminum battery cases on behalf of major automotive manufacturers. In extensive laboratory tests, WMG studied which production technology could produce the best results.

Do you trust me? Driver responses to automated evasive maneuvers.

An increasing number of Conditionally Automated Driving (CAD) systems are being developed by major automotive manufacturers. In a CAD system, the automated system is in control of the vehicle within its operational design domain. Therefore, in CAD the vehicle is capable of tactical control of the vehicle and needs to be able to maneuver evasively by braking or steering to avoid objects. During these evasive maneuvers, the driver may attempt to take back control of the vehicle by intervening. A driver interrupting a CAD vehicle while properly performing an evasive maneuver presents a potential safety risk. To investigate this issue, 36 participants were recruited to participate in a Wizard-of-Oz research study. The participants experienced one of two evasive maneuvers of moderate intensity on a test track. The evasive maneuver required the CAD system to brake or steer to avoid the box placed in the lane of travel of the test vehicle. Drivers glanced toward the obstacle but did not intervene or prepare to intervene in response to the evasive maneuver. Importantly, the drivers who chose to intervene did so safely. These findings suggest that after experiencing a CAD vehicle for a brief period, most participants trusted the system enough to not intervene during a system-initiated evasive maneuver.

ANALYSIS OF THE DRIVE OF ELECTRIC VEHICLESWITH ITS DIFFERENT CONFIGURATIONS

In the process of car development, its drive is continuously improved. The properties of different types of driving with an internal combustion engine (ICE) are well-studied [1]. ICE's bleak future has forced major automotive manufacturers to turn to electric mobility. The motor, integrated with final drive and differential, is compact and takes up little axle space, making it easier to assemble the drive into one axle or all-wheel drive. Electric vehicles have many advantages over vehicles with ICE: no emissions, high efficiency, quiet and smooth operation, braking energy recovery, simplified maintenance, etc. The functional and fundamental principles of electric vehicles and vehicles with ICE are similar, but there are some features. The characteristic of the electric motor (hereinafter referred to as the motor) is ideal for the drive — it has a large zone of constant maximum power, and the maximum torque appears immediately during starting. The motor, integrated with final drive and differential, is compact and takes up little axle space, making it easier to assemble the drive into one axle or all-wheel drive. Possible drive designs without a differential with two motors and two final drives on the axle, or with low-speed motors without final drives. The heavy battery is placed in the floor, so the stability of the electric car is high. The maximum possible recovery of braking energy is added to all the positive properties of all-wheel drive in the case of an electric car. To reduce the power consumption in the drive, two motors provide a drive mode with only one motor. Among electric vehicles with one-axle drive, front-wheel drive prevails due to using multi-energetic front-wheel drive platforms, stable stability and handling performance and good traction properties in winter conditions. The advantage of rear-wheel drive is the ability to realize greater traction forces during acceleration or movement on the rise due to the dynamic redistribution of the load on the rear axle. However, during braking, due to the dynamic redistribution of the load on the front axle, the possibility of recuperation of braking energy decreases. For a more detailed analysis of the drive, typical electric vehicles are selected, the characteristics of their drive motors are given, traction characteristics are calculated and constructed in the traction force coordinates — speed of movement, the realized adhesion coefficients are determined, and appropriate conclusions have been drawn.

Learning from two meta-technologies - the grown (plastics) and the growing (EV batteries): evolution, potential challenges and considerations to manage

The plastic material is one of great inventions in recent times which is having numerous advantages which makes it highly adoptable. Only disadvantage of the material is it takes very long time to decompose. Landfill, waterway logging, adverse effect on biodiversity and severe impact on ocean life are key challenges of plastics. Presently BEVs technology is growing and almost all the major automotive manufacturers are having roadmap for EV. BEV's are having advantages like low operating cost, lower emission, and lower maintenance. Limited life of EV batteries generates challenges of disposal in future like plastics. This paper focuses on the learning from the plastic evolution and utilising this learning to consider EV batteries' technology development and adoption. This paper focuses on battery material recycling and suggests direction of technologies. Avoid, minimise, reuse, circular economy and disposal are considerations for future battery technology development.

Effective Range Assessment of Lidar Imaging Systems for Autonomous Vehicles Under Adverse Weather Conditions With Stationary Vehicles

Abstract Light detection and ranging (lidar) imaging systems are being increasingly used in autonomous vehicles. However, the final technology implementation is still undetermined as major automotive manufacturers are only starting to select providers for data collection units that can be introduced in commercial vehicles. Currently, testing for autonomous vehicles is mostly performed in sunny environments. Experiments conducted in good weather cannot provide information regarding performance quality under extreme conditions such as fog, rain, and snow. Under extreme conditions, many instances of false detection may arise because of the backscattered intensity, thereby reducing the reliability of the sensor. In this work, lidar sensors were tested in adverse weather to understand how extreme weather affects data collection. Testing setup and algorithms were developed for this purpose. The results are expected to provide technological validation for the commercial use of lidar in automated vehicles. The effective ranges of two popular lidar sensors were estimated under adverse weather conditions, namely, fog, rain, and snow. Results showed that fog severely affected lidar performance, and rain too had some effect on the performance. Meanwhile, snow did not affect lidar performance.

A comprehensive assessment of refrigerants for cabin heating and cooling on electric vehicles

With more and more stringent environmental requirements that go into effect, the automotive industry is moving away from R134a. All major automotive manufacturers are considering next generation refrigerants, but there is still no agreement on the final choice. As for electric vehicles, the choice of refrigerant to replace R134a is even more complex, since a refrigerant’s heating capacity and efficiency should be considered with the gradual adoption of heat pump technology for cabin heating. In order to help select the best refrigerant for electric vehicle HVAC systems, in this paper a comprehensive assessment has been conducted for seven refrigerants: R134a, R152a, R1234yf, R290, R410A, R32, and R744 (CO2). TEWI method is used for evaluating the total global warming impact for each refrigerant, in which both the cabin cooling and heating are considered in the calculation of indirect emission from energy consumption. For cabin heating, heat pump is used to its maximal available capacity, whereas PTC heater is used for supplemental heating. TEWI assessment results show that R290 refrigerant generates the lowest amount of equivalent CO2 emission whereas R744 gives off the highest amount. When considering comprehensively safety, heating capacity and global warming impact, R32 is found to be a very promising heat pump refrigerant.

Securing Platinum-Group Metals for Transport Low-Carbon Transition

Summary Fuel cell technology is the key to transport low-carbon transition. It depends on the catalysis from platinum-group metals, the rarest metals on Earth. However, due to the limited reserve, it is critical to evaluate whether global platinum resources can meet the increasing demand. This paper aims to account whether current platinum resources can support future fuel cell vehicle deployment for 140 countries for the period 2000–2100 by establishing a technology-rich, bottom-up model. It is found that, under a wide range of scenarios, the primary resource demand is significantly lower than the supply capacity at the global level. This result confirms that fuel cell vehicles have the potential to significantly contribute to global decarbonization strategies. However, challenges exist at regional and national levels. Most regions will rely heavily on resource import from the few countries with substantial resource endowments but with political instability, implying potential supply risks.

(Invited) Hydrogen Overview and AWSM Project Updates

HydroGEN (https://www.h2awsm.org/) Energy Materials Network (EMN) a Fuel Cell Technologies Office (FCTO) consortium that aims to accelerate the discovery and development of advanced water splitting materials (AWSM) for sustainable, large-scale hydrogen production, and to more effectively enable the widespread commercialization of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies, in line with the H2@Scale initiative (https://www.energy.gov/eere/fuelcells/h2-scale), and meet the ultimate cost target for production set by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) at $2/kg H2. HydroGEN EMN is a six national laboratories consortium comprises National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) - lead, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Sandia National Laboratory (SNL), Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Idaho National Laboratory (INL), and Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL). With the rollouts of fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) by major automotive manufacturers underway, enabling AWS technologies for the widespread production of affordable, sustainable hydrogen becomes increasingly important. The HydroGEN Consortium offers more than 80 materials capabilities nodes to help address RD&D challenges in efficiency, durability and cost. The capabilities span computational tools and modeling, materials synthesis, characterization, process manufacturing and scale-up, and analysis. Detailed descriptions of all the HydroGEN nodes are available in a searchable format on the HydrogGEN website (https://www.h2awsm.org/capabilities), including information such as the host National Lab, the capability experts, and a synopsis of the node’s unique aspects and capability bounds. By design, the nodes are cross-cutting, and any given node may be useful for one or several advanced water splitting (AWS) technologies. Leveraging the HydroGEN consortium’s staff of technical experts and broad collection of resource capabilities is expected to advance the maturity and technology readiness levels in all the AWS technologies, including low- and high-temperature electrolysis, photoelectrochecmical (PEC) and solar thermochemical (STCH) routes, which includes hybridized thermochemical and electrolysis approaches to water splitting. Currently, there are 20 HydroGEN seedling projects, and one project focused on benchmarking advanced water splitting technologies. These 21 new projects utilized over 40 unique capabilities across the six HydroGEN core labs. HydroGEN is indeed a national innovation ecosystem that comprises 11 national labs, 7 companies, and 30 universities. The experimental and computational data generated within HydroGEN are stored and shared within and across projects within the secured HydroGEN Data Hub (https://datahub.h2awsm.org/), which currently comprises 128 users and 3889 data files. The goal is to make the digital data generated within HydroGEN accessible, so the data can be shared and leveraged throughout the EMNs and in future programs. This presentation will provide an overview of the HydroGEN EMN consortium and highlight some low temperature water electrolysis projects. Proton Onsite met and exceeded near-term performance targets of 1.85V (achieved 1.8 V) at 2.0 A/cm2, using Proton-synthesized high activity IrRu oxide catalysts of different compositions. The Proton PEM water electrolysis cell also demonstrated 800 hours of durability at 2 A/cm2, operating at 80°C and 30 bar. This project utilized NREL’s ex-situ characterization node towards a better understanding of IrRu oxide catalysts stability. Proton’s improved cell efficiency is a step towards achieving its PEM water electrolysis cell efficiency goal of 43 kWh/kg (1.7 V at 90°C) and at a cost of $2/kg H2.Collaboratively, LANL, SNL, and NREL demonstrated promising alkaline exchange membrane water electrolysis performance, comparable to iridium oxide, using SNL Anion Exchange Membrane node, LANL-developed PGM-free oxygen evolution reaction perovskite catalyst, and NREL’s expertise in membrane electrode assembly fabrication (Multicomponent Ink Development, High-Throughput Fabrication, and Scaling Studies node) and cell electrolysis testing (In-Situ Testing Capabilities for Hydrogen Generation node).ANL, together with the LLNL Ab Initio Modeling of Electrochemical Interfaces and LBNL Density Functional Theory and Ab Initio Calculations nodes, investigated the factors that may alter the transport property of a cobalt-based oxygen evolution reaction catalyst, developed by ANL for proton exchange membrane electrolysis. The LLNL team found the origin of the discrepancy between the reported experimental and theory-derived electronic structure of cobalt oxide. This resulted in the confidence to choose a specific theory that can provide reliable information about the electronic structure of the cobalt oxide materials family. This is crucial to reliably identify the factors that determine the transport property of this material, which affects the overall catalytic activity. HydroGEN looks forward to growing its membership of industry, university and laboratory collaborators that can partner with member-laboratory experts by way of CRADAs and potential future FOAs. Moving forward, HydroGEN will expand its presence in the AWS community through working group meetings and participation at relevant professional meetings.

Packed parts delivery problem of automotive inbound logistics with a supplier park

This paper considers a truck scheduling problem of delivering different types of parts from a supplier park to an automotive assembly plant. A supplier park is a cluster of suppliers located adjacent to an assembly plant. The parts of each type are picked up from the corresponding supplier in the park and are delivered to a buffer beside a given station of the assembly line in predetermined homogeneous packages. On a finite time horizon, the initial inventory level of each buffer at the beginning of the horizon and the quantity of each type of parts consumed on each point are given. Our problem is to make delivery schedules for capacitated trucks such that the total transportation time is minimized, and the inventory level of each buffer is within a given range at any moment within the horizon. A time-indexed integer linear programming (IP) model is proposed for the problem, and a column generation based algorithm (CGBB) is developed to solve the problem efficiently. Computational experiments based on randomly generated data and a case study based on real data collected from one of the major automotive manufacturers in China are conducted, respectively. The results show that the proposed CGBB algorithm outperforms solving the IP model by CPLEX and the greedy method used in practice. It is capable of generating high-quality solutions for the problem efficiently, and is practical to be used in daily operations.

Power Analysis Solutions

Government efficiency directives, emissions standards and volatile oil prices have caused major automotive manufacturers to head toward an all-electric future

(Invited) Hydrogen Is an AWSM Energy Materials Network!

The Energy Materials Network (EMN) is a Department of Energy (DOE) network of national lab-led consortium aimed at accelerating the development and commercial deployment of novel materials by enhancing the accessibility of unique material research resources at the national laboratories to external stakeholders, such as academia and industry. The HydroGEN EMN was launched in October 2016 by the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Fuel Cell Technologies Office (FCTO). HydroGEN (https://www.h2awsm.org/) EMN is a six-lab consortium, led by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). It currently comprises six core national laboratories: NREL, Sandia National Laboratory (SNL), Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), and Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL). HydroGEN aims to accelerate the discovery and development advanced water splitting materials (AWSM) for sustainable, large-scale hydrogen production, in order to more effectively enable the widespread commercialization of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies. With the rollouts of fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) by major automotive manufacturers underway, enabling AWS technologies for the widespread production of affordable, sustainable hydrogen becomes increasingly important. Hydrogen is a unique energy carrier in that it can be produced from a number of diverse pathways, utilizing a variety of domestically available feedstocks, including natural gas, biomass, and water. Advanced water splitting (AWS) technologies, including advanced electrolysis (low and high temperature), photoelectrochecmical (PEC) and solar thermochemical (STCH) routes, are some of the more versatile pathways, and will play a significant role in long-term, high volume sustainable production. The HydroGEN Consortium offers an extensive collection of materials research capabilities for addressing RD&D challenges in efficiency, durability and cost. Leveraging the HydroGEN Consortium’s staff of leading technical experts and broad collection of resource capabilities is expected to advance the maturity and technology readiness levels in all the advanced water splitting technologies. In June 2017, DOE EERE FCTO announced the award of 18 new HydroGEN seedling projects, and one project focused on benchmarking advanced water splitting technologies. These 19 new projects utilized 44 unique capabilities across the six HydroGEN core labs. Furthermore, it is a nationwide R&D effort that comprises 10 national labs, 6 companies, and 22 universities. This presentation will provide an overview of the HydroGEN EMN consortium and highlight some of the advanced water electrolysis projects that are focused on hydrogen and oxygen evolution catalysis.

(Invited) Overcoming Catalytic Material Challenges for Advanced Water Splitting Technologies

The emergence of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies offers the world important and potentially transformative environmental and energy security benefits. In recent years, research sponsored by the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Fuel Cell Technologies Office (FCTO) has made significant contributions to the development of these technologies. With major automotive manufacturers rolling out commercial fuel-cell electric vehicles, enabling technologies for the widespread production of affordable hydrogen are becoming increasingly important. FCTO’s Hydrogen Production Program supports a broad range of hydrogen production pathways using diverse feedstocks, ranging from nearer-term to longer term technologies. One of the more versatile pathways is based on splitting water via either electrolytic, photoelectrochemical, or thermochemical routes. For these advanced water splitting (AWS) technologies, there are tradeoffs amongst efficiency, durability, and cost at the materials, device, and system levels that need to be balanced for low cost hydrogen production. Recent advances have been made in catalytic materials for AWS to improve these attributes; however, further developments, from new materials to scale-up of state-of-the-art (SOA) materials, are required to reach large scale technoeconomic viability. Research innovations to advance the SOA in AWS materials are being facilitated by the DOE “HydroGEN” Energy Materials Network (EMN) consortium. An overview of FCTO’s Hydrogen Production Program activities with a focus on catalysts for advanced water splitting technologies and the HydroGEN consortium will be provided.

(Invited) An Overview of Hydro GΕΝ, a DΟΕ Energy Materials Network Consortium Aimed at Accelerating the Development of Advanced Water Splitting Materials

Accelerating the discovery and deployment of novel materials is essential for the U.S. to compete globally in manufacturing in the 21st century. In support of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) materials innovation and advanced manufacturing priorities, the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) launched the Energy Materials Network (EMN) in 2016. The EMN is a network of national lab-led consortia aimed at accelerating the development and commercial deployment of novel materials by enhancing the accessibility of unique material research resources at the national laboratories to external stakeholders, such as academia and industry. The DOE’s Fuel Cell Technologies Office (FCTO) has made significant progress in advancing and reducing costs of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies. Recently, the FCTO launched Program specific EMN consortia to help accelerate materials discovery and development in order to more effectively enable the widespread commercialization of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies. With the rollouts of fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) by major automotive manufacturers underway, enabling technologies for the widespread production of affordable, sustainable hydrogen becomes increasingly important. This presentation will provide an overview of the FCTO’s Hydrogen Production & Delivery Program and the role the Program’s EMN consortium, HydroGEN, will play in supporting the FCTO’s mission. The Hydrogen Production & Delivery Program supports research, development and demonstration (RD&D) efforts to address critical challenges and barriers for sustainable, large-scale hydrogen production technologies. The long-term goal of hydrogen production and delivery RD&D is a high-volume cost of <$4/kg-H2 (delivered and dispensed, but untaxed). The amount of the cost goal apportioned to hydrogen production is <$2/kg-H2. Hydrogen is a unique energy carrier in that it can be produced from a number of diverse pathways utilizing a variety of domestically available feedstocks, including natural gas, biomass, and water. Advanced water splitting (AWS), including electrolysis, photoelectrochemical and solar thermochemical routes, is one of the more versatile pathways and will play a significant role in terms of long-term, high volume sustainable production. The HydroGEN Consortium (https://www.h2awsm.org/) aims to accelerate the RD&D of AWS technologies for clean, sustainable hydrogen production. This consortium, announced in October 2016, currently comprises six core national laboratories: the National Renewable Energy Laboratory - lead, Sandia National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Idaho National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and Savanah River National Laboratory. The HydroGEN Consortium offers an extensive collection of materials research capabilities for addressing RD&D challenges in efficiency, durability and cost. Leveraging the HydroGEN Consortium’s staff of leading technical experts and broad collection of resource capabilities is expected to advance the maturity and technology readiness levels in all the advanced water splitting technologies.

(Invited) Materials Challenges in Advanced Water Splitting Technologies

The US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Fuel Cell Technologies Office (FCTO) has made significant progress in hydrogen and fuel cell technology advancement and cost reduction. With the rollouts of fuel-cell vehicles by major automotive manufacturers underway, enabling technologies for the widespread production of affordable, renewable, low carbon footprint hydrogen becomes increasingly important. FCTO’s Hydrogen Production Program supports a broad range of H2 production pathways, ranging from nearer-term to longer term technologies. Advanced water splitting (AWS), including electrolysis, photoelectrochecmical and thermochemical routes, is one of the more versatile pathways and can play a significant role. A general overview of FCTO’s H2 Production Program with a focus on advanced water splitting technologies will be provided. Fundamental materials challenges remain which limit conversion efficiency and durability of AWS H2 production pathways, therefore limiting large-scale technoeconomic viability. Expensive materials are commonly required. Innovations are needed in the development of functional materials and interfaces which address the thermodynamic and kinetic limitations to performance and lifetime at the macro-, meso- and nano-scales. Catalytic advances, especially with respect to low- and non-platinum group metal (pgm) hydrogen and oxygen evolution catalyst materials in both acidic and basic environments, are needed for low temperature electrolysis operation. Examples of ongoing electrolysis and photoelectrochemical R&D will be discussed.

(Invited) Critical Metrics and Fundamental Challenges for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies

Research and development investments by the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Fuel Cell Technologies Office have contributed to significant technological advancements leading to the cost reductions witnessed in hydrogen and fuel cell technologies over the past decade. The long-anticipated rollouts of fuel-cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) by major automotive manufacturers over the next several years provide clear evidence of this progress. At this tipping point when FCEVs are just entering the market, continued cost reductions sustained by ongoing scientific advances remain critical. Consumer acceptance will hinge not only on affordable cars, but also on the widespread availability of low-cost hydrogen. In the near term, hydrogen demand for early FCEV markets can be supplied through standard reforming of natural gas and biomass feedstocks. Emerging commercial technologies based on water electrolysis can also contribute. In the DOE’s longer term vision, a significant penetration of FCEVs into transportation markets coupled with an industrial-scale supply of renewable hydrogen could help the U.S. achieve its clean-energy and environmental goals. The continued development of enabling technologies for the widespread and affordable production, delivery, storage and utilization of renewable hydrogen is essential. Materials costs as well as system-level performance and durability issues all contribute to the cost barriers in these technologies. Quantifying these barriers and tying them to specific scientific and engineering metrics provides a powerful tool toward achieving needed performance enhancements and cost reductions. In the hydrogen and fuel cell space, DOE utilizes technoeconomic analyses to quantify key materials- and system-level cost drivers over a broad technology portfolio including fuel cells, hydrogen storage and compression, and hydrogen production by electrolytic, solar-thermochemical and photoelectrochemical water splitting, among others. In these technologies, the ultimate technical and economic viability can be linked to capital and operations costs, which are in turn impacted by fundamental materials properties, including thermodynamic and kinetic limitations. As discussed in this talk, technoeconomic sensitivity studies are invaluable in linking technology-dependent cost reduction targets with specific scientific and engineering metrics and goals. They also provide vital information for establishing research priorities for addressing the key cost drivers across all hydrogen and fuel cell technologies. Opportunities to exploit research synergies among these technologies in cross-cutting functionalities such as catalysis and separations will also be discussed.

Improving Product Quality by Implementing ISO / TS 16949

An organization operating in the auto industry who wishes to become a first hand supplier of major automotive manufacturers in the world should plan to get certified under the standard ISO/TS 16949 because it may be a contractual requirement imposed by most of the manufacturers. The purpose of this standard is developing a quality management system that will generate continuous improvement through prevention of defects, reduction of variation and waste minimization, on the entire supply chain of the automotive industry. Among the basic means used for certification the following should be mentioned: SPC (Statistical Process Control), MSA (Measurement System Analysis), PFMEA (Potential Failure Modes and Effect Analysis), APQP (Advanced Product Quality Planning), PPAP (Production Part Approval Process). This paper describes the implementation and improvement of SPC in an ISO 9001:2008 certified organization in Romania, that planned the implementation of ISO/TS 16949 quality standard.

Critical Metrics and Fundamental Materials Challenges for Renewable Hydrogen Production Technologies

ABSTRACTThe US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Fuel Cell Technologies Office has made significant progress in fuel cell technology advancement and cost reduction. Encouragingly, rollouts of fuel-cell vehicles by major automotive manufacturers are scheduled over the next several years. With these rollouts, enabling technologies for the widespread production of affordable renewable hydrogen becomes increasingly important. Near-term utilization of current reforming and electrolytic processes is necessary for early hydrogen markets, but transitioning to industrial-scale renewable hydrogen production remains essential to the longer term. Central to the long term vision is a portfolio of renewable hydrogen conversion processes, including, for example, the direct photoelectrochemical and thermochemical routes, as well as photo-assisted electrochemical routes. DOE utilizes technoeconomic analyses to assess the long-term viability of these emerging hydrogen production pathways and to help identify key materials- and system-level cost drivers. Sensitivity analysis from the technoeconomic studies will be discussed in connection with the metrics and fundamental materials properties that have direct impact on hydrogen cost. It is clear that innovations in macro-, meso- and nano-scale materials are all needed for pushing forward the state-of-the-art. These innovations, along with specific research and development pathways for advancing materials systems for the renewable hydrogen conversion technologies are discussed.

Efficient frequency-transient co-simulation of coupled heat-electromagnetic problems

BackgroundWith the recent advent of inductive charging systems all major automotive manufacturers develop concepts to wirelessly charge electric vehicles. Efficient designs require virtual prototyping that accounts for electromagnetic and thermal fields. The coupled simulations can be computationally very costly. This is because of the high frequencies in the electromagnetic part. This paper derives a mixed frequency-transient model as approximation to the original problem. We propose a co-simulation such that the electromagnetic part is simulated in the frequency domain while the thermal part remains in time domain.ResultsThe iteration scheme for the frequency-transient model is convergent for high frequency excitation. The error bound improves quadratically with increasing frequency.ConclusionsThe frequency-transient model is very efficient for coupled heat-electromagnetic simulations since the time scales typically differ by several orders of magnitude. The time steps of the full system can be chosen according to the heat subsystem only.MSC: 35K05, 35Q61, 65Z05, 78A25, 78M12, 80M25.