The eleven German partners in the European project “Integrated Components for Complexity Control in affordable electrified cars”, 3Ccar for short, have presented their report.

3Ccar has 48 partners from 14 different countries working on ICs for EVs.

By 2030, 50% of newly registered vehicles will be electrically powered, connected or automated, reckons 3Ccar.

This requires a new system approach in vehicle architecture to support electromobility and  automated driving.

In 2014 conventional cars were already equipped with between 70 and 100 connected ECUs, and this figure was due to rise driven by growing demands for environmental compatibility, efficiency, safety and convenience.

The 3Ccar project had a budget of €54 million. It  kicked off in 2015 and ran for 41 months.

The eleven German partners’  goal was to reduce complexity, while enhancing the reliability of electric and automated vehicles.

To this end, 3Ccar developed a new system approach that reorganizes vehicle architecture into vehicle domains.

These domains enable functional and task-oriented coordination. The reduces complexity despite growing requirements, significantly simplifying the development of autonomous electric vehicles.

Vehicle architecture

The individual Engine Control Units (ECUs) are integrated into the respective domains, from where functionalities such as steering, brakes and drive are controlled. This involves the use of a small number of powerful domain controllers. These are based on multi-core automotive processors, such as the AURIX microcontrollers already offered by Infineon. The conventional powertrain, for example, has a domain of its own. As well as controlling complexity, the smaller number of ECUs and the higher level of integration also increase robustness.

The smart battery

Up to now, the considerable amount of cabling in car batteries has meant high costs and a low level of reliability. Working together with the Fraunhofer Institutes IISB and IPA, 3Ccar developed a new, modular and flexible concept for future batteries to be used in electric and hybrid vehicles. The sensors and electronic components are integrated with the battery cell network instead of at battery pack level. This is a completely new approach that simplifies battery management and, further down the line, will also offer the option of producing “Smart Batteries Made in Europe” at a competitive price. The system has fewer individual parts, making it less prone to errors and hence boosting the robustness of the vehicle architecture.

Safety shut-off for fuel cells

With help from Infineon, Daimler, Fraunhofer IISB and Lange Aviation, 3Ccar developed a new safety shut-off for discharging fuel cells. Compared to rival products available today, this shut-off is more compact and can be reused. While existing concepts can only be used once, since they are destroyed by the activation process, the new development can short-circuit the fuel cells in a targeted manner and release them again several times over.

The drive motor

Together with Siemens, 3Ccar has developed an electric drive featuring a higher power density than comparable products. Its compact structure means high vehicle performance is possible even with challenging space constraints. In addition, the new drive motor is also more efficient and reliable.

Routing for e-vehicles

The Amberg-Weiden University of Applied Sciences developed special vehicle-to-network communication (V2N) for electric vehicles. The goal was to develop a basic service that can take over the entire route planning process. A server-based system for route planning in road networks was deployed and combined with information on charging stations. This server-controlled routing system made it possible to determine optimized routes specifically suited to electric vehicles.