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Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - EU-LIVE (Efficient Urban LIght VEhicles)

Teaser

Summary

The issue of increasing urbanisation requires significant changes with respect to living and mobility. The quality of our cities is increasingly characterized by low emission zones, pedestrian areas and cycling lanes. Thus, the need for sustainable, resource-saving and environmentally compatible mobility concepts is rising.

Together with public transport, the soft modes of mobility such as walking and cycling will remain the backbone of future urban mobility systems. These modes have limits regarding individual comfort, speed and transport capacity. Nevertheless, users still demand their privacy and individuality, which public transport cannot completely fulfil.

At the same time urban transportation is becoming more and more multimodal. User behaviour is shifting from owning to using. Nowadays new mobility services such as sharing or pooling enrich European city centres. However, most of these systems are still based on conventional vehicle types, for example fossil fuel powered cars.

The society urges to tackle these future challenges of mobility in a comprehensive way, hence novel types of vehicles have to be developed. There is a growing demand for cost-efficient, clean, quiet, easy-to-park and easy-to-manoeuvre urban vehicles that enable a broad spectrum of users to freely, comfortably and affordably move around in highly populated areas. Electrified L-category vehicles â€“ electric-powered two-, three- and ultra-light four wheelers â€“ are potentially ideal solutions to fulfil this demand. Their compact size enables enhanced agility in congested areas and facilitates finding a parking space. GHG emissions of these vehicles are significantly lower or even zero for fully electric models (also concerning noise). In this way they offer a complementary solution to public transport and to the â€œsoftâ€ modes, in particular if equipped with electrified powertrains for minimized noise and air pollutant emissions.

So far the European L-category vehicle industry has faced relatively high component and subsystem costs because of only low-to-medium sales volumes per vehicle model and a lack of modular (carryover) strategies, as opposed to the high-volume passenger car industry. This situation keeps customer prices high and makes L-category vehicles less attractive to end users. Furthermore, due to the lack of cooperation, development methods and tools available in the 2-wheeler industry are often limited and less advanced than in the high-volume car industry.

The objective of EU-LIVE, a European R&D project funded by Horizon 2020, is to provide a solution covering a wide range of L-category vehicles i.e. a comprehensive platform for the next generation of electrified, cost- and energy-efficient light urban vehicles. It enables economies of scale by providing modular powertrains as well as bodies and an integrated co-simulation platform. Thus, EU-LIVE enhances the competitive position of the export-oriented European vehicle industry and makes an important contribution to a sustainable future mobility system.

Work performed

\"EU-LIVE has established the \"\"EU-LIVE modular platform\"\", a systematic approach for efficiently designing, developing and building a wide range of L-category vehicles from more close-to-the-market to radically new ones. This comprises a set of modular electrified powertrain components and subsystems for PHEVs and BEVs, modular bodies (within the same L-vehicle class), and an integrated modular co-simulation platform to guarantee re-usability, flexibility and sharing of components as well as subsystems for L-category vehicles. EU-LIVE provides innovative modular solutions regarding cost-efficient, energy-efficient, low-emission and low-noise powertrains and future-proof, flexible and scalable vehicle architectures.

Different L-category demonstrators have been developed within the project:
For the L3e demonstrator, a conventional motorcycle has been fully electrified using the modular EU-LIVE powertrain. The fully featured L5e demonstrator (suitable for both electric and plugin-hybrid powertrain) demonstrates an innovative set of features on a small footprint (e.g. by using rotating doors and a tilting mechanism for superior handling). By going up to 130km/h and with a range of up to 300km in PHEV mode, it serves the needs of users in both urban and suburban environments. The (virtual) radically new ultra-light L6e demonstrator, designed during a worldwide design contest, demonstrates the applicability of EU-LIVE solutions in different vehicle categories by utilizing the same powertrain components and development methods as the L3e & L5e.

The idea and results of EU-LIVE have been presented at various events, including scientific conferences, industry symposia and relevant industry events. One highlight has been the exhibition of the EU-LIVE demonstrators at the TRA 2018 in Vienna, where the interested audience could have a close look at the L3e and L5e demonstrators. Special guests at the EU-LIVE demonstrators were the European Commissioner for Transport Violeta Bulc, and Deputy Director-General (Directorate-General \"\"Research and Innovation\"\") Signe Ratso. Additionally, the general public was informed via a press conference, press releases and various articles in newspapers and magazines. The EU-LIVE project was carried out by an international consortium with comprehensive expertise in the areas related to vehicle research and development. The know-how of this interdisciplinary think-tank ensures the sustainable market exploitation of the project results.
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Final results

Future urban mobility calls for more space for people and less space for cars as well as for environmentally compatible vehicle concepts, saving resources and minimizing local noise and air pollutant emissions. Motor vehicles in the L-category already offer an interesting complementary solution to public transport, walking and cycling. Yet, at present, L-category vehicles are still not sufficiently attractive to end users due to their relatively high prices. EU-LIVE provides a solution for this problem.

As progress beyond the state of the art and main results, EU-LIVE, a European R&D project funded by Horizon 2020, provides a solution covering a wide range of L-category vehicles i.e. a comprehensive platform for the next generation of electrified, cost- and energy-efficient light urban vehicles. It enables economies of scale by providing modular powertrains as well as bodies and an integrated co-simulation platform. Thus, EU-LIVE has enhanced the competitive position of the export-oriented European vehicle industry and makes an important contribution to a sustainable future mobility system.

Impact is achieved through EU-LIVE\'s excellent partner consortium - including 2 OEMs and several key suppliers. EU-LIVE is able to credibly provide a clear route to market for a range of different L-category vehicles. By its modular approach and the efficient transfer of expertise from high-volume automotive to low-to-medium-volume light vehicle industry, EU-LIVE enables economies of scale, therefore overcoming a major barrier to affordable light urban vehicles (which is one of the wider societal implications of the project).

As an important socio-economic impact, EU-LIVE provides a comprehensive European solution for the next generation of electrified, cost- and energy-efficient light urban vehicles to cope with the challenges of future personal urban mobility, based on both user needs and acceptance.