Flash Battery is forging ahead with the development of a technologically advanced high-voltage battery pack as part of the European NewControl project.
The synergy created among the diverse members of the Flash Battery R&D department led by technical director and co-founder Alan Pastorelli has given rise to the customisation of the proprietary BMS “Battery Management System” and the introduction of evolved diagnostic algorithms able to monitor both environmental and system data. The company will contribute to the realisation of the European project NewControl, which has among its primary objectives the creation of a stable and highly efficient propulsion system as part of an intelligent ecosystem designed from a predictive and reactive perspective.
Part of the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation Horizon 2020, the NewControl project – which will conclude in 2022 – is aimed at the development of advanced control systems in the field of enabling technologies for electric mobility (autonomous driving, powertrain, batteries) and proposes itself in particular as a reference point for the affirmation of electric and highly-automated vehicles on the market.
“The concrete goal is to develop virtualised platforms for vehicular subassemblies capable of supporting highly automated driving realising functions such as perception, cognition and control to introduce the concept of mobility as a service for the next generation of highly automated vehicles,” explains Marco Righi, CEO of Flash Battery. “The project also aims to set a trajectory towards greater user acceptance of automated control functions, developing systems that contribute to the safety and sustainability of mobility, both on the road and in industrial settings, where intelligent modes of transport help improve operating efficiency as well as reducing emissions.”
It is in this context that Flash Battery is putting the finishing touches on the realisation of a high-voltage energy storage platform on which two kinds of algorithms can be developed: those for managing the state of the cells for automotive use, and those for managing energy use by utilities onboard the vehicle.
The European contribution to the NewControl project is equivalent to 11 million euros, against an expected total investment of almost 38 million, with substantial resources deployed by nearly 50 partners specialised in diverse fields to form a complete value chain: from semiconductors to OEMs and sensor technology, integration and electric batteries.
Flash Battery is part of a pool including research organisations, universities and companies from multiple European countries.
“Within the framework of Horizon 2020, NewControl is part of the Electronics Components and Systems for European Leadership programme that uses the joint undertaking to finance European industrial competitiveness in the field of electronic components and systems at the international level,” says Alan Pastorelli, CTO and co-founder of Flash Battery. “This is how, as happened in this case, public-private partnerships are born between key players in the industrial and academic worlds, in synergy to contribute to the technological development of the European ecosystem.”
This synergy will be on full display on 27 and 28 October, the dates of the Virtual ECA2030 – Electric, Connected and Automated Mobility for the 2030 customer, a networking event organised by Mobility.E Lighthouse.
Flash Battery will also be actively involved here, because the consortium involved in the realisation of the NewControl project has been invited to present that very initiative, as it coincides perfectly with the central theme of the conference.
