Ikerlan S. COOP is a non-profit technological research centre located in Arrasate-Mondragon (Basque Country, Spain). It has a staff of more than 300 qualified researchers and engineers, with specific strengths in micro-systems, electronics, mechanical engineering, power electronics and energy technology. Its research areas are divided in three areas of expertise: (i) Electronics, information and communication technologies; (ii) Energy and Power electronics; and (iii) Advanced manufacturing. From its creation in 1974, Ikerlan has maintained close relations with the industry from the machinery and capital goods, domestic appliance, electronics and computing, automotive and energy sectors. It works closely with companies to develop innovative products and new tools and methodologies for implementation in design and production processes.

In the last decades Ikerlan has work intensively on the development of battery solutions for our industrial clients. Additionally, Ikerlan has been involved on several FP7 and Horizon 2020 projects related to battery systems development and has successfully coordinated the FP7 Batteries 2020 project besides currently being the coordinator of the H2020 Sensibat project. The key activities carried out by Ikerlan in the field of Energy Storage Systems cover: i) hardware and software design (from cell and technology selection to the development of the associated BMS systems, thermal management systems and the design of whole battery pack); ii) development of advanced state estimation algorithms (mainly in terms of SOC, SOH and SOF estimation) and Data-Driven battery ageing prediction models and finally; iii) optimal energy management  (both in terms of optimal battery sizing and advanced Energy Management Strategies).

Ikerlan will be the coordinator of the LIBERTY project. Besides project coordination (WP9) and related dissemination activities (WP8), Ikerlan will take part on  the definition of the specifications of the battery pack to be built in the project (WP1), the battery system conceptual design (WP2), BMS design and advanced state estimation algorithms development (WP4), safety test definition (WP5) and module and/or battery system level testing (WP6). More precisely, Ikerlan will be the task leader of advanced state estimation algorithm development (Task 4.2) and will actively take part on the BMS master Hardware and Software design and implementation.

Diehl Controls is a worldwide leading supplier in the appliance industry. With over 70 years of experience, more than 3,500 employees and annual sales of around 500 million euros, we are today delivering millions of electronic systems. Our products are used worldwide in washing machines, heat pumps, refrigerators, battery systems, IoT products and in the IoT infrastructure. We develop and manufacture products, for our customers, according to their individual wishes. In doing so, we fulfil both in development and in production the highest standards – and our solutions help every customer to move forward quickly. With this in mind, we have been implementing highly successful inverters with key players from the HVAC/R sector since 2009. In addition, we support our customers advance by digitizing their products and services with new Industrial IoT solutions. We are proud that our technical solutions are convincing and that our customers confirm our excellent price-performance ratio.

Diehl Controls is an established and experienced designer and producer of electronic controllers for multiple industries. The Global R&D team consists of about 250 Engineers that have access to the state of the art electrical and thermal test laboratories. In addition, engineers have access to advanced electrical and mechanical modelling and analysis tools. The development process is built around system engineering concept. The engineers employed in the company have experience with functional safety in the appliance controller area.

The main contribution of Diehl will be focused on WP3 and WP4. In WP5 and WP6 Diehl will support testing planning and execution associated with the electrical system. In the WP3 the components of the battery system are prepared. Diehl will provide support for the design with a focus on optimization of production process for integration of the sensors with the electrical system. The modular design of sub-components of the battery pack is aimed at. The battery design constraints originating from the requirement for efficient measurements and processing will guide the integration of the pressure sensor and semiconductor main switch. In the WP4 the Battery Management System hardware and software is designed. Diehl will provide the hardware controllers design assistance and industrial implementation for the compliance with automotive requirements and norms. The fulfillment of the electromagnetic compliance and high voltage regulations will be engineered.

Hutchinson S.A. is a Tech Company that is a subsidiary of TOTAL and the privileged partner of big industrial firms, is providing comfort and safety functions for all transportation means and industry, charting the future through in-novation. With 32000 employees in 23 countries, spending 5% of sales in R&D, Hutchinson is mainly partner of the world’s major automotive and aircraft manufacturers: dealing with many major issues involving vehicle safe-ty, energy management, reliability, acoustic and thermal comfort.

Close to customers its 25 technical centers de-sign and produce a complete array of components and systems using elastomers and other polymers in its 4 fields of competence: body Sealing and precision Sealing, Fluid Transfer (high and low pressure, with any fluids), Vibration and Acoustic Insulation, Mobility and belt Transmission system. New families of products using new polymers materials and mechatronics devices improve NVH comfort and energy efficiency of vehicles: active anti-vibration systems, heating and sensors integration in current products, electrical energy storage and thermal energy management.

The corporate Hutchinson’s Center for Research & Innovations, based in Montargis, France, lead to develop innovative solutions, using new chemistry of tailored polymers materials. New fields of competence are emerging coming from functionalized materials for thermal insulation, heat storage and electric heating (electric resistance & PTC effect). This allows addressing new functions as thermal management of battery pack, vehicle passenger compartment and heat tank for thermal optimization of systems and comfort.

The corporate Hutchinson’s Center for Research & Innovations is regularly involved since several years in national and international collaborative research programs. Currently Hutchinson is working on 30 research programs involving academic and industrial partners, in all common and new fields of competence.

In the field of thermal management, Hutchinson S.A. is able to:

• define requirements, simulate and designed thermal (sub-)systems,
• investigate and produce material like formulated Phase Change Materials, Vacuum Insulating Panels to create Dynamical Barriers and/or active safety systems
• investigate and develop thermal (sub-)systems as thermal energy storage devices and battery pack thermal management systems.

Hutchinson S.A. Thermal Management Laboratory would like to propose an innovative approach of battery thermal management, fast charge solutions & active safety based on these investigations and materials. Hutchinson will be able to deliver thermal (sub-) systems for On board and/or infrastructures.

In LIBERTY, Hutchinson S.A. with its European partnership experiment and its Electrified vehicles thermal management concepts and products wants to participate in this project to make it possible.

Infineon Technologies AG (IFAG), Neubiberg (Germany), designs, develops, manufactures and markets a broad range of semiconductors and system solutions. The focus of its activities is on automotive electronics, industrial electronics, RF applications, mobile devices and hardware-based security. Infineon’s chips and components play an essential role wherever electric energy is generated, transmitted and used efficiently. Furthermore, these devices safeguard data communication, improve safety on roads and reduce automotive emissions. Infineon organizes its operations into four segments: Automotive, Industrial Power Control, Power & Sensor Systems and Connected Secure Systems. With 54 R&D locations and 21 manufacturing sites, the company is active worldwide with approx. 46,700 employees. In the 2020 fiscal year (ending 30 September), Infineon reported revenue of more than €8.5 billion. Following the acquisition of the US company Cypress Semiconductor Corporation in April 2020, Infineon is now a global top 10 semiconductor company.

Besides leading Task 3.3, IFAG will contribute to the project primarily by developing semiconductors chips, the corresponding packages and system solutions for battery applications. In particular, IFAG intends to significantly improve an existing prototype of a semiconductor-based battery main switch based on Silicon Carbide MOSFETs to further reduce volume and weight. This switch will then be manufactured and tested extensively. In addition, concepts for integrating the improved prototype switch into the battery system with respect to cooling and data communication will be developed and implemented in close cooperation with the project partners VAL, FHG and DIE. Besides the specific activities mentioned above, IFAG will contribute its fair share to the tasks of specifications, requirements and test definition, exploitation and dissemination, as well as general project management.

Infineon Technologies Romania  & Co. Societate in Comandita (IFRO) was founded in April 2005 as a subsidiary of Infineon Technologies Austria AG and grew since then to a size of about 300 graduate engineers. The company is focused on sensor, wireless, mixed signal and power semiconductors for automotive and industrial applications as well as security ICs for chip cards. The activities of IFRO are part of the research and development alliance established between Infineon design centres in Munich, Villach, Graz, Linz and Padua. In addition to being the first semiconductor company to do R&D in Romania, IFRO was very active in the establishment of tight connections to local universities. IFRO financed two development laboratories in the Polytechnic University of Bucharest and the Technical University of Iasi. The goal is to consolidate the infrastructure needed to further develop local R&D activities in the near and medium future.

IFRO members contributing to the project are having an international experience in system design of Sensor and Power semiconductor products and their implementation in leading-edge semiconductor processes. Their experience comprises all activities in chip development from early concept to final transfer to volume and production. In the past they acquired strong competence in optimizing the application of simulation tools to individual system partitioning and in developing proprietary simulation tools analyzing the impact of substrate effects on system performance.

Mercedes-Benz AG is responsible for the global business of Mercedes-Benz Cars and Mercedes-Benz Vans with over 173,000 employees worldwide. The company focuses on the development, production and sales of passenger cars, vans and services. Furthermore, the company aspires to be leading in the fields of connectivity, automated driving and alternative drives with its forward-looking innovations. The product portfolio comprises the Mercedes-Benz brand with the sub-brands Mercedes-AMG, Mercedes-Maybach and Mercedes me – as well as the smart brand, and the EQ product and technology brand for electric mobility.

Mercedes-Benz AG is one of the largest manufacturers of premium passenger cars. In 2019 it sold nearly 2.4 million cars and more than 438,000 vans. In its two business divisions, Mercedes-Benz AG is continually expanding its worldwide production network with over 40 production sites on four continents, while aligning itself to meet the requirements of electric mobility. At the same time, the company is developing its global battery production network on three continents. Sustainable actions play a decisive role in both business divisions.

Mercedes-Benz will contribute in this project by defining S.M.A.R.T. requirements, enabling the partners to develop solutions for sustainable and high performant batteries targeted for industrialization. During the development phase Mercedes-Benz will give technical guidance to the partners and support evaluation. Integration of the battery system into the test vehicle derived from an eQC will be lead by Mercedes-Benz as well as final testing and validation.

NXP exists to create, produce and provide Secure Connections for a Smarter World. This involves the collaborative efforts of 31,000 people in 33 countries across the globe. To maintain an aligned vision across such a widespread and multicultural employee base, we have evolved a set of Values which our employees apply to their daily working lives. At the heart of Secure Connections for a Smarter World, there is a Customer-focused Passion to Win. This gives us the drive and the inspiration for our work, reinforced by five key Values: Raising the Bar, Engaging Curiosity, Taking Initiative, Working Together, and Developing Deep Core Confidence.

In the fast-paced, super-connected landscape of the modern world, we face unparalleled time-to-market pressures. To meet these, we have a strong global R&D network, with 6 testing / R&D sites, more than 11,000 dedicated R&D professionals and design engineering teams in 25 locations. Our commitment to R&D helps maintain our customers’ access to our innovative solutions in RF, analog, power and digital processing solutions, enabling the creation of further solutions in automotive, industrial, consumer, lighting and identification markets.

Within the CTO organization of NXP-NL in Eindhoven, besides working in building blocks for the ICs that are marketed by the NXP Business Lines world-wide, also more system-related work is being performed. The main CTO staff member participating in this project also has a role as part-time professor at Eindhoven University of Technology, mainly in the field of battery management systems. This enables NXP-NL to play a bridging role in this project between algorithm innovations from other partners in the project, as well as the BMS-related system demands coming from the project, and the application of the ICs from the NXP business line in France.

NXP exists to create, produce and provide Secure Connections for a Smarter World. This involves the collaborative efforts of 31,000 people in 33 countries across the globe. To maintain an aligned vision across such a widespread and multicultural employee base, we have evolved a set of values which our employees apply to their daily working lives. At the heart of Secure Connections for a Smarter World, there is a Customer-focused Passion to Win. This gives us the drive and the inspiration for our work, reinforced by five key Values: Raising the Bar, Engaging Curiosity, Taking Initiative, Working Together, and Developing Deep Core Confidence.

In the fast-paced, super-connected landscape of the modern world, we face unparalleled time-to-market pressures. To meet these, we have a strong global R&D network, with 6 testing / R&D sites, more than 11,000 dedicated R&D professionals and design engineering teams in 25 locations. Our commitment to R&D helps maintain our customers’ access to our innovative solutions in RF, analog, power and digital processing solutions, enabling the creation of further solutions in automotive, industrial, consumer, lighting and identification markets.

The Battery Management Systems Segment drives the business of NXP’s leading mixed-signal battery management products for automotive and industrial markets. Together with our digital and analog design teams worldwide we develop application-specific standard products which integrate high-performance analogue functions as well as digital logic in high-voltage CMOS processes.

NXP-FR will assist Fraunhofer in applying NXP BMS ICs with the aim to improve cell diagnostics and enable state-of-safety estimation by e.g. enabling more accurate measurements. Implications of innovative BMS system work with NXP-NL and Fraunhofer will be translated into specifications of the needed ICs.

Valeo is an independent industrial Group fully focused on the design, production and sale of components, integrated systems and modules for the automotive industry. Valeo ranks among the world’s top automotive suppliers. The Group has 191 production sites, 59 R&D centers, 15 distribution centers and employs 114,700 people in 33 countries worldwide (2019 figures). Valeo Thermal Systems is one of the Business Groups of Valeo Group. “Valeo LV” (Valeo La Verrière) is the main research center of Valeo Thermal Systems.

Valeo will participate in different working packages (WP2 and WP8) as contributors and will be the leader for WP3, activity for the design and production of the battery module and system integration.  In WP2 Valeo will lead the thermal simulation thanks to the capabilities for analyzing a whole thermal system for battery cooling integrated with other systems and vehicle operation. In WP3 Valeo will be responsible for design and production of battery casing and components for the thermal management system. For WP8, Valeo will be involved in exploitation activities.

The participation of Valeo within the project will be done with the involvement of different departments inside R&D center, whose main activities will be simulation, innovative heat exchanger system and advanced structure for the battery casing.

Accurec is a German SME company, founded in 1995 with its primary target to constitute the consumer battery recycling market in Germany. Using first time vacuum thermal treatment technology for recycling, Accurec has implemented a zero- emission plant for hazardous batteries (Nickel-Cadmium batteries). After upscaling and expansion, also for other battery types (Li-Ion, NiMH), Accurec is today a continuously growing, branch leading company. Thus, Accurec has been awarded several times for its innovative resource efficiency technology (Ecopol 2013, German Resource Agency 2012). Necessary continuous improvements of process technology, as well as fast changing chemistries in batteries forces Accurec to spend 10% of its turnover for R&D activities. Thus, several R&D projects were initiated in cooperation with international partners and/or universities to improve internal know-how and test newly developed recycling process.

Accurec will cover the end-of-life and recycling of battery pack activities within this project. This includes 1. specify treatment of end-of-life battery pack. 2. development of semi-automated dismantling process of battery pack. 3. give recommendations regarding eco-design of battery pack.

The Virtual Vehicle Research GmbH (VIF) is an independent, international research and development centre which deals with application-oriented vehicle development and future vehicle concepts for road and rail. Currently, about 200 experts are employed at the location in Graz/Austria. VIF addresses “smart mobility” and, in particular, the vehicles of tomorrow, which shall be safe, environmentally friendly and affordable. Hence, cutting-edge research and technology development is essential, and simulation is a key opening completely new possibility. VIF provides a close linkage of numerical simulation and experimental validation and offers comprehensive system simulation up to the complete vehicle. Its project landscape ranges from thorough investigation of individual technologies up to combining various individual aspects to create a comprehensive vehicle perspective. VIF is currently working in close collaboration with over 80 industrial partners and, in addition to our principle scientific partner, Graz University of Technology, more than 40 international university research institutes. The department “Human-Centred Systems and Road Safety” has many years of experience in developing passive and active safety simulation methods for, amongst others, ATDs, HBMs, VRUs, restraint systems, full vehicle structures and component testing, test bench development and integrated simulation and effectiveness assessment.

Flanders Make is the strategic research centre for the manufacturing industry in Flanders. The roots of Flanders Make can be traced back to 2001 and to 2003 when respectively Flanders’ Drive and Flanders Mechatronics Technology Centre (FMTC) were established. Flanders Make is continuing the mission of Flanders’ Drive and FMTC as a bridge between the academic and industrial know-how in mechatronics, manufacturing and automotive sectors. From our sites all over Flanders, we stimulate open innovation through excellent research. As we bring together companies and research institutions, we help realize concrete product and production innovations in the vehicle industry, in mechanical engineering and in production environments. Our expertise is focused around four key competences, namely (i) Decision & Control, (ii) Design & Optimisation, (iii) Motion Products, (iv) Flexible Assembly, all based on modelling and virtualisation.

Within the MotionS corelab, Flanders Make has built up an extensive experience on the development and evaluation of electric vehicles, battery systems and energy management systems. The developed battery systems and battery management systems within MotionS are applicable for electric and hybrid vehicles and are designed to cope with system faults to allow fault-tolerant control and functional safety. Flanders Make has competences, models, dedicated research platforms and infrastructure to validate battery technologies at cell, module, system and vehicle level.

The CodesignS corelab has knowledge on design challenges for mechatronics systems. It addresses: design on component and system level, the faster industry driven time-to-market, with decreasing design costs, higher design constraints and requirements towards manufacturability. Within CodesignS, methods and processes are developed to help companies to apply the functional safety standards to their systems.

Our goal is to contribute to the technological development of the vehicles, machines and factories of the future. By doing so, we create added value for the manufacturing industry. Together we help companies innovate better and faster. In addition, we attach great importance to international cooperation in the field of innovation and to participation in European research projects. Today, Flanders Make has establishments at four sites as well as at the five Flemish universities and counts 600 researchers who work full-time as a unique research community on a joint industrial research agenda.

Flanders Make will be responsible for the performance testing and validation of the battery system. This is based on our competences and infrastructure to test batteries from cell to system level as well as our competences on system modelling (incl. batteries).

Based on our expertise in functional safety engineering and development of battery systems and BMS, Flanders Make will performing functional safety analysis, contributing to the battery system design and supporting TCO evaluations in the design phase through the use of in-house developed simulation tools for cost optimization.

The Fraunhofer Gesellschaft (FhG) is the leading organization of institutes for applied research in Europe, undertaking contract research on behalf of industry, the service sector and the government. It employs around 24,500 people, mainly scientists and engineers, with an annual research budget of about €2.1 billion. Of this sum, more than 70% of the funding is earned through contract work, either for government-sponsored projects or from industry. At present, Fraunhofer maintains more than 80 research establishments at more than 40 locations throughout Germany. Among these, the Fraunhofer Institute of Integrated Systems and Device Technology (Institut für Integrierte Systeme und Bauelementetechnologie – IISB) in Erlangen is dedicated to front-end process development, as well as development of cognitive power electronic systems integrating artificial intelligence. Further, in its own electric vehicle test center, the Fraunhofer IISB is able to fully test electrical drives, complete powertrains, battery systems and electric vehicles including EMC.

Fraunhofer IISB will lead workpackage 4 “Battery management system and state estimator development”. Within this workpackage, Fraunhofer IISB will work on improved BMS electronics and architecture with the aim to improve cell diagnostics and enable state-of-safety estimation. In addition, Fraunhofer IISB will be in charge of the electrical and mechanical battery system design and improve the energy density of the battery system by applying an innovative cell to pack approach. Further, Fraunhofer IISB will provide solutions for safety test procedures by developing and applying a thermal runaway simulator device.

Mondragon Unibertsitatea (Faculty of Engineering) is a non-profit cooperative university focused on providing high-quality education, research, innovation and transfer of knowledge and technologies to industry. The Faculty of Engineering initiated its activity in 1943 promoted by José Mª Arizmendiarrieta, who was the founder of the cooperative movement in Mondragon (Basque Country, Spain). Today, Mondragon Unibertsitatea, (hereafter MU-ENG) belongs to the Mondragon Corporation, which integrates 266 companies and cooperatives, 15 technology centres and over 80,000 people. Within MU-ENG, there are 15 research groups and the team involved in this project is the Electrical Energy research group. Electrical energy research line focuses on four main areas:

1. Analysis of specific applications (energy generation, renewables, industrial applications, traction, etc.)
2. The study and analysis of electronic power converters (design, modelling, control and analysis)
3. Electrical machines and drives (design, modelling, control and analysis)
4. Energy Storage systems (design, analysis, modelling and integration)

MU-ENG will participate in the project in the following work packages, tasks and subtasks:

• Definite setting of the requirements of the battery pack, battery system and making the test plan. MU-ENG will take part in reviewing the vehicle level, battery system and integration requirements for the project with the rest of the partners; Defining the LCA criteria; Developing the test plan for the project with the rest of the partners.
• Battery management system and state estimator development. MU-ENG will participate in Defining the battery management system; With the data logging towards a better BMS solution in both HW and SW; Improving battery state estimators (SOC, SOF and SOH); Developing the hardware of the master BMS; Assembling all the BMS components.
• Integration, testing and concept validation on cell, module, battery system and EV level.
  MU-ENG will participate in performance and safety testing from the BMS point of view.
• Overall techno-economic assessment, recycling and LCA. MU-ENG will participate in the Life cycle impact assessment of the innovative technology and the associated system.
• Dissemination, Exploitation and Advisory Board. MU-ENG can participate in the dissmination of results or organization of different events.

Brussels Research & Innovation Center for Green Technologies (BRING) is one of the excellence research centers in Belgium that is dealing with all related topics in the field of green technologies such as batteries, fuel cells lightweight materials, hydrogen storage and automated vehicles.

BRING is a young and dynamic center that develops cutting-edge technologies that they can be transferred to the industry. It also provides its clients and partners with tailored solutions for the industry to shorten the time to market. It is collaborating with the main research and industrial players in EU and worldwide for ideation to solution implementation.

Bring has state of the art facilities in terms of product development, testing and production.

In WP1, BRING will contribute to TCO and eco-design-based design criteria including dismantling, recycling, repair and remanufacturing and will support with the definition of the mechanical requirements for the battery system and the overall test plan. BRING will lead WP2. In this WP, BRING will lead the conceptual battery system design task and will be responsible for the definition of the overall simulation platform. BRING will also lead the analysis of the cell properties task, will develop the test protocols, and will contribute to the mechanical and thermal battery system design. In WP3, BRING will contribute to the cell arrangement development task based on the output of WP2 and will support the development of thermal management system task, by contributing to the mechanical and thermal simulations. In WP4, BRING will contribute to the improved battery state estimators and safety estimator’s development task by using adaptive and predictive techniques such as neural networks and AI. In WP5, BRING will contribute to the development and qualification of performance related test procedures by supporting the accelerated test definition. BRING will also contribute to the development and qualification of safety related test procedures by supporting the definition of safety thermal runaway based on cell-pack concept. In WP6, BRING will support with the assembling using the knowledge from the design phase in WP2 and will contribute to the performance testing at cell level. BRING will perform functional safety testing at cell and system levels for overcharge and high temperature. In WP7, BRING will support with the development of the dismantling process and the setup of the LCA and analysis of the results with its specific battery system knowledge. BRING will also lead the task of first life estimation and TCO analysis of the battery system. In WP8, BRING will contribute to the communication, dissemination and preparative exploitation activities and will lead the activity of liaison with other Cluster projects. In WP9, BRING will contribute to project management and coordination and will support coordinator with technical coordination.

CLEPA is the European Association of Automotive Suppliers. Over 120 of the world’s most prominent suppliers for car parts, systems and modules, 24 national trade associations and European sector associations are members of CLEPA, representing in total more than 3000 companies, employing more than 5 million people and covering all products and services within the automotive supply chain. Based in Brussels, Belgium, CLEPA is recognized as the natural discussion partner by the European Institutions, United Nations and fellow automotive associations.

CLEPA Research and Innovation team covers three main domains (Energy & Environment – including electrification of road transport, Advanced Materials and Production Processes, Safety, Automation and Connectivity).

CLEPA is involved in Battery 2030+ initiative (Supporting organization) and the European Battery Alliance.

CLEPA will be involved in the definition of requirements (tasks 1.1 and 1.2) bringing its broader view of the market, insights inside the standardization and regulatory framework as well as specific expertise on recycling’s technical and logistical flows including strategies for repair and remanufacturing.

CLEPA will also take an active part in communication (task 8.1), contributing to the consortium’s dissemination activities and communicating on the project and results through its own existing network for communication:

• towards the automotive industry and the institutions via newsletters, Twitter, LinkedIn, articles/interviews in professional magazines and presentations at relevant events;
• towards the general public e.g. via interviews on mainstream media.