Hubject : a new hub for electro mobility roaming in Germany

A central element for the increasing expansion of electromobility in Germany is taking shape. To enable all future users of electromobility to access a nationwide charging infrastructure comfortably and securely, BMW Group, Bosch, Daimler, EnBW, RWE, and Siemens have formed a joint venture.

Known as “hubject GmbH,” the new company is based in Berlin. It considers itself a pioneer of electromobility. Its purpose is to develop and operate a data platform that will create an integrated charging infrastructure for mobility and vehicle providers. The new enterprise is a deliberately open platform that aims to involve as many partners as possible.

Besides the development of the technical platform, a distinctive compatibility logo will be designed. This charging infrastructure logo will show the customer that a charge spot belongs to the partner network. The aim of the logo is to create a high recognition value. It stands for process and billing security, as well as signifying trustworthiness and comfort for the end customer. All this is ensured by roaming and clearing services that run as a background process and are based on a software platform operated by hubject GmbH. So while being invoiced by just one individual contract partner, electromobility customers will be able to use different operators’ charging infrastructures.

Making utilization of the charging infrastructure user-friendly will, it is hoped, help not only to further expand electromobility but also to make it more widely accepted by the general public. The test run of the new service platform in Germany is planned from the late summer.

BMW et PSA launch BPCE in Paris

This evening, in Paris, BMW and PSA Peugeot Citroën have made an official presentation of BPCE. This joint venture stands for BMW Peugeot Citroën Electrification.
The development and production spectrum of this new company comprises all relevant components for electric powertrains, such as high-voltage batteries, electric motors, generators, power electronics, loading units and energy management software.
This joint venture will enable both partners to create an open platform on these technologies and support the European industry to structure itself in the field of hybridization. To that end, the joint venture will be a full-fledged company and will both integrate suppliers by outsourcing development work as well as sell hybrid components to third parties.
The new company will be operating out of two locations - the greater Munich area, Germany and Mulhouse, France. 400 employees are already working at BPCE, including 50 french people. The new hybrid components will equip both partners' vehicles from 2015 onwards. The BMW Group and PSA Peugeot Citroën have invested more than 100 million EUR in their joint venture on hybrid technology.

Ethernet on wheels

CESA 2012 Partner 





Ethernet on wheels … is not really groundbreaking news, some may say. No argument here, since 100Mbps Ethernet has been around for a while as an on-board diagnostics (OBD) port and access point to the vehicle for re-programming or flashing modules at the OEM dealership. The news is that the automotive industry is making strong efforts to standardize Ethernet as in-vehicle network for high bandwidth applications such as cameras and multimedia. Up to now, high bandwidth meant proprietary network architectures with cumbersome cabling, expensive physical interface devices, custom tools and limited supplier base.

Recently, Broadcom, BMW, NXP, Freescale, Hyundai Motor Company and Harman announced the formation of the OPEN Alliance SIG* (One-Pair Ether-Net Special Interest Group). The alliance’s goal is to enable wide scale adoption of Ethernet in automotive, establish industry standards for Ethernet connectivity over a single pair unshielded cable and enable migration from closed application to open, scalable Ethernet-based network.

©By Axel Streicher

Read the full story here : http://blogs.freescale.com/2011/12/07/ethernet-on-wheels/

*Link : http://www.opensig.org/

Connectivity trends @ Geneva

Cars are more and more connected. At Geneva Motor Show, OEMs unveiled new services, such as Renault with R-Link system in the new Zoé. This embedded tablet PC gives access to a world of connected services. By downloading applications from a R-Link store, users will get car oriented services (navigation, location based services). Fifty applications will be available at the launch of R-Link in october. HMI is a state of the art, with voice recognition, touch screen and remote controls on the steering wheel.

Peugeot is offering connected services too on the 208. Thanks to the customer's smartphone, used a modem, and a touch screen, ten applications are available in the car for traffic, gas prices, parking lots and so on. At Geneva Motor Show, some other OEMs (BMW with BMW Apps and BMW Live, Mercedes with COMAND on line) were offering the same connectivity in 3 G.

4 G, also known as LTE (Long Term Evolution) is arriving in the car. This technology was displayed by Delphi Automotive and Sbarro on the F1 for 3 (an astonishing Formula 1 car with three seats). The connectivity on board is as fast as the car itself, with digital content on personal passengers devices. A special antenna is carrying all the services (GPS, GSM, TV) inside.

To conclude, connectivity means personalized services too. Harman was showing NFC applications in Rinspeed' Dock & Go Concept. With a compliant mobile phone, a driver can be recognized by the car and finds his personal settings (seats, radio, navigation, apps) when he gets on board.
Welcome to the connected car...

Birth of VeDeCoM in France

Selected by french state R & D program investment for the future, and backed by Paris area based Mov'eo automotive cluster, VeDeCoM Institute is the largest institute in France working on carbon free cars and new mobility trends. The name stands for connected and carbon free vehicle and its mobility.
Located in Versailles-Satory, in the south of Paris (and part of Saclay area, french equivalent of Silicon Valley), VeDeCoM gathers an incredible dream team. The 44 members are OEMs (Renault, PSA Peugeot Citroën, Venturi), OEM suppliers (Continental Automotive, STMicroelectrics, Valeo..), start ups (Induct, Intempora), energy suppliers (EDF), research institutes (CEA, INRIA, IFSTTAR) and local public authorities.
In 3 years, 280 people will begin to work with a 300 M € budget.
Main R&D programs are :
- infrastructure and services for mobility and shared energy
- full driving assistance and connectivity
- electrification of vehicles

Link (in french) : http://www.fondation-moveotec.com/en/la-recherche-et-linstitut-vedecom.html

The range extender gets popular in Geneva

For the second time, an electric vehicle has been elected car of the year in Europe. The Chevrolet Volt and the Opel Ampera have been awarded, one year after the Nissan Leaf.

Is it a coincidence ? Many concepts in Geneva are using a range extender to offer a better autonomy :
- Mercedes B Class E-Cell+
- Infiniti Emerg-e (400 HP with 300 kW electric engine and a 1,2 L gasoline engine from Lotus)
Link : http://www.infinitiemerg-e.com/
- Hyundai i.oniq
- Pininfarina Cambiano (range extender with diesel engine)
- Suzuki Swift EV Hybrid
- Rinspeed Dock & Go (with a trailer used as a third on demand axle)

But, it was not the only technology displayed. OEMs showed plug in hybrids (VW Cross Coupé TDI, Volvo D60 D6), gasoline hybrids (Toyota Yaris HSD, BMW Active Hybrid 3), diesel hybrids (new Peugeot 508 Hybrid4, Mercedes E Class 300 Bluetec hybrid) and of course EVs (Renault Zoé, Nissan e-NV 200, Mercedes Vito E Cell).

There is not a single solution for electrification, but a full array of technologies.

Bill Ford Outlines “Blueprint for Mobility” Vision

In a speech at Barcelona Mobile World Congress, Ford Motor Company Executive Chairman, Bill Ford, has outlined vision for smart transportation and need for development of intelligent vehicles and transport systems for 2025.
Ford Motor Company’s “Blueprint for Mobility” calls for partnership with telecommunications industry to create an inter-connected transportation network as part of the solution for alleviating “global gridlock”. The US car maker envisions a radically different transportation landscape where pedestrian, bicycle, private car, commercial and public transportation traffic are woven into a connected network to save time, conserve resources, lower emissions and improve safety.
Ford is already developing new business models and partnerships in anticipation of personal vehicle ownership in cities becoming increasingly impractical.
Read the full story : http://media.ford.com/news/billfordoutlinesblueprintformobilityvisioncallsonmobileindustrytohelpdeveloptransportationsolutions.htm