Frugal zero-emission vehicles concepts for the urban passenger challenge

Horizon Europe Framework Programme (HORIZON)

• Accelerated global uptake of affordable, user and mission centric solutions tailorable for specific usage models e.g. occasionally transporting additional passengers (and particular market factors both in advanced and emerging markets).
• Effective design, assessment, and deployment of innovative low-cost but upgradable Electric Vehicles solutions (powered two-wheelers, light cars or microbuses) for the clean urban transport challenge.
• Higher sustainability and minimized cost by leveraging economies of scale but still offering flexible variations through modularity.
• Ensured ease of use in targeted urban and sub-urban areas that accounts for traffic and parking conditions as well as for battery charging/swapping points availability.
• Lower energy consumption by means of vehicle tailored to the urban environment conditions and constraints (e.g. lighter mass, suitable range and dynamic performances, higher utilisation of local resources, including reuse of components and systems, and eco-sustainable materials[1]).

• Systematic and thorough analysis of user centric needs, due to future evolution of urban areas representative for both emerging and established market use cases and of the required infrastructure development (e.g. charging infrastructure and related information and communication technologies).
• Development and demonstration of at least two variations of the modular and scalable vehicle (i.e. basic low-cost version and higher value version based on the same adaptable platform with high-production volume potential; optionally and additionally, proposals can foresee an extension to goods transport). For L-category vehicles this should include the option of swappable and interoperable standard battery systems (across world regions, for larger economies of scale) which can optionally be used for light vehicles or microbuses, for instance for range extension or emergency use.
• Validation with real electric vehicle(s) and related battery solutions testing, demonstrating the developed functions, in particular the capabilities of the proposed architecture in terms of payload, charging requirements, vehicle efficiency to optimise range and battery sizing, also to match local needs.
• Confirmation of user acceptability by showcasing the solutions in both emerging markets and established markets according to the purpose of the particular version.
• Assess the potential impact in terms of emissions reduction considering the potential scale-up opportunities of the addressed use cases, prioritizing higher impact use cases.
• Taking into consideration future development pathways for urban public, semi-public, private charging infrastructure adapted for such future urban vehicle concepts, in particular in the developing countries where such infrastructure is currently non-existent.
• Projects should deliver digital twin models of the demonstrator vehicles, so that the impact of the innovations towards the overall objectives of the 2ZERO partnership might be determined. Data that are produced as output from a ‘digital twin’ will be enacted in line with FAIR principles for data[2], and deposition in relevant repositories should be encouraged.