Ahead of our International EV Batteries 2019 conference, Paul explained his role and involvement with regards to the conference, critical engineering challenges, what he is looking forward to at the event and why it is important for engineers to attend.
Q: Could you briefly explain your role, involvement and experience with regards to this conference?
Paul Freeland (PF): I lead the eMobility section at Cosworth, responsible for the integration of battery systems, electric motors and drives into the powertrain products that we develop.
I have been involved with powertrain development for 29 years, mostly in the field of high-performance engine development. Three years ago, I was asked to lead Cosworth’s input into a collaborative project with our partners at AGM Batteries, Dukosi and WMG and part funded by the APC, to produce a concept demonstrator high-voltage battery pack using smart cells. This offers the possibility to monitor a far greater amount of information about each cell, with significantly less wiring and connections. This is the topic I will be speaking on at this event.
Q: What are the main engineering challenges currently facing the industry and what are the most common issues you hear from colleagues?
PF: I see a tremendous amount of political pressure driving the push for eMobility, and within this there is a lot of misinformation, misinforming the public’s opinions. The greatest challenge overall is for the industry to develop the right product for the right application, and to be allowed to present these honestly. There is definitely a place for EVs and the spectrum of HEVs but expectations for what these will achieve both in terms of product performance to the user, and the real environmental impact need to be managed openly if we are to avoid an “electrogate” scenario.
That said, the greatest technical challenges facing us currently within this are about energy density and re-charge rates of batteries – how to carry sufficient energy to give drivers the degree of utility that we have become used to, and how to replenish that energy quickly and conveniently. Both of these factors mean that for the first time in the evolution of personal transport, consumers are potentially facing a significant reduction in utility from the next generations of vehicles.
The most common topics I hear from colleagues relate to my first point: the common misconceptions that consumers have about EVs in particular (especially relating to both range, and true environmental impact) and also the poor real-world fuel economy they get from large SUVs with hybrid powertrains that were sold with low CO2 claims.
Another common topic relates to the missed opportunities to improve internal combustion engine technology for an almost instant “drop in” reduction in mass global CO2 emissions.
Q: What key topics are you excited to speak about?
PF: I love all aspects of technology development, and I’m really excited to speak about the areas we’ve been involved with, and to discuss these in the context of other innovation and new ideas. I also love to see how powertrain strategy changes as new technology becomes available.
Q: Who else are you most interested in hearing from on the programme, and why
PF: I have a very open mind on this really. I will see which topics interest me the most as I listen!
One of the effects I have seen emerge over the past five years is a distinct shift in the psychology of engineering technologists. The environment I grew up in was that of a very mature technology where the roadmaps were fairly well established. This led to a strong degree of conservatism within the industry - we knew where the next level of improvements was going to come from, and we mistrusted anyone who said differently or presented anything too radical. Now however, we have been forced to accept far less mature technology, and as a result to accept a wider spectrum of ways forward. The future is really not so clear, and the roadmaps now cover uncharted territory. This makes the variety of topics and speakers a lot broade, and powertrain engineering so much more interesting.
Q: Why is it important for engineers to join this conference?
PF: It’s always important for engineers to get out of the office! – but this conference, for all the reasons above, provides a very beneficial place for them to go to in doing so.
In the office, we continue doing the things we think we know in the ways we think we understand. Getting out to good quality conferences challenges that and gets the creativity working more.
Q: What developments are you most interested in for the future and why?
PF: This is a very pertinent and difficult topic to answer, again for all the reasons above.
The pragmatist in me believes that truly the best powertrain technology we can pursue is that of integrating the best of the electrical drive systems with the best of the combustion systems to minimise the energy requirement for the journeys we need to make. I see all the flaws and shortcomings of the potential alternatives and dread the impact on our environment of increased demands for the raw materials of Li-ion chemistry and motor magnets. Nuclear fusion still seems a little way away and fuel-cell processes appear to offer an order of magnitude more expensive to travel. All of these are very interesting to follow though.
Zooming in to near-term developments, cell chemistries that can give increased usable voltage range hold the key to EV range potential. Solid-state electrolytes appear to offer significantly improved safety, along with package advantages for cells, and of course improvements in battery management and thermal management systems offer reduced margin requirements. It’s all there to explore!
International EV Batteries 2019 will be taking place on 5-6 November at the Kia Oval in London. Join this conference to:
- Hear over 16 hours of content on electric vehicle battery development from pioneering users of battery technology including Jaguar Land Rover, Renault, Aston Martin, Ford Motor Company and Cosworth
- Network with battery research, design and systems engineers as well as battery management systems experts
- Invest in cost-effective battery technology by gaining insight into the latest cell, module and pack designs
- Gain insight into the latest technologies in thermal management to mitigate the risk of thermal runaway
- Receive an update on the status of battery manufacturing in the UK and the supply chain across the world.
To book your place, please visit www.imeche.org/evbatteries.