Nanoelectronics research on ‘cars of the future’

The E3Car project is looking to use microprocessors, logic circuits and sensors that will continuously monitor voltage, current and temperature in a battery pack. Measurements of this sort, say the researchers, will allow certain operations to be cut out and the energy used to power others. If a sensor exceeds its permitted range, for example, the battery pack can be disconnected in a millisecond. The EU's E3Car project comprises European research centres, vehicle manufacturers and automotive industry suppliers. The project has been launched to address issues such as battery efficiency, higher energy density and energy control, but will also be examining smart dynamic sensor based monitoring where nanoelectronics can provide real time control. SINTEF, one of the 33 participants, is a specialist in nanoelectronics and, according to project manager, Ovidiu Vermesan, will be putting up expertise on energy conversion and voltage convertors. Vermesan believes the research will address power and energy control in the cars of the future. Vermesan said: said: "The battery voltage needs to lie around what the motor requires – 200 – 400V. But we can convert vehicle motors to operate at a lower voltage (100V), which would mean less risk in the event of fire or traffic accidents. We can envisage a wide range of market and environmental possibilities." E3Car is the Largest European research project on the development of nanotechnology for electric vehicles. The project, still in its first phase, is intended to run until 2012, with a total budget of €44million.