The HEROES Consortium Meeting took place on 9 October 2024 in the Fraunhofer ICT facilities in Karlsruhe (Germany), and online. Partners, including Aalborg University, Beyonder, EASE, ElringKlinger, ENSO Innovation, Fraunhofer ICT, IFE, Sensata Technologies, SIEMENS, and Sustainable Innovations, gathered to monitor the project's progress. This meeting aimed to analyse the milestones achieved throughout the project and set the steps for what is yet to come to conclude it.
This meeting was followed up by the HEROES final event on 10 October 2024 in the same venue and online. Attendees had the opportunity to learn more about the HEROES project from the partners involved in it, which included Turi Kvame Lorentzen from Beyonder, Felix Katzer from Siemens, Silvia Rodríguez from ENSO, and Jan Bökelmann and Martin Doppelbauer from Fraunhofer ICT. The event concluded with a showcase of the results of the project, testing the fast-charging station for electric vehicles live.
Turi Kvame Lorentzen opened the event by welcoming guests in person and online, providing an overview of the agenda of the day and a brief introduction of the speakers. Professor Martin Doppelbauer introduced Fraunhofer ICT and its facilities to attendees. As part of the Institute of Chemical Technology, Fraunhofer ICT focuses its activities on chemistry, with several focus research areas, such as explosion technology and safety and security. HEROES was developed in the electric motor area, where the batteries were tested. He also presented some of the projects that this area is currently working on.
Following, Turi Kvame Lorentzen, the project coordinator, gave an overview of the project, presenting the different partners and the budget. The objective of HEROES project was to develop and demonstrate a disruptive hybrid, high-coverage, high-energy storage station for fast-charging electric vehicles, to be used in a medium-sized charging station connected to the low-voltage grid. This way, the project aimed to contribute to the EU’s net-zero emissions target and the increased demand for electric vehicles, as well as to the electrification of mobility to help reduce emissions. She provided in-depth explanations of the role of each partner in the project, from the design of the batteries to their testing in different facilities. She also presented the various events and exhibitions HEROES participated in, such as the Danish Battery Summit 2023 and the EV Nordic Summit 2024.
Later, Felix Katzer, engineer at Siemens and leader of WP2 “System Specifications”, dived deeper into the demonstration of the system in the lab at Siemens. He specified that this was the result of the cooperation between three research groups: energy management and electronics, power electronics, and LP batteries. This test aimed to demonstrate the power capability, safety, and reliability of the different components needed for the project, and the results obtained were positive and replicable.
Jan Bökelmann, engineer at Fraunhofer ICT, was in charge of carrying out the real test of the HEROES system. He provided an overview of the conditions, materials, and facilities required to build the demo site to test the system, as well as the different models of cars used to test the compatibility of the system with actual vehicles. He also outlines the future steps to conclude the test of the Fraunhofer ICT.
Silvia Rodríguez, researcher at ENSO and working on WP8 “Sustainability”, analysed the sustainability of the HEROES project. The method used to evaluate the environmental impact of HEROES was the Life Cycle Assessment SCA, which helps to understand how much energy, raw materials, and emissions are involved in the product’s life. She presented the aspects where there is still room to improve, as well as the positive notes of the project in these terms. Regarding economic sustainability, it was proven that the HEROES project can grow to be cost-efficient and sustainable on a large scale in the long term.
Project coordinator, Turi Kvame Lorentzen concluded the event with a short session on exploitation. She provided an overview of the state of transport electrification in Europe and how can HEROES contribute to its expansion and, ultimately, to reduce carbon emissions as required by the European Union. The HEROES system, as it does not require high energy capacity, would be a suitable solution to provide electric vehicle chargers in more rural and remote areas, as well as in big cities providing fast charging points. She also dived into the future of HEROES, which could be further developed with other EU-funded projects under Horizon Europe or the Innovation Fund.
Finally, the attendees in person had the opportunity to see the HEROES system live. A showcase of the fast-charging station for electric vehicles was carried out for guests to witness the results of this project. This test was a success, leaving the door open for further development of this system and contribution to the EU’s ambitious goal of becoming carbon-neutral by 2050.
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