EVITA

EVITA (Electric Vehicle and Infrastructures for Transport Applications) aims to consolidate a consortium on the training of Early Stage Researchers (ESRs) on innovative electrified vehicles and their infrastructures within a forward LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) approach to submit a proposal to MSCA doctoral network. Towards the energy transition, it is of high interest to train a cohort of high-level scientists to become key leaders in this mobility revolution. A first proposal has been submitted on this topic to H2020-MSCA-ITN-2020 (eCAT) and despite a mark of 93.6%, it has not been selected. EVITA aims to strengthen the consortium, include more relevant partners and improve the proposal quality. Only the core of this consortium is included in EVITA to reshape the project according to the evaluation summary report and also the new framework of the MSCA within Horizon Europe. EVITA is managed by University of Lille, which will be the coordinator for the proposal to the HORIZON-MSCA-2021-DN-01-01 call. University of Lille has an expertise on simulation and control of various electrified vehicles. University of Lille is coordinator of the H2020 PANDA project (2018-2022, GA #824256) that develops a disruptive simulation method of electric vehicles. PANDA will serve as foundation for the new proposal by 1) training ESRs on these innovative methods, 2) inclusion of LCA indicators in the simulation of electrified vehicles, 3) extension of applications from automotive to subway and railways systems, and 4) integration of their supply infrastructures to have a broader approach of low-carbon urban mobility. Siemens Software Industry (Romania) has an expertise on simulation packages for automotive. Siemens is strongly involved in PANDA and will enable the development of innovative simulation tools. Vrije University of Brussels (Belgium) has a recognized expertise on electrified vehicles in particular using a classical LCA approach that will bring a real added value to the project. University of Oviedo has an expertise on railways transportation systems including their infrastructures. This partner will enable a valuable extension to the public transportation system. All these partners were beneficiaries for the previous proposal submitted to H2020-MSCA-ITN-2020. At the time, all the previous beneficiaries will be involved in the future proposal, including the members cited above and the Technical University of Eindhoven (Netherlands, expertise on electric buses). University of Lille will include 3 research Labs: L2EP (electrical engineering, electric vehicles), CRIStAL (computer sciences, autonomous vehicles) and TVES (human and social sciences, mobility policies) to extend the skills of the proposal and propose multidisciplinary trainings. Moreover, previous partner organisations will be included: MEL (Metropole Européenne de Lille, France, mobility planning), Rochester Institute of Technology (USA, economics and public policy), and Valeo (France, new electric powertrains). However, the evaluation summary report indicates that the involvement of some of other partner organisations was too weak and that the consortium needs to be completed. Therefore, new members should be included to complete the value chain. The MRSEI funding will thus enable meetings and discussions to 1) include new consortium members to complete and 2) increase the quality of the proposal by a consulting company working on the proposal writing, especially on the “impact” section. Moreover, EVITA will continue after submission in the philosophy of valorisation of the important work dedicated to this submission. In case the proposal is not selected, EVITA will analyse the feedbacks to reshape the consortium and/or the project. In case the new proposal is selected, EVITA will develop a new topic based on this positive experience, to submit a new proposal in future calls, knowing that the first submission is often a draft to be refined before a selection.