This summary report refers to the research activities carried out by RSE during the period March 2014 – February 2015 in the framework of the “Electric Mobility” project. In terms of environmental aspects and future scenarios, an electric mobility scenario for the year 2030 was developed and evaluated both in terms of changes in energy consumption and in terms of pollutant emissions to the atmosphere, compared to a baseline scenario, i.e. without any electric or hybrid vehicles that can be recharged from the grid. The impact of these two scenarios on air quality was then compared. The comparison already made using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) techniques between internal combustion engine cars and pure electric cars was integrated, focusing in particular on lithium batteries and the electricity generation scenarios for recharging the batteries
In addition, the environmental and economic aspects of current treatment processes and extraction methods for the recovery and recycling of strategic materials, such as rare earth elements and base metals, contained in end-of-life equipment (in particular nickel-metal hydride and lithium-ion batteries) used in the electric mobility sector, were assessed. Finally, the possibility of extracting rare earth elements from super-permanent magnets was explored to provide an alternative source of raw material for the construction of electric motors to mining, which is currently monopolized by a single supplier country.
In this case, laboratory tests were optimized to identify a method for extracting Neodymium, in the form of fluorinated salt, which is of possible interest for the market.
With regard to the technological and standardization aspects, the management strategies of an electric vehicle with range extender available on the market were analyzed, a control system was developed to maximize its efficiency, and an experimental setup was prepared to validate the modeling hypotheses and implement innovative control strategies.
In addition, specific devices were designed and built to study the interaction of the electric vehicle system (and charging infrastructure) with smart grids, from the dual perspective of the power interface between the vehicle and the electrical system, and the communication interface between the charging system, the electric vehicle and the user. Some of these activities were carried out in synergy with the European projects Green e-Motion, Intrasme, Cotevos and Free-Moby.