CESA 2012 interview : Marc Duval-Destin (PSA), part one

Marc Duval-Destin is Research and Advanced Engineering VP at PSA Peugeot Citroën. For CESA blog, he explains how is organised R&D for the french OEM.

"When I arrived at the head of our R&D division (called DRIA*) three years ago, I decided to shift from engineering to innovation.
Our aim is to open ourselves to new partners, such as Open Labs and other industrial companies outside the automotive industry. For instance, we have common works with EADS. It helps in order to better integrate composite materials and to save weight.
We also want to integrate our customers in the loop. Usually, technology is pushed by R&D and comes then to market. What we try to do is to take in account the customers expectations, as expressed in our marketing surveys, and to evaluate which innovations in our portfolio should answer to their needs. That's why we created a small dedicated team, called UXIN (User Experience INnovation). We appointed a designer that thinks outside of the box, focused on user experience. This person helps to design services and interfaces, so that people forget the technology behind. We already have some new concepts, especially in the promising field of connectivity and smartphone integration".

Next, Marc Duval-Destin will discuss automated driving.

*Direction of Research and Automotive Innovation

LG Chem and CEA to supply Renault with next generation batteries

The results achieved by the R&D Laboratory of Renault and the CEA* in new-generation batteries for electric vehicles have made it possible to enter the preparation phase for industrial production, to begin in 2017 in France. It will be made with the contribution of the South Korean battery manufacturer, LG Chem, a world leader in the sector.
As part of a three-party Renault-CEA-LG Chem agreement, to be signed in September 2012, LG Chem will work on developing the technology of the new-generation battery, to be produced in France. LG Chem will in particular contribute all its industrial expertise in large-scale battery production.
By taking part in the installation of an LG Chem battery plant in France, Renault and the CEA are demonstrating the country’s ability to invest in innovation with a view to developing industrial partnerships with a global reach and giving rise to vital technology for future energies.

*French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission. Renault and the CEA signed a strategic partnership in 2010 on the development of innovative batteries for electric vehicles and, more broadly, on sustainable mobility. The partnership currently involves 200 people, two-thirds CEA, one-third Renault, working at the CEA sites in Grenoble and Saclay and Renault’s Technocentre in Guyancourt.

Valeo wants to give access to smartphone services through the central console

Valeo leverages the MirrorLink™ technology to give drivers access to their favorite mobile applications via the dashboard. It lets drivers use the vehicle's on-board control, display and sound systems, thus making the most of the central console, which is wider and more manageable in a car than a smartphone.
Valeo has drawn on the expertise of Nokia’s Qt team to design this interface between vehicle and smartphone. The MirrorLinkTM technology solution, developed by the Car Connectivity Consortium, of which Nokia is a founding member, offers access to phone services and applications from the vehicle's central console. The main advantages of MirrorLinkTM are convenience and ease of use. 

Among its portfolio of driver interface solutions, Valeo is actively developing connected solutions in which smartphone services can be integrated and controlled using the dashboard interface. Users gain access to smartphone applications such as phone, navigation, music, internet radio, weather forecast and real-time traffic information through the in-vehicle display and sound system. Valeo aims to provide users with innovative interfaces, where smartphone services are dynamically and smoothly integrated with the vehicle’ own services. 
For this, Valeo uses the Qt user interface and application framework to create simple, powerful, cross-platform and fluid interfaces. Valeo announces that it has become a core member of the Car Connectivity Consortium (CCC), an organization driving global innovation for phone-centric car connectivity solutions. By joining the CCC, Valeo will help to accelerate the pace at which these new solutions of using a smartphone in a car with a seamless, safe and effortless user experience can be made available to drivers. This innovation responds to the trend that people want to remain connected to their everyday environment in the best possible conditions, even when in a vehicle.

A new partner for CESA 2012

CESA 2012 is happy to welcome a new media partner. ElectroniqueS is the first newsletter dedicated to automotive electronics. It's published by Pole Electro, a press company focused on electronics.

Link : http://www.electroniques.biz/lettres/thematiques/lettre_auto.php?date=2012-06-01

CESA 2012 interview : Pierre Gattaz (FIEEC)

President of FIEEC*, Pierre Gattaz sees a convergence in the vehicle between energy and electronics 

CESA congress will give the opportunity to show how France and Europe can take the lead in the future, despite a very hard economic period. Automotive new trends are clearly electrification and intelligence on board.
The car of tomorrow will be a smartphone on wheels, communicating with other vehicles and with the infrastructure. It will be safer, cleaner and much more comfortable.
We, at FIEEC, consider there is a real convergence coming on in the vehicle.
Not only the car of the future will be intelligent and energy efficient, thanks to sensors on board, but the road will be intelligent too. With an infrastructure able to communicate information, Europe could save lives and money. If we consider road accidents in France only, 4000 people are killed and 80 000 are injured, for a cost of 25 bn euro yearly. Connected cars could help society.
The next step is also autonomous driving It’s technically feasible. However, the regulations don’t allow these technologies and insurance companies are not ready yet to approve driverless cars on the roads.
 At FIEEC, we gather companies such as Schneider and Legrand in the field of electrification, or Thales and STMicroelectronics for electronics. It helps to have a forward thinking and we participate to high level meetings. For instance, our federation has been involved in the creation of PFA (automotive platform), in order to restablish french automotive industry after 2008 crisis. We are also a member of CLIFA (French committee of automotive suppliers).
Europe and France have a strong basis and a real know how to face coming challenges concerning energy, mobility and safety. The aim is relocate jobs and to give our industry a real advantage.

*Federation of electric, electronics and communication industries
Link : http://www.fieec.fr/

CESA 2012 programme overview day 2

On december 5, the second day of the congress will begin at 8.30 by a keynote from Béatrice FOUCHER-SYBORD, Director of product development at Renault.
Then, as for the first day, the programme will split in two parts in the morning from 8.55 to 1.15, with round tables (smart infotainment with Orange,  mechatronics and 48 v with BMW and NXP, new materials with CEA-Leti and Renault) and technical sessions (mechatronics and 48 v with Nissan, PSA, BPCE and Infineon, new materials and components with CNRS, Romeo Consiortium, STMicroelectronics, Valeo and Freescale, architectures with NXP, dSpace, Valeo, ESG, Sysgo, Fraunhofer, Conti Temic microelectronic, STMicroelectronics, Kemet Electronics and Berliner Nanotest und Design).
After the lunch break, starting from 2.55, the afternoon will be dedicated to a round table about architectures with Bosch and ESG and a technical session about infotainment with STMicroelectronics, Faurecia, Politecnico Di Torino and Elektrobit.
From 4.10, the congress will be concluded by keynotes from Jean-Marc GALES, Chief Executive Officer of CLEPA, Liam BRESLIN, Head of Unit Surface Transport at the European Commission and Rémi BASTIEN, Director of Research, Advanced Studies and Materials at Renault. As for the first day, Jochen LANGHEIM, Chairman of CESA 2012 (and VP from STMicroelectronics in France) will make the final speech.

CESA 2012 : programme overview day 1

On december 4, the CESA 2012 congress will kick off at 8.55 am, with a welcome & Introduction speech by Jochen LANGHEIM (STMicroelectronics), Chairman of the event. This will be followed by an opening speech by Michel ROLLIER, President of French Automotive Plateforme (PFA) and keynotes from Marc DUVAL-DESTIN, VP Research & Advanced Engineering at PSA Peugeot Citroen and Christophe PERILLAT-PIRATOINE, Group’s Chief Operating Officer at Valeo.
Then, in the morning the congress will offer in parallel round table sessions from 10.30 (market of electric vehicles with Roland Berger and BIPE, new mobility with PSA and SNCF) or technical sessions (environment, energy sources & infrastructures with Valeo, Renault, IPG Automotive, B&A) from 12.
After the lunch break (from 1.15 to 2.15), the programme will split between round tables on ADAS & connectivity (with Valeo and Volkswagen), and energy (with Ademe and EDF), meanwhile technical sessions will focus on new mobility (Amsterdam City, NXP, Bitron, Bosch) and ADAS & connectivity (Bosch, TRW, Continental, IDIADA, Technical Research Institute of Sweden, Institut für Kraftahrzeugeuntil), until 6.15.
The day 1 will be concluded by keynotes from Wolfgang RUNGE, Member of the board of ZF Steering Systems and chairman of Baden-Baden conference and Pierre GATTAZ, President of FIEEC, and by a day 1 wrap up from Jochen LANGHEIM.

European Commission confirms 2020 emission targets for cars and vans

The European Commission put forward proposals to implement targets that will further considerably reduce CO2 emissions from new cars and light commercial vehicles by 2020. The proposals will cut average emissions from new cars to 95 grams of CO2 per km (g CO2/km) in 2020 from 135.7g in 2011 and a mandatory target of 130g in 2015. Emissions from vans will be reduced to 147g CO2/km in 2020 from 181.4g in 2010 (the latest year for which figures are available) and a mandatory target of 175g in 2017.
Connie Hedegaard, EU Commissioner for Climate Action, said : "with our proposals, we are not only protecting the climate and saving consumers money. We are also boosting innovation and competitiveness in the European automotive industry. And we will create substantial numbers of jobs as a result. This is a clear win-win situation for everyone".
CLEPA welcomes theses proposals. "The 2020 targets are achievable, economically sound and cost effective, said Jean Marc Gales, CEO of this european suppliers association. The technology is already available and affordable. Limiting emissions to 95 gr/Km would add around 1000 euros to the price of car and that would be quickly paid off through savings in fuels consumption".
According to the Commission, each new car will on average save its owner around € 340 in fuel costs in the first year, and an estimated total of € 2904-3836 over the car's lifetime (13 years), as compared with the 2015 target. For vans the average fuel cost saving is estimated at around €400 in the first year and €3363-4564 over their 13-year lifetime.
Overall, consumers will save around € 30 bn per year in fuel costs and it is estimated that the targets could increase EU GDP by € 12 bn annually and spending on employment by some € 9 bn a year. The proposals would in total save 160 million tonnes of oil – worth around € 70 bn at today's prices - and around 420 million tonnes of CO2 in the period to 2030.

Towards zero accident with Volvo in 2020

By developing several new high-tech safety solutions, Volvo Car Corporation is taking a major step toward its 2020 goal that nobody should be killed or seriously injured in a new Volvo car.
The swedish OEM research focuses on three main areas: staying safely in the current lane, avoiding accidents at crossroads and junctions, and avoiding collisions with wild animals.

The following research projects are currently under way:
- Autonomous Driving Support Intersection Support
- Animal Detection (a system that detects and automatically brakes for animals both in daylight and in the dark, a further development of the pedestrian protection system)
- Autonomous driving in traffic queues
- Autonomous Driving Support helps the driver stay in his or her lane and follow the rhythm of the traffic if queues build up.
Volvo Car Corporation's safety approach is about getting cars to behave like people. The sensors (cameras, radar) are the eyes, the computers are the brain and the brakes are the muscles.

French President discovers Twizy

During last Rio +20 summit on climate change, French President François Hollande discovered the Renault Twizy.
The urban electric two seater vehicle was on display on the french pavillion. According to witnesses, the President was very curious and sat behind the wheel. Renault didn't tell if François Hollande will have one at Palais de l'Elysée.
The French President already has an hybrid car (DS5 Hybrid4 from Citroën) for official use.
But, the fact is he promised to keep on helping sales for clean cars.

CESA programme committee meets for papers selection

40 papers have been received for CESA Congress technical sessions. It's quite a lot. But, the programme committee had to make a selection then and 30 have been chosen. The experts met on July 3rd at SIA headquarters to read the abstracts and discuss.
Lead by Jochen Langheim, from ST and CESA 2012 manager, the program committe was constituted by representatives from Bosch (Eric Dalla Vecchia), Freescale (Gérard Maniez), Infineon (Andy Toulemonde), PSA Peugeot Citroën (El Khalis Kadiri, Igor Demay), SIA (Daniel Pfrimmer, Pauline Senis), Vector (Henri Belda).
Please note that our special guest Wolfgang Runge, Chairman from Baden-Baden conference, joint the committee the whole day

In the evening, there was another meeting with the Executive Commitee. It was hosted by STMicroelectronics, on invitation only, at famous Bristol restaurant in Paris. Around Thierry Tingaud (Chairman from ST France), Pascal Ribot (Key Account Manager at ST) and Jochen Langheim (VP advanced automotive R&D programmes at ST and CESA manager), we could see Rémi Bastien (Renault), Marc Duval-Destin (PSA Peugeot Citroën), Thierry Faugeras (Federal Mogul), Denis Griot (Freescale) and Wolgang Runge (Baden Baden Conference).

Introduction and widening of 48 V voltage system

CESA paper abstract

The maximum power needed for on-board vehicle electrical network has increased continuously, and might overtake the 10kW threshold in the near future (taking into account the energy recovering needs). Standard up to date 14V networks are uncapable of delivering such power needs.

After about 20 years of innovative works concerning the 42V onboard network, this solution was finally abandoned by most of the car manufacturers, substituted by the 48V network. The need to increase the onboard voltage level was initially motivated by the performances enhancement of Lead Acid Batteries systems. Nowadays the CO2 emissions reduction is also expected, thanks to the evolution of battery technologies (as example Li-ion chemistry). This strategy is then justified by increasing needs of electrical power, not compatible with standard 12V networks, as well as by energy recovering needs necessary for CO2 emissions optimization.

This paper will develop the expected scenarios for introduction and widening of the 48V technology in our vehicles, taking into account the 48V standard technical Specification issued from the initiative of the German OEMs, and the VDA help :
 - Define and set up the conditions for succeeding in the introduction of the 48V technology, firstly on Mild-Hybrid powertrain applications. 
- Then extend the 48V voltage as a second onboard network to allow future needs : 
High application rate on hybrid powertrain by 2020 
Optimization of Electrical energy management 
CO2 emissions reduction (48V storage system allowing high recovering performances) 
Potential opportunities of using 48V to supply some high power consumers, like electrical steering, air conditioning compressor, engine cooling fans, heated rear window, …). 

By El Khamis Kadiri and Franck Briault, PSA Peugeot Citroën