We are sharing the latest news and updates from our cluster projects with you:
Here you can read the whole newsletter!
22. & 23. October 2025 | Munich, Germany
Members of EGVIAfor2Zero gathered in Munich for a two-day meeting that combined strategic discussions, networking, and project updates. One part of the event was the presentation of the 2Zero project clusters, which bring together EU-funded projects working on complementary areas of clean and efficient vehicle technologies:
Bernhard Brandstätter (Virtual Vehicle) presented the E-VOLVE Cluster, sharing the latest developments and collaborations among its member projects. The clusters aim to strengthen synergies, foster knowledge exchange, and accelerate innovation within the 2Zero partnership.
“The E-VOLVE Cluster demonstrates how collaboration between European projects can drive real progress in electric vehicle efficiency. Sharing experiences and results across initiatives helps us build a stronger innovation ecosystem for sustainable mobility.” — Bernhard Brandstätter, Virtual Vehicle
The meeting also featured updates on ongoing initiatives, including the recent MoU with the European Commission, the #WeDrive2Zero campaign results, progress on regional collaboration frameworks and upcoming events.
We were very happy to represent the E-VOLVE Cluster at the General Assembly meeting and to exchange with colleagues and other clusters. Thank you for having us!
30. September & 01. October 2025 | Brussels, Belgium
The E-VOLVE Cluster was pleased to take part in this year’s Future Road Mobility Forum 2025 (FORM Forum), organised by the European Automotive Research Partners Association (EARPA).
This major European event brought together over 260 participants from industry, academia, and European institutions to explore how Europe can maintain its global leadership in sustainable and innovative road mobility.
The two-day programme included inspiring keynotes, technical sessions, and networking opportunities, all centred around the theme: “Transitioning Road Mobility: Actions to Safeguard Europe’s Competitive Edge.” Highlights included dynamic discussions, project showcases, and the Young Researcher Elevator Pitch, reflecting the energy and innovation driving Europe’s mobility research landscape.
Representing the E-VOLVE Cluster, Bernhard Brandstätter and Medina Ćustić from Virtual Vehicle joined the exhibition with a booth, where they engaged with participants and exchanged insights on the latest developments in electric vehicle efficiency and innovation. They also used the opportunity to catch up with some of our cluster members, such as HiVEP and VOLTCAR. VOLTCAR contributed to this year’s FORM Forum with a poster and a presentation by Lucas Van Belle (KU Leuven). You can find the presentation here.
We were proud to again represent the E-VOLVE Cluster at the EARPA FORM Forum 2025 and would like to thank EARPA and all participants for such a well-organised and engaging event.
You can find more photos from the event here: EARPA FORM Forum 2025 | Flickr
We are pleased to announce another new member of the E-VOLVE Cluster: the ENLIGHTEN project. The acronym stands for “nExt geNeration 1200V eLectric hIGH volTage powErtraiN” and the project is coordinated by the AIT AUSTRIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY GMBH.
Read here more about the project’s objective:
ENLIGHTEN aims at developing, integrating and testing a next generation post 800V electric vehicle powertrain with an indicative voltage level of 1200V. It targets a higher performing, cost optimized and more sustainable drivetrain layout that is also backwards compatible to the existing charging infrastructure with 1000V or 500V respectively.
Determining exactly how high the new voltage level should be, to enable expected advantages in a systemic and systematic way is also part of the project. A new voltage level affects the entire sphere of electric mobility, both horizontally (vehicle, charging infrastructure, users, manufacturers) and vertically (OEM, tier1, tier2, single component supplier), hence a deliberate decision is required. To accomplish this an advanced electrical system architecture is presented by the ENLIGHTEN consortium in this proposal on whose basis a specific electric vehicle drivetrain will finally be developed and demonstrated in a C-segment vehicle. The at TRL5 delivered powertrain will consist of a dual voltage battery system and an integrated motor-inverter E-drive system, complemented by an intermediate DCDC converter, an AC and DC capable onboard charger and a power distribution. All power electronic devices will exploit low loss, ultra-fast switching gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductors for highest efficiency and to minimize cooling demand and component size. The dual voltage battery can be switched dynamically from one battery voltage into the other while driving. Through these and other measures, the ENLIGHTEN system delivers significant advances over the 2024 State of the Art. The ENLIGHTEN consortium includes 2 automotive companies, 1 Tier1 supplier and 2 SMEs. Their expertise is leveraged by the partnership with 2 research institutions and 4 academia/universities, constituting an ideal setup for strengthening the competitiveness of the European automotive industry.
If you want to find out more about the project use the links we included here.
We are very much looking forward to the collaborative work.
Welcome to a new newsletter edition of the E-VOLVE Cluster! This time we re-designed the whole issue keeping it more tight and easy to read. However, be sure you don’t miss out on clicking on all those links we built into the newsletter, as there is so much more stuff to read behind them.
Have fun with our latest edition!
Read the full edition of our newsletter HERE!
In April of 2025 E-VOLVE Cluster members took a trip to the United States of America to attend the SAE World Congress in Detroit.
For the conference two collaborative papers of cluster members were presented. Be sure to click on the link and get a greater picture of our contribution.
Check out these impressions from Detroit and the conference:
We had a blast attending the conference and are very thankful for the opportunity and the fruitful discussions!
In February 2025 member projects of the cluster were present at the RTR conference.
In case you missed the conference you have the chance to catch up on various channels. You can on the one hand check out the Summary Report and have a read on
You’ll find the contributions of EM-TECH, MAXIMA, HEFT, VOLTCAR and ClimaFlux on page 29 as part of parallel session 8. Our partner project SCAPE was part of the parallel session 11 “Innovative components for more efficient EVs” which you can find on page 36.
In addition, you can check out video recordings of the RTR conference on their YouTube channel.
Here is the recording from the parallel session 8:
Here is the recording from the parallel session 11:
You can check out all other video recordings of the RTR conference on their YouTube channel.
Here is a group picture of the parallel session 8. From left to right: project officer of many of our Cluster projects Joao Carrilho Miranda, Stéphane Clénet, Eric Armengaud, Damian Backes, Jenni Pippuri-Mäkeläinen, Hendrik Vansompel, Martin Weinzerl and Fernando Garramiola.
We wanted you thank the RTR for giving our projects a platform and are looking forward to the next conference!
In the context of publicly funded R&D initiatives, a well-defined exploitation strategy is critical to ensure that project results deliver lasting value beyond the project lifetime. Effective exploitation bridges the gap between research and real-world application, enabling innovative technologies to reach markets, support policy goals, and foster economic and societal impact. For the E-VOLVE cluster—focused on electric vehicles (EVs) optimized for life, value, and efficiency—exploitation is especially vital given the recent rapid evolution in the automotive domain in terms of digitalization, connectivity, automation, electrification, and energy-efficiency.
The working group Industrialization and Exploitation aims to support tangible exploitation targets and pathways for exploitation, while considering uncertainties related to industrialization / commercialization, as well as end of the respective R&D project and new setups. To be prepared toward 2028+ evidence about the impact of R&D projects for long-term European competitiveness is provided, long-term strategy among different R&D programs showcased, upscale of project results within Europe supported, and competence trainings / education promoted both for specialists as well as for young professionals.
The focus and direction for the activities of this working group includes innovative components for the uptake of EVs, power electronics, e-motors, and user-centric EVs contributing to smarter and more accessible electric mobility.
Next steps for the E-VOLVE cluster working group include the development of a comprehensive overview of market evolution, regulatory frameworks, and relevant trends as well as stakeholder / customer segments with their expected needs. This analysis will be followed by a consolidation of received input from the different R&D projects and a final review, ensuring a common view on the aforementioned fields of investigation.
It has already been three months since the last E-VOLVE Cluster newsletter so it was time for yet another issue.
Don’t miss out on a very long report about the ToSVE event hosted by PoliTO, a recap of our cluster webinar back in November and the introduction of a new cluster member: CliMAFlux.
Enjoy this edition of the newsletter and we hope you have a fantastic start into the new year!
Read the full edition of our newsletter HERE!
We are looking back to a very successful ToSVE event that took place last November. The event was held at the Politecnico di Torino, attracted over 250 participants and more than 100 businesses.
The agenda included focused sessions on three pivotal themes: Trends in Sustainable Vehicles, Autonomous and Connected Vehicles, and Emerging Technologies and Components.
Watch the video recap to get an exclusive insight.
The research leading to these results have received funding from European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme H2020 and Horizon Europe.
Special credit is to be given to the project ACHILES (824311) under the lead of VRIJE UNIVERSITEIT BRUSSEL for the initial setup and continuous management of the E-VOLVE Cluster between 2018 and 2022. Thanks a lot for the efforts and initiative that is highly appreciated.
Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA). Neither the European Union nor the funding authority can be held responsible for them.