Center for Low Emission Vehicle Research (CLEVeR)

The Centre for Low Emission Vehicle Research (CLEVeR) is a state-of-the-art equipment upgrade to an existing facility to allow research into low and ultra-low carbon liquid fueled vehicles as well as novel electric and hybrid electric vehicle (EV/HEV) platforms under real world driving conditions. Although conventionally fueled internal combustion engine powered vehicles will remain the dominant powertrain for the future, alternatively-fuelled vehicles (AFVs) and the shift to more electric and hybrids vehicles will gather momentum. The EU New Car CO2 Regulation mandates that by 2020 each manufacturer in the EU must average 95g/km of CO2. The UK new car figures for 2012 returned a 133.1 g/km average and achieving the 2020 target will be challenging.
The requirement to upgrade the current vehicle facility has been driven by the large research challenge that underpins the need to provide sustainable personal transport that reduces or eliminates CO2 into our environment. In helping to make a cleaner environment and mitigate climate change, aspects of the work to be undertaken within the vehicle facility will directly address one of the most imperative issues of our time.
The facility will be unique in the UK, a state-of-the-art facility will be created allowing research into new CO2 reducing technologies which can be assessed with a high degree of experimental precision. Much research is carried out on the technologies themselves, but very little is done at a systems level in an environment that replicates real world conditions.
Facilities such as this are found in industry and are mainly used for product development, supporting vehicle programmes and are not generally used for research. That is the major difference between the Bath facility and others. The facility will be multi-user and we aim to provide an inclusive and accessible research capability currently prohibitive or non-existent to many academic and even industrial research teams and especially SMEs.
Some important research areas that the facility has been designed to address are described below:
-Current EV/HEV systems are hampered by a lack of system optimisation, particularly under real world driving conditions. The facility will deliver an environment where world leading research can address the on-vehicle issues of energy efficiency and storage, integrated thermal management of components and subsystems especially under extreme temperature and humidity conditions. The trend to distributed motor systems requires a four wheel system such as that proposed. Further measurement instruments designed to evaluate the dynamic performance of the motor, controller and battery are included to evaluate the high frequency signals on the electrical systems.
-A key challenge of future engine developments and fuel research is linking the physical and chemical properties of the fuel with the combustion characteristics, emissions formation and emissions control systems. This facility will enable fuel scientists and vehicle engineers to work together to be more aware and better informed of the effects of new fuels, at an early stage, on emissions, CO2 production, vehicle and engine performance.
-The driver is the least predictable element within the vehicle system and better insights into driver behaviour are essential in order to evaluate the effectiveness of future low carbon CO2 propulsion and sub-systems under real world operation.
-The performance of future vehicle technologies are usually evaluated over legislative drive cycles such as the New European Drive Cycle (NEDC). While often indicative of trends, this method fails to provide accurate, robust information on the operation of these systems under real world driving conditions with respect to driver demands and ambient environmental conditions. This facility will enable investigations in to the interactions between the environment in which a vehicle is being used and the manner in which it is driven.

CLEVeR establishes a world class vehicle research facility to address the challenges associated with ultra-low carbon liquid fueled vehicles, electric and hybrid electric vehicles (EV/HEV), under real world driving environments. This will allow fundamental research into novel vehicle CO2 reducing technologies and systems to be assessed with a high degree of experimental precision in the conditions in which they have to perform.
Economic and Societal Impact
In 2010, the UK produced 536 Million tonnes of CO2, 12% came from cars. By 2020 The EU New Car CO2 Regulation mandates that manufacturers must average 95g/km of CO2. In 2012 the UK new car figures averaged 133.1 g/km. Achieving the 2020 target will require further gains in vehicle efficiency, through greater efficiency of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, the introduction of more Alternative Fuelled Vehicles (AFV) and the shift to more EV/HEVs. These CO2 targets will be challenging and the Automotive Council, comprising of academic and business representation have developed a roadmap of technologies leading to low carbon vehicles to 2040 and beyond.
CLEVeR will make a significant contribution for the provision of sustainable personal transport that reduces or eliminates CO2 emissions helping to make a cleaner environment and mitigate climate change. Aspects of the work to be undertaken will therefore directly address one of the most imperative issues of our time. Vehicles will become more energy efficient through the research facilitated by CLEVeR, thereby maximising fuel economy for consumers, saving millions of pounds in fuel costs and reduced road fund licenses as well as having a significant effect on reducing global carbon emissions thereby delivering improved air quality and enhancing the health of future generations.
Industrial Impact
Although conventionally fueled ICE vehicles will remain the dominant powertrain for the future, a shift to AFVs and EV/HEVs will occur. The SMMT 'New car CO2 Report 2013' shows AFVs volumes increased by 9.4% between 2012 and 2013.
The global focus to reduce emissions, particularly of CO2, has prompted almost every country to offer incentives for businesses and consumers to buy EV and HEVs. However, the mass adoption of these vehicles requires many hurdles to be overcome before they can become a mainstream automotive technology. Particular issues include the complex makeup of HEV/EVs, the cost of their components, the lack of standardisation within the industry and the increasing cost of magnets and other rare materials used in the batteries. CLEVeR will allow industry to develop and evaluate new and novel carbon reducing technologies within a systems context on-vehicle while it is subjected to real world conditions. Thereby directly supporting the UK automotive sector as it faces the challenges of delivering improvements in air quality whilst providing affordable low carbon vehicles. CLEVeR will not only support a framework for UK wide research, but will also act as a demonstrator, allowing the low carbon vehicle community to work more broadly with colleagues in other engineering and science disciplines to accelerate the take up of new technology.
Academic Impact
The potential academic impact of CLEVeR is substantial. It will act as a platform to support a whole range of research activities, a representative range of which has been detailed in the Academic Beneficiaries section. CLEVeR will allow an environment where fundamental academic research can be undertaken alongside applied in a world class vehicle research facility. It will be used to educate generations of postgraduate students, providing valuable skills for the automotive industry as well as developing highly informed academics. The opportunity that this facility will afford to postgraduate students to work alongside research scientists, engineers and industrial users will provide a route for them to have a significant impact on our science and society.