For Mercedes-Benz, Sustainability Means Brainy Micro-Converters, Solar Paint, & Synthetic Spider Silk
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Mercedes-Benz unleashed its 2040 vision for the future of the electric vehicle experience last week, unveiling some of its research projects complete with eye-catching autonomous driving features, AR, something called neuromorphic computing, and other electronics-related enhancements. Sustainability is also front and center, including one of our favorite topics, solar paint.
Sustainability & Neuromorphic Computing
If neuromorphic computing doesn’t ring a bell, join the club. A quick search of the Intertubes yields an explainer from a research paper recently published in the journal Nature Communications. The authors start off with a warning, though. “Brain-like energy-efficient computing has remained elusive for neuromorphic (NM) circuits and hardware platform implementations despite decades of research,” they state.
That sounds like a dead end for researchers, but the authors have hit upon a promising path towards a breakthrough, and the sustainability prize is a big one.
“Neuromorphic (NM) computing that mimicks certain neuro-biological architectures of the human brain, is an alternative to the conventional von Neumann computing architecture, and therefore, can be designed to be highly parallel and very low power consuming with the potential to perform certain complex operations faster and in a smaller footprint,” the authors enthuse.
That caught the eye of Mercedes-Benz and they went all in. With all those new electronic gizmos, vehicles will need to have “significantly higher energy requirements,” the company advises by way of explaining its interest. They tapped Canadian University of Waterloo as a research partner on the neuromorphic project, anticipating a 10-fold increase in speed and efficiency in addition to the sustainability benefit of sucking up less energy.
More Sustainability: Paint-On Solar Cells
Many vehicles spend their day in sunlight, soaking up solar energy hour after hour, only to waste it as heat. That’s a perfect opportunity for solar panels. The idea of building solar panels into cars has sucked more than one automaker into failure, but it has gained traction with the emergence of thin film solar cells that can fit the curves of a vehicle body.
Since Mercedes-Benz is eyeballing next-level sustainability, it is not stopping at thin film. The company is aiming for solar cells that hover in a paint-able solution.
Solar paint crossed the CleanTechnica radar back in 2018, when the US Department of Energy unveiled a paint-able solar solution deploying perovskite solar cells. No word yet if perovskites are the particular solar material in Mercedes-Benz’s sights, but that would be a good guess.
The sustainability factor is strong with paint-on perovskite solar cells. They are relatively inexpensive and applicable to a wide range of surfaces. They can be deployed in high-volume, fast-throughput roll-to-roll production systems commonly in use today, or sprayed on a car as body paint, as the case may be.
“At 5 micrometers thin, these are significantly thinner than a human hair, weigh just 50 grams per square meter and are packed full of energy,” Mercedes-Benz notes. The company advises that the average German driver would be able to cover only 62% of the average daily drive with electricity from the paint-on solar cells, while Los Angeles drivers can pull off 100% with some leftover.
The Elusive Synthetic Spider Silk
Finding bio-based substitutes for petrochemical-based materials is yet another part of the sustainability plan. Mercedes-Benz has put several wheels in motion aimed at reducing if not eliminating petrochemicals from its supply chain.
The company has also leveled up the bio-based angle. Instead of using agricultural crops as feedstock for its new material, the company is deploying a silky bio-yarn made from silk proteins contributed by genetically modified bacteria.
“The synthetic spider silk has the same functional properties as conventional silk. It is 100 percent biodegradable, lightweight and very strong, making it an extremely high-performance material,” the automaker explains. For now the application is fairly modest. If you happen to catch sight of the VISION EQXX or the Concept CLA Class, look for synthetic spider silk for the grab loops and door pockets.
Mercedes-Benz is also trying to move away from the animal supply chain as well. A “realistic leather alternative made from recycled plastic and biotechnology-based materials” is in the research stage, so keep an eye out for that. Used tires and biomethane from agricultural waste are the key ingredients.
“The material is breathable, waterproof, lighter than real leather and has a reduced CO2 footprint,” explains Mercedes-Benz, “The part derived from recycled polymer can be fully recycled.”
Cleaning Up The Sustainability Loose Ends
Electric vehicles are a step in the right direction from a sustainability perspective. However, like any other vehicle they still emit tiny particles that fly off of brakes and tires. The cumulative impact from millions of vehicles is a significant concern.
Mercedes went to work on the brake problem and came up with a new kind of braking system. That is also still in the research phase, but sometime in the future you may be driving around in an electric vehicle with no brakes inside the wheels.
“Instead, [the brake] is integrated into the electric drive unit at the front or rear axle. It occupies very little space – and according to the latest research, is subject to minimal wear, doesn’t rust and is virtually maintenance-free,” the company explains, adding that there are no particles of brake material shedding from the car.
The new braking system relieves a “significant” amount of weight from the wheel and tire, potentially helping to reduce tire wear and tear as well.
The company is also launching a brand new power conversion system, aimed at increasing EV range picking up the pace of making bi-directional charging, too. The idea is to sit programmable micro-converters inside each battery cell.
“Current research shows it is possible to provide a constant HV [high voltage] output of 800 volts, regardless of the state of charge (SoC) and state of health (SoH) of the individual cells,” Mercedes-Benz notes. “The output voltage of the battery is no longer dependent on the number of cells connected in series.”
Mercedes-Benz is also attending to the big picture of sustainability, with a focus on cities. After all, what good is a sustainable car when you’re stuck in traffic?
In a press release outlining its 2040 vision (here’s that link again) the company describes how it has been developing urban plans that incorporate more park-and-rides, parks, and bike lanes along with other strategies for reducing vehicle congestion.
Hopefully they’ll take their vision to the suburbs as well. When that fleet of self-driving shuttle buses rolls down the road, I’ll be the first to hop in.
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Image (cropped): Mercedes-Benz has some new sustainability tricks up its sleeve, including bio-based materials and body paint made with solar cells (VISION EQXX courtesy of Mercedes-Benz).
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