What was your original motivation to become a researcher/project manager?
I studied Physics and did a PhD in cancer research because I wanted to apply scientific results to create tools to improve people’s lives. My interdisciplinary experience, there and later at ABB Corporate Research, showed me that coordinated interdisciplinary teams are needed to tackle the challenges of many concrete applications, and this prompted me to focus on R&D project management.
What is your (main) research area today?
I coordinate ABB E-mobility’s publicly funded research projects. On the technical side, I am particularly interested in understanding the needs and requirements of end users and other actors in the systems around ABB’s products, especially in the field of truck fleets and megawatt charging.
What is the main focus of your team in ZEFES?
ABB E-Mobility’s R&D teams are developing a Megawatt Charging System electric truck charger demonstrator and to get it operational at several demonstration sites. After the ZEFES demonstrations, this demonstrator will be turned into a commercial product for mainstream utilization.
From all your activities within the project, what are you the most proud of/keen to share with the public?
I strongly believe that the future of electric trucks in Europe is battery electric, and I am proud to contribute to making it happen. We are helping to show, in real-world applications with real goods on the road, that a wide variety of transport tasks in Europe are electrifiable with today’s technology. ZEFES will help to ensure that end-user needs are well-considered in the upcoming solutions.
How do you expect the ZEFES results will impact your organisation and the transport sector in Europe?
ZEFES will help to minimize need for compromise in logistics operations with the shift to electromobility. We hope to demonstrate not only feasibility, but also a potential lower total cost of ownership for electric trucks than today’s diesel trucks. This will enable a fast ramp-up of electrified road transport, for which ABB E-mobility will continue to develop, manufacture and deliver charging infrastructure.
