Trusted lifetime in operation for a circular economy

Project Information

ARCHIMEDES

Grant agreement ID: 101112295

DOI

10.3030/101112295

EC signature date 16 May 2023

Start date 1 May 2023

End date 31 July 2026

Funded under

• Digital, Industry and Space

Total cost

€ 39 219 277,56

EU contribution

€ 11 839 913,97

Coordinated by

AVL LIST GMBH
Austria

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - ARCHIMEDES (Trusted lifetime in operation for a circular economy)

Reporting period: 2024-05-01 to 2025-04-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

ARCHIMEDES addresses the critical need for reliable, long-lifetime, and high-performance electronic components and systems to support the electrification of transport, industrial applications, and resilient infrastructure in pursuit of Europe’s climate neutrality goals. With the increasing role of vehicle-to-grid interactions and the electrification of aeronautics, demands on power electronics are intensifying in terms of lifespan, performance, and reliability. To meet these challenges, the project focuses on the development and qualification of wide-bandgap (WBG) semiconductor technologies such as GaN and SiC, which offer significant advantages over traditional silicon-based components but require adapted qualification and reliability assessment methods due to differing physics of failure.

In parallel, ARCHIMEDES leverages digital modelling and digital twins to support design processes, predict ageing and fault behavior, and accelerate validation while reducing experimental costs. The project integrates these technologies into demonstrators across key domains—automotive powertrains, on-board chargers, emergency response systems, and industrial electronics—ensuring preventive maintenance, exchangeability, and extended operational life. Through cross-sector deployment and the development of robust qualification protocols, ARCHIMEDES contributes to strengthening Europe’s innovation capacity, sustainability, and industrial competitiveness in the evolving power electronics landscape.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

In the ARCHIMEDES project, significant strides were made in developing and testing advanced semiconductor technologies and electrical systems for electrified transportation. WP2 focused on GaN-based power transistors, creating a preliminary static reliability test plan aligned with mission profiles and innovative dynamic testing approaches. The automotive inverter segment (SC2.1) successfully selected key components and progressed in design and simulations, including evaluations of SiCap technology and dynamic reliability assessments of SiC devices. The powertrain and subsystems segment (SC2.2) developed a compatible electric machine concept, advanced thermal and electromagnetic evaluations, and prepared for automotive machine manufacturing. Initial work on demonstrators led to developing machine learning models for thermal imagery analysis and anomaly detection, while synergy between SC1 and SC5 facilitated joint testing and data processing for GaN-based devices.

During the second reporting period, ARCHIMEDES made significant progress across all technical work packages. WP2 advanced reliability testing of wide-bandgap (WBG) components, such as GaN and SiC, across several use cases including on-board and off-board chargers, powertrains, and industrial systems. Multiple test campaigns were conducted to identify failure mechanisms and extract ageing models, feeding simulation models in WP3. WP3 focused on creating early demonstrator models that capture electrical and thermal behaviors, laying the foundation for integrating ageing and fault mechanisms. WP6 defined mission profiles and implemented new simulation approaches for digital twins and reliability predictions, while WP5 concentrated on manufacturing and commissioning of components and preparing integration in demonstrators. WP7 established an Advisory Board and coordinated dissemination efforts including newsletters and national funding communication. Together, these activities supported the project's objectives of enabling reliable, long-lifetime power electronic systems for climate-neutral mobility and industrial applications.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The ARCHIMEDES project has significantly advanced beyond the current state of the art in several critical areas. A major outcome is the confirmation that the mission profile lifetime for electrified components exceeds traditional figures typically observed in the automotive industry. The project successfully clarified mission profiles for the aeronautic sector and completed demonstrators for robotics and sensor technologies, showcasing the adaptability and longevity of these components in varied applications. WP2 focused on unraveling the physics of failure in Wide Band Gap (WBG) components, essential for developing robust qualification protocols. This understanding enhances reliability assessment and enables the formulation of effective mitigation strategies, including Safe-Operating-Area (SoA) guidelines and derating rules, to optimize performance and extend the operational life of WBG technologies.

From a modeling perspective, the project achieved two key advancements. First, electrotechnical models were enriched with thermal dynamics, fault mechanisms, and aging characteristics, providing a more comprehensive understanding of component behavior under real-world conditions. Second, the project developed a multi-level modeling approach, linking models of varying complexity—such as integrating 3D component-level models with 0D system-level models and correlating fast microsecond-level phenomena with longer-term system behaviors over several minutes. This approach facilitates better exchanges between different tiers of the supply chain (OEMs, Tier 1, Tier 2) and allows for accurate specification of power device characteristics based on end-user requirements and the estimation of component impacts on electric vehicle functions. The validation of these models through supply chain demonstrators is expected to refine and calibrate the methodologies further.