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Highlights • EVs' reliability assessment overview. • Role of the reliability and safety in the present and future EVs applications. • Failure analysis in electrical components of EVs. Abstract Using clean energy sources has contributed to various industries, especially the automotive industry. In this regard, large companies have taken a significant step in the field of renewable energy by introducing Electric Vehicles (EVs). One of the main challenges in the EVs area is evaluating the reliability and safety of these vehicles. Thus, the concept of the reliability and safety of EV's components is considered a significant issue. In general, reliability and safety assessment of important electrical components of EVs, i.e. i) the battery pack, ii) power electronic converters, and iii) the electric motor, plays a significant role in the lifetime performance of EVs' electrical system. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the reliability of EVs' components from different points of view. Also, the challenges and future perspective of EVs relating to the reliability and safety, which need to be considered have been investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we offer energy metric for evaluating the need for transformational technology in the context of resources management for sustainability. This metric measures the margin for improvement between the actual energy used and the theoretical minimum needed for the same task, irrespective of the technology considered. We first define the parameter space of sustainability metrics. Furthermore, we argue that, for any energy related sustainability study, the rate of change of the related process energy use (hence, ultimately at the lowest hierarchical level) has to be considered for a given task, not only for a given technology. Finally, we identify the margin between actual energy resources use and theoretical minimum. The paper offers, as an example, a study (at the process level) of a state-of-the-art manufacturing technology, broadly used in many applications, e.g., manufacturing of compact heat exchangers for the automotive industry. The margin between the theoretical minimum and the actual energy resources use for bonding an aluminium assembly by brazing is established. It is confirmed that the minimum theoretical energy resources needed, associated with a manufactured product, may be a number of orders of magnitude smaller than the actual energy resources used, irrespective of the technology implemented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The degradation of fossil fuels and other non-renewable energy resources are the challenges faced by current and future generations. This trend requires humans to utilize, reuse, and transform energy efficiently, for the right applications and with the right timing. The low-grade heat from industry, automobiles and the sun could be used/reused to drive a liquid absorption system and solid adsorption system. Then, the absorption and adsorption system could provide refrigeration, dehumidification and heating owing to the proper utilization of low-grade heat at 60–90°C. The reuse of low-grade heat would reduce the heat pollution to the environment and avoid/minimize the consumption of fossil energy to drive the absorption and adsorption system. In this paper, the absorption and adsorption system are differentiated and categorized by the source of heat energy and its applications. The three main topics discussed are absorption, adsorption, and dehumidification. The individual working mechanism of each absorption and adsorption system is described thoroughly. This paper provides insights into innovative ways for how these systems could be constructed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Given the self-declared energy and environmental protection objectives of many car manufacturers responsible companies must use energy-efficient production technologies. The running costs of production sites are a decisive factor in the overhead of automotive production. Therefore, it is important for many operators to reduce those costs in a sustainable way. For this purpose, they attempt to reduce both the energy consumption costs and CO 2 emissions of production systems. However, most components of the energy costs are determined during the very early phases of the product creation process. To achieve an estimation of the energy consumption in this early planning stage, a new suitable forecasting method is required. Therefore, this paper presents an approach for determining the prospective energy consumption by using Methods-Energy Measurement combined with defined energy reference cycles for manufacturing technologies. With this approach, key performance indicators are defined, and the production technologies are divided into basic energy consumers. The average energy values will be determined empirically by using the defined energy reference cycles. With these data, the energy demands for different scenarios are calculated. Thereby, it is possible to estimate the potential energy consumption of complex manufacturing cells. The designed method is validated within a case study of a modern automotive body shop. In summary, the approach contributes to identify and realize sustainable solutions in advance and thus increase the profitability of a factory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]