Last year, the National Centre for Research and Development (NCBR) selected four companies that advanced to the key stage of the E-VAN program, which aims to support the production of modern Polish delivery vehicles. The company Innovation AG, which has been working on the development of electric vehicles for several years as part of the Zgorzelec Energy Efficiency Cluster, received the highest score at that time. On January 26 of this year, the second stage of the project concluded, resulting in two companies finally preparing vehicle prototypes (one electric and one hydrogen-powered).
The vehicles developed under the program are expected to have a payload capacity of at least 1 ton and a range of 250 km on a single charge (for the battery-powered version) or 400 km (for the vehicle with a hydrogen fuel cell – FCEV).
Over a dozen companies and consortia from all over Poland were interested in the E-VAN project. They were required to present an initial technical and business concept, prove they possess research and development potential, demonstrate the ability to design a vehicle meeting the competition’s requirements, and deliver key components. Today, the completed documentation, on the basis of which the first vehicles will be built, is already on the table at the National Centre for Research and Development.
The winning company, Innovation AG, declared a vehicle range on a single charge that exceeds the NCBR requirements. This will be achieved through the very high efficiency of all vehicle components. The documentation submitted on Wednesday confirms the company’s earlier assumptions.
According to it, the Zgorzelec project consists of nearly 5,000 parts, 2/3 of which come from Polish suppliers. It is worth emphasizing that the modern and attractive design of the van is also the work of a Polish design office. The E-van by Innovation AG will be a new, proprietary production, equipped with one of the world’s most modern electric vehicle management systems and a unique kinetic energy recovery system. The vehicle will also feature a proprietary heat management system, taking into account driver comfort and low energy consumption, based on a heat pump. The Zgorzelec project involves the use of modern carbon composites, thanks to which the vehicle will weigh only 2.3 tons, which is a very good result for an electric delivery van.
– The E-VAN designed by Innovation AG has as much as 70% “local content”. It is worth emphasizing this, because unlike other ideas for a national electric car, ours has a chance to be a truly Polish construction. We have designed a completely new car, with our own frame, our own cabin, and our own suspension. Our engineers also developed a proprietary vehicle management system. You could say that a Polish startup with a rally and cluster background, with the support of the NCBR, has created a project ready for commercialization. We have conducted a series of tests and research on the main technologies that will allow for the construction of a factory based on Polish technical thought. In the case of the E-VAN, the process is progressing much faster than with Izera. I will add that Innovation AG already has many projects related to electromobility and eco-conversion behind it, carried out for market giants. Our vehicles have already covered hundreds of thousands of kilometers. – comments Albert Gryszczuk, CEO of Innovation AG.