COVER FEATURE ELECTRIC VEHICLES
the vehicle.
To be successful in this space
OEMs will need to develop an
extensive supplier ecosystem in which
SMEs and start-ups will have an
important role.
“It’s critical and for most it’s the
‘new reality’,” says Price. “Today, it’s
at the heart of most business models
within the automotive sector. For
example, IRP Systems is working with
a number of large industry partners
to co-develop systems that can be
developed into their platforms.”
To be successful Price suggests
that it will require new sets of skills
and better understanding between
nimble specialists and larger more
established players.
“Companies will need to change
the way they work and engage. For
sure, some will be more successful
than others. There is a need for
collaboration in order to integrate new
technologies and to bring products to
market more quickly.”
Price has a word or warning,
however. “You can come up with a
great, innovative solution but if it is
hard to commercialise it simply will
not happen. In this space it’s not
all about innovation, or performance
improvements. You need to think how
you will integrate new technology into
a traditional production line and then
whether you can scale it up.”
“SMEs need to focus on
manufacturability and testability
and there needs to be much greater
awareness of the requirements
associated with later production
stages.”
According to Power, there is still a
challenge connecting larger rms with
smaller companies.
“There should be more
collaboration, rather than large
companies liking an idea and then
acquiring the SME, in order to own it/
claim it as their own.
“Larger companies tend to do
their own thing, but while there are
government schemes aimed at
pulling SMEs and automotive rms
together there is still a gap, there
is an opportunity for SMEs to use
accelerator models, government
Innovate UK schemes, or open idea
competitions even, to target large
companies with their ideas.”
ByteSnap recently worked as
part of a consortium on VIGIL, a
project that was part-funded through
a technology drive by the British
Government to encourage low
emission transport solutions.
“The project saw ByteSnap develop
V2G charge-posts to manage
EV/building energy dispatch and
ensure distribution network limits
are not exceeded,” says Power.
“Following on from that project, and in
response to increasing demand for our
expertise in EV charging projects over
the last 12 months, we are launching
a new division called Versinetic,
which will focus on the EV charging
infrastructure.”
Changing supply chains
In the coming years OEM’s and Tier
1 automotive suppliers will have
an enormous opportunity with the
development of EVs and autonomous
vehicles, but there are signi cant
challenges in particular from new
competitors such as the large
technology companies, who may
weaken traditional supply chains by
simply doing things differently and new
electric vehicle start-ups, that while
opening up new markets could end up
by-passing them completely.
“It’s hard to get into an automotive
manufacturing supply chain,”
says Power. “SMEs designing and
developing technology for EVs such as
charging infrastructure do not really t
into the automotive supply chain but
rather predominately use industrial
and commercial parts. SMEs may
gain entry to non-safety critical supply
chains as there are lower standards,
providing an easier “in”.”
There is a growing shift from petrolde
ned supply chains (and cars with
lots of mechanical parts on them) to
electronic supply chains.
“EV cars are computers on
wheels,” says Power, “and an EV
has 10% of the moving parts of a
petrol vehicle. This means component
manufacturers will bene t from rising
EV sales. It also means that scaling of
supply is required in many areas.”
Price thinks that is plenty of room
for new players, especially very small
start-ups interacting with large OEMs.
“When it comes to the supply chain
we are seeing the tectonic plates
shifting,” she believes. “I don’t believe
there is simply one entry point and I
think there are plenty of opportunities
for start-ups and SMEs.”
In Europe governments are looking
to promote greater sustainability
and greener polices and to achieve
that they need to improve the
competitiveness of the automotive
industry.
By supporting small and medium
enterprise (SME) development it will
be possible to achieve both economic
growth and reduce emissions but that
will require changes in established
relationships within the automotive
supply chain. For SMEs, which are
more capable of developing those
technologies, they will have a critical
role to play in the reshaping of this
new EV based automotive value chain.
But if they are to deliver then
SMEs and start-ups will need more
support whether that’s protecting their
technology, establishing relationships
or obtaining the funding they need for
future investments.
“The shift to
electrifi cation
has enabled so
many changes
to be made to
the platform, the
value chain and
the usage model
– it has disrupted
everything and
accelerated the
adoption of new
technologies
and stimulated
innovation.”
Moran Price
Below: The grid
infrastructure for EVs
will provide many
opportunities for
SMEs
14 22 September 2020 www.newelectronics.co.uk
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