Grant: Engage Plus Grants Program

The Erwin Hymer Group North America, Inc. (EHG), a market leading Canadian manufacturer of recreational*vehicles, recently collaborated with the research group of Dr. Jin Jiang at Western University to investigate*technological solutions for interconnecting the auxiliary power systems on board their vehicles through an*NSERC Engage partnership. These vehicles incorporate advanced power systems, including photovoltaic*arrays and lithium batteries. During this research project the need for more sophisticated models of the vehicle*auxiliary power systems and the solar and load operating profiles was identified. The proposed Engage Plus*research project will involve the development of these models and their implementation in a software*simulation tool that can be used to evaluate and visualize different vehicle operating scenarios. This capability*will allow EHG to both optimize their designs, and provide them with a quantitative visualization of the system*performance under different conditions that can be used to illustrate key features of the vehicle. Dr. Jiang's*research group has published extensively on the key topics of interest, including hybrid power management,*photovoltaics, and microgrid energy management, with both theoretical and experimental contributions, and*can therefore provide the expertise that the company is seeking. EHG recognizes that technological innovation*is a key element in maintaining their market leadership position, and has demonstrated the engineering and*production capacity to take sophisticated concepts to market. The company is supporting the project with both*cash and in-kind contributions, and will provide access to vehicles and photovoltaic/battery subsystems.*Additional research projects are anticipated to pursue additional research topics that are of interest to the*company. This collaboration will allow EHG to leverage the expertise at Western University to establish a*solid foundation for future product innovations in this area, which will ultimately contribute to increased*employment of HQP and increased export revenue flowing into the Canadian economy.