Systems Engineering – A Key Approach to Transportation Electrification 2024-26-0128

The automotive industry has seen accelerating demand for electrified transportation. While the complexity of conventional ICE vehicles has increased, the powertrain still largely consists of a mechanical system. In contrast, vehicle architectures in electrified transportation are a complex integration of power electronics, batteries, control units, and software. This shift in system architecture impacts the entire organization during new product development, with increased focus on high power electronic components, energy management strategies, and complex algorithm development. Additionally, product development impact extends beyond the vehicle and impacts charging networks, electrical infrastructure, and communication protocols. The complex interaction between systems has a significant impact on vehicle safety, development timeline, scope, and cost. A systems engineering approach, with emphasis on requirements definition and traceability, helps ensure decomposition of top level requirement for subsystem development as well as compatibility between systems. This paper addresses common methodologies and tools within the systems engineering discipline to overcome integration complexity for the E-Mobility sector. Focal points of the systems engineering discipline, including architecture, requirement definition, and integration, are examined in the context of overall product lifecycle. Impact on functional safety is a key consideration, which is integrated into every phase of product development in accordance with ISO 26262. Systems engineering is an essential role for integration of subsystem and component level activities into a coherent framework using the V-model for product development.