PARASOL will create a long-lasting, multidisciplinary, academic-industrial network for doctoral training, with leading European industry and academia, to achieve a breakthrough in the design of innovative shielding solutions for mobility where the SSbD approach has been managed at its core: for cars, trains, planes, and ships.

PARASOL has societal challenges (SCs) and technology challenges (TCs) as shown in Fig 1.1c., which result in 4 S/T Work Packages (WPs) to be addressed within the context of the research and training program. A detailed description of the SCs and TCs is provided below. We will ensure that these goals are achieved by following the early KPI classifications provided by the chemical industry. PARASOL aims to enable better decision-making and more robust strategies for mobility and increase the growth rate of more sustainable and better-performing products.

SC1: To ensure safe and sustainable journeys that have the minimum impact on our environment

We must assess the impact of shielding solutions on our environment over their complete lifecycle. Environmental Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) need to be merged as part of the design of our mobility solutions to ensure its circularity. Examples of these KPIs include carbon footprint, renewability, impact on our resources, our biodiversity, and ecosystems.

SC2: To enable safe and sustainable mobility for our society

The design of our transportation systems impacts on our society in terms of employment, mobility, our basic rights and needs, our health and well-being. Social KPIs are an integral part of the design of our mobility with respect to aspects such as job creation, employability, fair wages, social/employer security, product safety and the impact of mobility on our health.

SC3: To improve the sustainability of the EU market for mobility

Europe is among the largest markets for electric mobility. The sustainability of the mobility market depends on its value-chain collaboration (with transparency and information being shared between stakeholders) and the alignment of product performance with stakeholders’ requirements. Parasol will act on the Market-related KPIs.  

TC1: To define, assess and compare the KPIs of the SSbD approach for shielding-design solutions

There are many missing connections between stakeholders during the lifecycle of shielding-design solutions. There is a need to build these bridges and address the development of these solutions in line with the SSbD philosophy. This is for the safety of its users, their optimized functionality, and their circularity over time to preserve our resources.

TC2: To develop the necessary tools that address specifically the technical performance and requirements of shielding solutions for mobility

The increasing amount of electronics packed into a limited space in vehicles greatly increases the chance of exposure to EMI from adjacent systems, so shielding must be employed. Whilst individual components are often shielded using off-the-shelf enclosures, custom integrated shielding offers the capability to achieve EMC at lower cost and weight. Currently the tools to accurately predict the requirements and performance of shielding in real-world scenarios are not fully mature and expensive to use. This project aims to provide tools for designers so that they can all design and optimise their shielding solutions.

TC3: To address the challenge of EMI in safety-critical scenarios

Increasing numbers of sensitive electronic systems (sensors, wireless communications, radar etc.) are being relied upon for the safe operation of vehicles. These are sensitive to interference from power electronic systems, on-board radio, radar transmitters, and high-speed electronics, so that the correct, through-life operation of shielding is vital to ensure safe operation. In this project we address these issues by considering the initial optimal design of shielding solutions, including sustainability and through-life performance.