Mexico City, MX
Race 5 - Feb 29, 2020
ABB Formula E Championship Showcases E-Mobility’s Benefits in Mexico City
The thin air of Mexico City offers an ideal chance to demonstrate the benefits of electric propulsion. Unlike the internal-combustion engines that drive most race series, the motors that push Formula E cars to top speeds of 280 km/h (174 mph) are unaffected by the elevation, though the reduced air density does bring different challenges. For example, the team engineers must compensate for reduced cooling of the batteries as well as some loss of aerodynamic downforce.
Formula E drivers, meanwhile, will face a revised track layout this year that uses more of the historic Formula 1 track. A longer course helps to put the newer drivers in the 24-car grid on more equal footing, and the elimination of a chicane is designed to improve the competition.
Keeping battery temperatures under control, which proved to be a crucial factor in the outcome in the blast-furnace conditions of the Santiago race, will again be a key issue in the heat of Mexico City battle. Energy management, which is a core competency of ABB in industrial applications, will also be vital. Lucas di Grassi of Audi Sport won last year’s race in the final few yards with a quick-reaction pass of top qualifier Pascal Wehrlein, whose battery charge was exhausted.
Coming into Mexico City with the drivers’ points lead is Stoffel Vandoorne of the Mercedes-Benz EQ team, ahead of BMW iAndretti Motorsport driver Alex Sims. In the team standings, BMW have moved to the top position, swapping places with Mercedes-Benz.
ABB’s engineering innovation is evident on a wide scale throughout Mexico, supplying technology for the country’s ambitious efforts to meet 35 per cent of its energy needs from renewable sources by 2024. At the Pier 220 MW wind farm in the Puebla state, ABB Static Compensator equipment will enable the power utility to integrate the wind farm with the national grid, supplying efficient, reliable electricity to households in the area. Within the Mexican capital, ABB has provided switchgear to upgrade the 70-year-old electrical infrastructure of the Paseo de la Reforma, a stately boulevard known as the city’s front door.
Adding to the excitement in Mexico City is the return of the Jaguar I-Pace eTROPHY support race. The 10-round series, which puts race-prepared versions of Jaguar’s fully electric I-Pace production SUVs on the track, takes advantage of ABB’s market leadership in EV fast charging to assure peak battery performance through the rigors of practice, qualifying and 25-minute race.
It’s a considerable undertaking: the chargers carried to each race are 50 kilowatt DC units, internally identical to the Terra 53 model though repackaged to fit the cargo hold of the airplanes that take the racecars to each event. And like the 13,000 ABB DC fast chargers in more than 80 countries across the globe, they are sophisticated tools.
Charging lithium ion battery packs, whether for competition use or everyday consumer applications, requires a high level of data communication to assure peak performance and optimum durability. Besides the charging current, the pins of the conventional CCS 2 plug carry a stream of digital signals to assure proper electrical grounding, appropriate voltage level and a Proximity Pilot function, which prevents the vehicle from inadvertently driving off while plugged in.
Like the situation with road EVs, computer controls aboard the racing I-Pace racecars take the lead in the charging process by monitoring air and battery temperature as well as the state of charge. This information is communicated to the ABB charger to adjust accordingly, including slowing down the rate as the battery nears full charge. The process has been likened to filling up a theater with people: seats are easy to find at first, but as the theater fills, the process slows down.
The Mexico City race will also showcase the new relationship of ABB and the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team, a pact formed to advance e-mobility together. This exclusive partnership, part of a multi-level agreement announced in January, underlines Porsche’s Mission E strategy, which includes an investment of 6 billion euros toward e-mobility by 2022. Porsche Motorsport is in its inaugural year of racing in the ABB FIA Formula E Championship, while ABB is in its third year as title partner of the global race series.
ABB and Porsche have already entered into an agreement to install fast chargers at Porsche Centers and public facilities across Japan. In addition, the Swiss ABB Formula E Ambassador Simona De Silvestro is the test and development driver for the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team.
The Pioneers
A video series from ABB
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