New-Tech Europe Magazine | Q2 2023

heavy-duty vehicles in industrial transports and long-haul freight, or air traffic can be electrified. “What role does hydrogen play? How can we ensure the performance, energy efficiency and safety of batteries and electric vehicles? As a Research Professor, I hope to be able to answer these questions as well, and to see solutions applied more boldly in practice. At VTT, we are currently developing, for example, the energy and heat management of electric vehicles, cheap two-way user-driven charging devices and fast high-power charging for heavy-duty vehicle applications,” Pihlatie says. He points out that it is also important to support the green and digital transitions of transport in society and to outline the steering policy instruments in taxation and various incentive schemes. “This is particularly important in areas of transport where change is only just beginning. Cities could also play a larger role as pioneers. They may consider paving the way for alternative energy and charging infrastructure in land use planning and require that at least publicly procured services use zero-emission vehicles.” Despite these cautions, Hughes and her team conclude, based on their experience, that LLMs have great potential to be a force for good,

researcher at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU). In 2010, Pihlatie was involved in launching national applied battery research. VTT's research on electric transport aims to support the green transition of transport, creating new innovations and applying them. In electric transport research, Pihlatie calls for cooperation between research and industry. “From the point of view of industrialisation of innovations, it is essential that top research is combined with suitable partners at a sufficiently early stage. This enables us to consider the needs and requirements of end users in the development phase of innovations. If we want to have significant influence, we need to be able to create ecosystems that connect different parties at least at European level,” Pihlatie says. “Extensive expertise and systematic innovation are required so that electric solutions can become more widespread in transport. Mikko Pihlatie has been doing research on electrifying transport for a long time, and he strengthens VTT's role as an innovator in the field both nationally and internationally,” Aalto says. Cities have the opportunity to lead the way The future of electrification of transport is full of opportunities. Pihlatie reflects on how extensively

Mikko Pihlatie, VTT's new Research Professor

Ari Aalto, Vice President of VTT's Mobility and Transport research area

if well managed: “The robotics community must therefore identify how to leverage these powerful tools to accelerate the advancement of robots in an ethical, sustainable, and socially empowering way.”

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