Pretoria, South Africa – 23 May 2024: JLR has signed a multi-year deal to use Fortescue’s advanced battery intelligence software, Elysia, in its next-generation electric vehicles. The software will help enhance JLR’s luxury vehicles with improved battery longevity, safety, and performance.
Starting with the new Range Rover Electric, launching later this year, Fortescue’s Elysia software will monitor all future JLR EVs. This will help to give clients a better ownership experience with faster charging, improved reliability, and increased range.
Monitoring battery health throughout its life will support sustainability by making it easier to transition batteries from electric vehicles to second-life applications.
Fortescue’s innovative software uses physics-informed digital twins and probabilistic artificial intelligence to identify and solve battery issues, helping JLR optimise battery performance and safety for clients.
This collaboration is part of JLR’s Reimagine strategy to electrify all its brands by 2030 and achieve carbon net zero by 2039. Fortescue has its own ambitious decarbonisation goals, including eliminating emissions from its operations by 2030 (Scope 1 & 2).
Thomas Mueller, Executive Director, Product Engineering at JLR, said: “Fortescue’s technology will provide JLR with even greater access to data analytics, integral as we electrify our entire vehicle portfolio by 2030. As the industry transitions towards electrification, collaborations such as these are paramount, as we look to further enhance the safety, performance and lifetime of our batteries.”
Mark Hutchinson, Fortescue CEO, said: “This collaboration showcases the very best of cutting-edge innovation and engineering. Through Fortescue’s breakthrough battery intelligence software, JLR will benefit from a new level of access to battery data and a revolutionary way to monitor its products in the real world, ensuring that every product lives up to the brand’s exceptionally high standards. The lessons and innovations we have both learned from motorsport are now being applied to the management of battery systems on our roads, unlocking a leading future of EV performance for JLR’s customers.”
This strategic collaboration allows JLR to gain detailed insights into battery conditions, offering specific recommendations to improve performance through software updates.
Collaborations like this are key to JLR’s Reimagine strategy. In December 2023, JLR partnered with Tata Communications to connect 128 global sites with advanced digital capabilities, supporting JLR’s vision of modern luxury and sustainability.
Hog Butcher
James Endersby has grown research and insights agency, Opinium Research, from a small London start-up to an international insight agency with clients all over the world, including South Africa. His business grew 50 percent last year, and won an international research award for its work with the London School of Economics measuring democratic engagement around the world. Endersby helps build better futures for children from the poorest countries in the world in his postition as Interim Chairman for Street Kids International.