Electric Vehicle Propulsion and Control (E-PiCo+)

The Master’s programme in Electric Vehicle Propulsion and Control (E-PiCo) welcomed its first intake of students in September 2020, under the Erasmus Mundus Joint Master label. In July 2024 the programme was renewed as E-PiCo+ for a further four cohorts from 2025-26. This two year programme (awarding 120 ECTS) offers multidisciplinary teaching in the e-mobility field. E-PiCo+ will provide technical and scientific solutions to make electric vehicles (EVs):
 

• more affordable whilst ensuring high standards of safety and reliability;
• providers of electricity in the near future;
• more accessible by transforming ICE-conventional based vehicles to EV (Retrofit).

E-PiCo+ students are thus at the forefront of the global energy transformation. The E-PiCo+ master's programme is aligned with the world's growing need for EVs (in industries, infrastructures, etc.) and trains future EV experts capable of dealing with the energy transition. The programme is fully taught in English and implies mobility within a minimum of two countries among 4 EU and 1 non-EU institutions.

E-PiCo+ Consortium Partners

E-PiCo+ is an integrated Master’s course designed and conducted by 5 partner institutions sharing a common vision of e-mobility:

• Centrale Nantes, France
• Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Germany,
• Università degli Studi dell’Aquila, Italy
• National University of Science and Technology Politehnica Bucharest, Romania
• Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional (CINVESTAV), Mexico

Watch the Campus France Replay

During the first semester at Centrale Nantes, the E-PiCo+ programme provides basic knowledge on automatic control, signal processing, embedded systems and electric vehicles (fundamentals, modeling and simulation) with a focus on hybrid e-mobility-based hydrogen-battery storage system issues; other types of electric machines and power converters. Demonstrations and experiments on reduced and scaled set-ups of EV performance will be systematically conducted. Two months of project work and research methodology will be defined within the industrial and research challenges of future e-mobility and will be presented by the students during the E-PiCo+ Winter School at the end of the semester.

During the second semester, taught in parallel at UNSTPB, CAU, UAQ and CINVESTAV, students will have common modules related to e-mobility with updates to more applications in EVs (Power electronics converters, Electrical machines and drive, Renewable energy, storage systems, Nonlinear control systems)  and 1 compulsory elective module. By offering a partly uniform programme, Semester 3 and Semester 4 can build on specific knowledge regardless of the students’ place of study during Semester 2.

During the third semester, and according to the choice of host institution (one of the five consortium partners), the student will deal with one or more of the following sectors:
 

• Control, optimisation, observation, diagnostic/prognostic and energy management issues dedicated to electric propulsion systems (Centrale Nantes).
• Battery storage systems (UNSTPB).
• Power electronics converters, fast charging stations, drives and batteries technologies (CAU).
• Embedded systems implementing advanced control laws (UAQ).
• Artificial Intelligence with applications to EVs (CINVESTAV).

The fourth semester is set aside for the Master’s Thesis. The student carries out his/her research work under the joint supervision of advisors that can be from two different consortium institutions.

Download syllabus | E-PiCo+ at Centrale Nantes

The E-PiCo+ programme is open to holders of a university degree with the equivalent of 180 ECTS credits in the European system, comprising at least three years of studies, at Bachelor of Science level, in a field related to electrical engineering such as:

• Control Systems
• Electrical Engineering
• Mechatronics (related to Control Systems and Electrical Engineering)

Applicants must have graduated before 31 July for non European students and before 30 September for European students. They must speak and write English fluently. An applicant whose native language is not English is required to pass a recognized international English test:

• TOEFL (CBT 220, PBT 550, IBT 80),
• Cambridge Advanced English Test (B or higher),
• IELTS (6.5 or higher),
• TOEIC (800)

How to apply

• Apply online: https://master-epico.ec-nantes.fr/admission/how-to-apply
• Learn more about the programme: https://master-epico.ec-nantes.fr/about

• Erasmus Mundus scholarships covering tuition fees, living expenses and travel costs are available.
• Applicants can also apply for a consortium scholarships covering part of the tuition fees.

Learn more

Although the E-PiCo+ programme relates primarily to the context of e-mobility, the concepts covered can be applied to a much wider range of other engineering and economic systems. The career prospects for E-PiCo+ graduates are therefore excellent. They can be employed in diverse industrial and economic sectors, as the courses are relevant to today’s high tech society.
 

On graduation from E-PiCo+ Master's course, the student will have acquired the following skills:

• In-depth scientific and technical knowledge of Control engineering and the skills to use this knowledge effectively.
• Capacity to work both independently and in multidisciplinary teams, interacting effectively with specialists and taking initiatives where necessary.
• Capacity to communicate effectively (through both written and oral presentations) in an international context,
• Capacity to adopt the most suitable methods for the problem at hand and select the technological components needed to implement the proposed solution.
• Capacity to transfer high tech methodology from university to industry.

Examples of positions held by E-PiCo graduates:

• Motor Control Engineer for EV powertrain systems,
• Power Electronics Engineer for EV powertrain design,
• Firmware Engineer,
• Programmer in a wind turbine manufacturing company,
• Researcher on optimal charging strategy for Electric Vehicles and Battery Storage system