SODA.Auto Joins Horizon Europe’s AETHER

SODA.Auto has joined AETHER, a Horizon Europe project focused on advanced thermal comfort and intelligent energy management for next-generation battery electric vehicles.

AETHER brings together 12 industrial and research partners from across Europe to develop more efficient, personalised and weather-aware thermal management for electric vehicles. The programme is coordinated by Technische Universität Ilmenau and runs from 1 June 2026 to 31 May 2029.

The project addresses one of the important challenges in electric mobility: maintaining passenger comfort and vehicle performance while reducing the energy consumed by cabin and battery thermal systems, particularly in extreme weather conditions.

AETHER will combine user-centred research, AI-supported energy management, Software-Defined Vehicle functionality and new thermal-system technologies. The consortium plans to validate its developments through virtual, hybrid and full-scale demonstrations on representative light-duty and light-commercial electric vehicle platforms.

SODA.Auto will contribute AI-native engineering, simulation and validation capabilities to support the development of intelligent climate-control systems. The work also advances SODA’s adaptive In-Vehicle AI approach, where software can understand operating conditions, respond to passenger needs and optimise vehicle behaviour in real time.

For SODA, the programme is an important opportunity to apply its engineering platform and AI capabilities within a multi-year European vehicle programme, connecting model-based development, digital twins, simulation and validation with real-world vehicle objectives.

“AETHER is closely aligned with how we see the next generation of vehicle intelligence. The vehicle should be able to understand its environment and its occupants, then continuously optimise comfort, performance and energy use through software. We are excited to contribute SODA’s AI-native engineering and validation capabilities to the consortium.”

— says Sergey Malygin, CEO of SODA.Auto.

The project is funded under Horizon Europe’s Climate, Energy and Mobility programme under Grant Agreement No. 101271390.