Algorithms to utilize your car as a battery

Joining Prodrive was a dream of mine ever since my first year of study. Back then I was young and green and didn’t know what I wanted to do – I just knew I wanted to work for a company that does cutting edge technology, while also being sustainable, and Prodrive fit that description perfectly. My first interview did not end successfully on the account of my lack of focus on a specific field in programming, but I was motivated, by my interviewer, to try again later when I had a clearer goal. In my third year I knew that I wanted to do Embedded Software Development and Prodrive welcomed me with open arms. I had just been introduced to Linux device drivers in university and Prodrive saw my interest in that type of development, so they gave me a task to optimize the analog-to-digital converter (or ADC) driver of Prodrive’s White-label AC Charger (WLAC). The WLAC project’s goal is to create an electric vehicle (EV) charging station, which can let electricity flow in both directions between the EV and the charger. I felt like a fish out of water as the task given to me was far more difficult than any of my experience in class, but Prodrive trusted me to get the job done and with the help of their many professionals I managed to make a better optimization than we had hoped (although it did take a bit more time than we expected).

Now, after having worked at Prodrive for a year, I have started my graduation internship on a very different topic in the field of “Smart Charging”, where I am developing an algorithm that will allow EVs to be used as batteries at home, when e.g. the electricity from the grid is too expensive. This algorithm will be part of the WLAC and it will make use of its ability to have a bidirectional flow of energy. I am very happy with the diverse possibilities given to me by Prodrive, as I believe that a variety is the spice of life, and a happy developer is a developer who has the freedom to change their work every so often (so as to not get bored).

Speaking of boredom, Prodrive enables me not to get stuck in the stale 9 to 5 workday.  With the freedom to work at any time I want, I have experimented with various schedules. At the beginning of my graduation, my days started by going to the Prodrive gym in the morning before work, trying to beat the monthly challenge set by Klaas (our personal trainer), taking a shower, and then doing research on my graduation topic with a fresh mind. As the weather became better, I started going to work earlier, so that I can exercise outside in the sun when I come back home after work.  On Wednesdays, I shake it up and run the distance between the Eindhoven Station and Prodrive, which is a perfect route, for those interested. This is made possible, by the aforementioned showers at the office!

Prodrive is a culture of its own and it makes sure that its employees are happy, while also being actively challenged. For me, the variety of life possible there is what makes it great!

Perseverance and hard work can surpass all the talent in the world

Pros and cons

• Free food

• Flexible working hours

• Work whenever, wherever

• Being challenged

• Too much freedom, which means that if you are not careful enough, you might overwork yourself