My dealer (Bílaumboð Askja) had promised that all updates have been made when my new car was delivered. However, this proved to be partly wrong: it seems that at Kia, the head unit update is always left to the owner. So, I had to do the update on my own:
Updating the Hyundai/Kia/Genesis head unit/navigation infotainment system firmware needs to be done by the end user.
For European models, you can find the download here: https://update.kia.com/EU/E1/Main -- once you updated to a new enough firmware, future updates can even be done over-the-air (OTA) (but note that only two OTA updates might be available for free, so do not blindly agree to download and install an OTA update. But you can install the same updates via USB).
This update does not only give you new map data, but in fact, it controls many features not related to navigation (but even the salesperson of my car dealer is not aware of this), e.g. battery pre-conditioning.
A guide is available from Kia, but in principle it works by downloading an update tool to your computer that then downloads the right and latest firmware and writes it to a big enough USB storage device. You will need one with a type A connector, e.g., a USB stick (the 2022-12-07 update is 40 GB, so you need at least a 64 GB storage device: it will be formatted by the update tool) that you can then plug into your car's USB A port. A YouTube video of that procedure is here:
However, the Kia web page provides only downloads of an update tool for MS Windows and Apple Mac. Trying to download it via a web browser from Linux gives an error. I guess, some Javascript checks the operating system string in your web browser Id. I did not check the Javascript. Later I read that using Wine should work to run the update tool and then let that tool download the files and then use Linux to copy these files (all those files inside directory EV6_MY_22_EI) to the root of the USB key) -- but I did not yet try that.
I therefore decided to use a virtual machine running MS Windows. The steps are as follows (depending on your download speed, expect: 1 h for downloading the MS Windows image, 1 h for downloading the new firmware image, 1 h for writing the firmware image to the USB key, 1 h for the update in the car itself):
Download & install VirtualBox (via your Linux operating system's packet manager or by download from https://www.virtualbox.org/ )
Download & install (via packet manager or download) the VirtualBox extensions pack for making the USB port available in the Windows VM (typically requires to reboot your Linux system to make this work: I guess some kernel modules are involved that do not get automatically inserted during installation, but only after re-boot)
Import that VM image into VirtualBox: take care to have the virtual file system partition big enough for the download, i.e. have 40 to 64 GB free in addition to the MS Windows installation itself.
Plug your USB key in, don't mount it in Linux and configure VirtualBox to access it: see here
After starting the VM with MS Windows 10, log in via the password "Passw0rd!". In the File Explorer, you should see the USB key as drive letter D:
Starting from here, the steps are the same as for any MS Windows user:
Start the downloaded updater (I did start it as administrator to make sure that the access to the USB key works)
Select then your car type in order to download the right firmware (as this is a huge download, this will take time -- if you do not have enough space, the downloader will complain. The good thing about a VM is that you can easily increase the size of the VM file system)
Finally, the updater will write the downloaded firmware to the USB key (which will again take time -- note: it might be that you Windows VM shuts down automatically after writing to the USB key has finished)
Plug the USB key into your car (the "main" USB port, i.e. the USB A type one that you use also for Android Auto/Apple Car play -- all other ports, i.e. the USB type C ones, are typically no data ports, i.e. power only)
Typically, the car recognises that there is an update on the USB stick and open some prompt to start the update. If not, on the car screen, go to "Settings", "General", "Version info/update" and click "Update". Follow the prompt on the screen. The car will first check the download on the USB key (takes ca. 10 minutes): so you do not need to worry that anything with the download or writing to the USB could have gone wrong, because the car checks that anyway.
The update should now be running (either after switching off the car or you can choose to do this while the car is on -- but then, you cannot use the head unit while driving). It takes a while, so take care that the 12 V battery is full (some even recommend to have a 12 V charger connected for any firmware update) or leave the car's gear in P mode or enable the car's utility mode (which ensures to charge the 12 V battery even if the car is not in drive mode, but in fact if and only if not in drive, i.e. it also prevents that your car accidentally drives or roles away).
Firmware and map versions before the update (compare with the versions after the update, shown below)
Version numbers displayed after the Dec 2022 update
June 2023 (230517) update bringing charging planning as part of route planning.
October/November 2023 update that was supposed to bring state of charge percentage estimates for arrival at chargers -- while this happened for the IONIQ 5 and EV6 in America, this is not the case for the European EV6. But this seemed to be a server-side thing, so that is now available.
Applied firmware updates that only the dealer could do:
SA533 "VCU Software Upgrade for i-Pedal Operation" did update the VCU version from, e.g., 5.10 to 5.12.
Service Campaign SC271 ICCU update did update the firmware of "4WD #1 / OnBoard Charger (Hybrid/EV)" from Manufacturer ECU software number: ECV1E1-IES05R000 to Manufacturer ECU software number: ECV1E3-IES12R000
No need to have the firmware fix for the Kia recall SC236 for the parking brake applied (according to CarScanner OBD, my ECU GSM-GearShiftCtrl had already the Calibration ID: ECV1XXXXXAE19XS2 -- which means the fix has been applied).
While I did not find many tests on EV-specific tyres (EVs are heavier and have more torque and as EV are silent, EV tyres should be silent as well, and they claim to have reduced rolling resistance to increase range; I as a layman would think that they have less grip -- I found a test from 2019 (in German) that confirms this and also points to problems with aquaplaning), I found a very interesting video showing that winter-biased all seasons tyres might be not that bad for the Reykjavík area -- while Nordic winter tyres excel on ice and snow, they are really bad in wet and dry conditions (even when cold). This test confirms also claims that summer tyres are good even in cold conditions, but only as long as it is dry -- which you should of course not rely on in winter.
While a car with a combustion engine charges its 12 V battery via an alternator, electric vehicles (EVs) have a DC-DC converter to step down the 400 V or 800 V from the drive battery to charge the 12 V battery. This is done when the car is switched on (because then, a lot of electronic control units (ECUs) drain the 12 V battery), but also when the car is switched off while charging the drive battery (while only a few ECUs need to be active to control the charging, charging the drive battery can take many hours which could drain the 12 V battery even with the few active ECUs). Typically, even when the EV is completely switched off (which includes that the drive battery is disconnected for safety reasons), it wakes up occasionally and checks the voltage of the 12 V battery and charges it if necessary (by connecting the drive battery for the DC-DC converter). Problems can occur if the car is switched off, but you still do something that prevents the ECUs from sleeping, e.g. have the trunk door open for loading/unloading the car. So try to keep this short, otherwise the 12 V battery is dead after a few hours.
Also, when the drive battery is reaching a low (20% for the Kia EV6, 10% after the 2023 ICCU firmware update, at least for the ICCU in the US, not sure whether this applies globally) state of charge (SOC), the 12 V may not get charged anymore (to protect the expensive drive battery from getting deep-discharged -- it is cheaper to replace a 12 V battery than a drive battery. Anecdote: the early Tesla Roadsters had no 12 V battery but were constantly draining the drive battery by having the DC-DC converter on all the time, thus depleting the drive battery. Finally, Tesla added the 12 V battery.). So avoid, e.g., driving to the airport leaving only minimal juice in the drive battery, because if you park then the car while you are in vacation, the car will not charge the 12 V battery.
How can you find out when the DC-DC charging is going on: you may be tempted to use a voltmeter (you will measure 14 V during DC-DC charging), but some cars (this seems to be the case for Kia EV6) do not charge the 12 V battery while the bonnet is open (to avoid any interference of the 14 V DC-DC voltage with what you are doing, e.g. trickle charging the 12 V battery). Important: even for a simple thing such as exchanging a 12 V battery, you might want to disable the high-voltage drive battery. In the Kia EV6, this is very easy: in the fuse box below the bonnet, there is a fuse-like cut-off switch that you can easily pull.
To show that the drive battery is activated even though the car is off, some cars have a light (e.g. the Hyundai Kona or even the US version of the EV6), but the European EV6 seems not to have such an indicator (while there is a bulb in the middle of the dashboard where the US versions are reported to have a light, this seems to be unused in the European versions). For the IONIQ5, it is claimed that open front vents indicate DC-DC charging and I have the feeling that this is also the case as well for my EV6 (when charging a lead-acid battery, hydrogen can emerge and opening the front vents may help to dilute the hydrogen to reduce the danger of explosions).
But there are also defects that can drain the battery, e.g., for the Hyundai IONIQ 5, it is well documented that the charge door module has often defects that prevent some ECUs to go to sleep (or the charge door ECU itself is defect). As a result, you find many reports of people who encounter a dead car in the morning.
EV6
But the case here is different: the car is alive, but still does not charge the 12 V battery: while the 12 V battery voltage is low, it has not yet been fully drained, i.e. it is possible to start the car: the car should then notice that it has to charge the 12 V battery, but due to some defect, it does not do so.
Update: A year later, I know now that the Integrated Charging Control Unit (ICCU) and a related fuse were damaged. In some cases, only parts of the ICCU are damaged and it is not possible to charge the car via AC, but DC fast charging is still possible and the DC-DC 12 V charging still works as well. In my case, in addition some fuse was blown which leads then to the 12 V battery not being charged and drive-train issues. I has to be noted that the car was brand new, so no real wear can have occurred, yet. In my case, it seems that there was a coolant leakage inside the ICCU thus submerging the electronics in coolant resulting in high currents that make the fuse (that is external to the ICCU) blow.
This is from a brand new Kia EV6 (84 km driven, bought 3 days ago) that has a problem that manifests among others with a 12 V battery that is not charged by the drive battery via the DC-DC converter (and also warnings concerning the drive electrics and switching to turtle mode -- it is hard to say whether these warnings are a symptom of the 12 V battery low voltage or whether that fact that it does not DC-DC charge the 12 V battery voltage is a symptom of a more severe failure to which the drive electrics warning and turtle mode refer to). After switching the car on, everything was normal except a message popping up: "Check electric vehicle system", followed later by a "Stop vehicle and check power supply" (complaining about a low 12 V battery) and "Power limited" (turtle mode). But as the car is switched on (into ready mode), it should charge the 12 V battery using the DC-DC converter. I tried also AC charging the drive battery (which should also lead to charging the 12 V battery), but after one minute, the AC charging of the drive battery gets aborted by the car. I then switched the car off, hoping that it sooner or later periodically checks the 12 V battery and charges it -- but this did neither work (instead, the battery is dead now: following 7.5 V, it is now down to 3 to 4 V which means the 12 V battery is now deep-discharged, i.e. damaged and needs to be replaced -- but this of course only makes sense after the root cause of the problem has been fixed, e.g. a broken DC-DC converter or a broken ECU or simply some missing update of a buggy firmware -- but the car dealer promised me that all firmware updates have been applied when I pointed out that I am paying the model year 23 price for a model year 22 car that is shipped with ECUs firmwares that are not as new as the model year 23 firmwares).
I have documented this in a video where you see first how the AC charging gets aborted after one minute (no charging limit was active and the SOC was 67%, i.e. it should have charged up to 100%):
Another explanation for any erratic behaviour could be a special fuse that is used when shipping cars: it is pulled to make the car drain the 12 V battery as little as possible during transport. If it is then not properly pushed in by the receiving dealership, the car can behave very strange. But in fact, the EV6 did behave normal during the first two days, so this is not very likely (and I do not know whether the EV6 has such a fuse at all).
12 V battery: produced 27-06-2022, killed 3-12-2022 by a faulty KIA EV6.
Bílaumboðið Askja -- four days to come with a tow truck
3-12-2022 and 4-12-2022:
As it was a weekend, I wrote on 3-12-2022 my car dealer at the dealership Bílaumboðið Askja (official Kia importer in Iceland) an email about the problem. Also, I used on 4-12-2022 the web form that Bílaumboðið Askja suggests to use outside opening hours in those cases where the road-side service cannot help (the road-side service would come with a battery jump start booster pack, but it is clear that jump starting alone would not help) and I asked Askja to call back.
Let's hope, the Kia service can find the root cause of the problem (but: when they mounted winter wheels, they filled the tyres with a too low pressure: 29 PSI; also for these rims, the document of approval states that the vehicle owner needs to be notified to check after 50 km the torque of the wheel studs/bolts of the winter rims, which they did not do -- maybe they are not got at these basics, but very good in EV diagnostics).
Update 5-12-2022: I was too optimistic with the Kia service at Askja -- I should have written :"Let's hope that the Kia service reacts." My first contact was 3-12-2022 with the salesperson of Askja (as the seller is the one who is in charge (pun intended) of warranty and in fact the warranty conditions recommend to contact the seller). That salesperson at least answered 5-12-2022 and claimed that their service will contact me. (As written above, I had in fact already contacted Kia service in the way they recommend on their web page, namely via a web form, on 4-12-2022 and asked them to call back -- but as of 5-12-2022, Askja service did not even call back.) When I pointed out to that salesperson that the service did in fact not contact me, that salesperson simply stopped answering my emails. (From that point I assumed that any electronic communication with the Kia staff is hopeless.)
Update 6-12-2022: Still no answer from KIA service. So, I finally drove to the KIA dealership (luckily, I have a Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV -- a very reliable car that never let me down -- and its 5 year old 360 degree camera is in fact better stitching the camera images together than the EV6 360 degree camera). I saw then there the salesperson who does not answer my emails sitting bored at his desk, so I considered it pointless to talk to that person and went instead to the service desk. When I pointed out, that they do not answer my service request, they claimed, I used the wrong web form (well, it was the one that they recommend to use on their web page, i.e. they do not know their own web page). But at least, they promised to fetch the car tomorrow (why not today?). I also handed them over a signed letter requesting free warranty service with a deadline to fix the problem within two weeks (I did send that one already as email to the salesperson from whom I bought the car, but he did not confirm having received it), maybe that helps. Ironically, I found in my email spam folder today an email where I was asked to evaluate the service of that salesperson. Update of update: Finally, they phoned me (after I have driven to Askja) and they excused for calling so late because there was a meeting in the morning -- but this does not explain why they did not call me already, e.g., the day before.
Update 7-12-2022: The tow truck now actually came (4 days after I reported the problem) after I have told on the phone that the 12 V battery is dead. But, well: to start a vehicle with a dead 12 V battery, you need a jump starter booster pack and guess what: the booster pack in the tow truck was not charged. As the DC-DC converter does not charge the 12 V battery, the booster pack needs to be permanently be connected to the dead EV6 12 V battery and while we were trying to drive the car on the ramp, the EV6 switched off as the booster pack did not have enough juice anymore. Also, as the EV6 is in turtle mode ("limited power"), the EV6 cannot even climb the tiny ramp of the tow truck, so it has to be winched up. But first, a new (=fully charged) booster pack is needed that the tow truck is fetching right now (at least: solution-oriented and some progress is made).
No juice in the jump start booster pack, no EV6 that can be put into "Neutral" to winch it up the tow truck -- tow truck drives home again to fetch a booster pack with juice
Once the tow truck came back with a charged booster pack and putting the EV6 gear setting into "Neutral", it was possible to winch up the car. Once the car had 12 V again, the DC-DC charging did still not work (despite the bonnet being closed), i.e. the reset due to the dead 12 V battery did not solve the issue (either there is some error set in the memory that needs to be cleared first or there is really a serious problem).
EV6 winched up on the tow truck -- 4 days after reporting
Let's hope the service finds the problem (and of course replaces the dead 12 V battery). Good news (finally): At least, the service seems to be working on the car: the car was fetched 14:15, and at 16:39, I received the first signs of life via the Kia Connect app.
Update 9-12-2022: After two days of repair (compare that to the four days of waiting for the tow truck), I got a call that some ECU needs to be replaced (a fuse inside that ECU has blown), but they could not tell me which ECU (maybe the Integrated Charging Control Unit (ICCU)). While they do not have it on stock, they took it from one of their EV6 that they have standing around (instead of needing to wait weeks for a replacement to be shipped) -- so that is finally good service. I have now fetched my car: it works, but they did not replace the 12 V battery, even though it can be expected that it is now damaged after having been deep discharged to 3 V -- that is bad service. (I hope when I leave the car a couple of days at, e.g., the airport, the battery is still OK once I return.)
I also had now time to check the versions of the head-unit firmware: this are old, very old (navigation app from 26-01-2022 and firmware from 07-04-2022) -- despite the Askja salesperson promising that all updates have been made. (When I bought the car, I did not know where to look up the firmware versions -- but the salesperson has to know the cars he sells, so he could have looked that up.) But as the head unit firmware can be updated by the owner, it seems to be Kia policy to update only those firmwares that only the dealer can update.
(At least, I was able to update the navigation/infotainment system firmware on my own.) At least, the firmware fix for the Kia recall SC236 for the parking brake was already applied (according to CarScanner OBD, my ECU GSM-GearShiftCtrl has the Calibration ID: ECV1XXXXXAE19XS2 -- which means the fix has been applied).
(While there is the Kia page https://eu-account.kia.com/auth/realms/eukiaidm/account/ for the Kia Connect account needed for the app, it does not list recalls. I tried also creating an account at https://www.mykia.de which knows my VIN (with a wrong warranty start, though), but assumes a German address and German dealer, so I aborted that.)
Update 15-12-2022: I was wondering what happened to my reservation deposit that I paid one year ago: Askja did not offset the reservation deposit against the buying price when I actually bought the car. Based on the above experience that Askja does not react to questions, I gave up trying to get an answer from them when and therefore rather asked in an Icelandic Facebook group other EV6 owners whether they got the deposit offset and guess what: Askja answered in the Facebook group within an hour. Also when I sent via email a complaint about the bad service to Askja, I got an answer that they want to look into this issue within a few hours. It seems that any way is better to contact Askja than the one that they recommend on their web page where they describe how to contact them in case of urgent problems. It seems, Askja really has a quality management problem.
Update 21-12-2022: I cheered to soon: concerning my 15-12-2022 email complaint about the bad service to Askja where I got within a few hours an answer that they want to look into this issue: I got on 16-12-2022 a short e-mail that they did not have time to look into the issue, but intend to do so. Since then, I did not hear anything from them.
Service mentality in Iceland
This terrible service mentality in Iceland (first, you try to contact via email: no answer, then you try to phone: they do not lift up the receiver, only after driving there and talking directly to them helps: they typically ask you then to write them an email with all the details, i.e. you go back to the first step) is due to a lack of competition: the country is so small that there are no competitors.
This terrible service mentality is also discussed in Icelandic car owners forums, and there it was claimed that this is in particular a problem with car dealers/service in the capital area and that I should next time go to some dealer and service on the country side. I regret therefore already that Bílaumboðið Askja got my money for the car. In fact, I did so far import all my cars on my own, and this was the first time that I used an Icelandic dealership -- which was obviously a mistake. But I should have known better: when I was considering buying my Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV in Iceland (to avoid the hassle of self-import), the salesperson of the Icelandic dealership Hekla was so incompetent (i.e., I knew more about the car than he), that I thought: no, they will not get my money -- I did then rather import it on my own from a competent dealer in Germany that gave me even a better price.
For sure, this was the first and the last car that I bought from Askja and I will try to avoid their service and in future rather combine the scheduled warranty inspections with a trip the countryside. One would think that a good salesperson is aware that happy customers come back and buy the next car as well with them (and potentially an even more expensive car) -- but this service thinking does simply not exist in Iceland.
Apropos thinking: there is also no understanding concerning the revolution of Vehicle-to-load (V2L) and future Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G): while in future, V2G will help to deal with peak usage, V2L allows me already now to have electricity during camping, power my fridge when there is a power outage or use a hair dryer even the charging cable is frozen in the charge port. The importer Askja ordered the cars from Kia in Korea without a 230 V socket inside the cabin (I asked the salesmen about this and they said they consider it unnecessary -- but in winter, you would need that socket exactly to power a hair dryer in case if your charge port is frozen). Also, the GT line that comes elsewhere with the V2L adapter included, does not come with such an adapter when you buy it from Askja (and of course, I will not buy that adapter from them: you can get them for half of the price elswhere).
ICCU firmware updates to prevent future ICCU defects
Update 8-11-2023: I now got Service campaign SC271 applied, i.e. a firmware update of the ICCU that hopefully prevents this from happening again. Based on CarScanner OBD ECU readings, the version numbers ("Manufacturer ECU software number") for the ICCU changed as follows:
Before SC271:
4WD #1 / OnBoard Charger (Hybrid/EV)
SW Boot ver.: NEICCU51
SW ver.: NE1A024
ECU serial number: 123456789ABCDEF
ECU part. num.: 364011XFB0
Idents string: NE1A024
Manufacturer spare part number: 364011XFB0
Manufacturer ECU software number: ECV1E1-IES05R000
ECU manufacturing date (ASCII): !
System supplier ECU hardware version: 364011XFB0
ECU manufacturing date (HEX): 20210906
Programming date (HEX): 33363430313158464230
After SC271:
4WD #1 / OnBoard Charger (Hybrid/EV)
SW Boot ver.: NEICCU51
SW ver.: NE1A037
ECU serial number: 123456789ABCDEF
ECU part. num.: 364011XFB0
Idents string: NE1A037
Manufacturer spare part number: 364011XFB0
Manufacturer ECU software number: ECV1E3-IES12R000
ECU manufacturing date (ASCII): !
System supplier ECU hardware version: 364011XFB0
ECU manufacturing date (HEX): 20210906
Programming date (HEX): 33363430313158464230
However, that software update seems to have mainly been about warning earlier about the ICCU failure after it occurred (so that you have more time to leave a busy road and drive your car to a safe sport), but not preventing it. The video below shows a paper that says in the first 10-22 minutes of ICCU failure detection, full motor power will be available and only after 21-45 minutes, some fail-safe mode (vehicle stops).
Update 21-05-2024: I now got a further ICCU firmware update (namely SC302) that aims at actually preventing ICCU failure (avoiding spikes at the end of charging, better cooling, also the 12 V battery charging pattern might have changed).
I still need to read the new SW version info via OBD.
We just established the Icelandic National Coordination Centre (NCC-IS) for Cybersecurity. It is is a common platform for cooperation in cybersecurity issues, composed of the following public entities: the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, the Icelandic Centre for Research (Rannis), the Electronic Communications Office (ECOI/Fjarskiptastofa), the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-IS), the University of Iceland (UoI), Reykjavík University (RU), and the Technology Transfer Office (TTO/Auðna tæknitorg) Iceland.
Monitor and support actions: Monitoring and contributing to progress on national cybersecurity strategy activities regarding education, research, and development.
Provide expertise and link to ECCC and NCC-Network: Ensuring contribution to and coordination with the ECCC and the Network and supporting their strategic tasks.
Manage and coordinate funding: Managing and coordinating funding from the Digital Europe Programme and Horizon Europe for cybersecurity-related projects. Encouraging and assisting civil society, industry, SMEs, and academia in participating in cybersecurity actions (e.g., cascade funding, national funding contributions, etc.).
Raise awareness and build a cybersecurity Community: Acting as a central point for the national and European cybersecurity community, disseminating relevant outcomes of the work of the NCC-IS and NCC-Network, the Community, and the ECCC at the national level.
Develop and disseminate educational programmes: Coordinating, implementing and sharing educational activities and fostering cybersecurity skill building and training (e.g. gap analysis, competence mapping).
Support research and innovation: Identifying relevant research partners, promoting and strengthening dialogue in cybersecurity research and innovation fields.
To prevent any misunderstandings: NCC-IS will not take over the job of CERT-IS (or any other party) nor is NCC-IS a Security Operation Center (SOC). NCC-IS is rather an add-on to existing activities in order to raise awareness, co-ordinate actions, and improve education and research related to Cybersecurity on national and European level.
University of Iceland is in charge of developing and disseminate educational programmes, i.e. coordinating, implementing and sharing educational activities and fostering cybersecurity skill building and training. You are welcome to contact me if you are offering, e.g., training course or are interesting in getting updates on available training.
After two years of COVID break, Vísindavaka, the Icelandic European Researchers' Night 2022 took place on 1 Oct 2022 and it was a real success: while we had 5700 visitors in 2019, we had significantly more this year: the official number is 6400 visitors, but my feeling is that this number was even higher.
The Computer Science department had a booth showcasing some of its research.
Silence before the storm:
While we still need to work on the gender diversity of the team, we had at least a diverse range of exhibits (and nationalities): from creating art using neural networks over to an industrial 3D scanner, remote sensing where satellite images are analysed, to software engineering with sketches on a touch screen, cybersecurity and our Center of Excellence RAISE.
CoE RAISE (Research on AI- and Simulation-Based Engineering at Exascale) gave a glimpse into neural networks by using a neural network that runs purely in your browser without any connection to a super computer. Simply use the camera of your smartphone (or laptop) to detect objects in real-time Just open the following web page and allow your browser to use the camera: https://nvndr.csb.app/.
(Allow a some seconds up to a minute for loading the trained model and initialisation.)
Fun fact: a toy car in the foreground and person in the background next to it is classified as a skateboard -- I guess the neural network learned that a thing with two wheels and a something classified as person on top is a skateboard (this limitation of a neural network is a good example to discuss risks and chances of AI):
In addition, the work from the Sound of Vision is given an AI twist in CoE RAISE, so we had also a 3D scanner that scans the shape of your ear in order to calculate how the shape of your ear influences how you hear from different directions.
While the following video does not cover any of our exhibits, it gives an idea of the whole event (and each year, there is a price for best science communication, and this year, University of Iceland's children's university got awarded):
After the EOSC-Nordic project's kickoff meeting was face to face in late 2019 (just before COVID pandemics), the final meeting was finally again face to face. I gave a presentation there on cross-border computing via portals:
The week after was the IEEE eScience conference, where I gave two presentations:
And another presentation at the REWORDS workshop related to the above EOSC-Nordic presentation: PPT and PDF.
When I arrived in the US, I noticed that my phone with a SIM card from Vodafone Iceland did not work. Once I had WiFi, I was able to send Vodafone Iceland an email and their answer was that there are currently issues with their roaming in the US. So prepare for a digital detox while being in the US with a SIM card from Vodafone Iceland.
Now that electric cars have a reasonable range, driving around the ring road is no issue anymore (on your own car via the ferry or via an Icelandic car rental that offer more and more electric cars). Therefore, some information for tourists (and Icelanders new to EV charging: hleðsla rafbíla) who want to use an electric vehicle (EV) in Iceland and want to know how the charging situation is. (For non-Europeans: in Europe, Type 2 plugs are the norm, so when below the term CCS is used, this refers to CCS-Type 2 fast charging plugs).
Basically, the charging infrastructure is as follows:
ON (the former Reykjavik utilities company), in some EV navigation systems also listed as part of the Fortum Charge and Drive network (not sure, whether this means that the Fortum charging app or RFID key would work): Alpitronic high-Power Hyperchargers with CCS and Chademo, some old ABB 50 kW tripple chargers, i.e. CCS, Chademo and Type 2, some Tritium Veefil 50 kW CCS and Chademo chargers (pinball machine flashback), a few old DBT 44 kW multistandard DC chargers, and AC chargers: a few with tethered Type 1 and Type 2 cables, most with the usual European Type 2 plug socket, i.e. you need your own cable.
You can spot the ON chargers easily as they are orange. For locations, see their map. They issue their own RFID charging keys, you can get them for free at some hotels or shops that are close to their chargers. The Plugsurfing key works as well (as of 2022, I can confirm that the key work, but Plugsurfing sends RFID keys/cards only to addresses in Europe) -- however, the Plugsurfing app does not work as of 2022.
For those without ON nor Plugsurfing key: ON has now a new app (Android or iOS) where you can register without having an Icelandic ID number (not tried registering without yet, though -- reports are welcome). ON has just recently added stickers with QR codes to their charging station that contain station IDs that you can scan with the ON app (tried that: works), you can also enter that station Id manually into the ON app.
In case of problems at the charging station, do not hesitate to call ON 24/7 hotline (they are very helpful), e.g., to make them reset a fast charger (I heard stories that they even started charging for you when you forgot your ON key).
Ísorka: they mainly offer owners of AC chargers to take care of the finances, i.e. while the chargers are marked Ísorka, they are not owned and operated by Ísorka. As such, the costs of AC charging are decided by the owners of each charging point. In addition, there are more and more DC fast chargers where you pay via Ísorka.
You can spot their charging station based on their blue-white logo. For locations, see their map.
You should not need an Ísorka RFID key as the Ísorka app works typically always. However, the payment works in a pre-paid way and thus you have to pre-pay 3000 ISK at the first use (via credit card) and if you charge during your Iceland vacation only for 500 ISK, you have wasted 2500 ISK. There is also a web-based payment using the QR code on the charging point which might be somewhat more expensive, but you do not need to pre-pay (never tried that, though). I read that it is also possible to register at Ísorka also other RFID cards than the Ísorka RFID key and use then that other RFID card, e.g. register the ID of your ON RFID key in order to reduce the amount of RFID key clutter.
As Ísorka is part of the Virta network, Virta-related keys and apps should work as well (not tried, though).
e1: A new contender that is -- like Ísorka -- taking care of the charging fees, i.e. the owners of the chargers decide on the price (and sometimes, the same charger can be used using e1 and, e.g., Ísorka and e1 is extremely expensive in comparison. The eONE charging app is available at Google Play and App Store. For the fast chargers in the West fjords, you will need them. Also some destination chargers all over Iceland use them. I have not tried them yet, but it seems that their app offers to register any RFID key, so that you cannot only use their app, but also an RFID key. In general, e1 is often very expensive and in some occasions, the same fast charger can be used via another operator that is far cheaper.
N1: A gas station operator that started offering EV charging by taking over old 50 kW fast chargers from ON (when N1 terminated the rental contract based on which ON was able to set up fast chargers at N1 gas stations) and painting them in red (in Plugshare, you still find old photos from which you might be tempted that these are still chargers operated by ON).
For locations, see their map. Since 2021 and still at time of writing in 2022, some stations (e.g. Vík, Kirkjubæjarklaustur, Ísafjörður) have a golden sticker ("Frí hleðsla") stating that charging is free for a limited amount of time: welcome this, but do not rely on that it is free forever. Update 2/2023: I did not see that sticker in Vík anymore, so this free charging might be history.
Paying at N1, is done either using the N1 pre-paid card that also works for gas (and thus you can buy at the shops at N1 gas stations) or some chargers might even take ordinary credit cards: the N1 gas pumps have anyway some payment terminal where you can chose the pump and in fact also the chargers (if, e.g., the charger has some Icelandic text "Greiðsla fer fram í sjálfsala á dælu 6" this translates to pay at pump 6 where you should find a payment self-service payment terminal where you can then also pay for the charger using a credit card or an N1 card). They now have a new app and it is possible to pay with it.
I read on social media many reports of people complaining that the chargers are unreliable and when they called the N1 hotline, these reports say that this was not helpful. These people recommend to not rely on N1 chargers: they are nice to have if they work while they are taking a pee at N1, but they do not add them as reliable chargers into their route planning.
Orkan: Another gas station operator that started offering EV charging using new Kempower fast chargers. There are many ways to pay, including credit/debit cards and e1.
Of course, there is Tesla with Superchargers with Type 2 CCS: like in many other countries, they have now been opened for the general public -- but only the less frequently used ones: these are currently all except Reykjavik and Staðarskáli. Most are V3 superchargers (V3 provides up to 250kW, older ones less, typically 150 kW. EVs with an 800 V system might be slow (down to 42 kW) as Tesla Superchargers are only capable of 400 V at the time of writing). Tesla superchargers are typically slightly more expensive than other DC chargers.
You need the Tesla app for payment. Tesla also has a few destination chargers (those who do not know it: if there is only one destination charger, it is Tesla-only, but if there are more, then the others are also for non-Tesla EVs).
InstaVolt is a new operator that is offering fast chargers that can be paid just by your credit or debitcard. They have recently (11/2024) added and app, but I yet have to try that app.. They use 160 kw BYD fast chargers (i.e. the unique charging port ID of your EV is probably sent to China) and their network is expanding rapidly in particular at locations where fast chargers were badly missing.
Have a look at their map for their charging locations.
Stoppustuð: Sometimes, you find (in particular on the country-side) some purple AC chargers marked STOPPUSTUÐ. These charging points where once given by the company Orkusalan for free to, e.g., municipalities. (Some may not work at all as no one maintains them anymore.) It is up to the municipalities how much they cost, but typically, they are for free -- I did so far encounter not a single one that was not for free, but some of them show up on the Ísorka map, so maybe non-free chargers would be paid via Ísorka?
Typically, you still need whatever RFID chip (could be, e.g., you Plugsurfing key/card or anything else that has RFID) to start and then use the same RFID to end the charging session and release the charging cable. Most Stoppustuð are listed on Plugshare (which is anyway from the crowd-sourced maps the one mainly one used in Iceland).
Free destinations charging in the greater Reykjavik area at some shopping malls and IKEA: The malls Kringlan and Smáralind offer free charging at a few spots of their parking space (marked in green).
In particular IKEA has plenty of free chargers: as the IKEA restaurant is typically the cheapest (fast) food in Iceland, you can fill your car's battery with electrons and your stomach with french fries in parallel.
If your accommodation has no charger, you might still use an ICCB (in-cable control box)/Mode 2 charging cable that plugs into the Schuko socket used in Iceland for normal AC wall plugs.
But note that while officially Schuko connections are rated for up to 16 A peak currents, this applies only to short peaks: Charging several hours, e.g. overnight, with 16 A (times 230 V, i.e. approx. 3.6kW) will generate a lot of heat at the connectors and will melt your Schuko connection and can even cause fire. So, take care that you can limit charging to, e.g. 10 A (approx. 2.3 kW) or lower, and that the Schuko socket does not look totally corroded (not uncommon for outdoor connectors exposed to Icelandic weather) or any indications that the installation is very old and cannot deal with permanent high load. Good ICCB/Mode 2 charging cables have a heat sensor inside the Schuko plug to prevent such overheating, so do not use any extension cords (because then, the heat sensor is only in the Schuko plug of the ICCB, but not in the Schuko plug of the other end of the extension cord). As an example, the Tesla Universal Mobile Connector (UMC) gen 1 with Schuko plug draws 3 kW (i.e. 13 A which is for my taste not what I would consider as a safe permanent load with a Schuko plug), whereas the UMC gen 2 is very conservative and draws with Schuko plug only 8 A (1.8 kW) which I would consider safe.
In general, finding a 50 kW charger is not a problem (often, these are ABB triple chargers, where it is often possible to use Type 2 AC charging in parallel to either CHAdeMO and Type 2 CCS DC charging). Typically, there is only one 50 kW charger at each place, i.e. you may have to wait for the charger to get available.
High-Power Chargers (HPC), i.e. more than 50 kW, are now more and more being added, but the ones operated by ON come typically at least as twins, i.e. two chargers are installed at each place and these are the modular Alpitronic hyperchargers that have two or three 75 kW stack module: if one car uses only 75 kW, then you can charge another car in parallel with using the remaining module(s) (so in the best case, two Alpitronic chargers can charge four cars at the same time, but typically, the have only 2 CCS cables and 1 Chademo cable). Note that the newer Alpitronic hyperchargers even have 100 kW per stack module and these can then sub-divided to provide 50 kW to one cable and the other 50 kW to another cable.
Be warned that Icelanders travel on their EVs in particular during the weekends of the summer, i.e. Friday evening, and in particular Sunday afternoon, the chargers tend to be busy: if you plan to travel during these times, you can expect queues, i.e. try to AC charge your car overnight so that it is 100% full in order to minimise relying on fast chargers during that trip and instead of relying that it is safe to arrive with, e.g., 10% state of charge at some charger, charge rather whenever you come along a free charger (even if you still have plenty of juice in your battery). Outside of weekends, it should not be a problem to find a charger that is not busy.
As always, leaving a phone number visible in the car to be reachable while charging is a good practise.
Be warned that during winter, the chargers may not be reachable, as snow has not been cleared.
I did not cover pricing details (except that e1 can be expensive), as there is not a lot of competition (well, some companies try to compete mainly by filing complaints about the other company), but you are in the first place happy to find at all a charger.
For those coming with their EV via the ferry: finally, there is a fast charger in Seyðisfjörður: at the Kjörbuðin supermarket -- you need the Ísorka app for paying. In addition, there is an AC charging point (Stoppustöð) on the camping ground in Seyðisfjörður. To leave Seyðisfjörður, your car has to climb a mountain pass to reach Egilstaðir. In Egilstaðir, the situation has improved a lot: in addition to N1 and Tesla, now also Atlantsolia gas station offer charging there, see Plugshare map. Also, Instavolt (no app or RFID, just credit card) has (as of 11/2024) announced to add fast chargers there.
Note that there is no electrical power grid along the ring road between Egilstaðir and lake Mývatn that supplies three phase power needed to power a fast charger, so take this into account. But at Mývatn, there are currently fast chargers from ON and Instavolt.
The Westfjords are not covered well by ON, so again, have a look at at Plugshare for the available fast chargers offered by others. Mainly, this is the Westfjord Power Company (Orkubú Vestfjarða) with chargers in Bjarkarlundur, Flókalundur, Hólmavík, Hvítanes, Ísafjörður, Patreksfjörður, Reykjanes, Tálknafjörðir og Þingeyri who are relying on the Icelandic charging operator e1 (see above). Also South Iceland is not well covered by ON (they used to have chargers in Hvolsvöllur, Vík and Kirkjubæjarklaustur, but these are now all N1 owned), but by other operators.
There is also a map with public charging stations (select Shops, etc., EV Charging Stations (but be aware that the map is not updated frequently, i.e. some charging stations listed there do not exist and newer ones are not listed there).
Of course, also Iceland suffers from the bad habit of dinosaur-blood consuming ICE cars (and even EVs not charging) blocking EV chargers. Unfortunately, you can only request to get them legally towed away if they are marked with an official sign (which is typically not the case).
Luckily, more and more Electric Vehicles (EVs) support getting electricity out of the drive battery again. In future, this can be a key to use the energy stored in EVs during peak-usage (Vehicle-to-Grid). For the time being, I use it to have electricity when camping or during power outages to power my fridge.
For example, the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV has a dedicated Schuko plug (rated at 1500 W -- by the way: it has no fuse: if you draw more amps, then simply the voltage goes down). Note that the Schuko plug exists only if the Outlander PHEV has not a heated windscreen as the same cabling is used for heated windscreen as for the plug, i.e. it is "either or" .
MG and Hyundai/Kia do this via the Type 2 charging connector (well, Hyundai/Kia do support also an internal Schuko plug, but the Icelandic Kia importer decided to offer/order only (at least for the EV6, not sure about other types of Kia EVs) configurations without that internal plug). For the Type 2-based approach, a proprietary Type 2 to Schuko adapter is needed that is pretty expensive if you buy the OEM version.
Luckily, some re-engineering has been done that shows that only cheap passive electronics is inside. But be aware that the adapters are slightly different for MG and Hyundai/Kia. And in addition to DIYsolutions (concerning the resistor, I did some research: a 0.25 W resistor should be enough), third parties start to offer way cheaper adapters: both for the MG, and for the Hyundai/Kia -- these are UK quality, better than China quality that does not even have the button needed for Kia/Hyundai V2L adapter to start and stop V2L.
E-Mail: helmut at hi. is
(Encrypted e-mail welcome: my public PGP key, also available at key servers -- X.509 based S/MIME encryption possible on request.)
