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Nidec to Bolster R&D for Automotive Electric Motors
29 August 2008
Nidec Corporation is building an annex laboratory on the premises of its largest R&D plant in Shiga, Japan to bolster its new development efforts, particularly in the automotive motor section.
Completion of the facility is planned for the end of July 2009. Overall cost of construction and production setup is estimated to be ¥10 billion (US$92 million). The existing laboratory of the Shiga Technical Center is also set for an extensive renovation, with completion slated for November 2009.
In 2006, Nidec Corporation, the world’s leading manufacturer of motors for hard-disk drives, announced it would start mass-producing electric motors for hybrid vehicles in 2008 or 2009. (Earlier post.) Nidec then acquired Valeo’s in-car Electrical Motors & Actuators business. (Earlier post.)
August 29, 2008 in Brief | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
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Posted by: GreenPlease | August 29, 2008 at 09:11 PM
AC induction for EVs was pioneered by AC Propulsion in their T-Zero sports car. Tesla Motors works with them on the design of their electric motor.
If you have ever seen the size and weight of a 100 hp 3 phase industrial induction motor compared to the size and weight of the AC Propulsion design, you would know how much work went into refining it.
Posted by: sjc | September 01, 2008 at 10:34 PM
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This seems like a very open field to me in EVs. Everyone assumes that just because AC induction motors have such excellent characteristics (torque, powerband, efficiency are all near ideal) that there isn't anything left to do.
Quite the contrary. Packaging, manufacturing (got to figure out how to do mass production on the cheap while maintaining quality/efficiency), and thermal management are all considerations that don't seem to have been fully addressed.