Motors
[Due to the increasing size of the archives, each topic page now contains only the prior 365 days of content. Access to older stories is now solely through the Monthly Archive pages or the site search function.]
Michelin to Commercialize Electric Active Wheel Technology
December 01, 2008
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| Michelin’s Active Wheel integrates brake disk, electric motor and suspension motor. Click to enlarge. |
Michelin’s Active Wheel, an in-wheel system comprising a brake, 30 kW (40 hp) electric traction motor and electric suspension motor system, will be used in the Heuliez-produced WILL electric vehicle (battery or fuel cell), due to be available to fleet owners in 2010. The WILL grew out of a concept developed by Heuliez and Michelin and features networked services innovated by Orange.
Michelin has shown earlier versions of the Active Wheel in concepts before, such as the Michelin/PSI Concept HY-LIGHT Fuel Cell Vehicle shown at the 2004 Challenge Bibendum in Shanghai. (Earlier post.) The two-wheel motor WILL is its first application in a series production-intent vehicle. The partners showed the WILL at the Paris Motor show in October. Venturi Automobiles also showed an application of the Active Wheel in the premier of its four-wheel motor Volage.
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Daimler and Karlsruhe Institute of Technology Begin Research Collaboration on Electric Drive Systems
November 21, 2008
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Daimler AG and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) are beginning a research collaboration on electric drive systems: the “e-drive Project House” (Projekthaus e-drive). The effort will span the fields of power electronics and electric machines (PEEM), control systems, and electrical energy storage systems. Pooling expertise from science and industry across these fields is intended to expedite the market maturity of pure electric drive and hybrid vehicles, Daimler said.
The e-drive Project House is positioned as a strategic long-term undertaking, and is setting out to attract further scientific institutes and cooperation partners in order to extend the research consortium.
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Sumitomo Electric Develops Liquid Nitrogen Cooled Superconducting Motor for EVs
June 12, 2008
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| The prototype motor. Click to enlarge. |
Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd. (SEI) unveiled an electric vehicle equipped with a prototype superconducting motor cooled by liquid nitrogen and built using SEI’s high-temperature superconducting (HTS) wires.
High-temperature superconducting wires, cooled to about -200° C, can reduce electrical resistance to almost zero. The EV can run about 13% longer than an electric vehicle using a conventional copper wire motor, the company said.
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ZF Inaugurates First Production Site for Electric Drives; Volume Production for S-Class Hybrid in 4Q 2008
May 07, 2008
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| A ZF DynaStart hybrid drive module. |
ZF has officially inaugurated the first location for the production of its DynaStart hybrid drive modules in Schweinfurt, Germany. During the fourth quarter of 2008, ZF will launch volume production to supply the Mercedes-Benz S-Class. The modules will also be built for other cars, buses and delivery vehicles.
The DynaStart modules will be built by ZF Sachs—the Powertrain and Suspension Components Division of ZF. Currently, there are eight volume production projects under development for four vehicle manufacturers, with production launches scheduled between 2008 and 2012. Currently, ZF is launching an annual production volume of 35,000 units. Eventually, production could reach up to 200,000 units per year, with a staff of 50.
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Raser to Unveil Plug-in Series Hybrid Drive System for Full-Size SUVs and Pickups at SAE World Congress
April 10, 2008
Raser Technologies, Inc., in conjunction with its systems integration partner FEV, will unveil components of a new extended-range plug-in series hybrid electric vehicle powertrain and integrated drive system designed for full-size SUVs and pickup trucks at the SAE World Congress, 14-17 April, in Detroit, Michigan.
The extended-range plug-in series hybrid architecture integrates Raser’s Symetron technology in a 200 kW peak, 100 kW continuous AC induction motor and power electronic traction drive; and a 100 kW PM synchronous generating system with a 700V lithium-ion battery pack and power management system.
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Raser and Tecstar Sign Agreement for Plug-In Series Hybrid Conversions
February 28, 2008
Raser Technologies, Inc. has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Tecstar, LP and Wheel to Wheel, LLC, outlining their intent to work together with Raser to manufacture plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) for utility, government, and other fleets.
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BluWāv Exhibits RoadRunner Four Wheel Electric Drive System
February 14, 2008
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| The 46 kW hub motor. Click to enlarge. |
BluWāv Systems LLC, a provider of hub motors, electric propulsion and energy systems for the military, commercial, automotive and industrial markets, exhibited its Roadrunner four-wheel electric drive system applied in a military vehicle at the 2008 SAE Hybrid Vehicle Technology Symposium in San Diego this week.
BluWāv was formerly WaveCrest Laboratories, the developer of the dynamically reconfigurable Adaptive Motor system, which consists of a multiple-phase, DC brushless motor arranged such that the rotor surrounds and rotates around the center-mounted stator, rather than rotor rotating within the outer stator. (Earlier post.)
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Controlled Power Technologies Acquires Micro-Hybrid Technology from Visteon
February 12, 2008
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| Torque in a switched reluctance motor is produced by the magnetic attraction of a steel rotor to stator electromagnets. Click to enlarge. Source: SR Drives. |
Controlled Power Technologies Limited, a UK startup formed by automotive executives to focus on carbon-reduction solutions for vehicles, has acquired from Visteon Corporation a portfolio of production-ready, near-term solutions focused on providing micro-hybrid functionality.
A key part of the acquisition arrangement is the transfer of licensing and technical development agreements with Switched Reluctance Drives Limited (SRDL)—a wholly-owned subsidiary of Emerson Electric Company that is based in Harrogate (UK). The new business will continue and extend the technical relationship previously established between Visteon and SRDL.
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Ames Lab Researchers Design New Permanent Magnet Alloy for More Efficient and Cost-Effective Electric Drive Motors
January 09, 2008
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| Fine, spherical 2-14-1 permanent magnet alloy powders produced by argon gas atomization. Click to enlarge. |
Researchers at Ames Laboratory have designed a new a high-performance permanent magnet (PM) alloy that operates with good magnetic strength at 200° C (392° F) to help make electric drive motors more efficient and cost-effective.
One of the parameters stipulated by automakers for future electric drive motors is the need to operate well at temperatures up to 200° C, according to Ames Lab senior metallurgist and Iowa State University adjunct professor of materials science and engineering Iver Anderson. The operation at elevated temperature is to minimize cooling needs, where the increased high-temperature magnetic performance is more critical than room temperature magnetic properties.
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UQM’s New 150 kW Propulsion System Selected for Advanced Hybrid Bus Development Project
December 18, 2007
UQM Technologies’ newly introduced 150 kW (201 hp) permanent magnet propulsion motor—the PowerPhase 150—has been selected as part of a collaborative advanced hybrid electric bus development program being performed by the Flint, Michigan, Mass Transportation Authority (MTA), Kettering University, Michigan State University and Transportation Techniques LLC.
This new propulsion system is an upgrade of a 100 kW system that has been available for the last ten years, and achieves a 1 hp/lb power density. The additional 50% output is being made available without any additional size or weight to the system.
