Category: EV Concept

Posted on

ZF and Levant Partner to Develop Regenerative Suspension

Regenerative brakes are increasingly becoming a popular option on new cars as a way to save energy, and soon that technology could be joined by another engineering breakthrough: a regenerative suspension.

We have reported on Regenerative shock absorber developments including Linear tubular electric motors Here, Here and Here and hydraulic actuator based systems Here and Here.

This technology is being developed by ZF and Levant Power, in hopes of producing a suspension system that combines “the vast gains of active suspension with modest power consumption, minimal complexity and affordable cost,” the companies announced in a release. Essentially, the alliance hopes to build the world’s first fully active and regenerative suspension for automobiles, and make it affordable enough for volume production.

Forming the basis of the technology is an innovative, functional unit that is fitted to the outside of a ZF damper. In the compact unit is its own control unit, an electric motor and an electrohydraulic gear pump. That gear pump is in charge of regulating the oil flow to the damper, allowing it to adapt optimally and automatically to the driving conditions. In addition, the system is even capable of actively raising each individual wheel on the vehicle.

The innovative valve system automatically uses the swaying motion of the damper piston in order to recover energy. The system then guides the oil in the damper, driving the electric pump motor, essentially allowing it to function like a generator. The generated kinetic energy is then turned into electricity which is fed into the vehicle’s power supply.

“We look forward to working closely together with Levant Power. The objective is to develop the world’s first fully active and regenerative suspension, make it ready for volume production and introduce it to the market. Thus, we are promoting efficient innovations that are tailored to meet global requirements,” said Rolf Heinz Rüger, in charge of the Suspension Technology business unit of ZF’s Car Chassis Technology division.

Posted on

World’s First Road Embedded Wireless Electric Vehicle Network Opens

Two cordless rechargeable Hyundai battery electric buses have been put in service this week in a pilot program in Gumi, South Korea.

The Online Electric Vehicle (OLEV), developed by the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), is an electric vehicle that can be charged while stationary or driving, thus removing the need to stop at a charging station. Likewise, an OLEV tram does not require pantographs to feed power from electric wires strung above the tram route.

Two OLEV buses will run an inner city route between Gumi Train Station and In-dong district, for a total of 24 km roundtrip. The bus will receive 20 kHz and 100 kW (136 horsepower) electricity at an 85% maximum power transmission efficiency rate while maintaining a 17cm air gap between the underbody of the vehicle and the road surface.

OLEV is a groundbreaking technology that accelerates the development of purely electric vehicles as a viable option for future transportation systems, be they personal vehicles or public transit. This is accomplished by solving technological issues that limit the commercialization of electric vehicles such as price, weight, volume, driving distance, and lack of charging infrastructure.

OLEV receives power wirelessly through the application of the "Shaped Magnetic Field in Resonance (SMFIR)" technology. SMFIR is a new technology introduced by KAIST that enables electric vehicles to transfer electricity wirelessly from the road surface while moving.

Power comes from the electrical cables buried under the surface of the road, creating magnetic fields. There is a receiving device installed on the underbody of the OLEV that converts these fields into electricity. The length of power strips installed under the road is generally 5%-15% of the entire road, requiring only a few sections of the road to be rebuilt with the embedded cables.

OLEV has a small battery (one-third of the size of the battery equipped with a regular electric car). The vehicle complies with the international electromagnetic fields (EMF) standards of 62.5 mG, within the margin of safety level necessary for human health.

The road has a smart function as well, to distinguish OLEV buses from regular cars—the segment technology is employed to control the power supply by switching on the power strip when OLEV buses pass along, but switching it off for other vehicles, thereby preventing EMF exposure and standby power consumption. As of today, the SMFIR technology supplies 60 kHz and 180 kW of power remotely to transport vehicles at a stable, constant rate.

After the successful operation of the two OLEV buses by the end of this year, Gumi City plans to provide ten more such buses by 2015.

Posted on

Evans Electric Unveils AWD In-Wheel Motor powered electric car

Australia based start-up company Evans Electric have unveiled an All Wheel Drive In-Wheel Motor powered Lancer Evo 3 during Meguiar's MotorEx at Sydney Olympic Park

The 4 door sedan with World Rally Championship pedigree features a direct drive, disc type electric motor in each of it's 19” wheels. Each Axial Flux 3 phase AC Induction wheel motor has a nominal output of 75 kw and 625 Nm of torque with a peak output of 150 kw and 1,250 Nm giving the vehicle a total peak output of 600 kw (800 hp) and 5,000 Nm.

While the torque figure could at first glance appear fantastic, standard automotive industry practice only quotes torque at the flywheel not at the wheels. As an example the Tesla Model S Performance has a quoted peak motor torque of 600 Nm. With a single speed reduction gear ratio of 9.73:1 that equates to a total of 5,838 Nm (minus gearing losses) at the wheels. The Evans Electric motors are direct drive, so the rotor turns at the same speed as the wheel. Instead of mechanical reduction gearing, they are electrically geared using an 8 pole stator winding configuration.

Direct drive wheel motors eliminate mechanical transmission losses allowing up to 85% of a vehicle's kinetic energy to be recoverable during braking. Maximising brake regeneration lowers a vehicles over-all energy consumption potentially leading to more range per kWh of battery capacity or the use of a smaller battery pack for similar range. As the battery is the single most expensive component in an EV this could lead to lower cost electric cars.

The Evans Electric in-wheel motors enable non-contact electromagnetic braking, replacing hydraulic friction brake systems which are 99% redundant in current generation electric/hybrid vehicles. Using only the wheel motors, the car can brake at greater than 1G.

Evans Electric hold a patent for a vehicle drive system using wheel motors for propulsion and braking, the most impressive feature of which is that safety and vehicle dynamics features such as ABS, stability control, traction control, brake steer, active brake bias, torque vectoring, intelligent cruise control, emergency brake assist and collision avoidance all become customisable and upgradable software functions.

When these systems are combined with wheel motors they allow a new level of performance based active yaw control that unlike most current stability control systems (which only activate in an emergency situation) are active at all times, dynamically fine tuning understeer and oversteer to enhance cornering speed and safety.

After an extensive period of wheel motor validation testing and power electronics development the company has met with several automotive Tier 1 suppliers to discuss collaboration &/or licensing to move the project from proof of concept to commercial product development.

Final preparations are under way with track testing expected to commence by the time the Bathurst 1000 rolls around in October.

Posted on

Next Mitsubishi Evo to be 500 hp hybrid Nissan GT-R rival

The next-gen Mitsubishi Evo will allegedly feature a hybrid setup good enough for about 500 bhp (373 kW).

The standard Lancer will be globally launched sometime next year, while a plug-in hybrid model is already in the works. In addition, Autocar says Mitsubishi executives are also analyzing the prospects of a high-performance gasoline-electric variant with technology derived from the MiEV Evolution II Pikes Peak.

Although it's in an early development stage, the new Evo is expected to offer better all-wheel drive performance than its predecessor, as well lower CO2 emissions and the possibility of running on electric power. If green-lighted for production, the car's styling could be influenced from the 2008 Concept-RA.

Before a new Evo is out, Mitsubishi is planning a Lancer PHEV with a 2.0-liter gasoline engine working together with two 80 bhp (60 kW) electric motors. The setup should enable the car to return at least 150 mpg UK (125 mpg US or 1.8 liters / 100 km) with CO2 emissions of 50 g/km and a 40-mile (64 km) electric range.

Source: autocar.co.uk

Posted on

Radical sets EV Lap Record at Sydney Motorsport Park [VIDEO]

Ex-Australian Touring Car driver and multiple Australian Motorsport Champion John Bowe took to Sydney Motorsport Park to set an EV (Electric Vehicle) lap record in the ELMOFO (Electronic Motor Force) Radical SR8 - the first of it's kind.

Bowe set a 1m 37.5s lap which stands as the EV lap record at the 3.9km circuit.

Posted on

ELMOFO Electric Radical SR8 aims for new lap record

Following a 12 month build process the Electric Radical SR8 built by Newcastle based ELMOFO will be doing laps at Sydney Motorsport Park (Eastern Creek) tomorrow (14th July) at 9:50am piloted by multiple time Australian Motorsport Champion John Bowe.

The past week has been spent ironing out some minor bugs identified during last weeks test session. The car has been back on the dyno and can now boast an ideal torque/power curve and a new top speed setting.

John Bowe will be out to set an Electric track record for Eastern Creek, but the Electro Motive Force Racing Teams objective is to better some other existing lap records. EV News has been invited to witness the record attempt so will post updates on Twitter as the records tumble.

Posted on

Nissan developing an improved version of the Renault Twizy

Nissan is working on an innovative urban electric vehicle that it says improves on the Twizy produced by alliance partner Renault.

Etienne Henry, Nissan's head of product strategy and planning said the new car will combine the compactness and agility of a motorcycle with the weather protection and protective shell of a conventional car.

"The Twizy is also trying to combine these, but we think there are optimizations possible with this kind of vehicle," said Henry, who declined to say when the car might be added to Nissan's lineup.

Renault sees the Twizy as an alternative to scooters in Europe's crowded cities. The Twizy, which debuted last year, is powered by a choice of two electric motors, a 4kW/5-hp version with its top speed capped at 45kph that can be driven in most countries in Europe without a driver's license and a version with a top speed of 80kph. It has maximum driving range of 100 km.

In 2008, Nissan showed the narrow, two-seat Land Glider concept that leaned into corners like a motorcycle but still came with the security of four wheels and an enclosed cabin. In a statement at the time, Nissan said it "should not be regarded as a mere design study."

"That was a very interesting concept with very challenging and meaningful technology," said Henry, who declined to say whether any of the Land Glider's features would make it into its future EV.

Henry, who previously was product manager for the first-generation Qashqai compact crossover, said the new EV would successfully mix the motorcycle and car genres in the same way the Qashqai blended the strengths of a compact hatchback with the styling of an SUV.

One aim of the new EV is to help address congestion in fast-growing cities. "It's clear we need to offer an efficiency in terms of compactness, of space usage. Probably this will have an answer to this question," he said.

At this year's Geneva auto show, Toyota showed an electric urban mobility concept with the same capability to lean into corners as the Nissan Land Glider. The three-wheel i-Road is scheduled for limited production and will join the lineup of EVs in Toyota's car-sharing program in the French city of Grenoble next year.

Posted on

Jaguar C-X75 first drive review [VIDEO]

Compared with the Porsche 918 and the hybridized Ferrari F70/Enzo replacement, The Jaguar C-X75 takes a smaller-engined, subtly different approach to being a “supercar with an environmental edge.”

The still-born Hypercar has a lightweight 1.6 litre supercharged and turbocharged four-cylinder engine producing 500 hp and reving to 10,000 rpm. While the original concept was for the C-X75 to be a series hybrid with four 195bhp (145kW) electric motors – one for each wheel - produce 778bhp and a total torque output of 1,180lb ft (1,600Nm), the car tested here has only 390 hp (285 kW) of electric power giving a total output of 890 hp (654 kW) when combined with the ICE.