Category: EV Concept

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Graphene Supercapacitor equals Li-ion battery energy density

Scientists in South Korea have developed a graphene supercapacitor that stores as much energy per kilogram as a lithium-ion battery and can be recharged in under four minutes.

Supercapacitors are not a new idea. But graphene, which is a form of carbon composed of sheets a single atom thick, is especially suitable for making them.

Graphene has an area of 2,675 square metres per gram. All of this surface is available for the storage of static electricity. Graphene could therefore be used to make supercapacitors that hold more energy per kilogram than lithium-ion batteries.

Graphene is to graphite what a single playing card is to a full pack. Strong chemical bonds keep the graphene layers intact, but the individual layers are held to each other only weakly, which is why graphite can be used to make the “lead” in pencils. To make small amounts of graphene, you can peel the layers from the surface of a graphite crystal one at a time, as a dealer might when distributing cards (there are various ways of doing this). To make a lot of it, though, you have to pull the whole crystal apart, as one might scatter a pack across a table.

Dr Lu Wu of Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, in South Korea, did this in two stages. First, he exposed powdered graphite to oxygen in a controlled manner to produce a substance called graphite oxide. This is not a true oxide, with a fixed chemical formula. Rather, it is a graphite-like substance that has oxygen-rich clusters of atoms between the graphene layers.

This done, he then heated the graphite oxide to 160°C in a vessel which had an internal pressure of a tenth of an atmosphere. The heat caused chemical reactions inside the graphite oxide, and these produced carbon dioxide and steam. The increased internal pressure these gases created, pushing against the reduced external pressure in the vessel, blew the graphite apart into its constituent sheets. Those, after a bit of further treatment to remove surplus oxygen, were then suitable for incorporation into a supercapacitor—which Dr Lu did.

The result, though small, worked well. It stored as much energy per kilogram as a lithium-ion battery and could be recharged in under four minutes. Scaled up to the size needed for a car, the current required to recharge it that quickly would require a pretty robust delivery system.

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Wireless in-wheel motor system developed for electric vehicles

Japanese researchers have successfully developed the world’s first in-wheel motor system for electric vehicles that transmits power wirelessly to run motors incorporated in each wheel.

Hiroshi Fujimoto, an associate professor at the University of Tokyo specializing in electric vehicle control, and other researchers ran a vehicle equipped with the new system that transmits electricity wirelessly from an onboard power source to a coil attached to the wheel hubs.

“This technology will pave the way for the development of advanced electric vehicles, including those that receive electricity wirelessly from transmitting coils that are embedded under road surfaces,” Fujimoto said. “It can be also applied to fuel-cell vehicles and industrial machinery.”

The in-wheel motor, also known as wheel hub motor, is an electric motor that is incorporated into the hub of a vehicle's wheels to directly drive each wheel.

Compared with conventional electric vehicles, the in-wheel motor model does not require a drive shaft, a component that takes power from a single source and mechanically transfers it to all the wheels to drive them. Thus, a car using the system could be built lighter and require less energy.

Acceleration and braking for each wheel can also be controlled, which would help prevent mishaps such as skids.

Current cars using in-wheel motors need wires to transmit electricity. The complex wiring distribution and its susceptibility to shorting out have remained a hurdle in developing such a vehicle for practical use.

The research team’s wireless system transmits the electricity stored in the vehicle’s batteries through a transmitting coil to a receiving coil in the wheel hub, a distance of 10 centimeters.

The researchers successfully ran a motor using a maximum of 3 kilowatts of electricity and sent control information to each wheel using standardized Bluetooth wireless technology.

The rear-wheel-drive prototype car can, in theory, run at maximum 75 kph, the researchers said.

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Volkswagen premiere the Golf GTE Sport: Plug-in hybrid sports car

VW presented the Golf GTE Sport in a world premiere at the legendary GTI event at Lake Wörthersee on 14 May 2015, Volkswagen is catapulting the GT tradition into the future. The high-tech Golf that is largely made of carbon is powered by a total of three motors – combined in a plug-in hybrid drive with system power of 295 kW / 400 PS. The concept car breaks down traditional barriers between road and motorsport vehicles. Its progressive hybrid system in combination with the high-tech all-wheel drive, a lightweight body, optimum aerodynamic downforce, precision running gear based on the design of the current Golf GTE, a new motor racing cockpit (including visualisation of the racing line) and an unusual seating concept (two monocoque-like interior areas) enable breathtaking performance on the racetrack. At the press of a button, however, the concept car is able to cover a distance of up to 50 kilometres on electric power alone and hence with zero emissions.

Drive system from motorsport and research

World Rally Car TSI engine. The 1.6 litre TSI (turbocharged direct-injection engine) adapted from the superb Polo R WRC (World Rally Car) is accommodated in the engine compartment at the front of the car. It delivers 220 kW / 299 PS and maximum torque of 400 Nm. Volkswagen has already won the World Rally Championship twice with this engine. In the Golf GTE Sport the four-cylinder masterpiece is assisted by two electric motors. The engineers positioned the first electric motor at the front (in the housing of the 6-speed dual-clutch gearbox). It develops 85 kW / 115 PS and maximum torque of 330 Nm. The second electric motor is located at the rear with the same power output but torque of 270 Nm. The total torque of the drive system is 670 Nm. Whenever possible, the concept car is powered solely by electricity without producing any emissions. In sporty "GTE mode" all three motors work together, giving the all-wheel-drive Golf GTE Sport a standstill to 100 km/h time of 4.3 seconds and a top speed of 280 km/h. In the NEDC cycle for plug-in hybrid vehicles the sports car consumes just 2.0 l/100 km/h.

Pure-bred sports car.

Balanced for the Nürburgring north loop. The concept of the Golf GTE Sport has been designed so that the car is at home in both normal road traffic and racetrack conditions. Accordingly, the drive, suspension, body and interior all follow the principle of a pure-bred sports car. The drive system offers maximum agility, the suspension displays maximum neutrality in interaction with the all-wheel drive, the carbon body is lightweight and with its balanced aerodynamics it virtually adheres to the road. The driver ergonomics bridge the gap to motor racing, and with optimum weight distribution and a low centre of gravity the overall package ensures that a lap around racetracks such as the north loop of the Nürburgring is a unique driving experience.

Interior rings in a new sports car era

Two-seater race car. The driver and passenger board the two-seater interior of the Golf GTE Sport through doors that swing right up in the style of the XL 1. The doors extend a long way up into the roof and down into the side sills, resulting in convenient boarding when they are opened upwards. The interior in carbon and microfibre consists of two completely separate areas for the driver and passenger. Like in motorsport vehicles, they sit quite a long way to the back on racing bucket seats with five-point belts. Accordingly, the steering column that is entirely clad in carbon projects a long way into the interior where it appears to float – a further characteristic feature of a rally car or touring-car racer. The functional elements are operated via controllers and buttons in the cocoon-like interior trim. The gearbox of the Golf GTE Sport can also be operated manually with shift paddles on the motorsport steering wheel.

Instruments on three levels. The instruments featuring a completely new design have been specially coordinated for the configuration of the driver's workspace. The Volkswagen interface designers opted for three transparent displays arranged behind one another on which all relevant information is displayed. On the smallest display at the front (closest to the driver) information such as the selected gear and the recuperation status is displayed; information that is only sporadically checked from the corner of the eye whilst driving. The centre display has secondary yet more complex information such as the power currently delivered by the drive (power meter) and the boost intensity of the plug-in system (electric boost). Information such as the current speed and the range are constantly in the driver's field of vision on the third and largest display. In addition, in "GTE mode" not only is the current lap displayed (e.g. 9 of 16), but there is also a virtual indicator of the ideal driving line – valuable assistance for safe and fast driving on complex racetracks such as the aforementioned Nürburgring north loop.

Ergonomic perfection. The clearly arranged multifunction switch for starting and stopping the hybrid drive and controlling the 6-speed DSG is ideally positioned to the right of the driver for easy access. Right next to it there is a control panel for further vehicle functions; these include a button for activating a fire extinguishing system similar to that used in motorsport. Furthermore, the passenger is also supplied with data via a display in his interior segment. In "Info Mode" the current speed, the gear currently engaged and the engine speed can be displayed. If the passenger switches to "Data Mode" he can call up the vehicle acceleration and lateral force figures (g- forces). It is not only the use of carbon, but rather a general lightweight design that saves weight in the interior. For example, the loops for opening the doors are made of the same synthetic fibre as the five-point belts. Moreover, extremely elaborate ergonomics prevail in every detail. The operating mode switch for selecting "E- Mode", "GTE-Mode" or "Hybrid-Mode", for example, is situated in the roof, like in a jet plane.

Body design and concept

Extremely lightweight. The body of the Golf GTE Sport is largely made of lightweight carbon. As both a brand and a group, Volkswagen is a trailblazer in the industrial use of this material. For example, like the exterior of the Bugatti Veyron 16.4, the body of the Volkswagen XL1 is also made of carbon. The high-strength carbon body of the Golf GTE Sport therefore weighs much less than a comparable steel body.

Side profile. The design concept of the Golf GTE Sport manifests itself in the car's striking silhouette. Here, Volkswagen is continuing the idea of C-pillars with a two-level design originating from the 2007 Golf GTI W12-650, which has been constantly further perfected in various concept cars. On the Golf GTE Sport that is now being presented, this C-pillar concept, which is unique worldwide, has reached a degree of perfection that allows it to leave the show car stage and – as a design vision – bridge the gap to the Golf GT models of the future. The basic styling of these pillars (like the string of a bow taut with an arrow) follows the unmistakable Golf design, but at the same time feature some completely new C-pillar details: behind the level visible from outside a second one opens up. The airstream flows between these two levels and is contributing to the aerodynamic downforce and to the cooling of the rear brake system. Stylistically, this concept means that the rear section (like the front section) is extremely wide. By contrast, the passenger cell between the A-pillar and the interior part of the C-pillar becomes narrower when viewed from the front to the rear – an avant-garde interplay of extremely powerful shapes.

Doors and sills fold upwards. As described, the concept car painted in pearlescent "White Club" has two gullwing doors that swing forwards. The upper part that extends a long way into the roof is entirely made of dark visible carbon. A large part of the side sill is integrated in the door cutout. The three-dimensional body of the sill is enhanced at the top in the door section with an area in dark visible carbon. Further features on the side profile in visible carbon are the door mirror caps, the door window frames and the lower sill area. This part of the sill is designed as a splitter, i.e. a thin and sharp aerodynamic element, a feature familiar in motorsport. The side sill is framed by the new 20-inch alloy wheels fitted with tyres in format 235 at the front and 275 at the rear.

Front. With the front section of the Golf GTE Sport the Volkswagen design team is impressively illustrating how the Golf GT models could develop in future. On the concept car, the designers removed the striking blue radiator grille line of the Golf GTE production model from the grille and positioned it below the bonnet as a blue crossbar running across the whole width of the front. Below it, three further crossbars in black chrome look extend across the centre air inlet. The high-gloss black air inlet grille itself has the honeycomb structure typical of GT models. A further air inlet below the crossbars is framed at the top and to the sides by a striking aerodynamic element (also made of carbon). A double spoiler, also designed as a splitter, rounds off the front. Here, too, carbon is used.

LED headlights and daytime running lights. All electric and plug- in hybrid models from Volkswagen have C-shaped LED daytime running lights as a distinctive feature, and the Golf GTE Sport is no exception. Here, they frame the whole radiator grille unit at the sides, and in the top area there is an almost seamless transition from the LED daytime running lights to the extremely narrow and sharp LED headlights.

Rear. Never before has Volkswagen realised such a charismatic and sporty rear for a Golf. Here, too, the two levels of the C-pillars are a defining stylistic feature giving the Golf GTE Sport a very wide and powerful appearance from the rear. The extended outer levels of the C-pillars at the rear – like the tail unit of an aeroplane – elongate the car together with the large roof spoiler. Typically Golf: the striking tailgate with a vertical downward angle at the level of the redesigned LED rear lights. At the top, the tailgate is limited by a black carbon roof spoiler – a wing that seems to hover in front of the tailgate at a distance of a few millimetres to the roof. The C-pillars that taper at an angle to the rear and the bumper merge into one another, with the latter projecting far above the line of the tailgate. As an imaginary continuation of the side strip made of visible carbon (above the sill), the top edge of the bumper also features visible carbon. Below this is an area painted in the body colour (with air outlets on the outside). The last level is a large diffuser made of visible carbon with the splitter that is also continued here. The round stainless steel trims of the twin-pipe exhaust system are integrated in the middle of the diffuser.

Drive – plug-in hybrid and electric propshaft

E-Mode – setting off on electric power. No Golf has ever had three motors before. But this one does. As described at the beginning, the combustion engine fitted by Volkswagen is a turbocharged 1.6-litre four-cylinder direct-injection engine (TSI) that produces 220 kW / 299 PS of power and a maximum torque of 400 Nm. The electric components consist of the lithium-ion battery and two electric motors. The front electric motor is integrated in the housing of the 6- speed DSG (DQ400E). Both electric motors have a power output of 85 kW. The total available system power is 295 kW / 400 PS. If necessary, the system drive power can be distributed to all four wheels thanks to the rear electric motor and an "electric propshaft". In normal operation the Golf GTE Sport drives just as quietly as the production Golf GTE that is already marketed. In "E-Mode" it is setting off purely electrically. In this case the concept car uses the battery that can be charged externally (but also whilst driving) to cruise without producing any emissions. It can cover up to 50 kilometres on a battery charge. When a defined minimum battery charge is reached, the 1.6 TSI is automatically switched on and the Golf GTE Sport drives in "Hybrid" mode. As soon as the battery reaches a certain charge level again, "E-Mode" can be reactivated at any time via a switch in the overhead console. In "E-Mode", the rear axle electric motor is first and foremost responsible for propulsion. When high demands are made on performance, the front electric motor is also activated to provide support.

Hybrid mode – silent coasting. As soon as the drive system or the driver deactivates "E-Mode", the Golf GTE Sport becomes a classic full hybrid with regenerative braking charging the battery and automatic utilisation of the right combination of TSI and/or electric motors according to the specific drive situation. When the driver releases the accelerator pedal, and the battery is sufficiently charged, all drive sources are shut off. This is referred to as "coasting". If the driver releases the accelerator pedal or brakes, and the battery is insufficiently charged, the two electric motors operate as generators and charge the lithium-ion battery with the energy recovered from braking. With the dual mode "Battery Hold" or "Battery Charge" the battery's energy content can be deliberately kept constant by the driver ("Hold") or increased ("Charge"). When the 1.6 TSI engine is the sole source of propulsion, the concept car is a pure front-wheel drive car.

GTE-Mode – the power of three hearts. The switch on board the Golf GTE Sport that is most important for dynamic performance is located in the overhead console. It bears the letters "GTE". When the driver operates this switch, the character of the Golf GTE Sport's drivetrain changes drastically in an instant because now the full system power of 400 PS is available. The turbocharged 299 PS petrol engine alone delivers immense propulsive power, and at this high level the electric drive components of the Golf GTE Sport assume an additional boost function. The boost effect is so strong that the drive unit would also perform well if used in professional touring car races: the Golf GTE Sport sprints to 50 km/h in 1.8 seconds, reaches 100 km/h in 4.3 seconds, and the maximum speed permitted in Austria, i.e. 130 km/h, in 6.5 seconds. On German motorways, the concept car reaches 200 km/h in 15.9 seconds. In "GTE-Mode" all four wheels of the Golf are driven.

All-wheel drive – "electric propshaft". In "GTE-Mode" and as soon as the situation necessitates it, the drive power of the Golf GTE Sport is distributed to both axles. In this case (and if battery charge is low), the front electric motor – which is now being supplied with kinetic energy via the TSI – acts solely as a generator and a source of electricity for its counterpart at the rear axle. Since the energy for driving the rear axle flows by wire and not mechanically here, this is referred to as an "electric propshaft". Because the TSI drives the rear electric motor via the front electric motor, the all-wheel drive system also operates when the battery's charge state is low – an invaluable advantage in terms of driving dynamics. The importance of the implementation of the "electric propshaft" for Volkswagen with regard to series production is demonstrated by the fact that the company has had the German equivalent of this designation protected under copyright law.

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10x motor electric VTOL aircraft prototype takes off [VIDEO]

A team at NASA's Langley Research Center is developing a concept of a battery-powered plane that has 10 motors and can take off like a helicopter and fly efficiently like an aircraft.

The prototype, called Greased Lightning or GL-10, is currently in the design and testing phase. The initial thought was to develop a 20-foot wingspan (6.1 meters) aircraft powered by hybrid diesel/electric engines, but the team started with smaller versions for testing, built by rapid prototyping.

This research has helped lead to NASA Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate efforts to better understand the potential of electric propulsion across all types, sizes and missions for aviation.

More: PHYS.org

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Infiniti’s Vision GT Hybrid concept [VIDEO]

Looking virtually identical to the digital model created for Gran Turismo 6, the real world Vision GT concept provides a glimpse at what a "high performance Infiniti could look like in the future.”

While the company didn't have much to say about the car, it has a naturally aspirated 4.5-litre V8 petrol-electric hybrid system powering the rear wheels and features an aggressive front fascia with a prominent grille that is flanked by slender headlights and sporty air intakes. Moving further back, there's sporty side skirts, carbon fiber trim and massive alloy wheels.

According to the game maker’s, the Infiniti Concept Vision Gran Turismo’s electric motor delivers “overwhelming torque” in low-speed situations while at higher speeds, the V8 engine teams “immense power”

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Japan’s maglev train sets new world record with 603 km/h test run [VIDEO]

Japan’s state-of-the-art Maglev train set a world speed record Tuesday during a test run near Mount Fuji, clocking more than 600 km/h.

The seven-car Maglev — short for magnetic levitation — train, hit a top speed of 603 km/h (377 Mph), and managed nearly 11 seconds over 600 km/h Central Japan Railway (JR Tokai) said.

The new record came less than a week after the train clocked 590 km/h, by breaking its own 2003 record of 581 km/h.

The Maglev hovers 10 cm above the tracks and is propelled by electrically charged magnets.

JR Tokai wants to have a train in service in 2027 plying the route between Tokyo and Nagoya, a distance of 286 km.

The service, which will run at a top speed of 500 km/h, is expected to connect the two cities in only 40 minutes, less than half the time it takes by shinkansen.

By 2045 Maglev trains are expected to link Tokyo and Osaka in just 67 minutes, slashing the journey time in half.

However, construction costs for the dedicated lines are astronomical — estimated at nearly ¥11.9 trillion just for the stretch to Nagoya, with more than 80 percent of the route expected to go through costly tunnels.

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Chevrolet-FNR autonomous EV concept

Chevrolet has created a vision of what it thinks a full autonomous all-electric vehicle of the future might look like.

Created by GM’s Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center the Chevrolet-FNR is an autonomous electric concept vehicle that boasts a futuristic capsule design. It has crystal laser headlights and taillights, dragonfly dual swing doors.

The Chevrolet-FNR features an extremely aero design focused on low drag powered by AWD magnetic hubless electric wheel motors along with autonomous wireless charging. A laundry list of imaginary specification like range and power output has been provided.

The Chevrolet-FNR is loaded with a range of sensors like roof-mounted radar that can map out the environment to enable driverless operation, Chevy Intelligent Assistant and iris recognition start. The Chevrolet-FNR can also serve as a “personal assistant” to map out the best route to the driver’s preferred destination.

In self-driving mode, the vehicle's front seats can swivel 180 degrees to face the rear seats, creating a more intimate setting. The driver can switch to manual mode through the gesture control feature.

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Peugeot 308 R Hybrid 500 hp AWD hot hatch [VIDEO]

Feast your eyes on the ultimate 308. PEUGEOT has unveiled a stunning new version of the compact family hatchback – with a combined 500 bhp and four-wheel drive.

Badged the PEUGEOT 308 R HYbrid, it has been developed by PEUGEOT Sport, the brand’s famous in-house engineering and racing division, which last year unveiled the critically acclaimed RCZ R. The car’s plug-in petrol hybrid powertrain results in a car capable of hitting 62mph (100km/h) in 4.0 seconds, yet still has astonishingly low CO2 emissions of 70g/km.

At the heart of the PEUGEOT 308 R HYbrid is a plug-in powertrain with four-wheel drive that develops 500hp. The unit combines three sources of power, each capable of moving the vehicle independently of the others. They are a four-cylinder 1.6-litre THP 270 S&S petrol engine, plus two electric motors – each with power of 85kW/115hp – mounted one on each axle. The front one is linked to the six-speed gearbox.

The result is a family hatchback which is capable of supercar performance. The PEUGEOT 308 R HYbrid can hit 62mph (100km/h) from a standing start in only 4.0 seconds, with top speed electronically limited to 155mph. In spite of such astonishing performance, CO2 emissions are just 70g/km.

“If we were able to reach this kind of performance on a C-segment, it is all down to our passion for a challenge and our desire for excellence. PEUGEOT 308 R HYbrid is part of a very select club of cars reaching 0-62mph in four seconds” says Jean-Philippe Delaire, PEUGEOT Sport Head of Development, 308 R HYbrid powertrain.

PEUGEOT Sport has been involved in every stage of development of the 308 R HYbrid, using its technical expertise and successful racing record to define the specifications of each component. For impeccable dynamic handling, the car’s weight has been optimised and placed as low as possible. The lithium-ion 3kWh battery has an excellent ratio between power and size, and is housed under the rear seats in place of the fuel tank. In turn, the 50-litre tank has been placed in the boot above the rear electric motor and two transformers.

The PEUGEOT Sport engineers have equipped the car with four driving modes:

  • Hot Lap mode is the most powerful, harnessing the full potential from the three power sources to reach a total of 500hp and maximum torque of 730Nm.
  • Track mode delivers 400hp and 530Nm, mainly from the petrol engine and the rear electric motor. The front electric motor serves as an additional booster when accelerating.
  • Road mode is specially designed for road use with power of 300hp and torque of 400Nm. The petrol engine delivers its full potential, while the rear electric motor helps during accelerations. The front electric motor is not used in this mode.
  • ZEV makes priority use of the rear electric motor. The front electric motor comes into play, depending on the pressure applied on the accelerator pedal.

    The all-wheel drive system of the 308 R HYbrid makes for formidable handling, especially when coming out of the corners. The braking system is on a par with the car's performance, with 380mm ventilated discs at the front, gripped by four pistons, and 290mm discs to the rear. However, they are not used every time the brakes are applied, because PEUGEOT Sport has designed the powertrain to decelerate using the electric motors throughout the full speed range, starting at 155mph. Not only does this preserve the discs and pads, but uses regenerative braking to recharge the battery.

    It is one of three recharging strategies. The second uses the front electric motor as a generator, driven by the petrol engine, while the third solution is a rapid recharging terminal restoring the battery to its maximum power in just 45 minutes.

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    NASA’s new Wheel Motor AWD Electric Robotic Car [VIDEO]

    The Modular Robotic Vehicle, or MRV, was developed at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in order to advance technologies that have applications for future vehicles both in space and on Earth. With seating for two people, MRV is a fully electric vehicle well-suited for busy urban environments.

    One of NASA’s key purposes for the project was to have access to a technology development platform. “This work allowed us to develop some technologies we felt were needed for our future rovers,” said Justin Ridley, Johnson Space Flight Center. “These include redundant by-wire systems, liquid cooling, motor technology, advanced vehicle control algorithms. We were able to learn a lot about these and other technologies by building this vehicle.”

    Just as NASA helped pioneer fly-by-wire technology in aircraft in the 1970s, MRV is an attempt to bring that technology to the ground in modern automobiles. With no mechanical linkages to the propulsion, steering, or brake actuators, the driver of an MRV relies completely on control inputs being converted to electrical signals and then transmitted by wires to the vehicle’s motors. A turn of the steering wheel, for instance, is recorded by sensors and sent to computers at the rear of the vehicle. These computers interpret that signal and instruct motors at one or all four of the wheels to move at the appropriate rate, causing the vehicle to turn as commanded. Due to a force feedback system in the steering wheel, the driver feels the same resistance and sensations as a typical automobile.

    Not having a mechanical linkage between the driver and the steering wheel introduces new risks not seen on conventional automobiles. A failed computer, or cut wire, could cause a loss of steering and the driver to lose control. Because of this, a fully redundant, fail-operational architecture was developed for the MRV. Should the steer-ing motor fail, the computer system responds immediately by sending signals to a second, redundant motor. Should that computer fail, a second computer is ready to take over vehicle control. This redundancy is paramount to safe operations of a by-wire system.

    MRV’s redundant drive-by-wire architecture allows for advanced safety and dynamic control schemes. These can be implemented with a driver operating either within the vehicle or by remote interface. In the future this system can be expanded to allow for autonomous driving

    MRV is driven by four independent wheel modules called e-corners. Each e-corner consists of a redundant steering actuator, a passive trailing arm suspension, an in-wheel pro-pulsion motor, and a motor-driven friction braking system.

    Each e-corner can be controlled independently and rotated ±180 degrees about its axis. This allows for a suite of driving modes allowing MRV to maneuver unlike any traditional vehicle on the road. In addition to conventional front two wheel steering, the back wheels can also articulate allowing for turning radiuses as tight as zero. The driving mode can be switched so that all four wheels point and move in the same direction achieving an omni-directional, crab-like motion. This makes a maneuver such as parallel parking as easy as driving next to an available spot, stopping, and then operating sideways to slip directly in between two cars.

    “This two-seater vehicle was designed to meet the growing challenges and demands of urban transportation,” said Mason Markee, also with Johnson. “The MRV would be ideal for daily transportation in an urban environment with a designed top speed of 70 km/hr and range of 100 km of city driving on a single charge of the battery. The size and maneuverability of MRV gives it an advantage in navigating and parking in tight quarters.”

    The driver controls MRV with a conventional looking steering wheel and accelerator/brake pedal assembly. Both of these interfaces were specially designed to mimic the feel of the mechanical/hydraulic systems that people are used to feeling when driving their own cars. Each device includes its own redundancy to protect for electrical failures within the systems. A multi-axis joystick is available to allow additional control in some of the more advanced drive modes. A configurable display allows for changing of drive modes and gives the user critical vehicle information and health and status indicators.

    Each propulsion motor is located inside the wheel and capable of producing 190 ft-lbs of torque. An active thermal control loop maintains temperatures of these high powered motors. A separate thermal loop cools the avionics, includ-ing custom lithium-ion battery packs.

    “While the vehicle as a whole is designed around oper-ating in an urban environment, the core technologies are advancements used in many of our robotic systems and rovers,” explained Mason. “Actuators, motor controllers, sensors, batteries, BMS, component cooling, sealing, and software are all examples of technologies that are being devel oped and tested in MRV that will be used in next generation rover systems.”

    The technologies developed in MRV have direct appli-cation in future manned vehicles undertaking missions on the surface of Earth’s moon, on Mars, or even an asteroid. Additionally, MRV provides a platform to learn lessons that could drive the next generation of automobiles.

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    Developing the next generation of nuclear batteries

    Atomic batteries that don't require recharging and last between 12 and 30 years are being developed for small scale applications that could potentially be scaled up for EV applications. There are quite a few variations on Nuclear batteries and just as many university labs working on them.

    Researchers in the US are using pioneering technology to create long-lasting, more efficient nuclear batteries. Several teams at the University of Missouri are pursuing nuclear battery research . Much of this work is focused on pushing the frontiers of nuclear battery technology by employing power sources using alpha or beta-particle decay based on a radioactive isotope that can be produced, separated and refined at the University of Missouri Research Reactor.

    The notion of an electric car that recharges itself is appealing but initially the most likely customers are oil and gas and aerospace industries, and space flight companies, which need reliable power sources in inaccessible locations and physical extremes such as high or low temperature and pressure. For example, a betavoltaic incorporated into a flight data locator could signal to search teams for years instead of months.

    "With enough financial support to fund both our irradiation and packaging, we could have a commercial-ready device in three years."

    Recently Power-technology.com talked to Patrick J Pinhero, Alan K Wertsching and Jae Wan Kwon of the University of Missouri about pushing the boundaries of betavoltaic electricity generation.

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    End of the road for car giants?

    The car industry is currently mulling over the biggest transformation in its history since Henry Ford set up shop in Dearborn, Michigan.

    Before Ford, the automobile was an expensive plaything for the rich that had little effect on the prevalent form of transportation - horse-drawn vehicles. Ford’s introduction of the mass production assembly line and product standardisation (“any colour so long as it’s black”) brought his Model T motor car within the range of the masses, fundamentally disrupting the market for transportation vehicles and sending millions of horses to the knacker’s yard.

    Today’s disruptive force is already present in most people’s offices and homes and is carried in most people’s pocket or bag: digital technology. It put a man on the moon in the sixties and sacked the CD in the noughties. But just as digital technology has disrupted business models in the newspaper and music sectors, so the car industry is contemplating just where digital technology will send it spinning.

    While R&D departments experiment with the latest digital technology, producing driverless and open source cars, the executives and strategists back at the head offices of automobile giants such as Volkswagen and GM are trying to figure out how they will navigate their way through the digital wormhole. Will GM, Ford and Toyota step in to a world full of new possibilities or on to a planet where they no longer exist?

    Warwick Business School Professor of Information Systems and Management Ola Henfridsson has spent the last eight years consulting and researching digital innovation at GM, Volvo and Saab and, while he admits that he doesn’t know what they will find either, he is sure the open platform car is coming.

    Just as the smartphone has become a platform where users can download any apps they want and connect to the cloud, so the car could become a giant mobile version.

    “If you can develop an android community with so many useful apps, think what could happen with cars,” says Henfridsson.

    “Cars already contain so much more digital content, much of the value of the car and the cost of developing a car is related to the digital technology in some way or another. When it comes to lowering fuel consumption or new safety features it is very much about the digital infrastructure, which requires a totally new skill set for the people developing the car.

    “It used to be that competition within the car industry was very locked into the boundaries of the car manufacturers, but suddenly there are non-automotive companies taking parts of the markets. Microsoft, are heading into it along with Google and others. Why is it that Google has 10 driverless cars on the streets of California? Because they are imagining a future where a car communicates with its environment, where at some point what will be important in a car’s functionality is not something that GM or Ford or Volkswagen can deliver.

    “Suddenly, you can see that the car industry needs to engage with the ‘crowd’, where anybody with £300 and a good idea can become an entrepreneur.”

    In the world of open platform cars a kid in a bedroom could become the next giant car company. Just as Mark Zuckerberg has taken over the internet with Facebook, so the next major car development could come from a dormitory at a US university rather than the R&D department of BMW. And that is what is worrying the car manufacturers; opening up their cars to third-party developers could see them lose control of their own products.

    Car executives are nervous, but they are now dipping their toes in the digital waters. Apps are in cars now, and Ford and GM have started their developer programmes. In January Ford launched its open mobile app developer programmer for iOS and Android. But it is limiting developers to its car’s entertainment systems to enable two-way communication between the apps and the car. Also developers will have to submit an app to Ford for review by its engineers to “ensure it works properly and is suitable for use in the vehicle.” Once it’s been approved, developers get a distribution license so the app can be submitted to the relevant app stores and talk to the car.

    More interesting is Google’s tie-up with Audi, GM, Honda and Hyundai in the Open Automotive Alliance (OAA)to develop a common platform for Android apps on their cars. It was something that Helen Falkås was working on at Saab until the company filed for bankruptcy in 2011.

    “We were planning a similar system, using Android as a platform,” says Falkås, who is now Senior Project Manager at Nordiska Interaktionsbyrån, a leading interaction design agency in the Scandinavian car industry. “We were talking about a two-sided market where you have to give the developers the possibility to have some business benefits with a large customer base and the customers are looking for good content, rather than the proprietary market that the car industry has used. We were looking to lower the threshold of entry for developers to open up a standard API (Application Programming Interface) so data could be accessed to create the open space.

    “There were several research projects we were discussing with Google, as you need somebody with the size of Google to push the industry into this open space, but they said they will go into the car industry once they have done tablets and TV.

    “Now they have formed OAA and brought in several car manufacturers as they always said they were looking for more volume. It will be very interesting to see how OAA develops and whether they can standardise an open platform across several car manufacturers, because there is a lot of traditional thinking in the automotive industry. We are seeing semi-open platforms for infotainment in cars, but we were looking at the engine management system and other digital systems in the car. After all, there are 500 vehicle signals which are pretty similar in all cars. They have different protocols and different systems of language, but if it was standardised you would have much a larger volume to create new apps. But this will take time for the car industry. It took 15 years to introduce ABS brakes in large scale, so that gives you an idea of how slowly the car industry moves.”

    Falkås reveals a project she worked on with Saab and the Swedish road authority which gives some idea of the potential value of connecting all makes of cars across a digital platform.

    “Icy roads are a big issue in Sweden, so we wanted to develop an app where you would know exactly where and when a road was slippery and even in what direction cars were sliding,” says Falkås. “That information is available in cars today. These cars would relay instantly to the authority which road was slippery and how slippery so that they could pinpoint their efforts, because it is very expensive to keep roads safe in the winter and salt is bad for the environment.”

    That was with just 50 Saabs, but imagine if all cars were relaying this information to the Highways Agency and to drivers as well in real time, it would surely help make roads safer. Falkås’ only problem was the business model as it produced cost savings for the road authority but little value for the car manufacturer.

    But Henfridsson argues that is one of the points of opening up access to cars’ data - third-party developers will work out business models and apps we can’t even dream of, as happened with smartphones. As Falkås says: “You can try to guess what apps would be invented, but you will probably be wrong.”

    And these developers will be focused on the drivers and the user experience more so than car manufacturers, who have been tinkering with suspensions for decades.

    “In the past if you wanted to be successful in the car industry you needed a huge amount of investment,” says Henfridsson. “The car industry has been so focused on scale, that it is only a few companies who own those resources who have been controlling what has been going into the car. Now, we will see the birth of customer-driven DIY developments in the car. An app store for cars, that is what is coming, everybody can design an app for a car.

    “Instead of one navigation system you might have 10, or some navigation aid nobody has thought about before and you might be able to sell advertising through this app. Plus opening up to the crowd addresses some of the customisation issues car manufacturers make for local markets. Traditionally they want to minimise them because it drives up cost, but this turns it around, as a small app developer in each country can do those adaptations and it won’t cost the car manufacturer a penny.

    “Also, normally in the car industry you need a four or six-year cycle in car development to get your investment back, but this will change. Software can be reproduced at a minimal cost, at the point when you share with the Android community.

    “GM asked a company to develop their navigation system. It took them 18 months to develop something new - it’s an expensive process and would then be expensive for the customers. The Android community contains up to 20 navigation systems at the moment, it can very easily be adapted for a bigger screen for the car. Suddenly you already have these developments, that cost is so much lower and quicker.”

    Other industries would love to get their hands on car data, one obvious one being insurance companies.

    “Very soon we will have insurance setting up deals with customers to gain information on how they drive,” says Henfridsson. “You would be able to have lower fees for those that drive carefully, but at the point you speed you would lose that deal, it would be personalised to each individual.

    “This will cut across industries, because digitalising the car means it becomes another sensor within a huge network. Google might not want to sell cars, but it definitely sees them as another source of information that they can use to become even better in digitising the world. Eh how is the traffic situation in Los Angeles? - Search Google cars and find out?

    “Also, in the Android world developments are being pushed out and customers are testing it for you. The car industry is totally different where it has to be perfect for the customer before it is on the market, but releasing a new patch for the software doesn’t cost anything.”

    It could be the end of all those costly recalls to adjust the steering system or throttle, just send out a system update and it would be done - though repairs done digitally could have a serious impact on car dealerships, a relationship that car manufacturers would be loathe to hurt. And talk of app developers being allowed into the engine, suspension, and brakes of a car must send many car executives into convulsions. Who is liable if something goes wrong if there is a crash? Is the insurance company going to turn to the app developer or the car manufacturer?

    Falkas reveals how at Saab they planned to open the engine management system to developers in stages.

    “You could select certain sensors and data to publish as ‘read only’,” says Falkas. “The next step for selected third companies with whom the car manufacturer is in partnership is to give them the ability to write into the system, as you would still have liability. There would then be possibilities to have a bundle for something like additional horsepower, it would be a gradual process.”

    Liability is one issue that has to be resolved, but Henfridsson is sure it will be and believes whoever moves first to totally open up their car will have a big advantage. The big worry for the car manufacturers is that if they don’t do it somebody else will, somebody of the scale of Google or Apple. They could make a standard car and then send it out as an open platform vehicle, transforming the industry and potentially killing off some big manufacturers.

    “An app that can tune your engine could have been done 10 years ago,” says Henfridsson. “At the point GM or Audi allows third-party developers to design apps to tune their engine there would be hundreds of them. They may not allow access to the braking system, engine, or power train immediately, but it will soon come.

    There is a middle ground, where you can have 60 or 70 trusted vendors. Then it is a different business, the car will become a platform. Why not have other people innovate on your platform? That is what you want to be, a platform owner like Facebook. It is very old fashioned to sell a whole product these days.

    “This is coming, the car manufacturers know it and they can’t stop it. We will see a totally new car industry when digital takes over. It will change everything, there will be new brands that might be connected to Google rather than a car manufacturer. It is a do-or-die issue for the car industry.”

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    Heat-gathering tire charges electric cars on the move [VIDEO]

    At the Geneva auto show, Goodyear shows off an intriguing concept tire that would feed an electric car's batteries while rolling down the road.

    The concept – named "BHO3" – offers the possibility of charging the batteries of electric cars by transforming the heat generated by the rolling tire into electrical energy.

    This tire generates electricity through the action of thermo / piezoelectric materials in the tire that capture and transform the energy created by heat when it flexes as it rolls during normal driving conditions. The materials used would optimize the tire's electricity generation capabilities as well as its rolling resistance.

    As demand for electric cars grows, this technology has the potential to significantly contribute to the solution of future mobility challenges. This visionary tire technology could eliminate the vehicle-range anxiety motorists may have with electric cars.

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    Koenigsegg Regera Launch 1,500 hp Plug-In Hybrid

    The Regera was created as a luxury Megacar alternative to Koenigsegg's traditional extreme lightweight race-like road cars. Even though the One:1 and the Agera RS have surprising levels of practicality, creature comforts and features, their primary focus is, and has always been, to be the overall fastest cars on the planet – around a racetrack or elsewhere.

    Regera is Swedish for "to Reign" - a suitable name for a machine that offers a never seen before combination of power, responsiveness and luxury - creating a true Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde persona.

    In spite of all its advanced technology and creature comforts, the Regera is comparatively light. Therefore it can still perform competitively around a race circuit. According to us, the only Hyper/Megacar that could be faster around a circuit, is another Koenigsegg. However, out in the open the Regera will reign as the king of the road, as the fastest accelerating, most powerful production car ever.

    The Regera will be handcrafted in only 80 examples. Apart from being a suitable production run for Koenigsegg´s newly upgraded and refurbished production facility, the number 80 also symbolizes the principle of domination, control and achievement in Pythagorean Numerology.

    With the introduction of the Regera, Koenigsegg will, for the first time ever, have two parallel models in production.

    The interior features; added insulation, 8 way electrically adjustable memory foam seats. A Koenigsegg 9" infotainment system, 3G and Wi-Fi connectivity, front, inner and rear camera system with recording capability, Apple CarPlay, supreme sound system, ambient lighting and many other great new features. The Regera also comes with front and rear parking sensors and remote diagnostic and firmware update capability.

    Constellation DRL
    A good design and layout of the DRL (Daylight Running Lights) gives character, as the DRL is what's first seen when a car comes driving from a distance.

    We wanted the Regera to stand out and clearly be recognized also from a far, so we came up with a novel idea that we call – Constellation DRL.

    To get a constellation of stars effect, we scattered the LED´s, which make up the DRL, around the lamp cluster, giving the effect of star constellations on a night sky made up of polished carbon fiber.

    A side effect is that the LED´s make the whole lamp cluster glitter and shine, as if there where diamonds thrown into them. That´s what we call - Koenigsegg cool.

    The heart of the matter
    The heart and soul of every Koenigsegg is its Internal Combustion Engine – the ICE. The ICE of the Regera follows the path of its siblings, based on the proven and extremely reliable Koenigsegg drysumped twin turbo, DOHC, 5.0 liter V8.

    As before, the Koenigsegg V8 is the most downsized homologated production ICE in the world, with 220 Hp per liter engine (using regular pump gas). The compactness of the engine makes the Regera nimble, efficient and lightweight.

    The difference to the Agera engine is that, given the electric propulsion of the Direct Drive system, we did not have to go as extreme on ICE power, as the combined output is way over 1500 Hp and over 2000 Nm torque, anyway. Given this we could install even smaller, faster spooling turbos on the Regera, further enhancing the ICE drivability and response.

    A new level of luxury
    The Direct Drive transmission of the Regera is capable of delivering never before experienced blistering response and performance and at the same time able to deliver one of the smoothest and most soothing driving experiences. Given this high level of bi-polar characteristics, the rest of the car had to be up to the task of delivering blistering, lightweight performance at new levels of soothing luxury.

    Therefore Koenigsegg developed a completely new rear sub frame and rear structure that allows the engine and transmission to rest on active soft mounts. When driving in normal conditions the mounts stay soft and isolate engine noise and vibrations. When driving spirited, the mounts firm up to solidify the car and give greater response. The shock absorbers are active in height and stiffness – again allowing for the bi-polar behavior.

    Furthermore, the Regera can be driven in absolute silence, as it is possible to go into full EV mode for shorter periods of time.

    The first fully robotized car
    Given the latest advances in compact lightweight hydraulics, Koenigsegg has managed to robotize the entire Regera with almost no weight addition. As the Regera features functions such as; active front and rear wings, chassis control and lifting system - the pumps and accumulators were already in place to connect a few more hydraulic operators. These in turn replaced gas struts of equal weight – resulting in minimal weight impact.

    Due to the above, the Regera is the first car in the world that operates all body closures completely automatically. The spectacle to open and close the entire car simultaneously from the remote or smartphone, truly turns the Regera into a transformer.

    On top of this, all body closures have soft latching mechanisms, giving the Regera a sophisticated feel. The fully robotized body system, with soft latches adds a mere 5 kg, making full robotization a very desirable option.

    Furthermore the wing mirrors are auto-folding while the doors open, giving added practicality and visual drama, as the Dihedral Synchro Helix Doors swing out and rotate 90 degrees to fully clear the door opening, without protruding more than the width of the door – making them highly ergonomic.

    Plug-in capability
    The Regera utilizes an EV plug in feature. Behind the robotized rear number plate nestles a type 2 mode 3 charging port. This means that the Direct Drive Battery can be charged either by the combustion engine or through the charging port. The plug-in solution enabled us to create a novel feature we call - Battery Drain Mode, or BDM for short. For example, when there is around 50 km range left to the destination or next charging point, a preset geo location or a push on the touchscreen will trigger the BDM. This means the car calculates the driving behavior and makes sure the battery is fully drained upon arrival and is ready for a full charge. This drastically minimize fuel consumption and lower C02 emissions as the fuel consumed has been correctly optimized for the length of the journey.

    The world's first fully foldable, active, top-mounted rear wing The Koenigsegg One:1 featured the world's first top mounted active rear wing. This was an innovative solution that maximized down force compared to its size and weight.

    The Regera, being more luxury oriented, has taken this solution to the next level, allowing the wing also to fully fold down into the body work enhancing the cars elegance while parking and reducing drag while cruising. The wing´s active foldable mechanism, is a lightweight work of carbon fiber art and the movement is truly mesmerizing.

    Sporting a unique exhaust-note, the Regera has a custom designed, sound tuned titanium system jointly developed by Akrapovic.

    The novel exhaust system includes a fish tail outlet, envisioned by Christian, which has not been seen on a production car for the last half century, so we are excited to bring back the sound of the past!

    Koenigsegg Direct Drive
    As many of you have heard, Christian is not a fan of hybrids, as they are generally compromised when it comes to weight, complexity, cost, packaging and efficiency.

    Given this the Regera is not what we at Koenigsegg would call a hybrid, as it does not have the traditional shortcomings of a hybrid. Instead the Regera is a new breed of Koenigsegg - and car for that matter.

    Traditional, so called parallel, hybrids are compromised and heavy, as they have two independent propulsion systems. Alternatively, series hybrids are less compromised when it comes to weight, complexity and costs, but instead they are compromised when it comes to efficiency, as there is too much energy conversion going on.

    This brings us to the Koenigsegg Direct Drive Transmission or KDD for short - invented by Christian von Koenigsegg and developed for the Regera by the Koenigsegg Advanced Engineering team. The patent pending KDD system replaces the combustion engines traditional transmission and gives the added benefit of pure EV mode. What is unique is that the KDD manages to create direct drive to rear axle from the combustion engine without the need of multitude gears or other traditional types of variable transmissions, with inherently high energy losses.

    During highway travel, for example, the KDD reduces drivetrain losses, compared to traditional transmission or CVT by over 50%, as there is no step up or step down gear working in series with the final drive - just direct power transmission from the engine to the wheels.

    To supplement the energy from the combustion engine and to allow for torque vectoring, regenerative braking, extreme drivers response, reverse and energy conversion, there are three YASA developed electric motors. YASA´s axial flux motors are extremely power dense and allow for direct drive, making them a key-ingredient for the KDD. One YASA for each rear wheel, giving direct drive - this time electric - and one on the crankshaft, giving torque-fill, electrical generation and starter motor functionality.

    The three electric motors constitute the most powerful electrical motor set-up in production car history, replacing the gears of a normal transmission while adding; power, torque, torque vectoring and yet still able to remove weight.

    The battery pack and PDU for the KDD were developed and manufactured together with Electric Supercar virtuoso Mate Rimac and his engineering team. The 620 V battery pack is of the latest fully flooded type and is the most power-dense battery pack ever created for a road going car with 9,27 kWh of energy, 67 liters of volume, and 115kg of weight. Still, a full 500 kW can momentarily be drawn during acceleration and over 150 kW can be absorbed by the battery-pack during regenerative braking and ICE power generation mode.

    Every cell of the pack is carefully monitored for voltage, state of charge, health and temperature. The cells are enclosed in a fully machined aluminum casing for safety and stability. The battery is located in the most protected area of the car - the carbon-aramid chassis tunnel. The whole battery pack is actively cooled by external radiators and the Regera´s all new electrical air-conditioning system, which also can pre-cool the car via the Koenigsegg app on a warm day.

    The complete KDD system, including the battery, adds a mere 88kg to the Regera´s weight, compared to what the Regera would have weighed with a traditional ICE, coupled to a 7 speed DCT transmission instead of the KDD. Presently no other hybrid Hypercar even comes close to this type of weight ratio for their electrification. This is interesting, as they all have smaller battery capacity and less electric power than the Regera.

    To put it into perspective, the Regera has almost triple as many electric Bhp (700 Bhp) and over 300 Bhp more than its closest hybrid rival. Still the Regera manages to be very competitive weight wise, while including unusual features such as a six way adjustable electrical seat and a fully robotized body work. This is no small feature and it is a testament to the meticulous nature of the Koenigsegg engineering team.

    The combination of electrical and combustion power is just mind boggling. When you get up to speed, the system really comes into play - How about 3.2 seconds between 150 to 250 km/h and under 20 seconds from 0 to 400 hm/h?

    Powertrain stats
    1100 Hp of combustion engine power on 91 octane DIN or 95 octane RON (a bit more on E85)
    1250 Nm of combustion engine torque
    700 Hp of electric propulsion
    900 Nm of electric torque
    9 kWh 620 Volt, flooded liquid cooled battery pack

    Combined numbers
    Over 1500 BHp or 1.11 MW
    Over 2000 Nm of torque
    Dry weight 1420 kg
    1628 kg curb weight (including all liquids and full fuel tank)

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    Aston Martin début all-electric all-wheel-drive DBX Concept

    Aston Martin has surprise all at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show with the debut of an all electric DBX Concept.

    Aston Martin is calling the DBX Concept a high luxury GT that fits the description of a crossover coupe. Far from a production ready vehicle, the concept is just a design study for the time being, but Aston does admit there is a market for such a vehicle.

    The DBX Concept is an all-wheel drive crossover high luxury GT that uses in-board electric wheel motors at all four corners powered by lithium sulphur cells. Steering is a drive-by-wire system and both the driver and passenger have head-up displays surrounded by auto-dimming ‘smart glass’.

    The DBX Concept can accommodate four adults and all the cargo they could ever want since there is a traditional rear cargo area as well as a front trunk occupying the place usually reserved for a ICE.

    Souce: Autocar

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    Lower cost carbon nanotube supercapacitors promise 10x higher energy density

    Ultra- or supercapacitors are emerging as a key enabling energy storage technology for use in fuel-efficient transport as well as in renewable energy systems (for instance as power grid buffer). These devices combine the advantages of conventional capacitors, that can rapidly deliver high power densities on demand, and batteries, that can store a large amount of electrical energy.

    "Among the various types of supercapacitors, carbon nanotube (CNT) based devices have shown an order of magnitude higher performance in terms of energy and power densities," says Ramakrishna Podila, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Clemson University. "The bottleneck for transferring this technology to the marketplace, however, is the lack of efficient and scalable manufacturing methods."

    Podila's team at Clemson University have developed a new scalable method to directly spraycoat CNT-based supercapacitor electrodes. "Much like painting a car or a wall in your home, we can spray CNT solutions on flexible electrodes, porous aluminum foils in our case, to achieve high energy density supercapacitor electrodes without the need of any binder," explains Podila.

    The resulting supercapacitors have a 10 times higher energy density compared to the state-of-the-art supercapacitors on the market.

    Source: Nanowerk

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    Magna to Present Plug-In Hybrid Sports Car Concept at Geneva Motor Show

    Magna International Inc. is set to debut MILA Plus, an innovative two-seat hybrid sports car at Geneva Motor Show 2015. The concept vehicle, which will be displayed at Magna's booth #6261 in Hall 6, combines a sophisticated, lightweight construction with an intelligent, alternative-drive solution to produce maximum performance as well as eco-friendliness. With an all-electric range of 75km and a vehicle weight of 1,520kg, MILA Plus achieves reduced CO2 emissions of 32g/km.

    "Magna's broad range of services – from engineering to diverse product capabilities to full-vehicle contract manufacturing – helps support our customers as they continue to be challenged with the changing dynamics of the automotive industry. The MILA Plus vehicle concept illustrates our value proposition and advantage within the global supply base," emphasized Günther Apfalter, President Magna Europe and Magna Steyr.

    As the latest vehicle concept in the MILA innovation family, MILA Plus features advanced technologies and flexible manufacturing processes with a focus on eco-friendliness.

    Lightweight Construction
    The structure of MILA Plus is based on an extruded aluminum space frame which has a number of advantages over a steel structure, including: lower weight; modular structural flexibility; and ability to accommodate different driveline configurations. The modular body-in-white (BIW) concept also allows the use of components and systems from large series production, thus enabling improved manufacturing efficiency and flexibility for global automakers.

    MILA Plus offers additional benefits aimed at structural rigidity and weight reduction. For example, the concept integrates a high-voltage battery into the space frame, which increases structural rigidity. Lightweight plastic body panels are used due to their corrosion resistance and styling flexibility. A combination of manufacturing methods, sophisticated joining technologies and a multi-material external skin further contribute to a lightweight vehicle architecture that meets global safety standards.

    Sophisticated Joining Technologies
    Cold mechanical joining, a hybrid process in combination with bonding is used on the BIW. This reliable technology is more cost effective versus traditional welding solutions and is a joining process Magna has used on other vehicles including the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG and Aston Martin Rapide.

    Alternative Drive Solutions
    MILA Plus plug-in hybrid system achieves a reduced emission of 32g/km CO2. The performance of the three-cylinder gasoline engine is enhanced by the addition of two electric motors - one between the internal combustion engine and transmission to drive the rear axle, and one on the electric front axle. This arrangement results in an electric all-wheel-drive system which transmits more torque to the road and results in improvement of vehicle maneuverability and dynamics.


    Vehicle Dimensions:

    Length:              
    4403 mm
    Width:                
    1925 mm
    Height:                
    1250 mm
    Wheelbase:         
    2575 mm
    Baggage compartment: 
    360l (145l front; golf bag possible rear)
    Acceleration:                   
    0 to 100 km/h in 4.9s
    Electric acceleration:       
    0 to 80 km/h in 3.6s
    Power output (kW/PS):     
    200 / 272
    Torque (Nm):                      
    580 peak
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    GM to Study Vehicle Sharing with Shanghai Jiao Tong University

    General Motors China has signed a memorandum of understanding with Shanghai Jiao Tong University to collaborate on a vehicle sharing program featuring the Chevrolet EN-V 2.0 starting next year.

    A fleet of EN-V 2.0 vehicles will be integrated with a multi-modal transportation system alongside bicycles, cars and shuttle buses at the university’s Minhang campus in Shanghai to evaluate the benefits and challenges of a vehicle sharing transportation model.

    “The vehicle sharing program with Shanghai Jiao Tong University will allow us to assess the real-world application of the EN-V 2.0 as part of a vehicle sharing system,” said Matt Tsien, GM executive vice president and president of GM China. “We will apply these learnings to the development of future urban mobility transportation solutions, not just for China but for the world.”

    "Electric vehicles represent the transportation mode of the future, but the big topic now is how to develop them," according to Yin Chengliang, vice president of the Shanghai Jiao Tong University Automotive Engineering School. "This project will explore a model that integrates electric vehicles with the transportation network and intelligent transportation system."

    The Chevrolet EN-V 2.0 is the next generation of GM’s original Electric Networked-Vehicle (EN-V), which made its global debut at Expo 2010 in Shanghai. It can travel up to 40 kilometers on a single charge.

    The Shanghai Jiao Tong University collaboration is a continuation of GM’s vision for sustainable urban mobility announced at Expo 2010. Shanghai Jiao Tong University is a comprehensive research-oriented university and one of China’s leading educational institutions. GM and Shanghai Jiao Tong University have collaborated on many automotive, training and development projects over the past two decades.

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    SUBARU VIZIV GT Vision Wheel-Motor powered series hybrid concept [VIDEO]

    Subaru has revealed the digital-only Viziv GT Vision Gran Turismo, which will find its way into the Gran Turismo 6 on the PlayStation 3 video game system . It takes up the mantle from the Viziv Concept that debuted at the Tokyo motor show last year.

    The virtual Viziv GT is powered (virtually) by a 2-liter boxer four featuring both direct injection and turbocharging to the tune of 591 imaginary horsepower.

    The Viziv GT has all wheel drive with little lights over each fender that light up when the axle is receiving torque vectoring courtesy of three electric motors, one up front and two in the rear. Subaru compares it to their iconic "Symmetrical AWD" in an attempt to link it to their road-going cars, but this is a hybrid system unlike anything the company has previously worked on.

    “By independently controlling each of the motor outputs, turning ability while cornering is drastically improved, while the torque vectoring lamps built into the fenders visualize its movement, Thus, as with any other Subaru, the car is made controllable for anyone driving the car, regardless of its extremely high performance levels.”

    Maybe it's where the company is headed? Mitsubishi is already going down that road. Perhaps this is a sneak peek at a hybridized, CUV-like future for the iconic WRX and STI. Or it could just be a digital flight of fancy, which of course it is.

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    Supercapacitor panel-powered EVs a ‘reality’ in 5 years say QUT researchers

    A car partly powered by its own body panels could be on our roads within five years following the development of breakthrough nanotechnology by Queensland’s University of Technology.

    Researchers at QUT have succeeded in developing lightweight ‘supercapacitors’ that they say can be combined with regular batteries to dramatically boost the power of an electric car.

    The supercapacitors – described as a ‘sandwich’ of electrolyte between two all-carbon electrodes - were made by the research team into a thin and extremely strong film with a high power density.

    The development means that the film could one day be embedded in a car’s body panels, roof, doors, bonnet and floor - storing enough energy to turbocharge an electric car’s battery in just a few minutes.

    The findings, published in the Journal of Power Sources and the Nanotechnology journal, are the result of the work of the team comprising Postdoctoral Research Fellow Dr Jinzhang Liu, Professor Nunzio Motta and PhD researcher Marco Notarianni from QUT’s Science and Engineering faculty – Institute for Future Environments, and PhD researcher Francesca Mirri and Professor Matteo Pasquali, from Rice University in Houston in the United States.

    According to Marco Notarianni, the car partly powered by its own body panels could be a reality in the next five years.

    “Vehicles need an extra energy spurt for acceleration, and this is where supercapacitors come in. They hold a limited amount of charge, but they are able to deliver it very quickly, making them the perfect complement to mass-storage batteries.

    “Supercapacitors offer a high power output in a short time, meaning a faster acceleration rate of the car and a charging time of just a few minutes, compared to several hours for a standard electric car battery.”

    Dr Liu says one of these cars, after one full charge, should be able to run up to 500km – “similar to a petrol-powered car and more than double the current limit of an electric car."

    According to Dr Liu, currently the ‘energy density’ of a supercapacitor is lower than a standard lithium ion (Li-Ion) battery, but its ‘high power density’, or ability to release power in a short time, is far beyond a conventional battery.

    “Supercapacitors are presently combined with standard Li-Ion batteries to power electric cars, with a substantial weight reduction and increase in performance.

    “In the future, it is hoped the supercapacitor will be developed to store more energy than a Li-Ion battery while retaining the ability to release its energy up to 10 times faster – meaning the car could be entirely powered by the supercapacitors in its body panels.”

    Dr Liu says the technology would also potentially be used for rapid charges of other battery-powered devices.

    “For example, by putting the film on the back of a smart phone to charge it extremely quickly.”

    Another member of the research team, Professor Nunzio Motta, says the technology discovery may be a game-changer for the automotive industry, with significant impacts on financial, as well as environmental factors.

    “We are using cheap carbon materials to make supercapacitors and the price of industry scale production will be low.

    “The price of Li-Ion batteries cannot decrease a lot because the price of Lithium remains high. This technique does not rely on metals and other toxic materials either, so it is environmentally friendly if it needs to be disposed of.”

    The QUT researchers who made this discovery are part of the university’s Battery Interest Group, a cross-faculty group that aims to engage industry with battery-related research.