Rob Coppinger reports on Alpha Motor Corporation’s digital route to creating a more efficient range of EVs for the global market Alpha Motor Corporation’s latest vehicle, the Saga sedan, is building on the technical standardisation the company is applying across its range of vehicles. Announced in November last year, the Saga is continuing and expanding […] More…

There are big, system-level energy savings to be made in thermal management by switching high-power components such as pumps and fans to higher voltages (writes Peter Donaldson).   Technical Services should know. It is the UK-based European technical partner of US electric pump and fan manufacturer EMP, handling application engineering for OEMs. Its sales and […] More…

Mahle Powertrain is investing $4 million in a new powertrain dynamometer facility in Plymouth, Michigan, aimed at accelerating vehicle development as manufacturers continue the shift towards EVs. Capable of supporting full powertrain development, from the testing and calibration of individual drive components to the complete driveline systems of 4WD vehicles, the facility will enable ADAS […] More…

Total cost of ownership, long service life and packaging efficiency that frees mass and volume for cargo and passengers are essential requirements for all commercial vehicles (CVs) – and meeting all those needs is a challenge as the sector transitions to electric power, according to Harry Husted, BorgWarner’s vice-president and CTO (writes Peter Donaldson). Speaking […] More…

Over the past 5 years, US auto parts maker Dana Incorporated has undergone a dramatic transformation since it entered the e-mobility market. Its acquisition and integration of companies such as TM4 and Pi Innovo, combined with internal development of skills critical to electric powertrain engineering, have resulted in it accumulating a portfolio of OEM customers. More…

Power management company Eaton’s eMobility business has introduced a single-stage vent valve for EV batteries. The valve acts as an over-pressure relief for the vehicle’s pack. The valve’s resealing technology allows customers to specify very low opening pressures and testing for 100% functionality compared with the conventional burst-valve technology commonly used in the market at […] More…

Heating is as important as cooling in the thermal management of battery packs, since lithium-ion batteries need to be held within the temperature range specified by the cell manufacturer if they are to operate safely and efficiently, and achieve their maximum service life (writes Peter Donaldson). Efficient, self-regulating positive temperature coefficient (PTC) heaters constitute an […] More…

Efficient Power Conversion (EPC) has developed an inverter reference design based around an integrated gallium nitride (GaN) chip that reduces the size of powertrains in electric bikes (writes Nick Flaherty). The design, for a 1.5 kW three phase brushless DC motor drive inverter, uses the EPC23101 eGaN chip. This has an embedded gate driver function […] More…

To be competitive in global markets, ultra-fast production processes are essential. That is also true for the manufacture of batteries, for which RAMPF Group has developed polymers for sealing, casting and thermal management, as well as dispensing and automation systems. RAMPF uses epoxy, silicone and polyurethane polymers for sealing, casting and thermal management solutions for […] More…

The electrification of the global commercial vehicle segment will gain serious momentum over the next 10 to 20 years, according to a study by ACT Research. It predicts that 24% of commercial vehicle demand – Class 4 to Class 8 trucks, including transit, coach, school and refuse trucks – in the US, as well as […] More…

High-voltage batteries are indispensable for the electrification and decarbonisation of vehicles worldwide, but the specific energy and energy density limitations of current battery technology bring challenges to the forefront when optimising different kinds of EVs. Take heavy-duty commercial EVs, for example. Whether electrifying an 18-wheel truck, a coach, a city bus or some similar sort of long-endurance fleet vehicle, hundreds of kilowatt-hours of energy need to be stored onboard. More…

ZEEKR, the e-mobility technology brand from Geely Holding Group, and CATL have announced that the former will become the first EV brand to use CATL’s Qilin battery, which uses the third generation of cell-to-pack technology. The ZEEKR 009 luxury MPV will be the first vehicle to use the new battery, with deliveries beginning in the […] More…

Cylindrical cells and central liquid cooling are key architectural characteristics of the new “ultra-high-energy” Akasystem AKM CYC module technology from BorgWarner, which acquired its developer Akasol in February (writes Peter Donaldson). The system is a scalable set of battery modules designed to be built up into packs for heavy vehicles including buses and trucks, along […] More…

Power Integrations (PI) has developed two versions of its gate driver board that is suitable for powertrain designs in heavy equipment such as trucks, buses, and agricultural and construction equipment (writes Nick Flaherty). The Scale EV gate driver boards are designed to fit on top of Infineon’s EconoDual half-bridge modules in the same footprint. The […] More…

The Hall effect has been the mainstay of magnetic sensing since it was discovered by US physicist Edwin Hall in 1879. The effect describes the creation of an electric field in a conductor that carries a current and is placed perpendicular to a magnetic field. The fact that the induced voltage is proportional to the magnetic field provides a measurement that is used to control brushless motors and the position of almost anything that rotates. More…

Allison Transmission has announced the availability of hydrogen fuel cell and compressed natural gas (CNG) testing at its Vehicle Electrification + Environmental Test Center. The company has completed the installation of two phases of hydrogen capabilities. Phase one provides the ability to safely detect and manage hydrogen gas or flames in a test cell as […] More…

Mercedes-Benz is replacing raw fossil resources with pyrolysis oil made in part from its scrap tyres. It aims to put components featuring the technology into series production in a number of its models this year. The company says it anticipates being able to chemically recycle several hundred tonnes of tyres every year and use the […] More…

Green Watt Power, a division of Powerland Technology, has announced the EVC-1500 fully potted, ruggedised charger for 48 V batteries for EV applications. It is designed specifically to charge lithium-ion battery systems in motorcycles, scooters, carts, fork lifts and other e-mobility applications.  The charger has universal input voltages and an output voltage range of 28-59 […] More…

In a thermal runaway, a lithium-ion battery typically releases oxygen from the cathode and volatile hydrocarbons from the electrolyte, generating both oxidiser and fuel to sustain a fire from purely internal sources (writes Peter Donaldson). Reliable detection and early intervention are therefore critical for preventing the worst consequences of battery thermal incidents – fire and […] More…

Developers of charging systems are looking to address key challenges for fast charging and higher capacity battery packs, and this is leading to automated charging systems. More…