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Monitor tests insulation remotely

Danisense has launched a residual current monitor (RCM) with a 70 mm primary cable/busbar aperture for testing insulation (writes Nick Flaherty). The aperture allows monitoring of the residual currents in electrical power systems without the need for fast system shutdown. The monitor, called the RCMH070IB+, measures DC and AC...

In Conversation

Dr Pat Anderson

VerdeGo Aero’s CTO talks to Rory Jackson about how his academic work feeds into the company’s commercial development of aviation technology. Aviation has been a constant presence in Dr Pat Anderson’s life. One of his earliest memories is being visited at the age of five by his uncle...

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Inverter doubles as a charger

Bel has developed a three-phase wide range bidirectional inverter that can be used as an onboard charger as well as a power source for external equipment (writes Nick Flaherty). The key innovation for the BCL25-700-8 is a wide DC output range from 250 to 800 V, with a constant current of 60 A across the voltage range and both single and three-phase...

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Texas unveils ASIL-D wireless BMS

Texas Instruments (TI) has combined its proprietary comms protocol with its sensor chips to create a wireless BMS (writes Nick Flaherty). The use of a wireless BMS is key to the economics of EVs, as it reduces the weight and complexity of wiring and allows the battery packs to have...

Grid

Bipolar nickel-hydrogen battery for 2021 Toyota Aqua

Toyota’s new Acqua compact HEV comes with a bipolar nickel-hydrogen battery, a world first for a road vehicle according to the Japanese automotive giant (writes Peter Donaldson). Conventional non-bipolar nickel-hydrogen batteries have a much lower energy density than lithium-ion versions but much longer service lives. Compared with the nickel-hydrogen battery in the previous-generation Aqua, says […]

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Nanotubes boost copper wiring

Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the US have created a composite that increases the electrical current capacity of copper wires (writes Nick Flaherty). The research aims to boost the performance and life of components such as electric motors and power electronics. The carbon nanotube (CNT) material can be deployed...

Grid

GaN switch at 650 V ‘sweet spot’

Texas Instruments (TI) has produced a 650 V gallium nitride (GaN) power switch for EV designs (writes Nick Flaherty). It is combined with a silicon gate driver in a single package to simplify the design and management of power systems. The combination has been under test with customers for the past two years, gathering...

Grid

Standard pack for trucks unveiled

Webasto, better known for producing heating and cooling systems, has developed a standardised, modular battery pack for commercial EVs (writes Nick Flaherty). The basic 35 kW, 400 V pack in the CV Standard Battery System has been designed to be used in series or parallel to support 800 V requirements. It uses NMC prismatic lithium-ion cells, and the company has also developed a modular...

Grid

On-site charge packs needs no grid

Jolt Energy has launched a 160 kW high-speed charger for EVs that comes with a replaceable battery pack for when there is no grid connection (writes Nick Flaherty). The MerlinOne measures 230 x 120 x 110 cm and has 200 kWh of internal battery storage. It was developed in cooperation...

Grid

Powertrains project takes off

A project has been announced in the US to develop lightweight and ultra-efficient electric motors, drives and associated thermal management system for large commercial electric aircraft (writes Nick Flaherty). The Aviation-class Synergistically Cooled Electric motors with iNtegrated Drives (ASCEND) project brings together an engineering team at Texas A&M University...
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