Deep Insight

Coil windings

Peter Donaldson takes electric machines apart to examine the inner workings of coil windings. At first glance, electric machines are simple. They have one moving part, the rotor, which either rotates in response to an input of electrical energy or puts out an electric current in response to an input of mechanical energy that rotates it.

Deep Insight

Power Semiconductors

Nick Flaherty discovers how the world of power semiconductor devices is shifting away from silicon Power semiconductors are used across many areas of e-mobility, with different technologies suitable for each part of a vehicle, depending on the voltage and current requirements, while emerging tech is allowing smaller systems to be implemented.

Deep Insight

Potting & encapsulation

Peter Donaldson examines the finer points of potting and encapsulation Many electrical and electronic components last longer, perform better and stand up to the stresses and strains of hard use with fewer complaints if they are potted or encapsulated in a polymer. While the two terms are often used interchangeably,

Deep Insight

Immersive cooling

Nick Flaherty explains the advantages of immersion cooling and the various forms that approach can take Immersive cooling can significantly improve the performance of e-mobility powertrain designs, allowing higher charging and discharging rates and extending the life of battery packs by keeping the temperature of battery cells under much tighter control.

Deep Insight

Battery coatings

Peter Donaldson finds complex challenges within the development of coatings for battery applications Coatings play a crucial role in battery cells, modules and packs. Evolving continuously, they are engineered to enhance performance, safety, reliability and longevity in these complex, high value electrochemical systems. While the

Deep Insight

Improving power electronics

Nick Flaherty reports on how semiconductor r&d is leading to more efficient and powerful electronic switching solutions for e-mobility Power devices for e-mobility come in a range of technologies to boost performance and efficiency. Insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) made from silicon have been the original power switch for decades; they are robust and low cost but can only switch at frequencies of around...

Deep Insight

Electric motors for aircraft

Developments in motors for e-aircraft are becoming intertwined with issues of energy storage and certification. Nick Flaherty reports There are many different designs for motors being developed for a variety of electric aircraft platforms, from vertical take-off air taxis to 100-seaters with a flying time of an hour or so for regional flights.

Deep Insight

Battery welding

Welding experts give Peter Donaldson their views on how the technology is keeping abreast of developments in the EV batteries industry Welding is a vitally important family of joining techniques for EV battery systems. A large battery might need thousands of individual connections, joining the positive and negative terminals of cells...

Deep Insight

Lithium iron phosphate batteries

Developments in LFP technology are making it a serious rival to lithium-ion for e-mobility, as Nick Flaherty explains Lithium-ion batteries have some disadvantages for e-mobility that cannot be ignored, such as lower safety and higher cost than other chemistries. At the same time, improvements in battery pack technology in recent...

Deep Insight

Ammonia as an EV fuel

For all practical purposes, there is more hydrogen in ammonia (NH3) than in pure hydrogen, because hydrogen is a diffuse gas at ambient temperatures and pressures (writes Peter Donaldson).