Dossier

Performance Projects / Dynium electric tractor

Peter Donaldson relates the development of this tractor’s powertrain, which is designed to operate in confined spaces. When Dynium Robot decided to rethink the tractor to work in the confined spaces of orchards and polytunnels, the off-road robotics specialist turned to racecar engineering company Performance Projects to design the vehicle from...

Dossier

Lightning Strike electric motorcycle

Stewart Mitchell explains how this road-going machine was developed to take on the ICE competition – at a competitive price. Lightning Motorcycles is an all-electric motorcycle manufacturer that produces the LS-218 ‘superbike’ and the more affordable Strike, which is pitched head-on against gasoline-powered alternatives. Founder of the San Jose, California company Richard Hatfield says...

Dossier

Protean Electric PD18 in-wheel motor

Protean’s PD18 has a crucial advantage over other in-wheel motors – it can be retrofitted to existing vehicles. Wayne Ward reports. Pure electric vehicles are rapidly changing from being a niche purchase to one that will soon become commonplace. With the imperative that legislation places on the car...

Dossier

John Deere 944k Hybrid Wheel Loader

Peter Donaldson reports on the design and development of this bulk material mover, the first in its class to become commercially available. In construction and mining, wheel loaders move material in bulk, often scooping it from piles with a bucket and then lifting and dumping it into a truck or crusher. Most are powered by diesel engines coupled to...

Dossier

Phi-Power PHI301 axial flux motor

Lawrence Butcher investigates the technology and engineering behind this compact but powerful motor design. Something of the new kid on the block in the world of electric machines is the axial flux motor. It is a topology which in recent years has seen increased adoption in many e-mobility applications, with the arrival of..

Dossier

Volabo ISCAD motor

Lawrence Butcher talks to two of Volabo’s founders about their concept for a traction motor that runs off a mere 48 V. t is generally accepted that in order to use an electric traction motor in a vehicle, where a relatively high power output is...

Dossier

Pipistrel Alpha Electro

Lawrence Butcher explains how this electric two-seater, airworthy certified aircraft was developed and how it acts as a pointer to the future. Electric aircraft are by no means a new invention: the first recorded electric powered flight was in 1973, by...