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Open season for EV platforms

The world’s largest contract manufacturer is offering car and truck makers an open platform for EVs (writes Nick Flaherty). Foxconn Technology has developed an electric powertrain, chassis and battery system for a range of EVs that can be made by itself, by OEM partners...

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Double-sided ceramic power module for drive inverters

Engineers in Germany have developed a double-sided ceramic power semiconductor module for more efficient cooling of silicon carbide (SiC) power devices in e-mobility designs (writes Nick Flaherty). The ceramic module developed in the FuCera project dramatically cuts the size of drive inverters by providing more efficient cooling and allows vertical interconnection within the ceramic substrate […]

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Electrolyte detection outs cell leaks

Cell leakage in lithium ion batteries is bad news, so battery makers want to find any that happen during manufacture or assembly so their quality control teams can prevent early failures and minimise warranty costs, while drivers need confidence, safety and low servicing costs. Sandra Seitz from vacuum analysis and test instrument specialists Inficon explained […]

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Dyno development

For ICE powertrain companies looking to transition into e-powertrain engineering, the construction of the new test cells poses on of the biggest cost-barrier to entry, writes Rory Jackson. High-speed dynamometers and test benches capable of measuring the performances of e-motors are inevitably pricey, and many such companies already possess significant testing equipment for cycling combustion […]

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Battery chip boosts EV range

A sensing and balancing chip for battery packs that can extend the range and reliability of EVs has been launched (writes Nick Flaherty). The TLE9012AQU from Infineon Technologies supports up to 12 battery cells with an accuracy of ±5.8 mV over a pack’s temperature and voltage range as well as its life cycle. This accuracy extends an EV’s range...

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ATMP goes electric

Researchers at the University of Exeter, in the UK, have teamed up with Supacat to develop an electric version of the 6 x 6 All-Terrain Mobility Platform, or ATMP (writes Nick Flaherty). The ATMP, first developed in the 1980s, already operates in a range of harsh terrains for military applications using a diesel engine. The conversion to an electric powertrain had to be rugged...

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Relay device retains memory

Researchers at the University of Bristol, in the UK, have developed a new type of electromechanical nanodevice that can be used as a non-volatile memory in high-temperature power systems in EVs and aircraft (writes Nick Flaherty). The leakage current in transistors used as electronic memory devices increases with temperature, so an electromechanical relay built on a micromachined...

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Solar roof sees the light of day

Electric solar car developer Lightyear is working with Dutch multinational Royal DSM on the technology for its solar roof (writes Nick Flaherty). The companies will integrate solar power roofs in various EVs, including cars, vans and buses...

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SiC chips board buses in China

Power modules from StarPower Semiconductor are using the next generation of SiC semiconductors for the first time for electric buses in China (writes Nick Flaherty). Bus maker Zhengzhou Yutong Group is using a 100 A, 1200 V SiC MOSFET transistor from Cree for the StarPower module in an 800 V powertrain design. This will provide the first electric bus design in China to use the SiC widebandgap semiconductor MOSFETs...

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Magnets made using 3D printing

Researchers in Austria have developed a technique to build magnets using additive manufacturing (writes Nick Flaherty). The team, at Friedrich-Alexander- Universitat, worked with researchers at the Graz University of Technology, the University of Vienna and the research institute Joanneum Research to produce the specially...