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Elaphe’s approach to in-wheel motor development

Specialising in complete in-wheel electric powertrains, Elaphe’s development roots go back to the late 1980s (writes Peter Donaldson). However, the company was only officially founded 16 years ago, to pioneer in-wheel motors and multiple-wheel drive control systems, which it has evolved into a complete technology platform. “One of the most important things for us in […]

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Protecting electric ships with rapid DC switching

Potentially critical faults in the high-power DC powertrains increasingly found in ships, particularly ferries, must be isolated as quickly as possible to minimise damage and allow the rest of the system to continue operating as normal (writes Peter Donaldson). Key to this is the application of solid-state power electronics in the form of switches based […]

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Lotus gives update on LEVA platform

Lotus has openly said that its latest sportscar, the Emira, will be its last mainstream model with an IC engine (writes Peter Donaldson). Its next-generation two-seater will be based on the Lightweight Electric Vehicle Architecture (LEVA), on which Lotus is working with initial funding from industry body the Advanced Propulsion Centre, in partnership with casting […]

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AGRO explains importance of EMC-shielded cable glands

Like most small parts in complex vehicle systems, the glands that support, seal and protect the interfaces between HV cables and the components they link rarely receive the attention that the critical nature of the functions they fulfil perhaps ought to command (writes Peter Donaldson). AGRO’s EVolution EMC cable glands are a case in point, […]

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Sono Motors sets sights on whole-vehicle PV panels

Sono Motors, developer of the Sion solar-powered car, is working on integrating solar cells into all of its five-door, five-seat family hatchback’s outer body panels (writes Peter Donaldson). The Sion is a BEV with a 54 kWh battery that the company expects to provide a range of 305 km on a full charge, with the […]

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Holding electronics together under high voltages and temperatures

While EVs may have much in common with consumer electronics, the combination of high voltages and powers, and the safety-critical nature of many of their systems, is providing some major headaches for printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) contractors and electronics manufacturing services (EMS) providers – headaches that vehicle OEMs won’t be able to cure with […]

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Airbus combines electric aircraft designs for air mobility initiative

Airbus is combining its two short-range electric aircraft designs – the rotor-based Vahana and the fixed-wing CityAirbus NextGen concept – for a collaboration in Germany (writes Nick Flaherty). “The first is for a long hover times, for example for rescue operations, while the Vahana is for longer flights, for example from Nuremberg to Munich,” says […]

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WAVE hello to wireless charging for commercial EVs

Aaron Gillmore, the CEO at wireless inductive charging system developer WAVE, believes that the market has reached a take-off point in commercial medium- and heavy-duty commercial EV fleets (writes Peter Donaldson).  “The technology is here now,” he says. “Over the last 10 years the WAVE team has put in a lot of work to design […]

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Breakthrough for lithium-sulphur batteries

A cell technology holding 900 Wh/kg – three times the energy density of state-of-the-art lithium-ion battery chemistries – that is safer and cheaper thanks to the use of abundant and easily accessible sulphur for the cathode in place of nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NMC) is an exciting prospect (writes Peter Donaldson). Batteries that use sulphur […]

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Going electric gives classic off-roader new abilities

Examples of classic vehicles converted to electric power abound, but SC Innovation’s reworking of the rugged skid-steered 6 x 6 All-Terrain Mobility Platform (ATMP) is remarkable because, rather than adding a high-tech twist to an exercise in nostalgia, it brings new capabilities to a machine that has filled niches in military, agricultural and other utility […]
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