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Researchers all around the world are teaming up with automotive manufacturers and battery manufacturers to attempt to design improvements in battery packs that will help electric vehicles drive farther. GE, Ford, and the University of Michigan are all working together on a new project with the goal of extending battery life for EVs. Longer battery life equates to a longer driving distance for electric vehicles.

The researchers working on the project are attempting to develop smart, miniaturized sensing systems with the goal of extending the life of the battery pack inside the EV or hybrid significantly over the conventional systems in use today. GE will be using its ultrathin battery sensor system with sophisticated modeling of cell behavior to control and optimize battery management systems in EVs. Sensors are used inside electric vehicles today to measure the health of the battery and look at factors such as temperature, voltage, and current.

The small size of the sensors GE is using allows sensors to be placed in areas of the battery where the larger existing sensor technology commonly used today can’t be located. The smaller sensors will enable a better understanding of battery performance and life inside current EVs. The data generated by the GE sensors will be used by scientists at the University of Michigan to verify their advanced battery models.

The data will also allow the scientists to create schemes that use instantaneous sensor data to predict future battery cell and battery pack behavior. Once the researchers develop the systems, Ford will place the new system in one of its electric vehicles for validation. This project is a three-year $3.1 million program and the goal is to demonstrate a working system inside an actual electric vehicle.

“The car battery remains the greatest barrier and most promising opportunity to bringing EVs mainstream.” said Aaron Knobloch, principal investigator and mechanical engineer at GE Global Research. “Improvements in the range, cost and life of the battery will all be needed for EVs to be competitive. With better sensors and new battery analytics, we think we can make substantial progress at increasing battery life. This, in turn, could help bring down its overall cost and the cost entitlement of buying an electric car.”

GE, Ford, and the University of Michigan team up to extend EV battery life is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Yesterday Toyota handed the keys to its RAV4 EV over to car geeks in the media for the first time. Along with allowing the first non-Toyota folks to drive the new EV also comes a slew of new statistics and facts about the electric SUV. The RAV4 EV is completely electric powered and will arrive in select California dealerships later this summer.

Toyota notes that it expects the EV to have an EPA-estimated driving range of around 100 miles. The car takes about six hours to charge on a 240V/40A charging system. In my mind, one of the big downsides to this E and many others on the market is the sales price. The RAV4 EV costs $49,800. However, when you combine California state and federal EV purchasing incentives, the purchase price will be about $10,000 less than that MSRP. The new electric SUV uses a lot of Tesla Motors technology under the hood.

Toyota also worked hard to reduce the coefficient of drag for the RAV4 EV to help it drive as far as it can per charge. The electric version of the RAV4 has a coefficient of drag of 0.35 Cd compared to the electric version having a 0.30 Cd. Toyota claims that the electric version of the SUV has the lowest coefficient of drag for any SUV in the world. Gains were made by redesigning the front bumper, lower grill, upper grill, side mirrors, rear spoiler, and a tweaked underbody design.

The RAV4 EV is a front-wheel drive vehicle and features two driving modes for sport or normal driving. In sport mode, the SUV can reach 60 mph from a standstill in 7 seconds and has a maximum speed of 100 mph. In normal mode, the vehicle can hit 60 mph from a dead stop in 8.6 seconds and has a top speed of 85 mph. The electric powertrain has a total of 154 HP. The vehicle also has dual charging modes, including standard and extended. In standard mode, the battery pack charges up to 35 kWh and is expected to provide an EPA-estimated driving range of 92 miles. In extended mode the battery pack charges to 41.8 kWh providing an estimated driving range of 113 miles. Standard mode is intended to optimize the battery life.

Toyota RAV4 EV rolls out for first drives is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

BMW has revealed its latest electric vehicle, but unlike the i-Series cars the new C evolution bike is somewhat less glamorous and likely to be a whole lot more affordable. Part of BMW’s Motorrad group, the BMW C evolution uses a 11 kW electric drive for a top speed 120 kph and a range of 100 km from an 8 kWh battery. Unlike electric city cars, however, BMW believes the C evolution bike is perfectly suited to motorway driving as well.

While the C evolution may look a whole lot more conventional than the i-Series, it does share some of the behind-the-scenes technology. The li-ion storage modules are the same as in the i3, for instance, and have been designed with longevity despite cold climates and irregular charging patterns in mind.

Meanwhile, an air cooling system saves weight and power, with specially designed ducts guiding airflow through the chassis to keep the battery from overheating. A die-cast aluminum casing with longitudinal ribs gives plenty of surface area, working as a huge heat-sink.

A flat to full recharge takes under three hours, BWM claims, from a regular domestic socket or a public chargin station; in fact the C evolution is supposedly the first two-wheeler to provide support for the latter. In front of the driver there’s a TFT color display which shows remaining charge and range, together with details on whether the automatic power recuperation system – which tops up the battery as the bike slows – is active.

Outwardly, at first glance you might not even realize this particular BMW is electric, though illuminated “e” symbols on the battery trims might be a giveaway. No word on when the C evolution might turn up in showrooms, nor at what price.

BMW C evolution: Earth friendly with no rider compromise is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

GE has announced the creation of a new world-class traction motor for hybrid and electric vehicles. The new prototype electric motor delivers higher power density and better acceleration efficiency in a smaller frame at a lower cost than existing electric motors. The goal for GE is to extend the range of electric vehicles and reduce fuel consumption for hybrids using the new motor.

GE notes that the new electric motor has almost twice the temperature tolerance of a conventional hybrid-electric motor and doesn’t need a separate cooling system. The elimination of a separate cooling system allows the vehicle to be lighter, which directly translates into longer driving distance. The new electric motor is a prototype Interior Permanent Magnet traction motor that was developed as part of the $5.6 million US Department of Energy project to extend the range of DVDs and hybrids.

The prototype traction motor operates at a peak power level of 55kW and exceeds state of the art motors in the same class in several areas. The motor has nearly twice the power density offering better acceleration compared to similar motors and is 3 to 5% more efficient. The motor also achieves the required torque using lower DC bus voltage as low as 200 V versus 650 V and other motors. The GE electric motor is designed to be cool with normal engine coolant in a hybrid vehicle rather than needing its own dedicated cooling system.

“This is a significant accomplishment. We at GE are pushing the boundaries to build more robust, yet more efficient motors for hybrid and fully electric platforms,” said Ayman El-Refaie, Electrical Engineer, in GE Global Research’s Electrical Machines Lab. “We have built a motor that is substantially more powerful than what’s commercially available now, all while improving efficiency by up to 5%.”

GE researchers create new prototype traction motor for hybrid and electric vehicles is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

We may be comfortable in our four-door electric hatchbacks and screaming fast no-emission roadsters, but Danish automotive outfit ECOmove has more conservative aspirations: the QBEAK. This dainty driver eschews standard vehicle design to create a compact, customizable package. “We have chosen to use alternative light weight materials, “explains ECOmove CEO Mogens Løkke. “The QBEAK is equipped with a range of sustainable, competitive features such as in-wheel motors, an unique chassis platform with room for a flexible battery modules and a communication system based on a smartphone.” Details on smartphone compatibility, price and specific availability are still scarce, but the firm says we can expect to see the tiny EV puttering down the boulevard later this year. Can’t wait? Head on past the break for a quirky preview video.

Filed under: Transportation

ECOmove pegs QBEAK EV for 2012 launch, keeps specifics vague originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Jul 2012 05:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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