Ricardo wins funding to improve efficiency and performance of electric vehicles

Ricardo has been awarded funding from the Office of Low Emissions Vehicles (OLEV) – through a partnership with Innovate UK – to investigate the use innovative advanced thermal management methods to improve the performance and efficiency of the electric motors and power electronics used in electric and hybrid vehicles.

Running for six months, the project aligns with the UK Government’s aim of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by increasing electrification across a range of transport sectors. The focus of Ricardo’s work in the project, for which grant funding of £190,000 has been provided by OLEV through partnership with Innovate UK, will be the development of an electric motor concept with the aim of achieving a 15-20 percent improvement in performance compared with that of current state of the art products. If successful, this will provide vehicle manufacturers as early as 2021, with the capability of developing products which are able to meet Automotive Council UK motor and power electronics specific power targets for 2030.

By virtue of its enhanced performance, the concept will enable10-20 percent motor downsizing and weight reduction, providing improved vehicle packaging opportunities. Crucially, it will also help to bring down the total cost of each vehicle. This will help support the UK Government’s drive to increase the rate of electrification across a range of transport sectors and is applicable to battery electric vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and fuel cell drivelines. The design principles demonstrated in the new motor can also be applied across aerospace, off-highway and other markets.

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