COVER STORY
EMR4 is a popular three-in-one drive platform, consisting of an electric machine, power electronics and a gearbox
WEIGHT-LOSS PLAN
How can technical advances on the powertrain side deliver lighter, more compact engines for electric vehicles? Louise Davis asks an electrification innovator how his team is tackling this task
V
itesco Technologies’ website proudly declares that the firm is “pioneering the powertrain electrification”.
What it might also be doing is pioneering advances in lightweighting, as Gerd Rösel, the company’s Head of Innovation Electrification Solutions, explains. “The weight of a vehicle plays a crucial role in its efficiency. Less mass means less power is required to propel the vehicle,” begins Rösel. “This is especially important for battery electric vehicles (BEVS), where achieving a higher range necessitates larger batteries, which in turn increases weight. Our simulation indicates that for every 100kg of weight, an additional 2.3% of power is required for a D-segment vehicle,” he adds.
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www.engineerlive.com Rösel is keen to point out that the
electrification expert’s focus isn’t just on making engines lighter: for Vitesco Technologies, the overarching aim is to enable cleaner, greener vehicles. “Our primary focus is on reducing CO2
emissions to minimise the
environmental impact of individual mobility. But reduction of weight is very often a resulting effect,” Rösel notes. So, what sort of technologies and
methodologies can be applied to achieve those dual goals of lighter and greener? “Achieving lower emissions often involves using new materials, innovative product designs and different electric motor topologies. Parallel to that, efficiency is another critical factor in reducing weight and costs,” states Rösel. “By improving the
efficiency of the electric motor and electronics, other components such as the battery can be reduced in size and weight while maintaining the same driving range. And as a third aspect, greater integration of components into complete systems can further reduce both weight and cost.”
COMPACT COMPONENTS Vitesco Technologies offers an array of powertrain solutions that are lighter and more compact than ever before, and Rösel reports that these end products are a direct result of continual R&D. He says: “Looking at our products, they have become increasingly compact with each successive generation. For instance, our integrated axle drive,
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