Renewables
In-wheel motors for electric vehicles evolving fast
Electric motor drive is key to all electric vehicles (EV) and it is taking new forms. In-wheel motors are successful in two-wheel EVs but they have rarely been seen in larger vehicles due to safety and cost concerns and a fear that unsprung weight gives a rougher ride. Near-wheel motors are a compromise.
Giving the battery second life
The first batch of electric vehicle batteries are reaching their retirement age and the next ten years will see a huge increase in the volume of retired batteries. What will happen to the huge amount of used EV batteries? IDTechEx has recently released the latest report: “Second-life Electric Vehicle Batteries 2020-2030”.
Battery management IC maximises driving range for EVs
Renesas Electronics has announced its fourth-generation lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery management IC that offers unmatched life time accuracy. The ISL78714 provides accurate cell voltage and temperature monitoring, along with cell balancing and extensive system diagnostics to protect 14-cell Li-ion battery packs while maximising driving time and range for hybrid and electric vehicles (HEV/MHEV/PHEV/BEV).
Death of internal combustion with EV range
Electric aircraft have got there. Cars next. With no road resistance, the best electric aircraft, the Bye Aerospace eFlyer, achieves 1000km with its solar wing option. This range will be the final nail in the coffin of internal combustion cars. It is longer than some of them offer. With gasoline stations shutting down, guess who then gets range anxiety! By Dr Peter Harrop, Chairman at IDTechEx
What is the true cost of driving green?
With just over 20 years until petrol and diesel cars are planned to be banned, Britain is weighing up the idea of switching to ‘green’ driving more than ever before. MoneySuperMarket has conducted a study to determine just how viable this switch is. The data reveals the true cost of making the jump to electric versus driving a petrol or diesel car, as well as the number of charging points currently available in dif...
Accelerating the spread of SiC inverters for EVs and railcars
Showa Denko has developed a second generation high-grade silicon carbide (SiC) epitaxial wafer (HGE-2G) suitable for power semiconductors. SDK has been mass-producing the first generation of high grade SiC epitaxial wafer with very low defect density under the trade name of 'High-Grade Epi' (HGE). HGE-2G achieves further improvements in quality with six inches (150mm) diameter.
Nation-wide EV charging network across the UK
Tritium has signed a deal with BOX ENERGI to be the sole supplier of DC rapid chargers for sites across the United Kingdom for its DRIVE ENERGI network. DRIVE ENERGI is targeting to complete the installation of 2,500 charging locations by 2025, with at least 100 sites to be live by end of January 2020.
The EV project powering next-gen battery systems
As the automotive industry seeks to electrify its product ranges, the thermal management of high capacity batteries used for EVs is proving a significant challenge. The performance and efficiency of battery cells can deteriorate - and their ageing can be accelerated - if operating temperatures exceed the upper or lower limits of a comparatively narrow range. In extreme cases, exceeding upper operating limits can risk thermal runaway of cells, lea...
Electric car tipping point: delight or destroy?
It is nonsense to forecast pure electric cars costing the same as traditional ones, then life continuing much as usual. The up-front price of pure electric PE cars will be dropping below that of internal combustion engine ICE ones around 2025. The fundamentals are now clear. By Dr Peter Harrop, industry expert and Chairman at IDTechEx.
New 650V SiC FET packages offer range of RDS values
UnitedSiC has added two new TO220-3L package options to its growing range of hard-switching UF3C FAST series of 650V SiC FETs. The new products offer RDS(on) values of 30mohms (UF3C065030T3S) and 80mohms (UF3C065080T3S). The three-leaded, industry-standard TO220-3L package features enhanced thermal characteristics made possible by a sintered-silver packaging technology.