The TS electric motorbike produced by the Finnish Verge Motorcycles has a feature that distinguishes it from all other existing motorbikes: it is hubless. The motor, in fact, is the wheel: magnets are in the rim and the tire rotates around a central fixed part. This arrangement also entrusts the motor with the rear brake function, which is controlled by a lever on the handlebar. Both brakes are managed by hands, eliminating controls on footpegs.
The declared power is 109 HP (80 kW) and 1,000 Nm of torque, for an acceleration corresponding to 0-100 km/h in less than 4 seconds and utmost speed of 180 km/h that is reached in another handful of time.
Where is the battery? It is located under the saddle and has an autonomy of 300 km on urban roads and of 200 km on the motorway.
Verge TS, here is the electric motorbike with the motor in the wheel
The PCB stator for the axial flux motor
While at the beginning it was not welcomed with great enthusiasm, today the idea of replacing an iron stator with a light PCB one is achieving a new prospect. Lightening the stator means attaining more motor efficiency, therefore fewer emissions and electric energy consumptions.
In 2012, there was already feasibility evidence, when Boulder Wind Power integrated a PCB stator into a direct-transmission generator with 12-metre diameter for a wind turbine that produces 3 megawatts of power and slightly more than 2 million Nm of torque.
The Texan Infinitum Electric has a lot to say about this issue, having developed a PCB stator motor that suits a broad variety of purposes and generates the same power as a conventional alternate current induction motor, but with half weight and sizes. Now, the specific motor is finding applications such as HVAC and electric vehicles.
Additive manufacturing, windings in DC motors
Oak Ridge National Laboratory, managed by UT-Battelle LLC for the US Department of Energy, has recently released the news of its research into applying additive manufacturing to replace windings in DC motors.
The basic question is: “Can we 3D print an electric motor”?
The answer that comes from Tennessee in the United States is “Maybe yes for one vital component of it: the rotor”. That possibility holds important promise for better motor performance. Amiee Jackson, researcher with Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility has spoken of producing rotors via laser powder bed fusion. The engineer explained that rotors are usually made by winding a conductive alloy; changing the alloy composition to improve motor performance impedes manufacturing, because that change reduces the ductility that is important for winding. So, by offering a way to print the rotor with no winding involved, additive manufacturing potentially solves this problem.
A new series of fully integrated electric axles
It is called eGen Power™ and is designed to fit between the wheels of medium and heavy-duty trucks and buses, replacing the vehicle’s traditional powertrain.
We are speaking of the new series of fully integrated electric axles from Allison Transmission.
eGen Power™ is a bolt-in solution compatible and easily customizable to the current vehicle frame, suspension and wheel ends, and is well suited to most OEM vehicle assembly processes. The eGen Power series features fully integrated electric motors, a multi-speed gearbox, an oil cooler and a pump, providing industry-high performance and efficiency. The system is compatible with full battery electric vehicles (BEV) and fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV) as well as range extending hybrid applications.
eGen Power™ includes fully electric e-Axles of the brand for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles up to 28,660 lbs. GAWR, with a multi-speed gearbox and up to 652 kW of peak power.
e-truck, the direction of Man giant
Among the most challenging matches in the sustainability championship there is undoubtedly the one concerning heavy vehicles’ emissions.
This direction is pursued by the maker Man Truck & Bus: “The Future starts now – We pave the road to Zero Emission” is the slogan with which the company welcomed in Nurnberg representatives of politics, scientific world and industry to present an electric truck, almost mass-produced, and to give birth to an important future project about hydrogen.
«Man – declared Alexander Vlaskamp, Chairman of the Executive Board of Man Truck & Bus is accelerating its transformation and making great strides towards zero-emission traction systems. Man’s and Traton Group’s goal is focused on the battery systems that constitute the base for our heavy-duty e- trucks, which we will release starting from 2024. Then, only when sufficient quantities of hydrogen and the corresponding infrastructure will be available, well after 2030, we are planning to use H2 trucks in selected application areas. This is the reason why we are studying the opportunities offered by hydrogen and Bavarian State’s funding allows us to develop further competences in the field».
Bavarian State finances “Bavarian Fleet” research project with 8.5 million Euros in the ambit of its strategy towards hydrogen and so it accelerates the competence development: Man is developing a fuel-cell truck together with its industrial partners Bosch, Faurecia and ZF.
With the presentation of the new electric prototype based on the new truck generation, Man highlights how battery and hydrogen fuel- cell electric tractions go hand in hand technologically and evolve simultaneously. The electric motor, which draws its energy from batteries, is the starting point.
Aluminium windings?
Copper, material typically used for the windings of conventional electric motors, is more expensive and heavier than aluminium. For this reason as well, they have started the first experimentations of aluminium windings for electric motors, expected to replace a fundamental role, that is to say generating the electromagnetic field for the rotor.
Concerning this, protagonist is the British company Ricardo, which has started developing electric motors with aluminium windings intended for small-size electric cars.
Ricardo has been developing a rare-earth magnet-free sustainable electric motor concept with aluminium stator windings, which retains the key attributes of magnet-rich motors. The goal has been to create technology which is robust, costs less than current products and reduces lifecycle impact by eliminating the use of scarce resources for example up to 12kg of rare earth metals and also high acidification materials such as copper without impacting motor function or quality.
Therefore, aluminium is no longer used just for the bars of induction motors thanks to UK-Alumotor, led by Ricardo with Aspire Engineering, Brandauer, Warwick Manufacturing Group at The University of Warwick, Phoenix Scientific Industries, and Global Technologies Racing, is a consortium of experts formed to develop a supply chain around an innovative proprietary design for an electric motor.
The consortium’s aim is to grow UK manufacturing capability and to develop the next generation of skilled engineers and technicians.
UK-Alumotor consortium has received an award from Driving Electric Revolution Challenge fund – through UK Research and Innovation – to establish a UK supply chain for electric machines: leveraging manufacturing expertise to deliver next generation sustainable electric motors.
Schaeffler, flexible production of electric motors
Among the latest news by Schaeffler there is the release of AgiloDrive2 research project funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi). The aim of the three-year project is to develop an agile and digitalized production system complete with modular product concept for innovative electric motors.
The aim is a seamless and fast transfer of the findings from AgiloDrive2 to electric motor production at the Bühl location – the headquarters of the Automotive Technologies Division – where a state-of-the-art, world-leading primary plant is currently under construction for electric motor production.
AgiloDrive2 project will also focus on ways of making electric motor production more flexible, sustainable, and financially compelling on the basis of data-based production technologies, agile process chains, and intelligent control architectures.
«Schaeffler is characterized by a high level of production experience in e-mobility. As consortium top player, we bring our long-standing expertise as a pioneer in e-mobility to the table and are driving the project forward decisively with strong partners. Digitalization and automation are key to the sustainable factory of the future and generate opportunities for us and our customers along the entire value chain».
AgiloDrive2 research project, with a three-year duration and total finance package of 33.7 million euros, is being funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi), within the framework of the funding guideline “Digitalization of vehicle manufacturers and supplier industry,” and is supported by the project sponsor VDI Technologiezentrum GmbH.
The flying car is closer and closer: green light to fly
It had accomplished its first flight in Slovakia in July 2021 and recent days it has obtained the certificate of airworthiness. We are speaking of AirCar by Klein Vision, the flying car that might be soon produced on a large scale.
Fitness to fly was awarded by the Slovak Transport Authority, in line with the standards defined by the European Aviation Safety Agency (Aesa).
How has it achieved it? The vehicle was subjected to severe controls and operations for a total amount of 70 flight hours and more than 200 take-offs and landings.
AirCar joins the shapes of a conventional car with those of a ultralight and to shift from standard car to flying car takes just three minutes.
The electric motor that enables all this is a 160 horsepower BMW engine, combined with a propeller behind the cockpit and a ballistic parachute. It seems that the company is already working on the construction of an engine with a monocoque vehicle with variable pitch propeller that should reach speeds exceeding 300 km/h and an autonomy of 1,000 km.
The market has new electric super-motors: Benevelli the manufacturer
Alessandro Benevelli, CCO of Benevelli Modena company, through a post on LinkedIn, has announced the release of the new high-performance electric motors for the mobility sector.
The development of the new SMAC Series 270 came as response of a growing electrification need.
It is in fact a line of ideal IPM electric motors for eMobility and Off-Highway, engineered to be compact, lightweight and power dense for use in high-performance traction, power generation, electrohydraulic systems and other specialized high-power applications.
The new SMAC Serie 270 is a range of electric motors rated 30 to 200 kW, available in voltages from 48 to 800 V. The series, which is based on a 270 mm diameter stator, incorporates four different motor lengths with 24 winding configurations to accommodate various power classes. The motors are also available in air- and liquid-cooled configurations and IP6K9K protection is available.
Benevelli, on the other hand, is a historical company in the world of the e-valley: «This year, we turn 60 and we have been involved in electric mobility for more than 20 years, so we perfectly understand the requirements of electric drivetrains – said Chief Operating Officer Alessandro Benevelli – whose company also produces transaxles, wheel drives and other electric motor types. Our modular product portfolio enables us to offer tailored mass-production solutions to meet any customer requirement».
The first electric motor signed by Yamaha
It is recent the news that Yamaha Motor will supply Subaru Tecnica International Inc. (STI) with electric motor units for their STI E-RA EV that STI is developing for future motorsport.
The electric 350 kW motor by Yamaha was in fact protagonist of a test on board of the hypercar Subaru STI E-RA EV.
Featuring a power of as many as 469 HP, Yamaha has developed the motor specifically thinking of the next generation of electric cars and it has designed a compact motor, equipped with cooling system and to be coupled with more units on the same vehicle.
Subaru vehicle that is protagonist of the test was equipped with four STI E-RA EV motors for an overall power of 800 kW that in 2023 aims at surpassing the lap time of 6 minutes and 40 seconds of the famous German Nurburgring track.