These range from light and C & D passenger vehicles to high performance and light duty vehicles. With modularity and scalability being the core concepts behind this innovative project, DRIVEMODE will change the paradigm in electric and hybrid mobility and spur the market uptake of a compact frame composed of a high-speed gearbox, high-speed motor and SiC inverter. This integrated set-up will be mass produced with ease and will be deemed useful in different market segments.
The innovation partners gathered together for a two-day technical meeting in Ljubljana on mid-June 2018. They discussed about the project’s early achievements and fixed the module’s configuration while accounting for the most efficient combination of the components. Plenary sessions were distributed evenly with closed sessions dedicated to specific issues tackled by a few of DRIVEMODE’s technical partners.
The research output on the preliminary design of the drivetrain module were presented by Chalmers and all partners. They highlighted the optimal modularity for the system to fit different car classes. Two design concepts of the electrical motor (Permanent Magnet Synchronous machine and Inductions Asynchronous machine), two transmission concepts and two gear ratios (14.1:1 and 15.9:1) have been examined with the goal of finding the optimal configuration that meets the expected impacts in terms of energy efficiency, compactness and novelty of the module. All components will be joined together with a cooling unit to form a compact frame.
The DRIVEMODE concept will be tested and validated using a demonstration vehicle that will run on a flat road with a top speed of up to 180km/h.
To foster knowledge sharing, the project is already implementing joint activities together with like-minded GV-04 projects, to raise the different stakeholder communities’ awareness about DRIVEMODE’s innovative aspects.
The meeting has been crucial to set the pathway in identifying the components’ configuration, which will ensure DRIVEMODE in meeting the expected impacts and objectives.