Hyundai to introduce extended range electric concept at Geneva

Hyundai will introduce the i-oniq concept at the Geneva Motor Show next week. The i-oniq is an electric sports hatchback with a range-extending gasoline engine.

The i-oniq concept has an innovative powertrain that demonstrates Hyundai’s commitment to clean technology. A 1.0-liter, 3-cylinder gasoline engine is mated, via a generator, to an 80 kW electric motor. In electric-only mode, i-oniq has a range of 120 km (75 miles), while with assistance from the gasoline engine it can travel up to 700 km (435 miles), producing 45 g/km of CO₂ in the process.

At 4.4 meters long, i-oniq has space for four occupants in its driver-oriented cabin.

EVO Electric and MAHLE partnering on 2-cylinder range extender engine for EVs

The MAHLE-EVO range extender. Click to enlarge.

MAHLE has selected EVO Electric Ltd., a developer of electric drive solutions for the automotive sector (earlier post), as a partner for the development of its range extender engine for electric-drive vehicles.

The engine is a “clean sheet” design optimized for cost, weight, NVH, package size and installation flexibility. It is a 900cc, twin-cylinder, 4-stroke gasoline unit with an output of 30 kW at 4,000 rpm. An axial flux generator has been fully integrated within the crankcase to provide a compact modular solution. Fuel consumption of the engine is 240 g/kWh minimum, and it meets Euro 6 emission requirements.

Under the agreement, EVO Electric will be responsible for the design and manufacture of generators based on its advanced Axial Flux technology. MAHLE Powertrain will be responsible for engine design, development and manufacture plus the overall system integration and marketing of the concept to vehicle manufacturers and industry observers.

The engine is currently undergoing further development testing at the MAHLE Powertrain headquarters in Northampton, UK prior to being installed in a test vehicle in the coming months.

The MAHLE range extender was designed to optimize fuel efficiency across a range of driving conditions and to minimize cost, volume, weight, noise, vibration and harshness. The range extender engine has been sized to be suitable for a typical C-segment passenger car.

MAHLE analyzed fleet vehicle drive data, using a drive style analysis toolset it developed, to identify the typical daily usage pattern of such passenger cars. A detailed design study then led to the selection of the 900 cc twin cylinder 4-stroke gasoline engine layout and EVO Electric’s Axial Flux generator.

Unlike radial flux motors with a cylindrical rotor turning within a cylindrical stator, axial flux motors use a disc-like rotor sandwiched between two (or facing one) disc-like stator(s). Advantages to this type of motor design include higher torque density; better cooling due to higher contact area; high efficiency due to lower cooling losses; and better overload capacity.

A key feature of the engine is the oil system that enables the engine to be installed vertically or horizontally for increased package flexibility. The entire system (including generator) weighs 70 kg and has a power output of 30 kW, and is already being presented to the industry, including vehicle manufacturers. (Weight is 50 kg without the generator.)

EVO Electric is working with a number of automotive industry partners to bring its advanced Axial Flux motor/generator technology to market. In addition to the MAHLE collaboration, EVO now has confirmed orders and commitments with a number of customers including: Jaguar Land Rover, Lotus and Nissan Motor (as announced previously); two other global car manufacturers; two global bus and truck manufacturers; and three premium electric vehicle manufacturers.

Source: Green Car Congress

Range Extended Hummer Travels 50 miles in All-Electric Mode

Here is a heartwarming story, to be sure. I mean, isn't this what all we all want, namely to have our cake and eat it too? The Raser Hummer H3 PHEV has demonstrated its all electric capabilities, meeting design expectations.

So there, you can own a Hummer without the guilt!

From Green Car Congress:

A recent preliminary road test of the Raser Hummer H3E, an H3 converted with a range-extended electric powertrain (earlier post), demonstrated more than 50 miles of all-electric range.

Battery range of this innovative vehicle was more than sufficient to exceed our performance target of 40 miles in all-electric mode. In fact the H3E drove over 50 miles using only approximately 60% of the battery pack. This initial test indicates that the vehicle should easily achieve over 100 miles per gallon in typical local daily driving. The positive results from this test indicate that we can downsize our battery pack, reducing cost and weight of the vehicle, and still achieve the 40 mile all-electric range needed for optimized typical driving.

—Jim Spellman, Raser Vice President of Business Development

The electric Hummer H3E is a plug-in electric vehicle powered by Raser’s proprietary E-REV (extended range electric vehicle) powertrain. Propulsion comes from a 200 kW Raser Symetron traction motor mated to a 4–speed automatic transmission. A 100 kW Rase Symetron generator, driven by a GM Ecotec 2.0L SIDI turbocharged engine provides electrical power. A liquid-cooled, 41 kWh lithium-ion battery pack operates at 700V and provides the energy storage.

The course used for the test included a combination of city and highway driving with an average speed of 45 mph and with speeds up to 60 mph.

It’s important to note that Raser’s electric Hummer H3E can achieve similar results to the Chevy Volt. The main difference is that our electric powertrain can be used in larger vehicles, such as SUVs and trucks. In fact, if we were to employ the method we believe was used recently by GM to estimate city fuel economy for the Volt [earlier post], the electric Hummer H3E could achieve more than 190 mpg in city driving using about 70% of the battery pack.

—Jim Spellman

Raser plans to conduct additional testing to demonstrate the vehicle’s estimated total range of up to 400 miles using the on-board range extender.

FEV Showcases its Internal Advanced Hybrid Development Projects at SAE World Congress

FEV Converted Diesel Electric Extended Range Vehicle





FEV has the right idea and if only a major auto manufacturer would follow their lead, we would have something. Even the gas hog Hummer H3 can be tamed with this technology, which is saying alot.

From Green Car Congress:

At SAE 2009 World Congress, FEV showcased two advanced hybrid development projects it undertook with partners—the range-extended electric vehicle (ReEV) HUMMER H3 done in cooperation with Raser and a heavy-duty series hydraulic hybrid yard hostler done in partnership with EPA—as well as two internal hybrid development projects: a Dodge Caliber-based range-extended electric vehicle, and a small Wankel-based 18 kWe APU that could, for example, also be used as the genset in the Caliber.

FEV, a powertrain and engineering company, works closely with OEMs on a variety of projects—many of which it has to keep confidential. That can make it a bit tough to drum up new business, said David Gian, FEV Chief Engineer, Vehicle Integration “when your prospective customer asks ‘What have you done?’ and you have to say ‘I can’t tell you.’” With its ongoing push to be fully capable in transmission and driveline design, development, and testing, FEV decided to produce a couple of demonstrations of capability (the Caliber and the Wankel APU) that prospects could see and drive.

HUMMER H3 ReEV. The HUMMER H3 was commissioned by Raser (earlier post) as part of its lead role in the Plug-in Hybrid Development Consortium, formed in 2005. (Earlier post.) FEV performed the full vehicle integration of the concept.

Raser’s intention is to commercialize the ReEV drivetrain and vehicles, said David West, Vice President of Marketing for Raser. Pcific Gas & Electric will buy two this year (earlier post), and West said that they have some 12,000 soft orders from utilities for a truck version of the H3 ReEV drivetrain (e.g., HUMMER HUT or Chevy Silverado), and expects to have 2,000 units in utility fleets by the end of next year. (Earlier post.)

Propulsion comes from a 200 kW Raser Symetron traction motor mated to a 4–speed automatic transmission. A 100 kW Rase Symetron generator, driven by a GM Ecotec 2.0L SIDI turbocharged engine provides electrical power.

A liquid-cooled, 41 kWh lithium-ion battery pack operates at 700V and provides the energy storage. The pack in the demonstration vehicle comes from Electrovaya. For the upcoming production versions, Raser is considering other pack suppliers, including A123Systems which is a member of the coalition, as well as others, West said.

The Raser Technologies scalable plug-in series hybrid design in the Hummer H3 provides 40+ miles all-electric range. Acceleration from 0-60 mph takes less than 9 seconds.

FEV’s responsibilities in the project included:

• Supported performance simulation
• Powertrain and electrical packaging
• Component, system and controller integration
• System architecture development and integration
• Hybrid controller development
• Vehicle build
• Supported battery development
• Developmental vehicle testing and validation

Caliber ReEV. FEV’s internal development project converting a Dodge Caliber to a full ReEV was designed to demonstrate its full spectrum of capabilities in hybrid engineering.

The ReEV propulsion system was developed entirely by FEV, including:

• Performance modeling and simulations
• Component selection and procurement
• Design, analysis and packaging
• High Voltage system architecture, development and integration
• Hybrid controls and powertrain development and testing
• Complete vehicle integration
• Vehicle exhaust and evaporative emission calibration
• Overall vehicle calibration, testing and validation
• NVH optimization

The Caliber ReEV propulsion system employs a 1.0L, 3-cylinder, 4 valve engine that is mated to a UQM PP75 generator that provides 41 kW of continuous power in extended-range mode, with a peak power of 75kW. The energy storage system consists of a 20 kWh liquid-cooled lithium-ion battery pack that operates at 346V, with a Delphi DC/DC converter. A UQM PP125EX traction motor powers the wheels.

The Caliber ReEv accelerates from 0-60 mph in 8.3 seconds and has a tope speed of 84 mph.

Wankel-based APU for range-extended electric vehicle. To illustrate another possible approach to a ReEV, FEV designed the small Wankel-based APU. The 295cc Wankel genset, fueled by gasoline or LPG, delivers 18 kW of electric power output. The APU could be dropped into the Caliber ReEV, Gian said, albeit with a change in battery and genset operating strategy.

The project allowed FEV to highlight a number of capabilities:

• Benchmarking and target setting
• Concept layout and development
• Simulation of system
• Development and optimization of operational strategies (i.e., to account for the smaller genset)
• Genset testing in hybrid powertrain testcells
• Vehicle integration and validation

Hydraulic Hybrid. In addition to the ReEV and related projects, FEV had on display the heavy-duty hybrid hydraulic yard hostler it is developing in partnership with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), APM Terminals, Parker-Hannifin, Kalmar Industries, R.H. Sheppard, Inc., Webasto, Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, and New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. (Earlier post.)

Specific benefits of the hydraulic hybrid system include an improvement in fuel efficiency of 50 - 60% with a concomitant reduction in CO₂ and reduced maintenance costs on engine, starter and brakes.

FEV integrated the hydraulic hybrid system capable of hauling two loaded twenty-foot containers at maximum speed of 25 mph. FEV performed the following:

• Design, analysis, simulation and fabrication of hydraulic drive unit (frame mounted end-to-end unit) from a clean sheet of paper
• Vehicle integration and build of hydraulic systems

This hydraulic hybrid technology can be applied to light-duty trucks, SUVs and heavy-duty urban vehicles such as city transit buses and refuse trucks.