E-MOBILITY ENGINEERING 024 – March/April 2024

• Intro - Materials matter, especially as vehicles seek to go lighter and faster, whether on the ground or up in the air. We take a look at thermoplastics, potting, inverters and in-wheel motors
• The Grid - NASA’s revolutionary brake disc design, Clean Sky’s hybrid electric-propulsion system, lithium-metal batteries with greater range, a Korean polymer cell separator, plans for UK eVTOL airport recharging, and more…
• In conversation: Michael Fischer - Honda R&D Europe’s deputy general manager reveals how he is working to make zero-impact emissions a reality
• Dossier: Frauscher x Porsche - The car brand sets sail with an Austrian shipyard to launch an all-electric nine-person yacht, the 850 Fantom Air
• Focus: Polymers - Light, durable and flexible, thermoplastics are able to withstand high temperatures – ideal for e-powertrains
• Insight: Potting & encapsulation - How electrical and electronic parts can handle the stresses and strains of hard use with these coating processes
• Digest: BEDEO van conversion - A unique in-wheel motor technology that can add an e-powertrain to existing diesel vans, with the option to go all-electric
• Deep insight: Power semiconductors - New materials have emerged alongside silicon that shave a wider electron bandgap, giving higher performance
• Focus: Inverters - Manufacturers are including more intelligent features in the push to reduce energy losses and eke more mileage from a battery charge
• PS: Bipolar batteries - The first bipolar lead-acid battery appeared in the early 1920s and showed performance gains. Things have come a long way since