[Mister Dave]

The trick is to make a motor that can tweak its magnetic fields to run more efficiently.

https://spectrum.ieee.org/transportation/advanced-cars/shut-up-about-the-batteries-the-key-to-a-better-electric-car-is-a-lighter-motor

 

[Slotracer577]

While it is true that there is some gains to be found in the motor, they only found 4% gain. IMHO no enough of a breakthrough to really extend the range much when other factors can vary range by 20-30%, ie cold, speed, headwind. Bigger and faster charging batteries are still needed for mass adoption of long range travel in the US.

 

[Mister Dave]

The results are clear: Using the same power electronics, stator parameters, and other design constraints as a conventional motor, the machine is able to produce almost 6 percent more torque and attain 2 percent higher peak efficiency. And in the driving cycle the improvement is even better: It requires 4.4 percent less energy. That means a car that would have gone 100 kilometers on a charge can, with this motor, go 104.4 km. The extra range comes cheaply because our design incorporates only a few additional parts, which are much less expensive than adding extra batteries.

Every little bit helps.

 

[Volterado]

It's not range that's the problem anyway, it's the recharge time. 200 miles would be fine if you could recharge in 5 minutes.

 

[DonC]

Interesting article. Every bit does help. The ICE has been worked on for almost a hundred years and engineers are still coaxing more efficiency out of them. Should be able to make progress with motors and electric drives, though the initial efficiencies are already very high.

 

[Mister Dave]

The ICE has been worked on for almost a hundred years and engineers are still coaxing more efficiency out of them.

Last week WSJ ran an article about squeezing even more with lighter oils. I don't think it was 4.4% - more like 1/2 to 1% and that was big news to them.

Should be able to make progress with motors and electric drives, though the initial efficiencies are already very high.

With PMSM at 97% and SPSM at 94-96%, it's funny to read MEH comments about a 4.4% improvement.

 

[Shivetya]

Interesting article. Every bit does help. The ICE has been worked on for almost a hundred years and engineers are still coaxing more efficiency out of them. Should be able to make progress with motors and electric drives, though the initial efficiencies are already very high.

a very odd statement considering work on electric motors has been going on far longer than internal combustion engines. the wide range of applications has resulted in continuous improvement of electric motors, both AC and DC.

as other's have stated, the primary road block is batteries. their recharge time and weight required to deliver a set range. even they have been worked on for far longer than ICE.

 

[srmarti]

Electric motors are already pretty darn efficient. Sure every little bit helps, but I think there's more room in battery capacity improvement than motor efficiency.

 

[volt spain]

Is not the car, nor the electric motor,or the battery,is the ELECTRIC INFRASTRUCTURE, to make charging available any house, appartment building,work place, garage, motels, airports, street lights...etc,etc.

 

[Stockholm Volt]

It's not range that's the problem anyway, it's the recharge time. 200 miles would be fine if you could recharge in 5 minutes.

Totally agree.

Imagine if the gasoline engine was introduced today, but instead of a 5 minute fill-up it took 4 hours. It wouldn't matter if there was a gas station on every corner. It would be as hard a sell as electrics are today.

However, with time I believe we will see more and more efficient charging and batteries resulting in near gasoline convenience.

 

[Slotracer577]

If we had dcfc on every corner like gas stations current EV tech could replace ice for all but long road trips (300-400 miles plus). To have direct replacement long range (400-1000 mile per day) capabilities, we need either much cheaper batteries so cars can have 100-200kwh packs or better batteries with really fast charging.

Motor effiency can pick up maybe 5-8% at best. There is just not much room to improve 90+% effient process. We really need another leap in battery tech like we had from nicad to lipo. I am skeptical that will happen quickly as lipos have been in consumer goods since 2005?, so 12 years ago. We are not seeing new battery tech in consumer goods now, so nothing new is commercially viable yet.

 

[Mister Dave]

I'm starting to understand the author's title choice.

 

[emartin00]

With PMSM at 97% and SPSM at 94-96%, it's funny to read MEH comments about a 4.4% improvement.

4.4% improvement only brings you to 97.4% efficiency. That's not much to write home about...

 

[emartin00]

With PMSM at 97% and SPSM at 94-96%, it's funny to read MEH comments about a 4.4% improvement.

4.4% improvement only brings you to 97.4% efficiency. That's not much to write home about...