In the field of electromobility we deal with electric drives for various vehicles such as passenger cars, excavators, motorcycles. The integration of the battery into the vehicle as well as its intelligent control, monitoring, cooling and recuperation are at the centre of our activities.
Focus Project "SunCar"
As part of the IWF's SunCar focus project, students of mechanical and electrical engineering at ETH Zurich and other Swiss universities put their theoretical knowledge into practice every year. The aim of the projects is to electrify a vehicle that can then be powered by solar energy instead of fossil fuels. So far, a sports car, a family car, an SUV, a van and an excavator have been electrified.
BFE Project "eBagger"
In a project sponsored by the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE), we were involved in the development of a fleet of electric excavators with three different models (16 t, 7 t and 1.6 t). The excavators powered by a Li-Ion battery reduce CO2 emissions by up to 90% over the entire life of the machine, including battery production, compared with a diesel excavator of the same size. In terms of energy costs, the electric excavators save around 70 % compared to comparable diesel excavators.
Project "ethec"
Within the ETH focus project "ethec", we supported students of ETH Zurich and ZHdK, who developed a worldwide unique electric motorcycle within three quarters of a year.
The motorcycle is not only captivating because of its unique design, which interprets classical elements with modern one. Also the technical data convince.
The motorcycle has more than 50 kW power and 490 Nm of torque, provided by two wheel hub motors. A range of 400 km in the "Long Range Mode" is achieved by efficient recuperation. For the motorcycle we have developed all components new except of the hub motors, the inverters and the charger itself. We are particularly proud of our own developed traction battery, which has a capacity of 15.6 kWh and has an installation space of only about 40. The specially developed liquid cooling concept allows constant temperature control, so that a service lifetime of 10 years is guaranteed. When implementing this concept, it was necessary to incorporate the latest scientific findings, some of which had yet to be developed. The overall concept convinces as a solution for the urban mobility of tomorrow.
