As part of its contribution to a major European research initiative to achieve more efficient and cost-effective hybrid powertrains for both passenger cars and commercial vehicles, Ricardo has created a new 48V e-motor that offers up to a 50% increase in power density compared with current production machines.

The new e-motor and accompanying inverter were designed to incorporate the latest thinking in high-performance low-cost electrification, which aims to extend the performance of 48V hybrids to offer a more attractive and affordable solution than today’s higher-voltage hybrid cars.

The design and testing of this new Ricardo 48V e-motor and inverter was carried out as a part of the company’s contribution to the European COmpetitiveness in Commercial Hybrid and AutoMotive PowertrainS (ECOCHAMPS) project.

Ricardo (www.ricardo.com) was one of 25 EU commercial and academic partners collaborating on this project, the focus of which was to achieve both a 20% powertrain efficiency improvement and a 20% reduction in weight and volume when compared with the best-in-class full-hybrid vehicles on the market at the start of the project — and at a cost premium of no more than 10% over equivalent conventional products.

The recently completed ECOCHAMPS project focused on the hybridisation requirements of a range of vehicles from ‘C’ and ‘B’ class passenger cars, to light delivery trucks, city buses and long-haul heavy-duty trucks.

The project delivered five demonstrator vehicles — one for each of these categories — in order to show the benefits of this approach to creating low-cost hybrid powertrains.

Thomas Gutwald, MD of Ricardo Innovations, said: “Affordable hybridisation for mass-market vehicle applications is likely to be key to achieving future fuel economy and CO² emissions targets.

The new Ricardo 48V e-motor and inverter is a demonstration of the very significant strides that are possible by applying the latest thinking to the engineering of electric powertrain architectures and components.

"We look forward to working with our partners to help advance the technology, which will enable car makers to create a new generation of better-performing and highly cost-effective 48V hybrids that offer close to the fuel efficiency of full hybrids at a fraction of the cost.”