Imagine putting the electric motor and its controller directly inside the wheel, freeing up all the space usually taken by bulky engines and wires. This project uses special high-tech materials to make these parts smaller, cooler, and more efficient. It's like shrinking a giant computer into a tiny chip, but for the power system of a car.
Current electric vehicle powertrains are often bulky, overengineered, and inefficiently packaged, leading to higher costs and reduced vehicle space.
A family of modular power electronics including integrated traction inverters, on-board chargers, and DC/DC converters, validated on two BEV prototypes.
If you are an EV manufacturer dealing with limited cabin space and heavy powertrains — this project developed in-wheel traction inverters that achieve zero footprint on the sprung mass. This allows for more flexible vehicle design and increased interior room.
If you are a supplier dealing with high production costs and overengineering — this project developed modular power electronics and model-based design to eliminate waste. This leads to major cost reductions compared to current state-of-the-art systems.
If you are a vehicle designer dealing with reliability issues in multi-motor setups — this project developed fault-tolerant inverter solutions and predictive health monitoring. This ensures higher dependability for chassis actuators and auxiliary drives.
Cost reductions are achieved through the dual use of parts, subsystem modularity, and the use of model-based design to eliminate overengineering.
The project focuses on scalability and modularity, validating solutions on test rigs and two different sized BEV prototypes to ensure industrial feasibility.
Based on available project data, the project develops reconfigurable winding topologies and integrated predictive thermal management which may represent protectable intellectual property.
It integrates traction inverters within in-wheel machines and places on-board chargers and DC/DC converters directly within the battery pack.
The project period runs from 2023-01-01 to 2026-09-30, during which the solutions are assessed on test rigs and prototypes.
The consortium is heavily industry-driven with a 67% industry ratio, comprising 8 industrial partners and 3 SMEs across 7 countries. This strong commercial presence, led by AVL List GmbH, suggests a high focus on market viability and industrial application rather than purely academic research.
Contact AVL LIST GMBH in Austria for technical partnership inquiries.
Contact us to identify licensing opportunities for WBG-based in-wheel powertrain components.
