Innovation in electric vehicles charges ahead

The electric vehicle took a significant evolutionary stepforward when REO UK launched its REOHM BWD330, a high voltage recuperationheater, recently.  The D330 brings significant efficiency improvements tothe vehicle thermal management systems used in electric vehicles. Its launchcomes at a time when the market for clean energy vehicles continues to expandamidst supportive legislation and improving infrastructure.

Forming an integral part of the vehicle thermalmanagement system, the D330 reduces energy consumption and offers increasedcooling efficiency during emergency braking.

In conventional fuel engines, any waste heat generated isusually reused to heat the cabin. However, until now electric vehicles have hadto use electrical energy for heating both the cabin and the batteries duringwinter. This has the detrimental effect of diminishing battery life, increasingthe running cost and detracting from the potential maximum range. The keybarrier to the adoption of electric vehicles has been battery life and range.

The BWD330 minimises this dependency on the battery byusing the energy generated from the act of braking, which is stored and reusedfor heating as and when required. Lower energy consumption means that carbonemission targets can be met. 

“Electric vehicle manufacturers can also realisesignificant savings with the BWD330, because 66% less installation space isrequired compared to standard units,” explained Steve Hughes, managingdirector of REO. “We’ve also reduced volume by 85% and weight by 76%. Allof this results in a unit which weighs less than 10kg with a rating of 420-450VDC and a maximum braking power rating of 60kW.

“Despite making such drastic improvements, we’vemaintained high levels of safety. In the event of drive system failure, theBWD330 can discharge the DC link, which will dissipate unwanted powersafely.”

News of the D330 comes as recent high profile breakthroughsin the industry pave the way for wider consumer adoption of clean energyvehicles worldwide. The state of California passed a ‘charge ahead’ bill inFebruary, which seeks to combat the currently high levels of pollution byintroducing one million electric vehicles by 2020. Similarly, the Government ofBhutan signed a deal with Nissan recently, to supply the mountainous countrywith electric vehicles as part of its zero emissions targets.

About REO: REO manufactures resistive and inductive woundcomponents for use with static frequency converter drives in lift and HVACapplications. The company is becoming increasingly involved in renewable energytechnology, where power quality is of overriding importance. REO hasmanufacturing operations in Germany, the US, China and India.