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Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference: EP/I038543/1
Title: Vehicle Electrical Systems Integration (VESI)
Principal Investigator: Mawby, Professor P
Other Investigators:
Cruden, Professor A Pickert, Professor V Stone, Professor DA
Levi, Professor E Pullen, Professor KR Johnson, Professor CM
Luk, Professor PC Forsyth, Professor A Mellor, Professor PH
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:
ABB Group AG Holding Ltd (trading as Axeon) Allied Vehicles Ltd
Arnold Magnetic Technologies Ltd Converteam Ltd Dynex Semiconductor (CRRC Times UK)
Hiflux Ltd HilTech Infineon Technologies
International Rectifier Jaguar Land Rover Limited Motor Design Ltd
Prodrive Ricardo Group Scorpion Precision Industry (H.K.) Co
Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) Semelab Plc Sevcon Ltd
TATA Motors Engineering Technical Centre Zytek Group Ltd
Department: Sch of Engineering
Organisation: University of Warwick
Scheme: Standard Research
Starts: 01 October 2011 Ends: 31 March 2016 Value (£): 3,154,532
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:
Control Engineering Electric Motor & Drive Systems
Power Electronics Power Sys Man, Prot & Control
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:
Transport Systems and Vehicles
Related Grants:
Panel History:
Panel DatePanel NameOutcome
07 Mar 2011 Low Carbon Vehicles IDP5 Interviews Announced
Summary on Grant Application Form
The urgent need for EV technology is clear. Consequently, this project is concerned with two key issues, namely the cost and power density of the electrical drive system, both of which are key barriers to bringing EVs to the mass market. To address these issues a great deal of underpinning basic research needs to be carried out. Here, we have analysed and divided the problem into 6 key themes and propose to build a number of demonstrators to showcase the advances made in the underlying science and engineering.

We envisage that over the coming decades EVs in one or more variant forms will achieve substantial penetration into European and global automotive markets, particularly for cars and vans. The most significant barrier impeding the commercialisation EVs is currently the cost. Not until cost parity with internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles is achieved will it become a seriously viable choice for most consumers. The high cost of EVs is often attributed to the cost of the battery, when in fact the cost of the electrical power train is much higher than that of the ICE vehicle. It is reasonable to assume that that battery technology will improve enormously in response to this massive market opportunity and as a result will cease to be the bottleneck to development as is currently perceived in some quarters. We believe that integration of the electrical systems on an EV will deliver substantial cost reductions to the fledgling EV market

Our focus will therefore be on the two major areas of the electrical drive train that is generic to all types of EVs, the electrical motor and the power electronics. Our drivers will be to reduce cost and increase power density, whilst never losing sight of issues concerning manufacturability for a mass market.

Key Findings
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Potential use in non-academic contexts
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Impacts
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Summary
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Organisation Website: http://www.warwick.ac.uk