Applying novel low cost electrical machine and power electronic topologies to Range Extenders

目前，电池技术是电动汽车普及的主要瓶颈。增程装置结合了内燃机和发电机，为减少尾气排放和促进向电动汽车基础设施的过渡提供了一个重要的中期解决方案。在美国能源部（US Department of Energy）的目标和更广泛的电动汽车市场的推动下，整个行业都有加快电机速度的趋势。这些高速电机通常在低速使用中表现不佳，因此需要定制解决方案，以尽可能降低车辆成本。该项目旨在通过采用新型聚合物结合的Halbach发电机结构，以及使用软件驱动的自动化设计优化过程，降低增程器的成本。

Currently, battery technology represents the major bottleneck to widespread uptake of electric vehicles. Range Extender devices, which combine an internal combustion engine with a generator, provide a vital medium-term solution to reducing tailpipe emissions and facilitate the transition to an electric vehicle infrastructure. There is an industry-wide trend towards faster motor speed, driven by targets from the US Department of Energy and the wider electric vehicle market. These high-speed motors typically perform poorly in the low-speed usage typical of range extenders and a bespoke solution is therefore required in order to reduce vehicle cost as far as possible. This project aims to lower the cost of Range Extenders by using novel, polymer-bonded Halbach generator construction, together with automation of the design optimisation process using a software-driven approach.