Rim drive electric propulsion for small boats

这是RAD Propulsion有限公司为期7个月的项目，旨在试验开发一种创新的新型船用电力推进系统，该系统采用轮辋电机技术和新型无轮毂螺旋桨设计。该系统针对商业和休闲小型船舶市场。船舶推进是一个价值数十亿英镑的产业，正经历着从直接驱动柴油和汽油到电力的快速转变。为了支持这一变化，迫切需要创新的电力推进系统，就像这个项目中提出的那样。我们提出的轮毂驱动无轮毂系统更安全（没有外部旋转叶片），坚固耐用，不会与碎片缠在一起，并且运动部件最少，因此将很好地填补已确定的市场空白，估计每年价值约为1.5亿至2亿英镑，并有强烈迹象表明，随着电力系统取代化石燃料的在位者，未来十年将有显著的进一步增长。我们的目标是将产品推向市场，实现零排放，利用可持续的制造技术和产品生命周期，提供卓越的性能，提高安全性，最重要的是电力推进，为我们的客户从化石燃料转型带来信心和信任。RAD Propulsion公司希望开发一系列这样的系统，该项目将开发一种产品，专门针对海洋休闲和商业市场，功率在2kw以下。该项目将：*设计、开发和集成世界上第一个紧凑型（2kW以下）无框电机，采用创新的无轮毂螺旋桨设计；*开发并集成该电机组件到一个总体系统中，以生产原型推进系统，然后可以在具有代表性的海洋环境中进行评估，以验证设计方法和系统性能，从而降低后续产品的风险。电动轮辋驱动和无轮毂螺旋桨并不是新技术，但将两者合并为一个产品，发挥每种技术的优势，以达到目标市场所需的性能和重量水平，这意味着它的引入将是创新和变革的。当前新冠肺炎疫情对海运业造成了严重影响。我们直接与我们的潜在客户以及参与我们原型设计、产品开发和供应链的所有组织合作。许多公司都开始削减开支，降低成本，裁员，以应对未来销售可能出现的下滑。这个项目和相关的赠款资金将直接保持业务的势头，使我们能够进入一个新的领域，并为市场复苏时的业务做好准备。赢得这笔资金将使RAD能够招募更多的人，并通过在全球范围内推出英国首个真正创新的无轮毂电动船用轮辋驱动来支持英国经济。

This is a 7 month project by RAD Propulsion Ltd to undertake experimental development of an innovative new marine electric propulsion system using rim motor technology and a novel hubless propeller design. The system is targeted at both the commercial and leisure small boat marine market.Marine propulsion is a multi-billion pound industry undergoing a rapid change from direct drive diesel and petrol to electric. To support this change there is an urgent need for innovative electric propulsion systems like the one proposed in this project. The rim driven hubless system we propose is safer (no external rotating blades), robust to becoming entangled with debris and has minimal moving parts and so will be well placed to fill the identified market gap, which is estimated to be worth approximately £150-200m /year with strong indications of significant further growth over the next decade as electric systems replace fossil fuel incumbents.Our goal is to bring products to market that deliver zero emissions, utilize sustainable manufacturing techniques and product life cycle, provide exceptional performance, improved safety and most importantly for electric propulsion, confidence and trust for our customers transitioning from fossil fuels. RAD Propulsion is looking to develop a range of such systems and this project will look to develop a product which is targeted specifically at marine leisure and commercial market in the sub 2 kW category.This project will:* design, develop and integrate the worlds first compact (sub 2kW) rimless electric motor with an innovative hubless propeller design,* develop and integrate this motor assembly into an overarching system to produce a prototype propulsion system which can then be evaluated in a representative marine environment to verify the design approach and system performance to de-risk the subsequent productisation.Electric rim drives and hub-less propellers are not new technologies but the merging of the two together into a single product which plays on the strengths of each technology to achieve the levels of performance and weight needed in the target market means its introduction will be both innovative and transformative to the marine market in this power range.The marine industry has been severely impacted by the current Covid-19 pandemic. We see this directly with our potential customers as well as all the organisations involved in our prototyping, product development and supply chain.Numerous companies are starting to cut back, reduce costs and release staff to reflect the potential drop of future sales. This project and the associated grant funding will directly maintain the momentum of the business, allow us to move in to a new sector and prepare the business for when the market recovers. Winning this grant will enable RAD to recruit more people and support the UK economy with the world wide launch of the first British truly innovative electric hubless marine rim drive.