AssessorsJournalMagSpring2024 web - Flipbook - Page 18
JOURNAL
ENGINEERING
TAKING STOCK:
TIME TO LOOK AT
ELECTRIFICATION
SAFETY
By Andrew Marsh FIMI, Hon IAEA fellow.
ong ago, on 10
December 1997, the
昀椀rst-generation Toyota
Prius went on sale
in Japan only with
many aspects completed largely by
hand from electric motor winding to
assembly of the body. The second
phase – from 2000 to 2003 – was
sold in selected markets including the
UK and featured the 昀椀rst pouch cell
battery technology from Panasonic.
The technology was not originally
created to reduce tail pipe emissions
– the primary objective was to build a
vehicle with improved fuel economy,
much as competitors such as Honda
did with the IMA technology, for Japan.
The domestic market did not like diesel
engines in passenger cars, but a bonus
was the ability to sell the technology
L
with subsequent Prius generations into
key markets such as California.
The clever parts included a
transmission with a generator / motor
as well as a traction motor, which
allowed the system to use the engine
or electric only drive as the system
demanded – a parallel hybrid. Many
companies were very interested in
the transmission technology, and
undertook licencing agreements or
joint ventures. It wasn’t until 2010 that
a viable alternative appeared, which
came from GM as the Chevrolet Volt,
or Vauxhall Ampera as we know it. Of
course, it was not able to ‘power split’
in the same way as the Toyota system,
with direct drive from the engine to
the wheel only possible at elevated
speeds.
While hybrid drive existed way
before Prius and other Japanese
manufacturers were on the very same
development path, the idea grew.
Another vehicle which emerged
in 1996 was General Motors EV1,
which had a profound in昀氀uence on
battery electric vehicles. The battery
technology was upgraded in the
second phase of 440 units, and it was
unashamedly a two-seat commuter car.
Honda created a more sophisticated
version of the idea as the 昀椀rst Insight,
using the IMA hybrid drive technology.
The Honda had an aluminium intensive
body structure and unique powertrain,
whereas the EV1 had a low-tech
handmade body with these features:
• Aerodynamic driven exterior form
• Heat re昀氀ective glass to reduce HVAC
power consumption
• The 昀椀rst application of an automotive
heat pump
• Ground breaking traction motor and
high voltage power technology
Setting things going
All of these vehicles were seen at
the time as a ‘side show’, answering
a question that few asked. However,
EV 1 was to become the bedrock for
numerous BEV startups, building on
the ground breaking architecture that
GM laid down – with direct links to,
for example, Tesla. The technology
has evolved greatly from those early
beginnings, but the use of simulated
three phase high voltage power for
the traction motor and the reverse
transmission from AC to DC for
regenerative braking, was born in EV1.
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THE ASSESSORS JOURNAL | SPRING 2024 | www.iaea-online.org/news/the-assessor
