ACeDrive consortium plans more-efficient EV powertrain

Led by GKN, the ACeDrive consortium is developing lighter and more-efficient EV propulsion, targeting volume production in 2023.

It's called ACeDrive, which may sound innocuous for an auto-industry project. But the consortium that formed it has announced that it seeks to develop the world's lightest and most efficient volume electric vehicle (EV) powertrain. Involving two major suppliers, a research university and the UK government-backed Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC), the aggressive targets for the ACeDrive (Advanced Cooling and Control of high speed e-Drive) include a 25% reduction in cost, a 25% reduction in packaging size and a 20% reduction in weight combined to deliver a 10% increase in efficiency.

The project's powertrain includes a downsized electric motor, optimized transmission and high frequency inverter within a single unit with shared cooling via fewer interfaces. Its final design phase has begun following simulation and analysis, prototyping rigs and vehicle testing is scheduled for next year. Production is slated for 2023. To get the details on ACeDrive, Automotive Engineering spoke with GKN Automotive and Drive System Design (DSD).