The Research Centre for Electric Vehicles (RCEV) will focus on: (i) addressing the pressing challenges that automobile industries are facing, (ii) developing cutting-edge technologies in the form of specialized hardware platforms, products and solutions that are urgently needed by automobile industries, and (iii) applying for substantial research funding to support the Centre’s sustainable R&D activities. All RCEV members will be actively involved in research, education, technology transfer and commercialization activities. Six key areas of the Centre’s focus are elaborated, but not limited to, as follows:
Advanced Electric Vehicle (EV) Technologies and Electric Transportation
Firstly, with the help of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, the existing batteries and battery management can be upgraded to improve three key performance indicators for EVs, namely higher energy density, better safety and faster charging. Secondly, to embrace the intelligent transportation system and smart cities, self-driving and automated valet parking technologies can be explored to collaborate with other relevant technologies of automatic move-and-charge and park-and-charge, thus greatly increasing the cruise mileage and improving the user experience. Thirdly, apart from advancing the grounded EVs, the development of electric transportation tools should be extended to electric ships, electric aircraft and wireless robots. Finally, other state-of-the-art technologies regarding EVs and electric transportation will also be actively investigated in the proposed Centre with the help of advanced materials, sensors, information and communication technologies as well as Al approaches.
High-Torque-Density Machines, Magnetic Differential (MagD) and Smart Drives for Electric and Hybrid Propulsion Integration
To achieve electric and hybrid propulsion integration, electric machines are one of the key components in electric vehicles and electric transportation. Both the radial/axial-flux permanent-magnet synchronous machines and the high-temperature superconducting synchronous machines will be actively investigated for advancing EVs and other electric transportation tools. Furthermore, by integrating the features of high efficiency, high reliability and robustness, the MagD can promisingly provide a brand-new solution to the vehicle differential system by exhibiting high control flexibility and high compactness. Finally, smart drive control is crucial for achieving the optimal performances of electric machines and MagD. Wireless motors, as a kind of brand-new power electronics drives, and their sensorless control scheme are proposed by integrating the wireless power transfer (WPT) technology for directly feeding the motor windings, which will be actively explored in this Centre.
Wireless Power Transfer Technologies, Wireless EV Energy Network (WEVEN) and Multistorey Charging Buildings
By embracing the emerging WPT technology, various wireless energy conversion schemes are newly developed for wireless charging, wireless lighting, wireless heating and wireless motoring. Besides, wireless energy encryption and magnetic field editing are combined by our group for wireless energy intellectualization in the wireless multi-input multi-output systems, thus shaping the magnetic field and guaranteeing the energy security for the open-access systems. Furthermore, by deploying wireless chargers, wireless energy exchangers and wireless energy routers along the traffic roads, regional EVs can be wirelessly networked for power interaction with power systems. Therefore, a WEVEN can be formed and reconfigurable for energy transmission and wireless energy trading in Energy Internet and smart cities. Finally, various charging infrastructures, such as multistorey charging buildings, will be explored while supporting various vehicle-to-X (vehicle, home, grid) operations and energy trading in the proposed Centre.
Autonomous EVs
By embracing computer vision and machine learning technologies, more accurate and swift image processing techniques can be developed for autonomous EVs to navigate roads and interact with other vehicles and pedestrians. Additionally, exploring cloud-based computing systems to enhance machine learning models and predict the behaviors of neighboring vehicles and pedestrians can improve real-time decision-making and reduce traffic accidents. Meanwhile, advanced Internet of Things (IoT) technology enables networked EVs to collect and analyze the real-time traffic data so as to optimize routes and avoid congestion, thereby improving the safety and efficiency of autonomous EVs. Furthermore, the development of intelligent energy management systems for regenerative braking, smart charging, and wireless charging will be explored to facilitate energy distribution optimization, extend battery cycle life and address key challenges related to energy sustainability.
Electric Versus Hydrogen Vehicles
EVs and hydrogen vehicles are both considered as promising solutions to the exhaust emissions from fuel-combustion vehicles. On the one hand, the exploration of charging technology and the improvement of efficiency, safety and convenience of charging equipment are identified as potential research directions to enhance the performance of EVs. On the other hand, more cost-effective hydrogen production and transportation technologies will be actively explored to reduce manufacturing costs and improve energy conversion efficiency, which will increase the competitiveness of hydrogen vehicles in the market, Furthermore, Al and IoT technologies will be explored to enable effective energy management and optimization of hydrogen refueling stations. As there is a rekindling of interest in hydrogen internal-combustion engine vehicles that run on a hydrogen/oxygen mixture, the Centre will investigate this type of hydrogen vehicle to see why it can potentially compete with the battery-powered EV and the hydrogen-powered fuel cell EV.
High-Power-Density Converters and Intelligent Control
With the technical breakthrough of wide-bandgap semiconductors such as silicon-carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN) switches, both DC/DC and DC/AC power converters can be significantly upgraded for bidirectional power conversion and battery charging, especially in multistorey charging buildings for EVs. These high-power-density converters also provide the accessible power ports for the penetration of renewable energy, thus contributing to accelerating the realization of carbon neutrality. On the other hand, by using AI for system optimization, more intelligent control strategies are able to achieve smart charging control, multi-object management, and fast fault diagnostics and troubleshooting. Consequently, these high-power-density converters using intelligent control have huge potential to secure industry funding support and investment for commercialization applications.
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