The company
Metropolia is Finland’s largest university of applied sciences. Metropolia coordinated a project with a consortium of companies to design an electric sports car; the car took second prize in the Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE in the USA in 2010.
The challenge
To build a safe, affordable, and desirable car with at least 100 MPGe energy efficiency, the car needed to complete on-track tests, comply with the United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, and complete validation testing on a chassis dynamometer.
The solution
Our hardware interface, EB 6120, and SimTools were used to develop electric vehicle control software that controlled four independent electrical drives, one per wheel. Drives are controlled independently to avoid mechanical gearboxes and transmission. Our EB 6120 was also used to control battery charging.
About the vehicle
Electric RaceAbout, “E-RA,” is the current prototype vehicle development project at Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences. E-RA is designed in the spirit of RaceAbout as a sporty and desirable two- seat vehicle and as a clearly identifiable member of the RaceAbout family. E-RA was designed from scratch as a purely battery-powered electric vehicle featuring efficient and simple direct electric, all wheel drive, and the most advanced battery technology available. An Altair NanoTechnologies 330kW Lithium-Titanate battery pack with 250kW charger allows the vehicle to be recharged within 10 minutes.
The aim was to build a highly flexible, high-performance electrical drive system.
- Acceleration: 6 sec (0–100 km/h)
- Top speed: 200 km/h
- Range: 200 km
- Consumption: below 2,35/100 km (100 MPGe)
Key innovations:
- Unique configuration of four separate electric drive motors, one at each wheel
- Audi R8 supercar aluminum suspension and racing brakes
- Blend of high performance and energy efficiency
