Automotive Engineering - November/December 2021 - 12

TECHNOLOGY REPORT
In the Bosch 230, oil cooling and water cooling have specific
roles. The rotor and stator are internally oil cooled and
the active parts are installed in a water-cooling jacket. " Oil
cooling really helps with the heat transfer, " Jade said.
Scalability makes the 230 e-motor appropriate for a range
of CV applications. " We can size it for light-duty commercial
vehicles, medium-duty trucks, all the way up to Class 8 semitrucks.
The 230 e-motor stays the same, but we would make
modifications to scale it, " Jade said. " For really large vehicles,
it might take two of the units. "
Bosch's 230 can provide up to 230 kW (300 hp) of continuous
power, an important asset in medium-duty vehicles that
are on the road for a long period of time, Jade said. Efficiency
is a hallmark of the 230 motor with an 800-volt rating. " We
get up to 97 percent efficiency with this system in terms of
converting the electrons into rotational energy, " Jade said.
That efficiency is significantly higher than a typical gasoline
or diesel engine's 30-40% brake-thermal efficiency (BTE).
The 230 motor can be paired with Bosch's advanced inBosch's
Shyam Jade stands next to the new 230 electric motor for
commercial vehicles.
heavy-duty Class 8. In the former, we anticipate sales rising
to around 20 percent in 2026 with Class 8 at just 4 percent
adoption, " Vieth predicted.
AWARD-WINNING CONCEPT
Innovative 'Afreecar' wins SAE 2021 Create the Future Design award
His middle name doesn't begin with " I, "
but innovation is what made Dr. Chris
Borroni-Bird's reputation as one of the
most creative minds in the auto industry.
Best known for a string of remarkable
advanced concept vehicles he led at
Chrysler and General Motors in the 1990s
and 2000s, including the now-ubiquitous
EV 'skateboard' platform, Borroni-Bird
has a new mission. He's focused on bringing
electric power and mobility to the
roughly 1 billion people worldwide (primarily
in sub-Saharan Africa and rural
India) who are without electricity.
And his solution, called Afreecar, has
impressed an independent panel of
technically qualified judges to win -
along with development partner Rich
Saad - SAE's 2021 Create the Future
Design Award, in the Automotive/
Transportation category.
" Winning the Create the Future
Award was fantastic news - I was over
12 November/December 2021
the moon! " he told SAE Media. " It was
like a breath of fresh air, because I've
been evangelizing Afreecar for several
years now (see Automotive
Engineering, January 2018: https://
www.sae.org/publications/magazines/
content/18autp01/). For the idea to be
recognized for the power that it has is
extremely gratifying. People are finally
getting it! "
verter with silicon carbide (SiC). SiC helps reduce heat
losses, enables higher switching frequencies and improves
the power density versus a traditional inverter with silicon.
" Our inverter with SiC helps drive inverter efficiencies
above 99 percent and the overall system efficiencies above
97 percent, " Jade said. The SiC inverter is a Bosch-first for
the CV market.
Kami Buchholz
An Afreecar prototype showing one of many potential vehicle configurations. Current development
focuses on creating a robust platform that can be delivered as a simple kit.
AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEERING
FROM TOP: BOSCH; CHRIS BORRONI-BIRD

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Automotive Engineering - November/December 2021

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