Electric alliance develops ‘road ready’ EV drivetrain

NORWEGIAN electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer Think Global and US-based battery supplier EnerDel claim to have developed the world’s first “off-the-shelf” electric drivetrain that can convert conventional-engine vehicles into plug-in electric hybrids or full-blown EVs.

Announcing a trial program this week with the Japan Postal Service, Think and EnerDel said the drivetrain was designed for large vehicle manufacturers and international fleet companies, which stood to avoid massive development or purchasing costs with a “road ready” system that offered made-to-order performance in a wide variety of plug-in hybrid and EV applications.

With the aid of conversion partner Zero Sports, Japan Post has two test vehicles on the road in the Kanagawa and Tokyo prefectures and, if the program proves successful, intially plans to convert 25 per cent of its fleet of 22,000 petrol-powered light-comercial vehicles. The aim is to ultimately convert the entire fleet to electric drive.

Test data will be shared with other prospective customers, including postal fleets in Europe and the Americas.

The drivetrain is based on the one used in Think’s City EV, which uses a 26kWh lithium-ion battery supplied by EnerDel subsidiary Ener1. This combines with a 30kW electric motor to offer a driving range of up to 180km per charge and a top speed of 100km/h.

According to the Ener1 chairman and chief executive Charles Gassenheimer, the system has a simple modular structure and easily transferable package that enables it to be tailored to fleet applications around the world.

“The ability to deliver a fully integrated, road-ready package that can be quickly tailored to suit a wide range of vehicle solutions is a major step forward for both our companies,” Mr Gassenheimer said. “By significantly reducing time-to-market for our customers and meeting accelerated production milestones has opened up avenues of opportunity in exciting new programs.” Think Global chief executive Richard Canny added: “We have seen increased interest in Think’s proprietary EV drive system from a variety of third parties, which represents a significant and exciting new business line and revenue opportunity for the company.

“Our long-standing relationship with EnerDel has culminated in one of the most advanced battery electric drivetrain systems in the world, producing reliable, high-performance systems, which are both cost-effective and highly adaptable.

“This has become a truly global and pioneering enterprise – led by Norway, the USA and now Japan as well.”