Page - 72 - in Emerging Technologies for Electric and Hybrid Vehicles

Energies 2017,10, 1217 discoveredalready, theyarenotbeingpursuedindustriallybecauseof thehugecostsassociatedwith creatingaworkingversion. Besides,Li-ion technologyhas thepotential tobe improveda lotmore. Li-airbatteriescouldbeagoodoptionto increase therangeofEVs[23]. EVsare likely tomoveaway fromusingpermanentmagnetmotorswhichuserare-earthmaterials. Themotorsof choicecanbe inductionmotor, synchronousreluctancemotor,andswitchedreluctancemotor [23]. Tesla isusingan inductionmotor in itsmodelsatpresent.Motorswith internalpermanentmagnetmaystay inuse [23]. Wirelesspower transfer systemsare likely toreplace thecurrentcabledchargingsystem.Concepts revealedbymajorautomakersadoptedthis feature tohighlight theirusefulnessandconvenience. The Rolls-Royce103EXand theVisionMercedes-Maybach6 canbe takenas example for that. Electric roads forwirelesschargingofvehiclesmayappearaswell. Thoughthis isnot stillviable, thesituation maychange in the future. Recentworks in this sector includes theworkofElectrode,anIsraeli startup, whichclaimstobeable toachieve this feat inaneconomicway.Vehicles that followadesignatedroute along thehighway, like trucks, canget theirpower fromoverhead lines like trainsor trams. Itwill allowthemtogatherenergyas longas their route resideswith thepower lines, thencarryonwith energyfromon-boardsources. SuchasystemhasbeentestedbySiemensusingdiesel-hybrid trucks fromScaniaonahighway inSweden [196]. Newwaysof recoveringenergy fromthevehiclemay appear.Goodyearhasdemonstrateda tire thatcanharvestenergyfromtheheatgeneratedthereusing thermo-piezoelectricmaterial. Therearealsochancesof solar-poweredvehicles.Untilnow, thesehave notappearedusefulas installedsolarcellsonlymanagetoconvertupto20%of the inputpower [70]. Much research is goingon tomake the electronics and sensors inEVsmore compact, ruggedand cheaper—which inmany cases are leading to advanced solid state devices that can achieve these goalswithpromisesof cheaperproducts if theycanbemass-produced. Someexamplescanbe the worksongassensors [197], smartLEDdrivers [198], smartdrivers forautomotivealternators [199], advancedgearboxes [200], andcompactandsmartpowerswitches toweatherharshconditions [201]. Thefindingsof [202–208]mayprovehelpful forstudies regardingfail-proofon-boardpowersupplies forEVs. The future research topicswillof course, revolvearoundmaking theEVtechnologymore efficient,affordable,andconvenient.Agreatdealof researchhasalreadybeenconductedonmaking EVsmoreaffordableandcapableofcoveringmoredistance: energymanagement,materialsusedfor construction,differentenergysourcesetc.Moreofsuchresearchesare likely togoonemphasizingon betterbattery technologies,ultracapacitors, fuelcells,flywheels, turbines,andother individualand hybridconfigurations. FCVsmaygetsignificantattentioninmilitaryandutility-basedstudies,whereas the in-wheeldriveconfigurationforBEVsmaybeappealingtoresearchers focusingonbetterurban transportsystems. Betterchargingtechnologieswill remainacrucial researchtopic innear future. This isoneof theareas theEVtechnology is lackingverybadly;wirelesschargingtechnologiesarevery likely toattractmoreresearchers’attention.Alotof researchhasalreadybeendone incorporatingEVs andthegrid: thechallengesandpossibilities that theEVsbringwith themto theexistinggridand also to thegridof the future.Withmore implementationofsmartgrids,distributedgeneration,and renewableenergysources, researches in thesefieldsare likely to increase. Andasresearches in the entireaforementionedfield’s increase, exploration forbetteralgorithmstorunthesystems isboundto rise. Figure80showsthemajor trendsandsectors for futuredevelopments forEVs. Figure80.Major trendsandsectors for futuredevelopments forEV. 72