As car manufacturers around the world compete to deliver a new generatio we’re being treated to new ideas, new technologies and new thinking around Technologies is at the forefront of one of the biggest of those ideas: in-wheel p management team met with Richard Hagan to talk about the future of electric and multiple-wheel drive is the next big thing in electric vehicles.
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We’re living in undeniably exciting times. After more than a century of driving polluting, combustionengined cars, and with the threat of climate change an increasing reality, the world has embraced electric vehicles as the new standard.
The arrival of EVs has turned the industry on its proverbial head thanks to a plucky crop of new EV manufacturers and new technology owners from around the world who have taken to the stage to challenge the old automotive guard.
Propelling the future
Hailing from Slovenia, Elaphe Propulsion Technologies represents the cream of that crop of new technologies. Its proprietary platform features multiple-wheel drive electric motors and control electronics that promise to significantly improve the way that vehicles are designed.
“We’re enabling a future of mobility where car makers can build vehicles that are much more comfortable and lighter, with better dynamics and more user focus,” explained CEO Gorazd Lampi c ˇ.
While Elaphe’s origins can be traced to the late 1980s, when its cofounder Andrej Detela first conceptualised in-wheel motors, the team’s systematic approach started in 2006 with the establishment of Elaphe. Up to 2010, the focus was on inventing the
ELAPHE PROPULSION TECHNOLOGIES I PROFILE
most compact electromagnetic topology for a direct drive motor, followed by several Proof of Concept vehicles. The company’s involvement in the electric vehicle space really took off following a major investment round in 2016.
“We were always financially sustainable, but the funding we received drove the step-change development, validation and industrialisation activities, which together allowed us to convince several OEMs that our technology makes a lot of sense for their vehicles,” Mr Lampi c ˇ recalled. “We’re now entering Start-of-Production projects with Aptera Motors, Lightyear, Lordstown Motors and several others will follow. The cooperation with multiple global legacy car makers is also giving us confidence and clarity in the direction of our evolution.”
Boosting comfort and ride dynamics
Elaphe’s business activities span several key areas, including in-wheel motors, pow ertrain electronics, control electronics and several accompanying research and engi neering activities. It is a one-stop-shop for carmakers searching for the ultimate propulsion technology.
The most visible highlight of Elaphe’s portfolio is the company’s direct-drive inwheel motors, which include three distinct model families each catering to specific vehicle applications, sizes and require ments. However, control electronics and system solutions are what makes the Elaphe offering complete.
According to Gorazd Gotovac, the CTO of Elaphe, in-wheel propulsion has several
benefits versus mainstream electric vehicle engine solutions. “It delivers reduced vehicle weight as well as optimisation of space, leaving room for other components and the comfort of the passengers. At the same time, the vehicle’s driving dynamics are sig nificantly improved thanks to the faster response time, lower centre of gravity and ability to deliver traction at multiple points touching the ground.”
The benefits don’t stop at improved com fort and ride dynamics, however. “In-wheel motors designed with drive-cycle efficiency as the main goal are, in many vehicles, more energy-efficient than e-axles, especially at highway speeds,” he continued. “There’s no transmission, gears or driveshafts, so there’s a substantial decrease of energy losses, particularly in cold climates where those transmissions are even less efficient.
Freedom in design also enables more aerodynamic shapes.”
Sustainable staffing Elaphe proudly employs over 150 highly skilled staff members. The company’s oper ation focuses on a scientific approach and an open culture where decisions are derived from the content, not hierarchy.
“It’s not just about the size of our team but more about the knowledge they bring,” Mr Lampi c ˇ highlighted. “Many of the team in our multiple-wheel drive electronics division have been in motor and control develop ment at Elaphe for over ten years.”
With such educated staff in its employ, Elaphe pays close attention to staff reten tion by ensuring that its staff are happy and fulfilled.
“We ensure that we’re offering our teams very interesting challenges and tasks; it’s more than just doing something that’s meaningful, it’s offering them development opportunities that have a huge impact on the world,” Mr Lampi c ˇ commented. “When we’re done, we’ll make automotive history by offering the industry a new way in which vehicles are designed and built. So it’s a great company for people who want to
make an impact and really contribute to something in a significant way.”
The company is organised into various specialised technical and engineering departments with each responsible for core aspects of the company’s work. This also allows Elaphe to fully support carmaker clients with specific goals and needs.
The company’s location is also strategic since Slovenia is the largest exporter of electric motors per capita in the world.
“The country has rich experience on how to make motors and controllers operate well and reliably,” said Mr Lampi c ˇ .
That said, Elaphe is actively exploring the possibility of hiring staff in other markets in
order to build a presence that is geograph ically closer to its customers and industry knowledge hubs.
Distinctly agile Thanks to a combination of skilled teams, mature technology and specialised knowl edge, Elaphe prides itself on the ability to respond quickly to customer needs. According to Head of OEM Accounts Raphael Mutter, this is a key distinction in an increasingly busy market.
“We’re able to provide customers with a mature motor solution, and the com plete ecosystem of the control software and power electronics. In combination with our agility to adapt quite quickly to
vehicle programmes that the customers bring us, it sets us apart within the inwheel motor space.
“Car makers see us as a competitive solution firstly due to the packaging ben efits we can offer them,” he continued. “Features such as dynamic drive control for certain applications, better efficiency, a new level of active safety through better control of each wheel, have successfully put us on the radar of many new projects. We’re getting increased enquiries, for example from manufacturers seeking more roominess in their next-generation electric vehicles.”
The importance of delivery
In closing, Mr Lampi c ˇ emphasised Elaphe’s ability to deliver on client expectations as a key driver of the company’s success.
“Our ability to deliver is quite rare. There are so many companies in this e-mobility space who aren’t able to deliver, because they lack the expertise, the track record or the team. They often underestimate the challenges involved with taking a product from a computer design to the real world at high standards and at a suitable cost.”n
