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Tiny electric motor can produce more than 1,000 horsepower

supercarblondie.com

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Re: Tiny electric motor can produce more than 1,000 horsepower

#351

Post by Neywiny »

fainpul wrote: post #149
chris_overseas wrote: post #2

A link to the press release https://yasa.com/news/yasa-smashes-own-unofficial-power-dens...

> 59kW/kg At this point why don't we get rid of the k prefix and write 59W/g? Edit: I was half joking, but various answers mention kW being standard for motors, kg being the SI unit for mass etc. All true, but as used here in a combined unit, which means "power density" it still would make sense IMO. It's not like the "59" tells you that it's a strong motor and hence you want kW to compare it to other motors. You can…

Ah like the old MKBHD "screen has an aspect ratio of 18:9. Or 2:1 because I know my fractions"

Re: Tiny electric motor can produce more than 1,000 horsepower

#352

Post by trhway »

davedx wrote: post #6

Could lead to significant efficiency gains for EV's, because 1/4 of the motor weight means better power-to-weight ratio... a lot of things will automatically get better. YASA was founded in 2009, a spin out from Oxford University following the PhD of founder and still CTO, Dr Tim Woolmer. "Over the decades that followed both of these technologies were explored. But despite the potential for weight reduction, smaller…

>In 2025, after a £12m investment, YASA opened the UK's first axial-flux super factory, in Oxfordshire.

In Bay Area that is small investment in a startup which would be able to lease a small office

>Could lead to significant efficiency gains for EV's, because 1/4 of the motor weight means better power-to-weight ratio...

that would help VTOL a lot. Unfortunately YASA motors are priced for supercars and availability seems to be low. Until some factory in China starts making similar ones, there are not much chances on getting hands on such a motors.

Re: Tiny electric motor can produce more than 1,000 horsepower

#353

Post by coryrc »

mapt wrote: post #313
davedx wrote: post #6

Could lead to significant efficiency gains for EV's, because 1/4 of the motor weight means better power-to-weight ratio... a lot of things will automatically get better. YASA was founded in 2009, a spin out from Oxford University following the PhD of founder and still CTO, Dr Tim Woolmer. "Over the decades that followed both of these technologies were explored. But despite the potential for weight reduction, smaller…

This is a negligible improvement to most things about an EV. Motors are already extremely power-dense. There is a single exception, and it's a big one. Direct-drive, wheel-hub motors are not well-regarded right now, specifically because they increase unsprung weight (the part of the car more closely coupled to the road surface than the passenger) and this impacts handling substantially. So instead we backport a bunch…

> Direct-drive, wheel-hub motors are not well-regarded right now, specifically because they increase unsprung weight

It will always be lighter to not have the motor in the wheel.

> So instead we backport a bunch of the mechanical infrastructure that transfers power from a traditional ICE engine to the four wheels.

No, we do it because it's smart and efficient for freeway-capable vehicles.

Wheels get banged up in use. They're easy to replace for different applications. They're exposed to 200 kph salt spray at hundreds of RPM. They are not a great place for motors.

Re: Tiny electric motor can produce more than 1,000 horsepower

#354

Post by Empact »

Aurornis wrote: post #251
davedx wrote: post #6

Could lead to significant efficiency gains for EV's, because 1/4 of the motor weight means better power-to-weight ratio... a lot of things will automatically get better. YASA was founded in 2009, a spin out from Oxford University following the PhD of founder and still CTO, Dr Tim Woolmer. "Over the decades that followed both of these technologies were explored. But despite the potential for weight reduction, smaller…

> Could lead to significant efficiency gains for EV's, because 1/4 of the motor weight means better power-to-weight ratio... a lot of things will automatically get better. EV motors are already lightweight. The electric motor in a vehicle like a Tesla Model 3 already weighs less than you do. Reducing that one component by 75% would be a weight savings equivalent to about a half of a passenger. Not a significant effic…

This, or a miniaturized version thereof could change the game for light electric vehicles - imagine an electric motorcycle that weighs substantially more like an electric bicycle.

Right now it takes about 10-15lbs of motor to produce a 3KW motor for an electric bike, this motor is about 10 times that in power density afaict.

The Livewire electric motorcycles use something like 100-200 lbs of motor to produce 1/4 as much power, 75kw, so that’s an improvement of 8-16x.

Re: Tiny electric motor can produce more than 1,000 horsepower

#355

Post by Johnny555 »

kazinator wrote: post #290

> It can also sustain between 350 and 400 kilowatts (469–536 horsepower) continuously, meaning it’s not just built for short bursts, as it can deliver massive power all day long. On what battery?

I wanna know how they keep it cool, even if it's 95% efficient, that's 15,000 watts of power to dissipate.

Re: Tiny electric motor can produce more than 1,000 horsepower

#356

Post by mperham »

Empact wrote: post #354
Aurornis wrote: post #251

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Could lead to significant efficiency gains for EV's, because 1/4 of the motor weight means better power-to-weight ratio... a lot of things will automatically get better. EV motors are already lightweight. The electric motor in a vehicle like a Tesla Model 3 already weighs less than you do. Reducing that one component by 75% would be a weight savings equivalent to about a half of a passenger. Not a significant effic…

This, or a miniaturized version thereof could change the game for light electric vehicles - imagine an electric motorcycle that weighs substantially more like an electric bicycle. Right now it takes about 10-15lbs of motor to produce a 3KW motor for an electric bike, this motor is about 10 times that in power density afaict. The Livewire electric motorcycles use something like 100-200 lbs of motor to produce 1/4 as m…

There’s no area in the world that allows e-bikes with more than 750w motors. A 3kw motor is illegal (cf Surron), unless you are talking about an e-moped requiring registration.

Re: Tiny electric motor can produce more than 1,000 horsepower

#357

Post by kangs »

chrisweekly wrote: post #170
exasperaited wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Motorcycles I could imagine. Do e-bikes really need significantly more power than they have? They already run arguably dangerously fast for their application. Is efficiency not the primary target there?

Hmm. I am NOT an expert (though I ride and have owned 3 traditional motorcycles). IIUC, reducing unsprung weight is really crucial for handling -- which is why so-called "inverted" forks / front shock absorbers became basically the standard.

bicycle weight ratios are completely different from even motorcycles. a bike wheel can quickly become heavier than the frame for example.

Re: Tiny electric motor can produce more than 1,000 horsepower

#358

Post by rconti »

mperham wrote: post #356
Empact wrote: post #354

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This, or a miniaturized version thereof could change the game for light electric vehicles - imagine an electric motorcycle that weighs substantially more like an electric bicycle. Right now it takes about 10-15lbs of motor to produce a 3KW motor for an electric bike, this motor is about 10 times that in power density afaict. The Livewire electric motorcycles use something like 100-200 lbs of motor to produce 1/4 as m…

There’s no area in the world that allows e-bikes with more than 750w motors. A 3kw motor is illegal (cf Surron), unless you are talking about an e-moped requiring registration.

Okay, but is it difficult to extrapolate the weight saving benefits of a "legal" power e-bike motor?

Re: Tiny electric motor can produce more than 1,000 horsepower

#359

Post by DontBreakAlex »

hawk_ wrote: post #341
Lio wrote: post #325

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, I agree. I was careful about how I worded this to avoid saying anything about the motors actually being in the wheels for this reason. Although, I guess at some point in the future if we can get the weight down low enough and the strength of the motor high enough we could replace the existing braking system with a motor for the same weight penalty we already pay. In an ideal world all the energy from breaking wo…

Deceleration requirements are going to be harder than acceleration, one would think so how would you apply full brakes with the same motor?

I mean if your have a 750kw motor for each wheel, then they're probably always spinning when you floor it, so you also have enough torque to fully use your tires for stopping purposes

EDIT: Quick maths show that decelerating at 1g (basically what the best sport tires can do) in a 2000kg car at 300kph requires absorbing ~1500kw, so conveniently two of these motors.

Re: Tiny electric motor can produce more than 1,000 horsepower

#360

Post by MadnessASAP »

mperham wrote: post #356
Empact wrote: post #354

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This, or a miniaturized version thereof could change the game for light electric vehicles - imagine an electric motorcycle that weighs substantially more like an electric bicycle. Right now it takes about 10-15lbs of motor to produce a 3KW motor for an electric bike, this motor is about 10 times that in power density afaict. The Livewire electric motorcycles use something like 100-200 lbs of motor to produce 1/4 as m…

There’s no area in the world that allows e-bikes with more than 750w motors. A 3kw motor is illegal (cf Surron), unless you are talking about an e-moped requiring registration.

Listen, your world may not allow you to sell an e-bike with a 1000hp motor on it. But my world allows me to put a 1000hp motor on an e-bike and not tell anyone.

Now hold my beer...

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