HOW GIANT SUPPLIER ZF IS ABOUT TO MOVE THE EV GAME FORWARD

MAJOR SUPPLIER ZF has unveiled a new generation of modular electric drive units aimed at mainstream manufacturers.

The line-up will be available from 2025 and includes new designs of electric motor generators, a new type of EV transmission, inverters (the power electronics that sit between AC motors and DC batteries) and the software to integrate the whole lot.

First, let's look at the motors. These are claimed to be smaller, more efficient, more sustainable, more power-dense (more grunt for the size and weight) and more affordable to make than the status quo.

There are some facts to bear out those claims. For instance, the cooling technology and design of the copper windings are new.

There's a cooling water jacket around the stator of permanent magnet motors (the bit that doesn't move, containing the copper windings that generate electromagnetic fields). And deeper inside, there are slots that carry ZF Ecofluid E, a coolant oil that doesn't conduct electricity (dielectric) and is in direct contact with the windings.