Floating lab: Hyperdrive's catamaran can carry an array of instrumentation Nissan’s Sunderland plant has enjoyed a reputation for efficiency and productivity that has repaid the faith shown in the project by Margaret Thatcher’s government in the 1980s.
As papers released by the government this year showed, Thatcher intervened personally in a Cabinet dispute about the factory in 1984 and ultimately secured the inward investment in the North East by the Japanese carmaker. Some now view the plant’s success as one of the greatest elements of Thatcher’s legacy as prime minister.
Thirty years on, post-recession Sunderland is producing record volumes of cars and is the European hub for the manufacture of the Leaf, Nissan’s first mass-market electric vehicle (EV). This is appropriate given the interest in EVs in the region: it has seen extensive trials of electric cars. Switch EV, for example, completed in 2011, tested more than 40 cars with consumers, and helped to develop a local charging infrastructure, backed by the Technology Strategy Board.
Another project funded by the board saw small firm Future Transport Systems of Newcastle lead a consortium to progress the debate on electric cars and test technology at the same time, working with Nissan, electric-truck maker Smith, and other parties.
Stephen Irish, managing director of Hyperdrive Innovation, which is located in a building next to the Nissan plant, says: “The electric infrastructure here is critical, and I believe we have more charge points than anywhere else. The region is receptive to this type of activity.
“But the low-carbon vehicle industry doesn’t equal Nissan. There’s lots of other stuff going on.”
The ultimate composition of the low-carbon sector of the automotive industry is difficult to predict. All carmakers are coming under immense pressure to make their vehicles greener and reduce
tailpipe emissions. But no one knows whether electric cars will one day be purchased en masse, or whether hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles will also become an important element of the mix.
Irish, who has a background in the automotive industry, including a long stint with Jaguar Land Rover, is focusing on developing electric powertrain technology. The work includes producing a standard battery pack with a power management system that helps lithium-ion batteries to be charged in the most efficient manner.
The power management system was initially designed to determine levels of energy in single-use batteries for pipeline-cleaning ‘pigs’ in the oil industry. “We designed it for pipeline inspections in particular,” says Irish. Because operators had to be absolutely certain that a pig could make it back from its location, batteries would be discarded if there was uncertainty about their power levels.
Hyperdrive’s device measures the flow of current into and out of the cells, and helps to balance levels of power, as cells charge and ultimately deteriorate at different rates. “The management system ensures that the cells charge to the same voltage and that some do not remain not fully charged,” he says.
Batteries can be linked together in daisy chains over a Canbus network. “Our vision is to have Hyperdrive technology on every
low-carbon vehicle in the world,”
he says. The batteries are ruggedised through a bespoke enclosure design.
Batteries are supplied to Hyperdrive by Dow of the US. “While I don’t want to be disparaging about Chinese-sourced components, we have decided on cells with the best power density and quality we could find. This is the best you can get now, but we could use any chemistry and integrate it in our packs,” says Irish.
“Eventually, people will get to the level where there are cells with twice the power and energy density of lithium-ion,” he adds.
Hyperdrive has also developed a GPRS data logger that can be used to capture performance data from EVs when they are being trialled. The company is looking at supplying the devices to a trial of 40 vehicles. The data loggers can store 4GB of information and transmit it in real time to a mobile phone. They plug into a standard onboard diagnostics port on a car, obviating the need for rewiring. The PCB design is Hyperdrive’s own.
The firm’s engineers say they are keen to work with local companies as far as possible. Chief engineer Robin Shaw says: “We’ve really recognised the benefit of being able to pop down the road and visit someone.” Irish adds: “I’ve heard of people having to get stuff made two or three times from China because of problems, and costs are going up there. There are hard commercial decisions to be made but you’ve got to look at the whole picture.
“If you miss small points of detail in manufacturing, the thing either doesn’t work or it’s not as good as it could be. And there are conversations on producing things more efficiently or more cheaply that can only be had around a table.”
Versatile vehicle: The quadricycle offers both full power and restricted mode
In addition to supplying powertrain technology, Hyperdrive has developed two vehicles of its own: an electric, three-wheeled quadricycle aimed at the youth market, and a catamaran that operates autonomously and could be used for long research voyages.
The vessel features a diesel engine and a Hyperdrive-designed range extender. It has two 45-litre tanks of fuel. Solar panels can provide up to 600W of power, and a further 600W can be supplied by a micro wind turbine. The catamaran weighs 400kg and is 4m long. It can carry an array of instrumentation. Unmanned, it can operate at sea for up to three months.
Hyperdrive is looking for a manufacturer to take the quadricycle into production. Styled by industrial design students at Northumbria University, the vehicle was developed in partnership with Arden Automotive and part-funded by the Niche Vehicle Network.
For licensing purposes, the vehicle will be defined as a quadricycle despite having only three wheels. Youngsters without full driving licences will be able to use it in a mode that restricts its power. Those with full licences can drive it at up to 70mph – and it has a range of 80 miles.
The chassis is made using a folding method that cuts down on tooling costs. The battery offers 6.7kWh, about a quarter of the power of a Nissan Leaf.
“It will be fun to drive, fun to look at, and progressive,” says Shaw. “What we are offering as a consortium is skills, capabilities and understanding of the market, but we don’t have deep enough pockets to produce it in volume.”
The quadricycle may eventually become available under lease or car-sharing schemes. It’s also possible that a manufacturer might restyle it in its own image. It will not be subject to the same standards as a car, says Irish.
“It’s much more robust than some of the alternatives,” he adds. “But, from where it is now to getting it into the market, there is quite a bit of investment to come.”
The example of Tesla, which designs and makes premium EVs, has helped alleviate some of the scepticism about EVs in general, says Irish.
Meanwhile, the buoyancy of the automotive industry is making it hard to find skilled engineers – mechanical or electrical, or those with a grasp of both disciplines, he says. “Jaguar Land Rover doing well is fantastic news for all of us. But in my opinion, too much emphasis is put on the OEMs.”
“If you look at a car built in Britain, two-thirds of the content comes from overseas. That’s stark. More needs to be done as a nation to encourage smaller suppliers.”
Power point: The company focuses on making charging more efficient