There is new technology for electric cars that will hopefully see a reduction in the weight and space taken by the electrical power system.
There is new technology for electric cars that will hopefully see a reduction in the weight and space taken by the electrical power system.
Prodrive - which designs, builds and runs motorsport and vehicle technology programmes for car manufacturers - is the main part of a consortium behind the new initiative.
And the government have a hand in the three-year project also as the Technology Strategy Board - which it backs - has supported the idea with investment.
The notion is that implementing a single direct current-direct current (DC-DC) converter will save costs, weight and package space which should allow green car producers the ability to create the next generation of hybrid and electric models more easily.
This could be good news for consumers because if it is more practical and cheap for manufacturers to develop environmentally-friendly motors then there could be an increased roll-out of the vehicles at a lower cost.
Pete James, technical specialist for Prodrive, said currently the existing hybrids need two DC-DC converters for additional voltage but in the future it may not be necessary to have an extra converter for each voltage.
He added: "Having worked hard to reduce the cost, weight and size of battery packs and motors on hybrid vehicles, manufacturers are clearly unwilling to see those gains swallowed up by growth in the power management hardware."
The DC-DC converters work by directing one source of direct current from one voltage to another and they are needed more for electric cars because there are variations with the battery cell voltage regarding its state of charge.
Moreover, this news comes after Andy Carroll, managing director at Glass's - which produces a guide to vehicle values - noted that it may not be until 2012 when the volume production of electric cars gets fully underway.
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