Industry Insight

What is a blade battery? The blade battery is a lithium iron phosphate battery for electric vehicles. The battery cell has a special design with a common length of 96 cm and width of 9 cm, so it’s like a blade and can be inserted into the battery pack. While the standard LFP battery contains the structure of cell, module, pack, the design of the blade battery pack eliminates the battery module, which saves more space and thus greatly increases the space utilization and power density. When assembling battery packs with blade batteries, the inherent strength of the blade battery is leveraged to reduce the size of crossbeams and other components within the battery pack. Under random vibration loads, the deformation of the module is significant, while the deformation of the blade battery cells is minimal. For non-module battery packs, by modifying the structure of the battery pack, the rectangular batteries are arranged vertically and inserted into the pack, simplifying the battery pack structure and improving the utilization of internal space. What about the safety ? The blade battery successfully passed the nail penetration test and maintained a low surface temperature with no smoke or fire emissions. But its safety credentials go beyond that. The battery was tested in seven safety dimensions, including internal and external short circuits, overcharging, collisions, high pressure, connections and hazardous gas assessments. It also successfully passed collision simulation and crush tests. How is the performance? In terms of the performance of the blade battery, its high energy density provides enhanced endurance, with a maximum charging power of more than 230 kW. A mid-size vehicle equipped with BYD’s blade battery can easily exceed 700 km in range. In addition, the battery pack uses a wide-temperature efficient heat pump system and direct cooling and heating technology, which enables rapid temperature rise at low temperatures to meet driving demands. What are the advantages? The cost-saving aspect of the Blade battery is remarkable. As the main focus of development in the new energy vehicle sector shifts from simply increasing range to safer and smarter solutions, the lower cost advantage of lithium iron phosphate becomes increasingly important. By consistently reducing costs, the blade battery solution improves volume utilization by 50%, reduces component costs by 45%, and lowers overall costs by over 30%. What are the applications? In terms of applications, the Blade battery is not limited to passenger cars; it is also suitable for electric buses, vans, light-duty trucks, and heavy-duty trucks. For example, a light-duty truck equipped with a 45 kWh Blade battery pack can travel up to 280 kilometers on a single charge, making it ideal for urban delivery applications. Our blade battery solutions Our Blade battery solution ranges from 10 kW to 900 kW to meet the energy needs of different commercial vehicles. It also uses an intelligent Battery Management System platform that covers both low and high voltage. To learn more about our blade battery solutions, click the link here to view our blade battery catalog. You can also send your inquiry directly to our email and our experts will contact you to discuss how we can power your fleet. Inquiry: marketing@oe-autoparts.com

What are Axial Flux Motors? Axial flux motors differ from a radial flux motor in that its magnetic flux direction is axial, with current-carrying conductors arranged radially. Both the stator and rotor cores have a disc-like structure. What are the advantages / benefits? In situations with the same power,they have a smaller volume and lighter weight. For instance, our axial flux motor weighs and occupies approximately half the space of a traditional radial flux motor, resulting in higher power and torque density. Why they aren’t popular? While radial flux motors are well understood, and manufacturing methods are well-established, axial flux motors face significant challenges in design and production. The gap between the stator and rotor, known as the air gap, is crucial in the motor’s magnetic circuit. Axial flux rotor lying flat on the stator significantly increases the air gap area, demanding high precision in surface smoothness and gap uniformity. This translates to stringent requirements for manufacturing and assembly precision, leading to high production costs and low production flexibility. The manufacturing difficulty also hinders the scalability of axial flux motors, resulting in a smaller market capacity with insufficient component matching. However, our axial flux motor has overcome these challenges, achieving mass production and undergoing 15,000 km of safety testing in vehicles like buses and heavy trucks, ensuring stability and safety. What are the applications of them? They find application in various scenarios: What electric vehicles are they suitable for? They can be applied in various electric vehicles, including: Inquiry: contact@brogenevsolution.com Contact

Axial Flux Motor for Electric Vehicles: A Comprehensive Overview Brogen axial flux motor A new type of electric motor — the axial flux motor — is gaining increasing attention in the electric vehicle industry. For years, axial flux motors have been used in stationary applications such as elevators and agriculture machinery. However, over the past decade, many developers have been working to refine this technology, making it suitable for a wide range of applications, including electric motorcycles, airport shuttles, cargo trucks, electric vehicles, and even aircraft. The Emergence of Axial Flux Motor: The World’s First Generator Faraday motor In 1831, British physicist Michael Faraday harnessed the phenomenon of electromagnetic induction to invent the world’s first true electric generator, known as the Faraday disk generator. This invention can be seen as the prototype of the axial flux motor. The Faraday disk generator consisted of a disk, brushes, and a horseshoe magnet. Faraday placed a rotatable metal disk within the magnetic field of the magnet and used a galvanometer to measure the current between the edge of the disk and its center. The experiment demonstrated that when the disk rotated, the galvanometer deflected, confirming the presence of current in the circuit—thus achieving the conversion of mechanical energy into electrical energy. Faraday generator reconstruction However, due to limitations in materials, structure, and manufacturing techniques, as well as the late emergence of demand for mobile electric equipment such as electric vehicles, axial flux motors remained largely undeveloped for nearly 200 years. The primary challenges included difficulties in electromagnetic calculations, material selection, complex manufacturing processes, and the intricate coupling between materials, structure, and techniques—all of which exponentially increased the difficulty of industrializing this technology. Axial Flux Motor in the Era of Automotive Electrification While radial flux motors have driven the automotive industry into the electrical age, axial flux motors outperform them in several key areas. Not only are they lighter and more compact, but they also deliver greater torque and power. This groundbreaking technology enables a smaller and lighter motor to generate more powerful force, opening up a world of new possibilities for automotive designers. The most significant difference between axial flux motors and traditional radial flux motors lies in the direction of the magnetic flux. In axial flux motors, the magnetic flux is parallel to the motor’s axis, unlike in radial flux motors where it is perpendicular to the axis. This fundamental difference leads to a considerable change in the stator’s structure. Below are some structural diagrams to help illustrate this concept. A New Benchmark in Performance Traditional radial flux motors, which use permanent magnets or induction in the electric field, are currently being widely developed to optimize weight and cost. However, there is a limit to how much can be improved within this design. Therefore, switching to a completely different type of motor, like the axial flux motor, could be a promising alternative. The torque in a radial flux motor is proportional to the square of the rotor radius, while in an axial flux motor, torque is proportional to the cube of the rotor radius. This means axial flux motors can produce significantly higher torque. For instance, with the same output power, an axial flux motor is 50% smaller and 50% lighter than a radial flux motor. A prime example is the axial flux motor in the Mercedes Vision One-Eleven all-electric concept car, which weighs only one-third of a conventional motor with the same power output. Mercedes Vision One-Eleven Design and Efficiency Advantages The size and weight advantages of axial flux motors not only greatly reduce the use of materials like copper, iron, and permanent magnets in production, but also allow for more flexible placement in tighter spaces, such as the recesses of car wheels. this reduces the need for components like transmissions and drive shafts, minimizing kinetic energy loss and improving drive efficiency. The direct torque compensation further enhances performance.  Streamlined Structure and Enhanced System Benefits Due to their compact and lightweight design, axial flux motors require fewer structural elements for installation, saving even more weight. Additionally, their rotational speed does not reach the high levels seen in traditional radial flux motors, eliminating the need for reduction gears. This further reduces the overall system weight, benefiting other subsystems like braking and cooling. Overall, this can lead to a 5-10% improvement in both efficiency and range. Technical Challenges for The Axial Flux Motor Despite the technical advantages of axial flux motors and the significant progress made over the years, the industry has now grasped the working principles of these motors and has largely overcome key challenges in configuration and structural design, electromagnetic performance, thermal performance, and the development of calibration and control strategies. However, the large-scale application remains a challenge due to several design and production hurdles that must be addressed:  1. Immature Manufacturing Equipment The industry’s understanding of axial flux motor manufacturing methods is still limited due to a lack of research and experience. Manufacturing equipment is not readily available, and the supply chain is underdeveloped. 2. High Manufacturing Precision Requirements Axial flux motors must maintain a uniform air gap between the rotor and stator, as the magnetic force is much stronger than in radial flux motors. Adjusting the air gap during the motor manufacturing process is challenging, making it crucial to precisely control the tolerance of key components. 3. Thermal management and Design Complexity Axial flux motors feature a sandwich structure, making it difficult to dissipate heat from the central stator in dual-rotor designs or the central rotor in dual-designs. Additionally, due to their high power density, axial flux motors have a small heat capacity, leading to overheating issues. Innovative cooling methods, such as immersion oil cooling, oil-water hybrid cooling, liquid nitrogen cooling, and phase-change material cooling, are needed, along with the design of  complex cooling and sealing structures. 4. High Costs Due to Complex Materials and Processes For radial flux motors, the costs of magnets, silicon steel, copper, and structural components, as well as the manufacturing processes for mass