TOP CAT

摘要

THE RESULT OF SIX YEARS OF DEVELOPMENT, DELTA'S CAT GEN TAKES MICROTURBINE TECHNOLOGY AND PUTS IT TO USE IN AN ADVANCED RANGE EXTENDER FOR THE GROWING ELECTRIC PROPULSION MARKET. Despite ever-improving EV powertrain technology, batteries remain a major cost concern. The balance between price and range is arguably the key design consideration, particularly in applications such as light goods vehicles. However, Delta thinks it has an answer to this conundrum. Based inside the Silverstone Technology Cluster in Northamptonshire, UK, the electric powertrain specialist - recently acquired by Cosworth - has developed a small, lightweight generator unit with minimal emissions and the potential to run off an array of fuels from gasoline to hydrogen. Called Cat Gen, it is a catalytic generator that mates a turbine to a high-power-density e-motor and heat recovery system to produce up to 35kW of power, making it capable of charging an EV battery on the go. According to Scott Herring, engineering director at Delta, the initial idea for the system stemmed from a white paper study investigating the ideal power source for a range-extended BEV. "The microturbine came out as the optimum way of doing it. The reason being that if it's solely a generator, just there to make power, you don't have to do anything transient.